2016-17 Early Season Events
2016 MGM Grand Main Event Primer
Three NIT teams from last season will head to the desert this November for the third edition of this tournament.
2016 Tire Pros Invitational Primer
2016 NCAA teams Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, and Xavier headline the event's field of eight. The Sooners and Musketeers head to San Juan with a second straight early season tourney crown in their respective sights.
2016 Gildan Charleston Classic Primer
Might another trophy be in the National Champs' future?
2016 AdvoCare Invitational Primer
Gonzaga has brought the trophy back to Spokane after its two previous trips to Walt Disney World. To do so for the third time, the Bulldogs will likely have to get past a pair of teams who will have home court advantage.
2016 Directv Wooden Legacy Primer
UCLA will play in an Orange County exempt event for the first time since 2009. While the Bruins hope this experience is a better one, Dayton, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech will aim to spoil the local fans' fun.
2016 NIT Season Tip-Off Primer
Last season, Villanova won this tournament—played in Brooklyn for the first time—months before claiming the National Title. FSU, Illinois, Temple, and West Virginia will aim to replicate the Wildcats' success in the 2016-17 season.
2016 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Primer
This season's Christmas weekend event features four teams from last season's NCAA Tournament, all of whom will be looking to pick up a quality win or two right before the dawn of conference season.
2016-17 College Basketball Early Season Event Hub
Be sure to bookmark this page if you want to check out all of Blogging the Bracket's primers on college basketball's November and December tournaments, conference challenges, and showcases.
2016-17's Non-Bracketed Multi-Team Events
If team has 30 or 31 games lined up and they're not in a traditional tournament, they're probably in an event like this, even if it's not called out on the schedule.
2016-17 Round-Robin Tournaments
There are 13 four-team, single-site events on the docket for this season's opening weeks. Most of these will take place on campus, though a trio are set for neutral sites. All of them feature a significant mid-major presence.
2016 CBE Hall Of Fame Classic Primer
Kansas will be the heavy favorite in an event played in the Jayhawks backyard. UAB will attempt to top KU in game one, while either Georgia or NIT champion George Washington awaits Bill Self's team on night two.
2016 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic Primer
USC headlines a field that also includes DePaul, Missouri State, and Wyoming. You can guess which of the four is the favorite.
2016 Hall Of Fame Tip-Off Primer
The likely preseason number one will visit Connecticut this November, but not to face the Huskies. Instead, Duke will play Penn State, then either Cincinnati or Rhode Island at the Mohegan Sun.
2016 Global Sports Classic Primer
TCU, Washington, and Western Kentucky will all head to the desert for Thanksgiving weekend, where host UNLV will be waiting for them.
2016 Savannah Invitational Primer
MAC power Akron headlines an event that's making its debut this season. Air Force, East Carolina, and Mercer will challenge the Zips for the title in Georgia.
2016 Barclays Center Classic Primer
Maryland is the lone 2016 NCAA squad out of the four that will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Brooklyn. Boston College, Kansas State, and Richmond will join the Terps in aiming to get the new season off to a solid start.
College Basketball Exempt Tournaments 101
Ever find yourself wondering why your favorite college basketball team has 31 games scheduled but your rival only has 29 lined up? No? Oh well, I still have all the answers to questions you didn't know you had about college hoops' exempt tournaments.
2016 Emerald Coast Classic Primer
While Memphis will be breaking in a new head coach, 2016 NCAA teams Iowa, Providence, and Virginia will all travel to the Florida Panhandle looking to pass a pair of early tests with retooled rosters.
2016 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational
Arizona again encounters Santa Clara on Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, while Butler and Vanderbilt square off in the other semifinal.
2016 GCI Great Alaska Shootout Primer
Weber State, the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase champ, is one of three 2016 NCAA squads traveling to Anchorage this November for one of Thanksgiving week's oldest tournaments.
2016 Battle 4 Atlantis Primer
Louisville and Michigan State headline a field that would have been much more enticing had it been in place one season ago.
2016 Cancun Challenge Primer
This event's final could feature an NCAA rematch of sorts—if Purdue and Texas Tech happen to meet. But Utah State and Auburn will stand in their way.
2016 Legends Classic Primer
Colorado, Notre Dame, and Texas all head to Brooklyn following 2015-16 campaigns that ended in the NCAAs. Northwestern, meanwhile, can use this trip as a building block to a first-ever bid.
2016 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Primer
Three-time Maui champion North Carolina and two-time winner UConn should be most seriously challenged by Oregon and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, and host Chaminade will look to grab a surprise win or three.
2016 Gulf Coast Showcase Primer
Houston headlines this tournament's fourth edition. However, the Cougars might find quality wins hard to come by—which is trouble for a team that didn't receive any NCAA consideration after a 22-win campaign because of their non-league slate.
2016 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Primer
Creighton and Saint Joseph's are the early favorites in this eight team field, but don't be surprised if there is an upset or two in the Caribbean this November.
2016 2K Classic Primer
Marquette, Michigan, Pitt, and SMU are scheduled to spend the Thursday and Friday before Thanksgiving in New York, but only one of them can claim the title Duke won in 2015.