Will UConn winning at Phil Knight tournament predict what’s ahead?
Success in early-season tournaments has often been a predictor
On Tuesday, the UConn men’s basketball team was slated to practice inside the Werth Family Champions Center, then head to Bradley Airport, along with the women’s basketball team, to fly out West for the next stage of its season.
The Huskies are playing in the Phil Knight Invitational, a collection of eight Nike-sponsored programs that features some of the top teams in the country. No. 1-ranked North Carolina will be out there, along with No. 12 Michigan State, No. 18 Alabama and the 20th-ranked Huskies. Villanova, UConn’s Big East rival, Oregon, Iowa State and Portland round out the field.
UConn opens against Oregon on Thursday at 8 p.m. (ESPN2) and will face either Michigan State or
Alabama on Friday. A date with the Tar Heels could await on Sunday.
That would be the ideal route for the Huskies to take, playing teams that will most likely pump up their resume come Selection Sunday. As of Monday night, UConn had the thirdbest KenPom ranking among the eight teams in the field at No. 20. Alabama was at No. 12, North Carolina at 16, Michigan State at 22. Those numbers still reflect some of last season’s results. The first NET rankings, the NCAA’s chief tool in determining the NCAA tournament field, will be released on Dec. 5.
The Big East (which just went 2-6 in the Gavitt Games against Big 10 teams) appears it could be down this season. Only No. 10 Creighton and the Huskies are ranked. And UConn’s other two highmajor opponents have struggled out of the gates: Oklahoma State is 3-2 with losses to Southern Illinois (at home) and UCF. Florida