The 2017 AdvoCare Invitational promises to deliver a few twists and turns, or so the snippets of the official bracket that have been released seem to promise. Not only does the AdvoCare Invitational promise thrills and spills but it just might inject drama into the college basketball betting odds for the next season.
Of course, the big news so far is the revelation that Oregon State will face St. Johns in the first round. The event will play out at the HP Field House in Orlando, and an Oregon/St Johns match is as good as any to kick things off.
The action is expected to start on the 23rd of November, with the event finally coming to a close on the 26th of the same month. It was known for a while that Southern Utah, St. Louis, and Wyoming would be the non-conference opponents facing the Beavers at the Invitational.
The addition of the Red Storm is a nice surprise. The revelation of Oregon State’s game with St. Johns in the first round came by way of a tweet from John Rothstein, a sports personality connected to CBS.
For a while now, all fans had to look forward to for the First Round was Missouri/Long Beach State, Nebraska/UFC, and West Virginia/Marist. There is still so much more that has yet to be revealed about the AdvoCare Invitational as a whole.
The sooner the full official bracket is released the better. Pundits and analysts and even betting enthusiasts are practically foaming at the mouth at the opportunity to gaze upon the second round and losers bracket match ups.
A lot of eyes are going to be on the Beavers. The sooner they forget their campaign from the previous year the better. Though, a 5-27 record is a little difficult to brush under the carpet. But the Beavers need to focus. That involves forgetting the shortcomings of yesterday and focusing on regrouping.
The Red Storm isn’t a very consistent side, they have had a lot of ups and downs and that should give their opponents added confidence going into the first match. Oregon has great memories of 2014, specifically December which saw them route DePaul and take a 90-59 victory home. That was the last time they faced a Big East team.
St. Johns will be a refreshing opponent in that regard.
The Red Storm are still looking to 3rd-year head coach Chris Mullin to help them recover from last year’s 14-19 finish. The New York school looks pretty good these days, mostly because everyone recognizes that they have been going in the right direction for a while now.
And if things being to go awry, the Red Storm know they can trust Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett, a headlining duo of freshmen guards that should help the Red Storm deliver a more consistent performance.
No one understands what happened against Old Dominion and Delaware State, and it’s doubtful that St. Johns themselves understand those losses. Fortunately, their fans can still gain confidence from the victories St. Johns garnered against opponents like Syracuse and Seton Hall.
Victory will most likely go to the more consistent team once the dust settles on November 26th.
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