Feast Week 2025 Mega-Preview

It’s the largest concentration of college hoops until the maelstrom of Championship Week in early March. It features pivotal neutral site contests that will impact who makes the March Madness field and shape the contours of the bracket. It’s the biggest week (ish) of the nonconference schedule. It overlaps with college football’s rivalry weekend, the regular season’s last gasp, to create an apex moment in the college sports calendar.

What is it?

It’s Feast Week (is that an ESPN trademark? Probably doesn’t matter; I’m a tiny operation anyway), this year spanning the nine days from November 20 to November 29. This year will feature 122 teams, matching up in 147 games as they play for 23 different tournament championships in 13 locations from San Diego to the Virgin Islands. Twelve different networks (including the unknown-to-me-until-now flosports and ballertv) will cover the action.

Need a break from all that football? Need a good alternative to a Turkey Day blowout? College basketball’s got you covered.

I’ve got you covered too. Here, in order from most interesting to least, are previews and predictions for all 23 Feast Week events. And, to save you from angst, #1 is so stacked and so unique that it demands a separate post. Which one is it? Read on.

(h/t to HoopsHD for their in season tournament site with all the brackets, times, and network information on one page)

23. PENSACOLA INVITATIONAL (Pensacola, FL), Nov. 22-23

First Round: Prairie View A&M vs. UT-Martin, Southern Miss vs. North Florida

Lower tier teams from lower tier conferences. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what league Southern Miss is in until just now. American? Conference USA? Nope, it’s the Sun Belt. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that they had something of a national brand and decent athletics, at least in football. Now they’ll be lucky to get out of the Sun Belt basement.

Prediction: North Florida. Out of these four, the Ospreys have the best shot at finishing in the top half of their conference.

22. BOARDWALK BATTLE (Daytona Beach), Nov. 20 & 22

First Round: High Point vs. Illinois-Chicago; Incarnate Word vs. Southern Indiana

High Point and Incarnate Word should meet for the championship, as UIC looks to be a bottom-tier team in the Valley and Southern Indiana may or may not have been in Division II not long ago.

Prediction: High Point. Though I do have Incarnate Word winning the Southland, High Point is the class of the Big South and should be in the mix for a 12- or 13- seed come March.

21. SUNSHINE SLAM (Ocean) (Daytona Beach), Nov. 24-25

First Round: Stony Brook vs. Pacific, Jacksonville vs. Bethune-Cookman

Bethune-Cookman has a small home court advantage, but it won’t mean much. Stony Brook has slowly been stepping from low to mid-major status and now find themselves firmly in the middle ranks of the Coastal Athletic, perhaps the middle-est of mid-major conferences.

Prediction: Stony Brook.

20. LAS VEGAS CLASSIC (Las Vegas), Nov. 28-29

First Round: Seattle vs. Texas State, Lehigh vs. US Santa Barbara

An odd anti-climax to follow up the sprawling, power-packed Players Era Championship. Will anyone in Las Vegas notice?

Prediction: UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos are the class of this field, and of the Big West conference.

19. PARADISE JAM (Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands), Nov. 21-24

First Round: Green Bay vs. Yale, UMass vs. Charleston, Iona vs. Akron, Evansville vs. Oregon State

UMass returning to the MAC means that the Paradise Jam could pit new conference brethren Akron and the Minuteman in the final. That’s my best guess at what we’ll see. I feel like this tournament drew much bigger fish in years past.

Prediction: Akron. There’s a good chance Akron will best UMass later this year as well.

18. COCONUT HOOPS (ROYAL PALM) (Fort Myers, FL), Nov. 24, 26

First Round: Troy vs. Toledo, Belmont vs. St. Francis

The names of these things are beginning to rival bowl games for ridiculousness. I just did a quick search and found that coconuts aren’t native to Florida and actually might become an invasive species. So what did the powers that be here do? Name a mid-major early season tournament after them.

Prediction: Belmont. The Bears will contend for the MVC crown.

17. ACRISURE HOLIDAY INVITATIONAL (Palm Desert, CA), Nov. 25-26

First Round: San Jose State vs. Tulsa, Northern Iowa vs. Loyola-Chicago

The first of four separate Acrisure-branded events in the California desert. Acrisure sounds like a fake company name, but the (checks Google) insurance company sure is making the most of naming rights opportunities. They’ve put their sterile corporate brand on the home fields of UCF football and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Palm Desert arena hosting these tournaments, and now four mildly interesting early season college basketball events. And while we’re on the subject of insurance company marketing (bear with me), can we take a moment to recognize the amount of marketing dollars insurance companies spend? It feels like every other commercial is for insurance (the other half is reserved for prescription drugs). Progressive has Flo and the gang; Geico has the gecko and the cavemen and hump day and more; Liberty has Doug and his emu; Nationwide has Peyton Motivatin’ Manning. Now Acrisure has a portfolio of sports venues. Makes you wonder where all that discretionary marketing spending comes from… oh look, my premium just went up again.

