One of the best parts of the College Basketball season is in mid to late November when teams fly all across the world to participate in Multiple Team Events. This setting is the most similar thing players and coaches will experience to postseason play, with 3 games in 3 days in a tournament setting and this upcoming season there will be a handful of must-see events featuring some of the best teams in the sport. From Maui, Hawaii to the Bahamas, to the Virgin Islands and Jamaica these events serve as not only important basketball games but also an experience that provides memories that last forever while bonding and getting to know your teammates better at such an early point in the regular season. Here are the biggest events to watch for along with some analysis and storylines for the teams that will be competing.

Phil Knight 85

In 2017 the PK80 provided us with one of the best Multiple Team Events we’ve seen up to this point with some of the biggest names in College Basketball heading to Portland, Oregon and playing in two separate 8 team tournaments and the games were absolutely electric. This event will also really prepare these teams for playing in a tournament setting, as the games will take place across three separate arenas in Portland including the Moda Center, Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Chiles Center. Five years later for the PK85 a lot of those schools will be back alongside some new faces to make up arguably the best event we’ve seen in a while. In the Phil Knight Invitational Bracket, both North Carolina and Villanova will participate after making it to the Final 4 last season. With North Carolina facing Portland and Villanova facing Iowa State, we should be getting a rematch of the epic 2016 National Championship game for the first time since it happened. In addition, this bracket will feature UConn taking on Oregon in a battle of teams that should be ranked in the majority of preseason 25’s. The winner of that game will take on the winner of Michigan State and Alabama, which is also a battle of teams with heavy expectations. With North Carolina, Villanova, Oregon, UConn, Alabama and arguably Michigan State all being ranked in the majority of Top 25’s to open up the season, this bracket should provide us with some epic games featuring some of the best in the sport.

There is also the Phil Knight Legacy Bracket which will feature Duke and Gonzaga who should be ranked in the Top 10 entering next season alongside teams like Florida, Purdue, Xavier and West Virginia who will all enter next season with heavy expectations. Duke will take on Oregon State, who although will be playing close to home, should be an easy matchup for Duke as the Beavers are expected to be one of the worst teams in all of the Power 6, plus Gonzaga will take on another hometown team in Portland State which should be an easy win. The question will be can anyone in the middle portion of the bracket take down either Duke or Gonzaga? The first team that comes to mind is Xavier, as Sean Miller takes over a team that brings back some major pieces from last year that should have been an NCAA Tournament team and won the NIT Title. The Musketeers can easily compete at the top of the Big East Conference with both Jack Nunge and Colby Jones back and the additions from the transfer portal. Florida actually made the finals of this event back in 2017 and could have easily beat a very good Duke team headlined by Marvin Bagley III and Grayson Allen in the finals but will feature some totally new faces this year. Former San Francisco Head Coach Todd Golden will be taking over and it will be interesting to see what all of the new faces do at such an early point in the season.

Like a lot of other College Basketball fans, this is an event I wish would happen more than once every five years, but when it does occur it makes it that much better. You really can’t get much better than an event featuring Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Villanova, UConn, Michigan State and more of the best teams in the sport.

Maui Jim Maui Invitational

This will be the first Maui Invitational to take place in the legendary Lahaina Civic Center since the epic 2019 Maui Championship game between Kansas and Dayton due to COVID- restrictions. That was one of the best crowds and atmospheres we’ve seen at a Multiple Team event in recent memory. The names at this Maui Invitational should make the event great, with teams like Creighton and Arkansas leading the way, who should be ranked in the preseason top 10. Creighton closed out last season winning 9 of their last 12 Big East games before beating San Diego State and narrowly losing to the eventual National Champions Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Creighton will return 4 of their top 6 scorers from a season ago, with all 4 guys being underclassmen and ready to take massive leaps. With Greg McDermott also bringing in South Dakota State Transfer Baylor Schierman, the Blue Jays have become a trendy team being ranked in preseason Top 5’s and will enter the Big East as the team to beat heading into next season.

Arkansas will also be ranked very highly in preseason rankings, despite losing each of their top 4 scorers from last year’s team that made it all the way to the Elite 8. With that being said, Arkansas brought in the #2 ranked recruiting class in the nation headlined by Point Guard Nick Smith who has a chance to be one of the best players in College Basketball next season and an early pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. In addition, Arkansas brought in transfers in Ricky Council IV (Wichita State) and Trevon Brazil (Missouri) who provide insane athleticism and should contribute right away in the frontcourt. The question will be can this Arkansas team filled with new players come out of the gate strong? Arkansas has struggled in each of the last two non-conference portions of their season, before hitting their stride a few games into SEC play and never looking back. Playing some competition that is this good in Maui, will create a better idea if this Arkansas team can be different from each of the last 2 and get off to a better start.

