Into Week 2 of the 2021-22 Season.

It’s only week 2, but it seems the season is in full swing. The MTEs are upon us already. Jays are in the USVI as of yesterday. Sun n Fun times indeed! See blog entry/podcast for the Paradise Jam – from earlier today.

Jays roll to 3-0 on the early season. Won the 2 cupcake games at home and another on the road @Nebraska. PG Ryan Nembhard won the BEast Frosh o the Week award. Jays move on to the USVI Paradise Jam, where they draw the Brown Univ. Bears as their 1st Round opponent. 2nd Round is either Colorado State or Bradley. Paradise Jam games will be on ESPN3. See my previous post on the 2021 Paradise Jam- earlier today.

2021 Gavit Games

https://www.offtackleempire.com/2021/11/15/22782442/2021-gavitt-games-schedule-preview-big-ten-big-east-time-tv-michigan-state-butler-indiana-st-johns

The Nebraska game doubled as our Gavit Games entry (in order to add one additional home tilt later this fall). The Big East currently leads the GG 4-2, with two remaining games. DePaul v Rutgers and Xavier v #18 TOSU, both are BE home games tonight, 18Nov21. Seton Hall upset #6 Michigan at Michigan. Marquette (home) upset #11 Illinois. Providence over Wisconsin at Wisconsin. Creighton over Nebraska at Nebraska.

Michigan State over Butler at Hinkle. Indiana over St Johns (by 2) in Bloomington. Both X and DePaul are at home. I look for X to win, giving the BEast a 5-3 split and the GG win. DePaul winning would be icing on the cake.

Overranked & Overhyped teams

Seems that both the B1G and ACC are overrated this season. Which is no surprise as that is the case most years. Both conferences are taking big hits this week and last. Expect all but Duke to take dives in the polls. However, it will take an Act of Congress to rid the polls of most of these teams, as they are frontend loaded by the pollsters in the preseason poll beauty contests. The AP writers are in love, while the coaches are late…it’s Thursday and their week 2 poll is still not posted.

Several ranked teams lost so far this week. Michigan/Illinois should experience a big drop along with Florida State, Oregon, and Maryland. Seton Hall, BYU, & Florida should move into the Top 25 after their convincing wins over Michigan/Oregon/Florida State respectively.

Still Early…

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See me after the PJ and other MTEs. We will have a better handle on several of the teams to watch, as well as several of the ranked beauty contestants. Next week offers a clearer picture of what’s what and who’s who on the college hoops landscape.

https://www.bloggingthebracket.com/2021/2/17/22287581/2021-22-mens-college-basketball-exempt-multi-team-events-mte-thanksgiving-early-season-tournaments

gtmo

^{Jays Look to Repeat at the Paradise Jam.}

Welcome back to the Sun n Fun Headquarters. The legendary USVI Paradise Jam, 2021 Edition.

I can’t think of a better place for a November college hoops MTE than St Thomas, USVI. Warm, with white sand beaches, the amenable and hospitable Islanders, and all of the holiday amenities and fare. Holiday Hoops doesn’t get any better than this! Way to go Coach Mac and Jays. “A Hale & Hearty” thank you to St Thomas, the 51st State-US Virgin Islands, and the wonderful welcoming hospitality of its people.

Creighton returns as one of two former event champions. Creighton won the event in 2016, followed by the University of Colorado winning the next year – 2017. If either team wins it this year they will become the 1st repeat winner of this event. It should be noted that the Jays still hold several Paradise Jam records, held over from their last visit.

https://gocreighton.com/news/2021/11/17/mens-basketball-opens-paradise-jam-vs-brown-on-friday.aspx

Creighton’s Paradise Jam records include:

Paradise Jam History
Creighton is 3-0 all-time in one previous appearance in the Paradise Jam. The Bluejays won the title in November of 2016 when it beat Washington State (103-77), North Carolina State (112-94) and Ole Miss (86-77).
    Marcus Foster was named Tournament MVP for the Bluejays.

That’s My Jam
The last time Creighton was at the Paradise Jam in 2016, the Bluejays set 11 tournament records that still stand. Records set include:
13 Assists in a Game – Maurice Watson Jr.
40 Field Goals Made in a Game vs. Washington State
40 Field Goals Made in a Game vs. North Carolina State
25 Assists in a Game vs. Washington State
301 Points in a Tournament
100.3 Points Per Game in a Tournament
64 Assists in a Tournament
111 Field Goals Made in a Tournament
55.1 3FG% in a Tournament
56.5 FG% in a Tournament
44 3FG Made in a Tournament

Jays Seek History In Paradise
No school has ever won the Paradise Jam more than once.
    Of this year’s field 2016 champion Creighton, as well as 2017 champ Colorado, are both in the field.

Quote from: Gocreighton.com

The AP Poll has Colorado State as the 31st best team in the land, while the Jays are not listed. The Coaches Poll has Creighton as the 34th best team, with Colorado St 36th, Colorado 42nd. A very experienced, Sr. led, Brown University factors in as the Bears recently scared the crap out of the UNC Tarheels – in Carolina. Plus a good Duquesne squad and Northeastern University. Lastly, add in 2 of my old favs in the MVC schools Bradley and the Coach Bryan Mullins led SIU Saluki-dawgs and you’ve got a pretty good, even field. I’ll give the pre-Jam “best team” nod to Colorado State, as they have a veteran squad returning, while both former champs-Jays/Buffs are in “rebuild” mode, with 7+ new players each.

This should prove to be a very entertaining field for the 2021 USVI Paradise Jam.

Personally, I like the Jays to become the 1st repeat Paradise Jam Champions.