Prediction: Northern Iowa. And before we leave these team’s I’ve not talked about, RIP Sister Jean. We sadly lost a college basketball superfan this year.

Acrisure: paved paradise and put up a...mediocre sports arena

16. CHARLESTON CLASSIC (LOWCOUNTRY) (Charleston, SC), Nov. 21, 23

First Round: Utah State vs. Tulane, Davidson vs. Boston College

This bracket screams ‘meh.’ Utah State is my favorite to take the Mountain West, but I can find nothing interesting to say about the other 3 teams. Davidson is Steph Curry’s alma mater, which is fun, I guess.

Prediction: Utah State. Remember the name Mason Falslev.

15. ESPN EVENTS INVITATIONAL (Adventure) (Disney World), Nov. 24-26

First Round: Rhode Island vs. Towson, Liberty vs. Vermont, Temple vs. UC San Diego, Princeton vs. Bradley

Being an Orlando resident, I hope to get down to at least a day of one of the 3 Disney-based ESPN tournaments. This one features some bubblicious teams in Liberty, Bradley, and UCSD.

Prediction: Give me Liberty (or give me Bradley, it’s a toss up).

14. ESPN EVENTS INVITATIONAL (Imagination) (Disney World), Nov. 27-28

First Round: Richmond vs. Furman, Charlotte vs. Illinois State

An Illinois State victory here gives the Redbirds two quality neutral site wins to stash away for their eventual bubble sweat-out. The Missouri Valley plays its conference tournament early in the Championship Week process, meaning that those who don’t win (see Illinois State, Bradley, and Belmont this year as I think UNI takes the crown) have a long week ahead, waiting to see if they’ve done enough. The Valley consistently produces excellent basketball, and I’m hopeful at least one team beyond the automatic qualifier will grace the field in March.

Prediction: Illinois State.

13. CHARLESTON CLASSIC (PALMETTO) (Charleston, SC), Nov. 21, 23

First Round: West Virginia vs. Clemson, Georgia vs. Xavier

In certain seasons, this field would be a banger. Not so this time around. Clemson is due to crash back to earth after a few solid seasons, and while the other teams come from high major leagues, their ceilings are bubble at best.

Prediction: Georgia. Making this call on conference strength alone.

12. ACRISURE CLASSIC (Palm Desert), Nov. 25-26

First Round: Iowa vs. Ole Miss, Grand Canyon vs. Utah

Acrisure got its matchups wrong here, as Iowa and Ole Miss are the strongest two teams in this field. Bad insurance company corporate scheduler, bad.

Prediction: Ole Miss. Chris Beard’s teams consistently overachieve their true talent and do so again here.

11. ACRISURE HOLIDAY CLASSIC (Palm Desert), Nov. 27-28

First Round: Colorado vs. San Francisco, Washington vs. Nevada

These Acrisure events sure feel on-brand: sterile, uninteresting fields competing in a thoroughly uninteresting place. It’s like they’re trying to bludgeon us into submission with four basketball versions of an office retirement party.

Prediction: Washington. I don’t have the Huskies quite making the field in March, but I do have them a nose ahead of the others in the Holiday “Classic.”

10. ACRISURE INVITATIONAL (Palm Desert), Nov. 27-28

First Round: Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara, Stanford vs. Minnesota

The Saint Louis-Santa Clara game is far more interesting to me than the matchup sounds on paper. Another potential bubble tiebreaker, this one featuring those loveable mid-majors. This is the part of the Acrisure office party where the slightly unhinged guy down the hall in sales has a bit too much cake and starts regaling everyone with tales of his bizarre teenage exploits.

Prediction: Saint Louis. “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” the Billikens Robbie Avila, dominates.

Get ready to hear alot about this guy in March...

9. SUNSHINE SLAM (Beach) (Daytona Beach), Nov. 24-25

First Round: George Mason vs. Ohio, Florida Atlantic vs. Loyola Marymount.

FAU-LMU is a fun matchup for tournament history aficianados, as a Cinderella interloper from 1990 meets one from 2023. Yes, it was only three seasons ago when Florida Atlantic crashed the Final Four. Feels like ages.

