A few interesting early season event nuggets for this December Thursday. Follow me after the jump...

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Now that Thanksgiving 2011 is only a memory and the calendar will flip over to December in a matter of hours, the focus of college basketball is shifting from a two-week run of early season tournaments to conference challenges and neutral-site showcases, at least until we have a few final in-season events before the New Year.

Yet that doesn't mean it's too early to start thinking about next season's schedule, especially since a number of intriguing fields for 2012 have already been announced. So, in what has become an annual tradition on this blog, it's time to look forward to what's ahead at the beginning of next season. (More after the jump...)

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The conclusion of Thanksgiving weekend's tournaments indicated that there may be a few more players involved in the Atlantic 10 race this season than Xavier and Temple.

First, Dayton thoroughly dominated Minnesota to claim the Old Spice Classic crown, 86-70. Worse news for the Golden Gophers was a right knee injury to star forward Trevor Mbakwe early in the second half. If he's out for an extended period of time, Minnesota's chances will be significantly damaged, even if the Flyers were in control with him in the contest. Indiana State finished at 2-1 and with third place after holding off Fairfield, 72-66. The Sycamores actually led the Stags by 24 with 9:47 left in the game. DePaul also leaves Walt Disney World with two unexpected wins, at least given the program's recent history, as they held off Arizona State in the fifth-place game, 68-64. Wake Forest sent Texas Tech back to West Texas without a win, claiming a 70-61 triumph in the seventh-place game.

The night's action concluded with the Flyers' league rivals, Saint Louis, claiming the 76 Classic title with an impressive 83-63 victory over Oklahoma. Once again, the Billikens were red hot from both inside and outside the three-point arc, even if they didn't hit their first trey until 3:17 was left in the first half. Villanova, to be completely honest, blew the third-place game, coughing up a seven-point lead in the final 1:11 to lose to Santa Clara by one, 65-64. Conversely, New Mexico had no trouble with Boston College in the game for fifth, picking up an easy 75-57 win. UC Riverside took seventh (and their first win of the season) by overhauling Washington State in the final 7:52, closing a 15-point gap to triumph, 64-63.

So, yet another season's worth of Thanksgiving fortnight tournaments are complete, all that's left from an exempt event perspective are a few tourneys over the Christmas period. At some point this week, I'll have a look at some of the known fields for 2012 and beyond.

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With the final two early season tournaments of Thanksgiving week wrapping up, I'm going to flip my usual format for one of these posts. Today's entry will start with a look at the final day's slate in Lake Buena Vista and Anaheim. After the jump, I'll have a quick rundown of how Saturday's finals went down.

For a reminder of Friday's Old Spice and 76 Classic results, click here.

Old Spice Classic Finals

Championship: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Dayton Flyers, approx. 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

3rd/4th Place:  Indiana State Sycamores vs. Fairfield Stags, approx. 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

5th/6th Place: DePaul Blue Demons vs. Arizona State Sun Devils, approx. 2 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

7th/8th Place:  Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 11:30 a.m. ET (ESPN3)

76 Classic Finals

Championship: Saint Louis Billikens vs. Oklahoma Sooners, approx. 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

3rd/4th Place: Villanova Wildcats vs. Santa Clara Broncos, approx. 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

5th/6th Place: Boston College Eagles vs. New Mexico Lobos, approx. 4 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

7th/8th Place: UC Riverside Highlanders vs. Washington St. Cougars, 1:30 p.m. ET (ESPN3)

A quick Saturday recap is after the jump.

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Before I get to today's schedule, which is highlighted by a completely unexpected final in the Bahamas, I want to take a look back at what happened in the one tournament that was decided yesterday, and two others that are taking Saturday off.

Syracuse claimed the NIT Season Tip-Off with a come-from-behind 69-63 victory over Stanford. It wasn't a pretty game, but it certainly wasn't the ugliest contest of the day (more on that in a moment). With about 5 minutes to go, it looked like the Cardinal was going to have an answer for every comeback attempt the Orange had in them, then Jim Boeheim's team buckled down on defense, and the crowd woke up. Syracuse got an 18-5 run to close the game and overhaul Johnny Dawkins' club. In the consolation game, Virginia Tech held off Oklahoma State, 59-57.

Sunday's Old Spice Classic final will feature Minnesota and Dayton. The Golden Gophers used a big second half to come back and defeat Indiana State, 76-69. The Flyers toppled Fairfield in a mid-major showdown, 56-49. DePaul and won in the consolation bracket. The Blue Demons took care of Texas Tech, 76-70, while Arizona State blitzed Wake Forest into the 7th-place game, 84-56

Saint Louis hit 14 threes en route to defeating Villanova en route to the 76 Classic final, 80-68. They'll meet Oklahoma tomorrow, as the Sooners ran past Santa Clara, 85-73. In the consolation bracket, Boston College needed to rally to defeat UC Riverside, 66-62, and New Mexico relegated Washington State to the 7th-place game, 72-62.

Information on games being played on this college football-focused Saturday are after the jump.

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I apologize for a relatively light post. Since I'm out of town for the early part of the holiday weekend, I've decided to keep the rest of the holiday weekend's posts relatively short. But don't worry, they'll still include all of the relevant TV information for the cornucopia of early season events on the slate.

More after the jump...

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Before I jump into the schedule for the three tournaments which begin on this Turkey Day, here's a very quick look at some of Tuesday's action.

The Maui Invitational crown went to Duke, 68-61 winners over Kansas. That's the Blue Devils' fifth Lahaina crown in five tries. Michigan took care of UCLA in the third place game, 69-53. Georgetown joins the Jayhawks and Wolverines in leaving Maui with a 2-1 record. The Hoyas held off Memphis, 91-88, to claim fifth. Seventh place went to Tennessee, who drubbed Chaminade, 86-60.

Illinois won the Cancun Challenge, as they had to come from behind to defeat Illinois State, 63-59. The consolation game went to Richmond, 58-53 victors over Rutgers.

Finally, I got to see two very different NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Stanford opened the doubleheader with a resounding 82-67 win over Oklahoma State. The game was only that close because the Cardinal struggled against the Cowboys' press in the final 10 or so minutes of the second half. Johnny Dawkins' club will next play Syracuse on Friday. The Orange got a game from Virginia Tech, but used a strong second half to grab a 69-58 victory.

After the jump, a look at Thursday's slate.

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Tuesday night saw the conclusion of the CBE Classic, a game that was really no contest. Missouri claimed the Big 12's first early tournament title of the season, likely its last as a member of that conference. The Tigers made another statement, as they obliterated California, 92-53, a night after they pummeled Notre Dame by 29. Six Mizzou players hit double figures, led by Kim English with 19 and Marcus Denmon with 18. Georgia used its defense to defeat Notre Dame, 61-57, in the third-place game. The Fighting Irish only managed to hit 34.8% of their shots from the field--a miserable 4 for 21 from beyond the arc.

A coverage not before I continue on, late this morning, I'll be off to New York for the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals and finals, so these posts may be a bit less detailed over the next few days.

After the jump, I'll look at today's tourney action, which features two championship games, one in Cancun and the one everyone has been waiting for, Maui.

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