Hall of Fame Tip-Off Men's Basketball Breakdown
There is not too much mystery in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, but there should be a couple interesting games out of the two separate brackets. The Naismith Bracket consists of Kentucky, Penn State, Old Dominion and South Florida. The Springfield Bracket contains Marist, Vermont, Long Island and Radford. Prior to heading to the Mohegan Sun Arena for the two day event, each team from the Springfield Bracket will play at two teams from the Naismith Bracket. But those games are less interesting than the two games everybody will play in Uncasville, Connecticut on November 19th and 20th.
Naismith Bracket
The first round of games is pretty worthless in this case as Kentucky should handle Penn State without a problem and Old Dominion should be a slight favorite over South Florida. Yet, it will be interesting to watch Kentucky and see how their young players fit in with the returning talent. The Wildcats are a legitimate Final Four contender and Penn State and Old Dominion or South Florida may not give them too much of a game, but they could if this Kentucky team is struggling to break in their new super freshman point guard Marquis Teague.
Springfield Bracket
Maybe it is just me, but the part of the bracket that nobody is supposed to care about is a little more interesting. Marist and Radford should not provide much competition for Vermont and Long Island, respectively, in the first round. But that Vermont and Long Island game could be a good one. Long Island is among the favorites to win the Northeast Conference and return to the NCAA Tournament. The NEC is as strong as it has been in a long time and LIU has a few players to replace and it starts in Springfield. Vermont is a deep and talented team that is breaking in another new head coach. The Catamounts should be a strong team early, but they will need to keep improving to compete with teams like Stony Brook and Boston U in the America East.
Men's Basketball Games of the Week and Tournament Breakdowns
