The Basketball Classic Bracketology
This really is based more than anything on teams that have shown a willingness to play (and pay to play) in this tier of tournaments in the past as they aren’t for everyone. It might make sense if they fit the profile and aren’t projected for an NIT. Other justifications include lack of recent success or perhaps their coach is in his early years to use it to build some momentum or extra practice.
None of this is a knock on the tournament as I personally believe these tournaments serve a purpose with 363 teams. There are certainly good deserving teams that compete in them. There have been teams with top 60 rankings in the past. There is a much lower percentage of postseason available for D1 basketball than some other sports like football for example. It’s good for coaches and teams to have something to play for in my opinion and a chance to end the season with a win and a few more games. There have been practical examples where teams have parlayed the experience into successful NIT or NCAA bids the next season as well.
These are a 2023 projections for The Basketball Classic
| February 20th Update | |
|---|---|
| Appalachian State | Sun Belt |
| Cleveland State | Horizon |
| Detroit Mercy | Horizon League |
| Eastern Washington | Big Sky |
| Florida Gulf Coast | Atlantic Sun |
| Maryland Eastern Shore[6] | MEAC |
| Merrimack | Northeastern |
| Morgan State | MEAC |
| N. Kentucky | Horizon |
| South Alabama | Sun Belt |
| Southeastern Louisiana[16] | Southland |
| Southern Utah | Big Sky |
| Stetson | ASUN |
| Texas A&M CC | Southland |
| UMBC | American East |
| USC Upstate | Big South |
| Western Illinois | Summit |
| Wofford | Southern |
If you don’t see your team, maybe it is projected here.
