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On Tuesday, ESPN unveiled the bracket for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, an eight-team holiday tournament on November 20, 21 and 23 featuring BC, Charleston, Connecticut, Dayton, George Mason, New Mexico, Texas A&M and West Virginia. Boston College drew the Mountain West's New Mexico as their first opponent of the tournament.
Here's the full bracket:
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Texas A&M vs. Dayton, ESPNU, 10:30 AM ET
Charleston vs. Connecticut, ESPNU, 12:30 PM ET
New Mexico vs. Boston College, ESPN2, 5:00 PM ET
George Mason vs. West Virginia, ESPNU, 7:30 PM ET
Friday, November 21, 2014
Texas A&M/Dayton loser vs. Charleston/Connecticut loser, ESPNU or ESPN3, 12:00 PM ET
Texas A&M/Dayton winner vs. Charleston/Connecticut winner, ESPN2 or ESPNU, 2:30 PM ET
New Mexico/Boston College winner vs. George Mason/West Virginia winner, ESPN2 or ESPNU, 5:00 PM ET
New Mexico/Boston College loser vs. George Mason/West Virginia loser, ESPN3, 7:00 PM ET
Sunday, November 23, 2014
7th Place Game, ESPN3, 11:30 AM ET
5th Place Game, ESPNU, 2:00 PM ET
3rd Place Game, ESPN2, 4:30 PM ET
Championship Game, ESPN2, 6:30 PM ET
New Mexico is one of the better teams in this year's Tip-Off Classic field, so the Eagles have their work cut out for them. The Lobos finished the year 27-7 (15-3 Mountain West), making their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Mountain West tournament for the third straight year. That's not to suggest that New Mexico doesn't have its own question marks heading into 2014-15. The Lobos will have to replace last year's top two leading scorers in Cameron Bairstow (Chicago Bulls) and Kendall Williams (Italian A League).
This year's game will mark the second ever meeting between the two programs. The Eagles and Lobos previously hooked up in the 2011 76 Classic in Anaheim, with U.N.M. winning 75-57.
Should BC fail to get into the winners bracket, they are probably looking at a second-round matchup against George Mason (11-20) and a third game against Texas A&M or Charleston. Given that draw, one win is probably a successful tournament and two is gravy.
As a fan, it's a bit disappointing that Boston College and UConn are on opposite sites of the bracket, with a meeting on Sunday the only chance of seeing Eagles-Huskies for a second-straight season. However, the Eagles do get a favorable TV draw on Thursday with the only game on ESPN2.
Leave your thoughts on the tournament field below.