Thanksgiving Week
Belmont and Bradley get started on the twenty-fourth. Both teams are in Florida. The Braves are a part of an ESPN Events Invitational where they open with Princeton and have a second-round game against either Liberty or Vermont.
Liberty won 28 games and participated in the NCAA Tournament. The Flames own a kenpom ranking of 82 and finished last season with a NET ranking of 62. Rhode Island and Towson are also in the field.
Belmont participates in the Coconut Hoops Invitational. The Bruins open against March Madness participant Saint Francis with second round action against either Troy (another NCAA Tournament top-100 NET team) or Toledo.
UNI heads to the Coachella Valley for the Acrisure Holiday Invitational. On the twenty-fifth the Panthers face former Valley foe Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers left the MVC and reached the NIT semifinals, finishing the season 25-12. Tulsa and San Jose State are the possible second round opponents.
Indiana State’s ‘Thanksgiving Eve’ contest is against the home team in the Louisiana Tech MTE. In a weird scheduling maneuver, the Sycamores and Bulldogs will play in Terre Haute on the November 19 and then in Ruston, LA on the twenty-sixth. Indiana State faces Alcorn State two days later.
Illinois State plays in an ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving Day. The Redbirds face Charlotte on the holiday and then either Richmond or Furman. Illinois State is the Valley’s preseason favorite and needs to sweep this event.
Last year’s Valley champion Drake finishes the Thanksgiving MTE opportunities by participating in the Emerald Coast Classic. This is a field loaded with challenging opponents. The Bulldogs open (November 28) against Southeastern Conference foe LSU and then face either a Big East team or one from the ACC.
While LSU won’t play a team as highly rated as Drake until they meet, the Tigers own a 41 Kenpom rating. They won just three SEC games last year and somehow ended up with a NET ranking of 88.
Don’t get me started on how rigged the NET system remains.
DePaul and Georgia Tech are on the other side of the Emerald Coast Classic bracket.
Valley teams play at least seven games against teams that finished in the NET’s top 100 last year and at least five that participated in ‘The Big Dance’. Winning the bulk of those games would go a long way towards the MVC enhancing its chances to place two teams in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.