Las Vegas Invitational 2014: Teams, Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket, TV Info

Despite the trip likely being more fun for the fans than the players, the Las Vegas Invitational is set to feature some exciting basketball.

Each of the four main teams involved has dreams of making the NCAA tournament. While there is a long season to add to a resume, winning games at this event will help boost the profile right out of the gate.

Additionally, these are mostly young squads that could use some confidence heading into the bulk of the regular season, and success in Las Vegas will certainly help in this regard. 

With a secondary tournament for smaller programs, this is an event that could be valuable for a lot of people involved. Here is a guide for what you need to know about both brackets, with each game coming from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Note: Both brackets available at RealGM.com. Select games can be viewed online with Fox Sports Go.

Small-School Bracket

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)
Nov. 27	Austin Peay vs. Brown	2 p.m.
Nov. 27	Stephen F. Austin vs. Prairie View	9 p.m.
Nov. 28	3rd Place Game	2:30 p.m.
Nov. 28	Championship Game	5 p.m.

USA TODAY Sports

Considering none of the four teams involved have more than one win this season, it is important to look beyond the record. When you do that, it is clear Stephen F. Austin is the class of this bracket.

The Lumberjacks are coming off an excellent season where they went 18-0 in the Southern Conference, earned a trip to the NCAA tournament and won a game in the round of 64 against VCU. The dream ended when UCLA gave Stephen F. Austin just its third loss of the year.

Junior Thomas Walkup and senior Jacob Parker are taking over as the go-to options on the offensive end while filling up the stat sheet in just about every game. Each player averages at least 15 points, six rebounds and two assists on the season as the stars showcase their versatility.

Brown has decent size inside that could possibly cause problems, but the Lumberjacks should easily win this tournament.

Major Bracket

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Nov. 27	Indiana State vs. Illinois	5 p.m.	Fox Sports 1
Nov. 28	Baylor vs. Memphis	12 a.m.	Fox Sports 1
Nov. 28	3rd Place Game	8 p.m.	Fox Sports 1
Nov. 28	Championship Game	10:30 p.m.	Fox Sports 1

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

While you never want to count out the Missouri Valley Conference, Indiana State seems overmatched in this bracket. Devonte Brown appears set to have a breakout year, but the entire roster will struggle to keep up athletically against any of the other teams involved.

This leaves three teams likely competing for a championship, and no result would truly be too surprising.

Probably the most fun squad to watch is Illinois. The Illini are averaging an incredible 97.5 points per game so far this season thanks in large part to the contributions of Rayvonte Rice. The senior guard averaged 15.9 points per game last season despite struggling with his outside shot, but he is looking to be even more efficient this time around.

After averaging 17.3 points per game to start the year, Marcus Jackson of The News-Gazette had a simple observation:

With the way Illinois can move up and down the court and score with multiple weapons, this squad will be tough to beat all year.

This is more than you can say about Memphis, which seems to love beating itself with bad mistakes. The roster is full of high-profile recruits, but Josh Pastner has not been able to turn this into production. Shaq Goodwin has become a poster boy for this problem, as noted by Dan Wolken of USA Today:

We should not be surprised if the Tigers turn it on and get two easy wins in this tournament, but nothing they have shown would indicate this is likely.

Still, the favorite in Las Vegas has to be Baylor, a team that knows how to play defense while remaining efficient on the offensive end. The athletic players find ways to make plays both in the paint and beyond the arc.

The only thing missing is experience, but Kenny Chery is doing his best to take care of that. The senior guard explained before the start of the season, via John Werner of the Waco Tribune: 

"My role being the leader of this team is directing guys and putting them in the best possible position. We’ve got a lot of new guys and the plan is for everybody to be on the same page and not too high or low. It’s been going well and everybody is getting better and working hard." 

Chery has only reached double-digit points in one out of four games this year, but that one was a 20-point effort to help beat a quality South Carolina squad. He knows how to come through when needed, and he should make some big plays in Vegas to help Baylor take home the title.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.