NCAA Basketball: Syracuse and Louisville among teams with key MTEs on their schedules

The regular season begins in less than two months and that means the march towards March does as well. Even though teams are just finding their footing during the first few weeks of the season, the weeks leading up to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays can be vitally important to a team's postseason resume. The myriad of multi-team events that take place in the first month of the season is the first real chance for a lot of teams to make an early statement. Sometimes those MTE results can carry the weight of their resume, be it positively or negatively for the entire season.

Ask Charleston about the importance of MTEs and a team's resume. Two seasons ago the Cougars won their MTE by beating Davidson, Colorado State, and Virginia Tech and rode that momentum to a 31-win season and domination of the CAA. The importance of MTEs isn't just about resume impact, it's also about the potential effect it can have on a team's psyche as the season gets rolling. With most MTEs beginning the week before Thanksgiving, the feast could be extra festive for some.

There are some teams in particular that could get their seasons off to a roaring start with a good showing during the MTE season, while others could spiral if the opposite happens. However, with a new season, hope springs eternal so we’ll focus on the positive. Let's look at five teams that could raise some eyebrows with a strong showing in an early-season tournament.