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Thanksgiving is around the corner, which means Multi-Team Event time for college basketball. Teams are allowed to schedule one of these in-season tournaments every year, and playing in one means a team can schedule 31 games for a season instead of 29. Teams may only play in an event once every four years.
Three Big East teams, Xavier, Villanova, and UConn, will play in PK85 out in Portland in the top tournaments of the season. Creighton, Butler, and Seton Hall find themselves in events with strong fields as well, and Providence faces the most interesting group of any Big East team in a four-team event.
Let's take a look at which events Big East teams will be in this year and what their schedules look like.
Georgetown Hoyas
Nov. 18-20
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Loyola Marymount | 4:30 p.m. ET; 11/18 | CBS Sports |
2 | La Salle or Wake Forest | 12:00 p.m. ET (L), 2:30 p.m. ET (W); 11/20 | CBS Sports |
Georgetown gets the Big East started by a margin of just a few hours ahead of DePaul with a game against Loyola Marymount at 4:30 on Friday, November 18.
On paper, this sets up for a meeting with Wake Forest in the championship on Sunday at 2:30. The Demon Deacons and Hoyas both needed overtime to defeat lesser opponents at home in the opening weeks of the season, so that matchup could be intriguing. La Salle played Villanova closer than people expected, covering the spread in the season opener for both teams.
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DePaul Blue Demons
Nov. 18-20
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Santa Clara | 9:30 p.m. ET; 11/18 | CBS Sports |
2 | UCF or Oklahoma State | 4:30 p.m. ET (L), 7:30 p.m. ET (W); 11/20 | CBS Sports |
DePaul's MTE tips off Friday night against Santa Clara, the first meeting of the schools since 1981. The Broncos made the NIT last season and have finished with 20 or more wins in each of the last two full seasons. Expect them to push the tempo against DePaul.
The Blue Demons will face either UCF or Oklahoma State on Sunday. Both of those teams enter this tournament with a loss already under their belts. Oklahoma State is favored to win and advance to the championship.
Providence Friars
Nov. 19-20
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Miami (FL) | 4:00 p.m. ET; 11/19 | ESPNews |
2 | Saint Louis or Maryland | 1:00 p.m. ET (W), 3:30 p.m. ET (L); 11/20 | ESPN/2 (W), ESPNU (L) |
The Friars face a former-Big East foe in Miami on Saturday at Mohegan Sun. The Hurricanes are 3-0 and received votes in the latest AP Poll. These teams nearly met in the NCAA Tournament a season ago, and they are also both scheduled to play in the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship next season. Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga played at Providence, too. The Canes are favored in this one.
Providence will face either Saint Louis or Maryland on Sunday. This is a much stronger Saint Louis team than the one the Friars defeated to win 90-63 back in 2017 to win the 2k Classic. The Billikens also received votes for the AP Top 25 this week. Maryland, meanwhile, is coached by a familiar face in Kevin Willard.
Creighton Bluejays
Nov. 21-23
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Texas Tech | 2:30 p.m. ET; 11/21 | ESPN2 |
2 | Louisville or Arkansas | 2:30 p.m. ET (L), 8:00 p.m. ET (W); 11/22 | ESPN2 (L), ESPN (W) |
3 | Ohio St/San Diego St/Arizona/Cincinnati | 2:30 p.m. ET (LW), 5:00 p.m. ET (WW), 7:30 p.m. ET (LL), 10:00 p.m. ET (WL); 11/23 | ESPN (WW), ESPN2 (LW, WL), ESPNU (LL) |
Creighton begins the loaded Maui Invitational on Monday. This is a three round tournament, one of many during Thanksgiving week. The game against Texas Tech should be one between two ranked teams, making that a must-watch game. Arkansas will be favored over a winless Louisville team, and the Bluejays should draw them in a battle of two top ten teams with a win over the Red Raiders.
Ohio State, San Diego State, and Arizona all sit in the top thirty at KenPom.com, with the latter two schools currently ranked. Creighton could face a gauntlet of top teams in this tournament, but a loss in game one could see the Bluejays facing Louisville and Cincinnati on Tuesday and Wednesday. If that's the case, Creighton needs to beat both. Should Creighton win the event, the team could find itself in the top five of the AP Top 25 entering December.
Marquette Golden Eagles
Nov. 21-23
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Mississippi State | 8:30 p.m. ET; 11/21 | FS1 |
2 | Utah or Georgia Tech | 6:00 p.m. ET (L), 8:30 p.m. ET (W); 11/23 | FS1 |
Marquette should face good competition right off the bat with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are a top-30 team in KenPom and have won their first four games by 19 points or more.
Marquette and Mississippi State are likely the two best teams in this event, so the Golden Eagles should face on easier opponent on Wednesday. Utah has a loss to Sam Houston State on the resume, and Georgia Tech was projected to finish dead last in the ACC.
St. John's Red Storm
Nov. 21-22
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Temple | 9:30 p.m. ET; 11/21 | ESPNews |
2 | Syracuse or Richmond | 7:00 p.m. ET (L), 9:30 p.m. ET (W); 11/22 | ESPN2 |
Temple already felled one Big East team this season. The Owls will look to do it again against an undefeated St. John's team. This event will be played just a few miles from campus for the Red Storm at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Tuesday night could reignite an old Big East rivalry between St. John's and Syracuse. The Orange already lost to Colgate, so that is far from a guarantee. Richmond has also struggled out of the gate, posting a 2-2 record with losses to Charleston and Wichita State.
