The Empire Classic, formerly known as the 2K Sports Classic, is an annual college basketball event played in November at the beginning of the season and televised by ESPN. Originally known as the Atlantic City Shootout and produced by the Gazelle Group, Inc., the event was first played in 1995. The following year, it became the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic as a collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society in an effort to raise funds for cancer research. In 2012, the tournament beneficiary became Wounded Warrior Project, resulting in the tournament being renamed the 2K Sports Classic. A new annual college basketball tournament benefiting cancer research, also called the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic and hosted by the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was held from 2012 to 2014. In 2019, the event was renamed the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, commonly referred to as the "Empire Classic".
The ESPN Events Invitational is an annual college basketball tournament played over Thanksgiving weekend—Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. The inaugural tournament was held November 23, 24, and 26, 2006. The tournament is played at the State Farm Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. In the current format, the tournament consists of eight teams from separate conferences. All eight teams are guaranteed three games. Teams who lose in the first round move to the consolation bracket and can finish no better than 5th, while the worst a team can finish that wins in the first round is 4th. The final ranking of the teams is determined by separate games for 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th places. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference serves as the host for the tournament. The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Paycom Wooden Legacy is an annual early-season men's college basketball competition that began in 2013. It is named in honor of basketball coach John Wooden, whose UCLA Bruins teams won 10 national championships over the 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975.
The Puerto Rico Tip-Off was an early-season college basketball tournament owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television that took place in late November of each year from 2007 through 2017, usually the week before Thanksgiving.
The Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team represents Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States and competes in the Big South Conference. Winthrop plays their home games in the 6,100 seat Winthrop Coliseum. Winthrop has appeared in 11 NCAA Tournaments and has won 11 conference season championships, 13 conference tournament championships, and 1 conference division title. The Eagles have played 45 seasons of basketball since their inaugural 1978–79 campaign.
The Charleston Cougars men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The Cougars compete in the Coastal Athletic Association. Home games are played at TD Arena, located on College of Charleston's campus. While a member of the NAIA, they were National Champions in 1983. The Cougars have appeared seven times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2024.
TD Arena is a 5,100 seat multi-purpose arena in Charleston, South Carolina, United States that opened in 2008 and replaced John Kresse Arena as the home of the College of Charleston Cougars basketball and volleyball teams. The South Financial Group of Greenville purchased the naming rights to the new facility and it opened in 2008 under the Carolina First Arena name. After the 2010 sale of the corporation to Toronto Dominion Bank, the arena's name changed to TD Arena. The playing surface is named John Kresse Court in honor of legendary Charleston men's basketball coach John Kresse.
The 2006–07 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee. The head coach was Pat Summitt. The team played its home games in the Thompson-Boling Arena and was a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Lady Vols won their seventh national championship
The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2011-12 season. The 74th edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2012, and concluded with the championship game on April 2, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
The Las Vegas Invitational is an 8 team college basketball tournament held during Thanksgiving of NCAA Division I men's college basketball season annually since 2003. The Tournament was originally held in the gymnasium of Valley High School, until moving to the new Orleans Arena in 2006.
The Diamond Head Classic is a three-day invitational college basketball tournament held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii on the campus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Each team plays three games, winners facing winners and losers facing losers. The Big West Conference serves as the host. The tournament is ESPN-owned and operated.
The Battle 4 Atlantis is an early-season college basketball tournament. It takes place at Atlantis Paradise Island on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, on the week of the US holiday of Thanksgiving. For sponsorship purposes, the tournament is officially named Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. The games are played in the Imperial Arena, a grand ballroom which is turned into a basketball venue. The tournament is known for being the richest Division I men's early-season college basketball tournament. Schools are awarded $2 million in exchange for their participation in the men's event.
The Sanford Pentagon is an indoor arena located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Pentagon opened in September 2013 and has a seating capacity of 3,250 spectators. It hosts the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. The facility is known for hosting a wide range of sporting events including: regional youth basketball tournaments, NCAA Division I basketball games, NCAA Division II basketball games and tournaments, mixed martial arts events, and occasional concerts.
The Legends Classic is an annual, early-season, college basketball tournament which started in 2007 and takes place at the beginning of the college basketball season in November. Four teams compete in the Legends Classic. The tournament has been held at various venues in the New York metropolitan area, primarily the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Cayman Islands Classic, operated by Caymax Sports Ltd., is a preseason college basketball tournament that takes place in late November of each year, at John Gray Gymnasium in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Basketball Classic mirrors other popular NCAA preseason basketball tournaments like Hawaii's Maui Invitational Tournament or the Bahamas’ Battle 4 Atlantis. The First Tournament started 20 November 2017 and concluded on 22 November 2017. The Mountain West sponsors the tournament, as a result a Mountain West team will be in the preseason tournament every year.
The Phil Knight Invitational is a college basketball event held in Portland, Oregon to celebrate Nike co-founder Phil Knight. There have been three different events held, most recently in November 2022. The event has been held at the Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the Rose Quarter.
The 2019 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the national champion for the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 38th annual edition of the tournament began on March 22, and concluded with the championship game on April 7 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, with the University of South Florida serving as host. The tournament field was announced on March 18.
The Myrtle Beach Invitational is an in-season college basketball tournament owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television that takes place in late November of each year, usually the week before Thanksgiving.
The 2021–22 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by first-year head coach Pat Kelsey, played their home games at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Cougars finished the season 17–15, 8–10 in CAA play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament before losing to UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.
The 2022–23 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by second-year head coach Pat Kelsey, played their home games at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Colonial Athletic Association.
