NCAA Basketball: Previewing 2021 Sunshine Slam Tournament

The 2021 Sunshine Slam tournament will tip-off in Daytona Beach this weekend, and the eight-team NCAA Basketball field looks to be wide open.

NCAA Basketball fans have more than just Thanksgiving to look forward to this time of year. It’s MTE season! Several multi-team events are already underway, with some tournaments slated for this coming weekend and next.

One of the more intriguing events on tap is the Sunshine Slam at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. It may not have the household names in terms of college hoop blue bloods, but it’s about as balanced as a tournament can get. ere’s the schedule and a breakdown of the eight-team field.

Let’s start with the upper tier of the bracket, which consists of Utah, Boston College, Tulsa, and Rhode Island. The Utes are the likely favorite to take home the crown here as they’ll come into the tourney at 3-0 on the young season. Although it’s fair to say they haven’t really been tested. Craig Smith’s squad holds wins over Abilene Christian, Sacramento State, and Bethune Cookman.. all in convincing fashion. The two games in Daytona should better prepare the Utes for Pac-12 play.

They’ll take on BC, who sits at 3-1 on the year. Like Utah, they’ve taken down some weaker squads, and their only loss has come at home to Rhode Island. Those two teams could meet again if it shakes out that way. Utah and Boston College will face off on Saturday at 5:00 p.m., with the winner advancing to play the winner of Tulsa and Rhode Island.

Hey, speaking of those two teams, they’re set to play at 7:30 on Saturday. Tulsa is 2-1 on the year, with wins over Northwestern State and Oregon State bookending a bad loss to Air Force. But their most recent win over the Beavers — an Elite Eight team last year — shows how tough the Golden Hurricane can be.

They’ll deal with 3-0 Rhode Island, who will be a challenge in their own right. Bank on a pair of really close games on Saturday night, setting up two more epic showdowns on Sunday. The two winners will face off at 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, while the other two squads will play in the runner-up bracket at 5:00 p.m.

Here’s the full schedule with tip times

Saturday, November 20th
Bryant vs Bethune Cookman, 12:00 p.m.
Air Force vs Holy Cross, 2:30 p.m.
Utah vs Boston College, 5:00 p.m.
Rhode Island vs Tulsa, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 21st
Air Force/Holy Cross runner up vs Bryant/Bethune Cookman runner up, 12:00 p.m.
Air Force/Holy Cross winner vs Bryant/Bethune Cookman winner, 2:30 p.m.
Utah/Boston College runner up vs Rhode Island/Tulsa runner up, 5:00 p.m.
Utah/Boston College winner vs Rhode Island/Tulsa winner, 7:30 p.m.

As for the lower-tiered bracket, Bryant, Bethune Cookman, Air Force, and Holy Cross will all make the trip to the Ocean Center as well. Although for Bethune-Cookman, it won’t be much of a trip. The Wildcats are based in Daytona Beach, although they haven’t had a home game yet this season. And it shows with their 0-3 start.

As for Bryant, they’re 0-2 against D-I competition and 1-2 overall, so something’s gotta give in this matchup. Look for Bryant to come out on top — they have the shooters to take on a Bethune Cookman team that doesn’t play much defense. Unless they jam the place out with local fans and students, it’s hard to pick against the Bulldogs in the game that will open the Sunshine Slam. Tipoff is scheduled for noon on Saturday.

Air Force and Holy Cross will face off in the second game (2:30 p.m.), and this one should be a bit more enticing. The Falcons are 2-1 with the aforementioned win over Tulsa, and they have some tough-game experience playing in the Mountain West.

Holy Cross sits at 1-2 (0-2 versus D-1), much like Bryant. The Crusaders should be able to hang with Air Force, however, so expect yet another close game. The Sunshine Slam will have a lot of them.