Hall of Fame Tip-off 2013: Teams, Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket, TV Info

With the college basketball season tipping off in earnest, that means only one thing for most top-tier programs: tournament time. As teams attempt to build camaraderie early in the season and possibly score a resume-boosting victory, the college basketball world has been inundated with new tournaments over the past decade. 

Hosted by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's annual Tip-Off tournament is no different. This year's event will again be held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., and will feature eight different squads. 

“Once again this year’s Tip-Off Tournament showcases some of the nation’s best college basketball programs,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, in a press release. “We are excited to host the tournament again at the Mohegan Sun, and we are looking forward to seeing the great match-ups in November.”

The event itself is broken into two sections. First, the participating universities—North Carolina, Louisville, Richmond, Fairfield, Belmont, Hofstra, Holy Cross and Hartford—will play in two non-tournament games as a build up to the festivities at the Mohegan Sun. The teams are then broken into two divisions, the Springfield and Naismith Brackets, which are mostly based on where the schools stand on the college basketball hierarchy.

Louisville, North Carolina, Richmond and Fairfield comprise the Naismith Bracket. Belmont, Hofstra, Holy Cross and Hartford make up the Springfield bracket. Each bracket will exist by itself, with neither side crossing paths and two separate tournament winners being crowned.

It's an unorthodox event and one that usually doesn't get the television coverage of long-standing tournaments like the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Only two games will be held on national television, though ESPN's WatchESPN app will host many of the contests.

With that in mind, here is a look at a complete preview of what to expect at the 2013 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. 

Tournament Information

When: Nov. 11 through Nov. 24

Where: Various Locations

Watch: Various, See Below

Schedule

Campus Site Games

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV	Stream
Belmont at Richmond	Nov. 11	7 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Hofstra at Louisville	Nov. 12	7 p.m.	N/A	WatchESPN
Holy Cross at North Carolina	Nov. 15	8 p.m.	ESPNU	WatchESPN
Hartford at Louisville	Nov. 19	7 p.m.	N/A	WatchESPN
Hofstra at Richmond	Nov. 19	7 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Holy Cross at Fairfield	Nov. 20	7 p.m.	N/A	N/A

Tip-Off Tournament

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV	Stream
	Naismith Bracket
North Carolina vs. Richmond	Nov. 23	12 p.m.	N/A	WatchESPN
Louisville vs. Fairfield	Nov. 23	2 p.m.	N/A	WatchESPN
Championship Game	Nov. 24	1 p.m.	ESPN	WatchESPN
Consolation Game	Nov. 24	3 p.m.	N/A	WatchESPN
	Springfield Bracket
Hartford vs. Hofstra	Nov. 23	5:30 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Belmont vs. Holy Cross	Nov. 23	7:30 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Consolation Game	Nov. 24	6 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Championship Game	Nov. 24	8 p.m.	N/A	N/A

Preview

Naismith Bracket

Obviously, a majority of the focus and intrigue lies in the Naismith bracket. Louisville and North Carolina are the only Top 25 teams in the event, and the overwhelming expectation is that they will meet in their championship game on Nov. 24.

The Cardinal, led by 2013 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Rick Pitino, are ranked third in the country and are coming off their first national championship since 1985-86. This year's squad will look far different from its predecessor, however.

Team leaders Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva have taken their talents to the NBA, while Pitino kicked starter Chane Behanan off the team for violations of team and school rules. Most expect Behanan to eventually return to the team—possibly in December—but Louisville will be without him for much of the early season. Luke Hancock, the Most Outstanding Player of last year's Final Four, also faces questions heading into the season due to a lingering Achilles injury.

That leaves Pitino trying to figure out his rotation on the fly. Those struggles haven't shown a bit so far. Last year's leading scorer, Russ Smith, returns and seems mostly like a carbon copy of his 2012-13 self. He's an explosive scorer, taking shots from anywhere and at any time but can shoot Louisville out of a game in an instant.

Sophomore forward Montrezl Harrell has looked sensational in his new expanded role. Harrell averaged 19 points over Louisville's two exhibition games, dominating athletically while making 16 of his 18 shot attempts. He'll need to improve at the free-throw line to have a true impact going forward, though. Pitino won't be able to trust Harrell no matter his physical gifts when he's shooting 6-of-17 from the charity stripe.

A sense of uncertainty isn't unfamiliar to Roy Williams' Tar Heels. Junior P.J. Hairston and senior Leslie McDonald are both dealing with NCAA compliance problems that could keep them out of the lineup for the foreseeable future. Both players were held out of North Carolina's season-opening victory against Oakland, but even with a week to prepare before the Hall of Fame Tip-Off begins for them, questions remain.

North Carolina is coming off something of a rebuilding campaign, making just the Round of 64 in the Big Dance. With Hairston, the team's leading scorer last season, out of the lineup, James Michael McAdoo may finally be forced into realizing his enormous potential. McAdoo was pegged a possible first-round pick when he arrived in Chapel Hill, but the plateauing of his game now sends him into his junior campaign with more questions than answers.

Despite their flaws, Louisville and North Carolina shouldn't have much trouble making it to the title game. Richmond hasn't been relevant since its Sweet 16 run two years ago, while Fairfield is a nice enough team simply benefitting from being a MAAC representative.

If you're looking for an early-season litmus test, North Carolina and Louisville will find theirs on Nov. 24.

Springfield Bracket

Otherwise known as the Belmont Bracket. Over the past three seasons, the Bruins have developed a bit of a national reputation as a March Madness sleeper—only to fall just short in each attempt. They hung around with Wisconsin in 2011, again with Georgetown the next season and many had them upsetting Arizona this past March.

But, as is a theme within this tournament, Belmont is undergoing a period of transition. Ian Clark, by far the best player in school history, exhausted the final year of his eligibility—as did regular contributors Kerron Johnson and Trevor Noack. In a flash, there goes the Bruins' three top scorers, their top rebounder and their top assist man.

Guard-forward J.J. Mann, who is the team's top returning starter at 10.5 points per game, will have to assume greater responsibility this season. Working mostly in a secondary role last season, Mann showed a markedly improved stroke from beyond the arc and nearly averaged two steals per contest. It will be interesting to see whether he'll be able to handle an increased responsibility load, as this will pretty much be his team as the lead senior.

Even if Mann struggles, the Bruins shouldn't have much of a difficult time here. They are the only team in the Springfield bracket that has been in the NCAA tournament in the past half decade. Belmont's five NCAA appearances this century is just one fewer than the other three programs combined—and most of those come from Holy Cross.

The Crusaders are an interesting team that could make some noise as an underdog Patriot League squad this season, but even a slightly weakened Belmont should run through to a tournament victory without problem.

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