Butler Bulldogs
Nov. 23-25
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Tennessee | 7:30 p.m. ET; 11/23 | ESPN2 |
2 | USC or BYU | 1:30 p.m. ET (W), 6:30 p.m. ET (L); 11/24 | ESPN2 (W), ESPN3 (L) |
3 | Kansas/NC State/Dayton/Wisconsin | 1:00 p.m. ET (WL), 3:30 p.m. ET (LL), 7:30 p.m. ET (WW), 10:00 p.m. ET (LW); 11/25 | ESPN (WW), ESPN2 (LW, WL), ESPNU (LL) |
Butler will draw a tough opponent in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Tennessee is currently ranked and considered one of the best ten teams in the country according to KenPom. The Volunteers do have a loss already, though, to Colorado. Their defense will provide a stiff test for a Butler team that struggled to score at Penn State.
USC and BYU are both strong programs, but either opponent is beatable for the Bulldogs. Both teams enter this event with a loss on the books, although USC's defeat against Florida Gulf Coast at home is much worse than BYU's to San Diego State on the road.
Round three could feature a game against the defending national champion in Kansas or last year's Big Ten champs in Wisconsin. Dayton also has a strong team this year, and NC State is no slouch. All eight teams in this event should be in the NCAA Tournament conversation, and there are no bad opponents. The Bulldogs will have a chance to build their resume over the holiday.
Villanova Wildcats
Nov. 24-27
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Iowa State | 3:30 p.m. ET; 11/24 | ESPN2 |
2 | North Carolina or Portland | 3:00 p.m. ET (L), 5:30 p.m. ET (W); 11/25 | ESPN2 (L), ESPN (W) |
3 | UConn/Oregon/Alabama/Michigan State | 3:30 p.m. ET (WL), 10:00 p.m. ET (WW), TBD (LW or LL); 11/27 | ESPN (WL or WW), TBD (LW or LL) |
Villanova opens the PKI against a tough Iowa State team that made the Sweet Sixteen a season ago. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger was once an assistant under Greg McDermott, so this may be a somewhat familiar opponent.
Should the Wildcats get by the Cyclones, they'll likely face No. 1 North Carolina the next day. That's not exactly an easy draw.
Day three will see the Wildcats facing a team that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. It could also see a rematch with Michigan State or a battle with conference opponent UConn. Thanks to this event being organized before the Huskies rejoined the Big East, a conference matchup is possible.
Xavier Musketeers
Nov. 24-27
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Florida | 5:30 p.m. ET; 11/24 | ESPN2 |
2 | Duke or Oregon State | 3:30 p.m. ET (W), 6:00 p.m. ET (L); 11/25 | ESPN2/U (L), ESPN (W) |
3 | Purdue/West Virginia/Portland State/Gonzaga | 3:30 p.m. ET (WW), 7:30 p.m. ET (WL), TBD (LW or LL); 11/27 | ABC (WW), ESPN (WL), TBD (LW or LL) |
Xavier will begin the Phil Knight Legacy against Florida in what should be a very even battle. This is the type of matchup we could easily see next March. With a win, the Musketeers would likely face Duke in the second round. The Blue Devils are in their first year with head coach Jon Scheyer, and they lost their first true test in Kansas in the Champions Classic.
The third round could feature a matchup with a team that made March Madness last year. Both Gonzaga and Purdue received a top-three seed to the Dance last season, and West Virginia is a tournament-hopeful this year as well.
Seton Hall Pirates
Nov. 24-27
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Memphis | 7:30 p.m. ET; 11/24 | ESPNews |
2 | Oklahoma or Nebraska | 5:30 p.m. ET (L), 8:00 p.m. ET (W); 11/25 | ESPNews (L), ESPN2 (W) |
3 | Florida State/Siena/Ole Miss/Stanford | 11:00 a.m. ET (LW), 1:30 p.m. ET (WW), 5:00 p.m. ET (WL), 7:30 p.m. ET (LL); 11/27 | ESPNU (LW), ESPN (WW), ESPN2 (WL), ESPNews (LL) |
Seton Hall's first game in this event will come against Memphis, a team that lost to Saint Louis last week. This is a very talented team, and the Tigers should be favored by a little bit in this one.
The Pirates will face a team from the midwest in the second round. Oklahoma is the much better of these two teams, although they have a loss to Sam Houston State on their record. Nebraska already got handled easily by St. John's.
The opposite side of the bracket does not look as strong as it once did with the Seminoles stumbling out of the starting block. Seton Hall would be favored against Florida State or Siena, but potential matchup with Ole Miss or Stanford would be tossups. The Rebels would provide the biggest boost to Seton Hall's resume.
Connecticut Huskies
Nov. 24-27
Schedule:
Round | Opponent | Time and Date | Channel |
1 | Oregon | 8:00 p.m. ET; 11/24 | ESPN2 |
2 | Alabama or Michigan State | 9:30 p.m. ET (W), 11/25; 12:00 a.m. ET (L), 11/26 | ESPN (W), ESPN2 (L) |
3 | Villanova/Iowa State/North Carolina/Portland | 3:30 p.m. ET (WL), 10:00 p.m. ET (WW), TBD (LW or LL); 11/27 | ESPN (WL or WW), TBD (LW or LL) |
UConn is the last team to start their MTE this season, beaten out by Seton Hall by just thirty minutes. The Huskies should be narrow favorites over Oregon, although this game is much closer to home for the Ducks. The second round would see UConn facing either a Michigan State team playing very good basketball or an Alabama team that has been ranked all season. If UConn loses in round one, round two will tipoff at 9:00 p.m. local time, which is midnight on the East coast.
Dan Hurley's team could face Big East-rival Villanova on Sunday, among other opponents. That would be a fun matchup. A battle with No. 1 North Carolina would also be entertaining, as would a game against Iowa State.
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