Early Season Tournaments and their point values

I know, I know, why should early season tournaments be worth any
points at all, right?

They build early excitement for the basketball season, they pit teams
in tournament settings against non conference schools at a neutral
setting, and the teams that win them come out with some momentum.
Below are the tournaments that are worth additional points for winning
this season – get excited!

NIT Season Tip Off (4 pts)
A 16 team field opens up Nov 16, with all 16 eligible to go to the
final championship on Nov 27.
Coastal Carolina v. Duke
Charlotte v. Elon
Texas St v. Arizona St.
TCU v. Cal St. Northridge
Indiana St. v LSU
Western Kentucky v. Milwaukee
Colgate v. UCONN
Hofstra v. Yale

Coaches versus Cancer (2 pts)
16 teams are involved but four automatically go to the championship
rounds Nov 19-20:
Syracuse v. California
North Carolina v. Ohio State

Puerto Rico Tip-off (3 pts)
8 team field playing Nov 19-22 (I can't wait to see Dayton and
Villanova play...)
Dayton v. Georgia Tech
Villanova v. George Mason
Indiana v. Ole Miss
Kansas St. v. Boston U.

Charleston Classic (2 pts)
Not that glamorous but an 8 team tourney running from Nov 19-22
South Carolina v. La Salle
Davidson v. South Florida
Penn State v. UNC Wilmington
Miami (FL) v. Tulane

Paradise Jam (3 pts)
Purdue and Tennessee are the highlights of this 8 team tourney Nov 20-23
DePaul v. Northern Iowa
Tennessee v. East Carolina
Boston College v. St. Joseph's
Purdue v. South Dakota State

CBE Classic (2 pts)
16 teams but four are automatically in the championship rounds Nov 23-24
Pittsburgh v. Wichita State
Texas v. Iowa

Cancun Challenge (2 pts)
16 teams involved but four are automatically in the championship rounds Nov. 24-25
Stanford v. Virginia
Kentucky v. Cleveland State

Maui Invitational (3 pts)
8 teams in Hawaii Nov 23-25
Maryland v. Chaminade
Cincinnati v. Vanderbilt
Colorado v. Gonzaga
Arizona v. Wisconsin

Chicago Invitational Challenge (2 pts)
An interesting mix, with four teams getting auto bids to the championship rounds Nov 27-28
Notre Dame v. Northwestern
Iowa State v. St. Louis

76 Classic (Anaheim) (3 pts)
A great field of 8 teams playing Nov 26-29
Clemson v. Texas A&M
West Virginia v. Long Beach St
UCLA v. Portland
Butler v. Minnesota

Old Spice Classic (Orlando) (3 pts)
8 teams playing Nov. 26-29
Michigan v. Creighton
Marquette v. Xavier
Alabama v. Baylor
Florida St. v. Iona

Finally...
Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (2 pts)
8 teams in Honalulu Dec 22-25
Northeastern v. St. Mary's
USC v. Western Michigan
UNLV v. Southern Methodist
Charleston v. Hawaii

A number of other tournaments are out there but left out of the point values. The rule used was: 4 teams (1 pt), 8 teams (2 pts), 16 teams (3 pts), plus one point if there are 3 or more schools from the Major conferences involved. Any tourney only worth 1 pt after this formula was left out.

2008-09 Season Recap

I was too bitter to do this last spring, but in an effort to bring closure to last season here it is.

The Second Annual contest came down to the final week, the Final Four, and the Final Game. Entering the Final Four were North Carolina (Jaybird), Villanova (The CEO), Michigan State (Babblemur), and Connecticut (HippieD). Of these four, Jaybird, The CEO, and Babblemur all could potentially win this season's contest by winning the NCAA Tournament. The other 9 players had all been essentially eliminated. In the semis, Michigan St (Babs) knocked off UCONN (HippieD) putting their fate in their own hands. North Carolina (Jaybird) knocked off brother Villanova (The CEO) setting up a showdown for the Championship. A Michigan State win would make Babblemur the undisputed winner of the 2nd Annual Babblemur Basketball Challenge. A North Carolina win would push Jaybird past Babblemur by a single point stealing the championship. (Detecting media bias?)

As it happened, North Carolina spanked Michigan State hard, really hard, it was over before half time, with no chance of a come back. Jaybird became the winner of the Second Annual Babblemur Basketball Challenge, joining his cheatin' brother Jutdog who won the first year as the only two winners of this insane contest!

The final standings:
1. Jaybird (202-88) - 476 points
2. Babblemur (208-94) - 475 points
3. Jutdog (192-82) - 442 points
4. Boaris (196-101) - 437 points
5. The CEO (200-91) - 433 points
6. Akaoni (198-100) - 431 points
7. Phunmunki (195-91) - 383 points
8. ProgressMedia (199-92) - 382 points
9. Gunz (181-108) - 370 points
10. NotaTurtle (172-117) - 348 points
11. Musashisan (167-126) - 340 points
12. HippieD (176-108) - 332 points

Highest scoring Teams from 2008-09 season:
1. North Carolina (Jaybird) 159 points (#1 pick overall)
2. Michigan State (Babblemur) 127 points (#10 pick overall)
3. Louisville (Jutdog) 106 points (#4 pick overall)
4. UCONN (HippieD) 100 points (#2 pick overall)
5. Pittsburgh (Boaris) 93 points (#11 pick overall)
6. Villanova (The CEO) 90 points (#19 pick overall)
7. Oklahoma (Boaris) 89 points (#14 pick overall)
8. Duke (The CEO) 88 points (#6 pick overall)
9. Washington (Akaoni) 75 points (#41 pick overall)
10. Memphis (Gunz) 74 points (#12 pick overall)


2008-09 season spreadsheet

Good season, all! Looking forward to Season 3!!!