Boston College Basketball To Participate In 2015 Wooden Legacy

On Thursday, ESPN announced that the Boston College men's basketball team will be part of the eight-team field for the 2015 Wooden Legacy, a three-day, 12-game bracketed tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday. The first two games are held at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym, while the championship game is at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

The Eagles will be joined by Arizona, Boise State, Evansville, Michigan State, Providence, Santa Clara and UC Irvine. The tournament bracket and first-round matchups will be announced at a later date.

Overall, a very strong tournament field headlined by Arizona (sup, Ryan Anderson) and Michigan State. The Wildcats finished last season 35-5 and advanced to last year's Final Four, while Sparty ended the year 29-9, a game shy of joining Arizona in Arlington. Providence is the defending Big East champs and an NCAA Tournament team from last year as well.

The Wooden Legacy was created in 2013 when ESPN merged the Wooden Classic with the DirecTV (nee 76) Classic. The Eagles last played in the Wooden Classic in 2004 (a 74-64 victory over UCLA) and in what was then called the 76 Classic in 2011. BC lost to Saint Louis and New Mexico but beat UC-Riverside for its only win of the tournament.

Obviously Providence is the most familiar opponent in the eight-team field (49-59 in 108 all-time meetings), but BC also has limited history against Michigan State (3-2 BC), Evansville (2-2), Arizona (0-3) and Santa Clara (1-0). The Eagles have yet to face either Boise State or UC Irvine.

If I had to wager a guess, my guess is Arizona and Michigan State will be on opposite ends of the tournament bracket with BC and PC on opposite ends as well. Call it Arizona-Evansville, Boston College-Boise State, Providence-UC Irvine and Michigan State-Santa Clara.