This event will also feature some teams that were very successful last season but will have some questions to answer after losing a ton of key pieces. Both Texas Tech and Arizona will head to Maui after making it to the Sweet 16 last season, looking for ways to fill the production they lost. A year ago, at this time, it was unknown how good Texas Tech would be with a new first year Head Coach in Mark Adams, plus losing guys like Mac McClung and Kyler Edwards. Instead Adams got things rolling quickly, and Texas Tech was ranked in at least the top 15 for the majority of the season and it would not be shocking at all if something similar happens again. With Kevin Obanor returning and the additions of Fardaws Aimaq and De’Vion Harmon from the portal, Texas Tech will be right back in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid. As will Arizona in Tommy Lloyd’s second season in charge, but without 3 guys who went in the top 35 of the NBA Draft. Arizona will rely on guys like Courtney Ramey, Kerr Kriisa, Azuolas Tubellis to fill that production lost and they’re capable of doing that with bigger roles compared to last season.

Maui will also have a team in San Diego State that has made 8 of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments and will have their highest expectations entering a season arguably since Kawhi Leonard was on campus. San Diego State will return 6 of their top 8 leading scorers from last season’s team that made the NCAA Tournament and got to the Championship game of the Mountain West Tournament. The Aztecs leading scorer from a season ago Matt Bradley will also be back and should be one of the better players in Maui. Bradley is capable of exploding anytime he takes the floor and the combination of his scoring ability and the elite Aztecs defense will make San Diego State a legitimate contender to win the event.

The event will also have Ohio State, Louisville and Cincinnati and when those are the bottom tier teams competing that’s when you know the event will be good. Ohio State has made each of the last 4 NCAA Tournaments since Chris Holtmann arrived on campus in 2017. This season could be one of his biggest challenges yet with not a ton of talent from last year’s teams returning. E.J Liddell was one of the more consistent players in College Basketball for each of the last 2 seasons and replacing him won’t be easy. From Liddell to Kaleb Wesson, Keita Bates- Diop, Duane Washington Jr. and more, Ohio State has always had that one veteran they can rely on at all times. This season it will have to be guys like Justice Sueing or Zed Key or one of the transfers brought in like Sean McNeil or Isaac Likekele who step up and become a go scorer. Louisville and Cincinnati can also be competitive in this event, after both teams have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Many people expected Kenny Payne to bring in a little more talent based on the recruiting connections he has, but guys like El Ellis and Sydney Curry will be returning from last year’s team hoping to improve. Wes Miller also has a nice squad with Cincinnati that should compete for an NCAA Tournament bid and there is no reason why they can’t finish as the 3rd best team in the American behind Houston and Memphis. With all 8 teams in this event expecting to be good this season, the Maui Invitational will be right at the top in terms of Multiple Team Events to Watch.

Battle 4 Atlantis

Right up there with the Maui Invitational, the Battle 4 Atlantis has historically been one of the best multiple team events featuring some of the best teams in the sport. That won’t change this season with the event headlined by the defending National Champions Kansas, alongside the defending SEC Tournament Champions Tennessee, plus NCAA Tournament regulars like USC, and Wisconsin. There will also be some under the radar teams in this event that could be better than most expect. The first team in that group is Dayton, who returns 6 of their top 7 leading scorers from a season ago, and each of their top 5. That group is headlined by the dynamic duo of Malachi Smith and DaRon Holmes II, who combined to average just over 22 points per game a season ago and should be one of the better duos in the sport. It was at their Multiple Team Event last season, when Dayton hit one of the craziest buzzer beaters of the season, to beat Kansas and gain confidence that would help them finish 23-10 overall and fight right on the bubble until the end of the season. With most of those players from last year back, Dayton will have a legitimate chance to avenge the heartbreaking ending of the 2020 season, where they could have gotten to a Final 4 and find themselves back in the NCAA Tournament.

Some other teams in the event include NC State who returns one of the better players in the sport with Terquavion Smith back, but the pressure will be on Kevin Keatts to succeed after missing each of the last 2 NCAA Tournaments and finishing in dead last in the ACC a season ago. First year Butler Head Coach Thad Maata, will be faced with an immediate challenge competing against some of the other great teams in this event, but Butler has added a ton of talent in the offseason and should be at the very least competitive heading into the season. The Bulldogs return a young player who showed great flashes as a Freshman in Simas Lukosius alongside adding transfers in Eric Hunter Jr. (Purdue) and Manny Bates (NC State) Butler could find themselves as the surprise team in this field.

With USC and also BYU heading to Atlantis, there will be a solid west coast representation. One of the stats in College Basketball that is not spoken about enough is the fact that over the last two seasons no program has won as many games as USC that aren’t named Baylor or Kansas, who also have won each of the last two National Championships. Andy Enfield has done a tremendous job since arriving in 2013. The Trojans should be in the conversation to start off next season in the Top 25, as they return a trio of guards in Drew Peterson, Boogie Ellis and Reece Dixon- Waters, alongside a very good Freshman leading the way in the frontcourt with Victor Iwuchukwu coming in. In addition, BYU will be looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament, after being one of the more disappointing teams in the country last season. The Cougars will return key players in Gideon George and Fousseyni Traore and Mark Pope has proven to be one of the better coaches in the country as his Cougars attempt to bounce back.

Zachary Krull
Zachary Krull

Zac Krull has covered College Basketball for the last 2 years while working with Aaron Torres of Aaron Torres Media and recording his own Zac Krull Sports Podcast. Currently, Zac is writing as a contributor for Aaron Torres online with weekly articles and working as a producer for the BETQL Network. Zac graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2021 with a degree in Sports Studies.

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