Prediction: Ohio. I’ll be honest, this pick (and my pick of the Bobcats to win the MAC) is largely due to the fact that high-flying freshman JJ Kelly went to my high school (Go Trojans!). When you don’t have time to study all 365 rosters in the sport, the little things sway your opinions quickly.

8. EMERALD COAST CLASSIC (Destin, FL), Nov. 28-29

First Round: DePaul vs. Georgia Tech, Drake vs. LSU

A mildly interesting field of bubble dwellers, and DePaul. The poor Blue Demons have a great hoops past but can’t seem to ascend past 10^th in the new Big East. Georgia Tech and LSU could be another bubble tiebreaker in the final.

Prediction: Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets begin a surprising run to a tournament appearance with two good wins in Destin.

7. HALL OF FAME CLASSIC (Kansas City), Nov. 20-21

First Round: Nebraska vs. New Mexico, Kansas State vs. Mississippi State

This is a sneaky-good field; all four of these teams have reasonable NCAA hopes. I’d have separated Kansas State and Mississippi State rather than pitting them together in a first round matchup, but it’s a minor quibble.

Prediction: Kansas State. One of my sleeper teams alerts the college basketball world to their quality by dispatching Nebraska in the final.

6. BAHAMAS CHAMPIONSHIP (Nassau, Bahamas), Nov. 20-21

First Round: Purdue vs. Memphis; Texas Tech vs. Wake Forest

Wake Forest is the odd team out here. It would shock me if the Demon Deacon’s sniffed the NCAA Tournament, while the other 3 combatants in Nassau certainly should. A Purdue-Texas Tech championship game smells like an Elite 8 or Final 4 preview.

Prediction: Purdue. The Boilermakers snatched a big road win at Alabama last week. As good as Texas Tech is, that was a far tougher environment than they’ll face in paradise.

5. MAUI INVITATIONAL (Lahaina, Maui), Nov. 24-26

First Round: Seton Hall vs. NC State, USC vs. Boise State, Washington State vs. Chaminade, Arizona State vs. Texas

Maui has long been the king of the in-season tournaments, but this year’s field may be the most lackluster in the event’s history. Blame the Players Era Championship for stealing the Hawaiian thunder (see my next post). What it lacks in top-level quality though, it makes up for in bubble-sorting matchups. That’s becoming a theme this season; so many top flight schools migrating to the big bash in Vegas has created a series of events, and neutral site contests, that the committee will pay close attention to. In Maui, NC State is really the only team that I’d confidently put in the tournament, and even that feels like a bit of a gambler’s prediction based purely on Will Wade’s coaching reputation. Boise State, USC, Arizona State, and Texas are all going to be bouncing around the bubble. So too could Seton Hall and Washington State with a surprise performance here.

Prediction: USC. I do think NC State will end up being the lowest seeded team out of this group come March, but USC has a more talented roster and an excellent coach (Eric Musselman) in their own right. And a bit less jet lag.

4. BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS (Nassau, Bahamas), Nov. 26-28

First Round: Western Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt, VCU vs. South Florida, St. Mary’s vs. Wichita State, Colorado State vs. Virginia Tech

I think it’s mildly funny that this event’s organizers chose to replace the preposition ‘for’ with the number 4 while their tournament features 8 teams. Use your money to bring in four powerhouses next year and truly make the most of your name, guys.

On the court, this is one of the more interesting events due to it’s bubble impact. Everyone save maybe Western Kentucky and Wichita State could be in the running for a bid this year, and performance in this event could have a massive impact. Two wins over fellow bubble residents and a takedown of a very good St. Mary’s team could go a long way.

Prediction: St. Mary’s. The Gaels are too strong to allow the above scenario to play out.

3. RADY CHILDREN’S INVITATIONAL (San Diego), Nov. 27-28

First Round: Florida vs. TCU, Wisconsin vs. Providence

Look out for some quality basketball in San Diego. Florida and Wisconsin can score at volume and with efficiency; Jamie Dixon’s TCU and Kim English’s Providence offer excellent foils.

Prediction: Florida. The champs have gotten off to a bumpy start, but do enough to take the crown here.

2. ESPN EVENTS INVITATIONAL (Magic) (Disney World), Nov. 27-28

First Round: BYU vs. Miami, Georgetown vs. Dayton

I might have this one ranked a few spots higher than I should simply because I hope to catch at least one of the two days of action. Watching the offensive fluidity of BYU, and phenom AJ Dybantsa, in person would be a joy. Georgetown-Dayton could be a bubble tiebreaker come March too.

Prediction: BYU.

1. PLAYERS ERA CHAMPIONSHIP (Las Vegas) - This beast of an event deserves its own article. Check later in the week for a full breakdown.