PAY or BE PAYED: Understanding the shifting landscape of early-season tournaments like The Maui Invitational

Let’s be honest, NC State basketball hasn’t been nationally relevant to start a season in years.

I say that to explain why most Wolfpack fans really haven’t been keeping tabs on the shifting landscape of these early-season (Thanksgiving week) tournaments that so many college teams play in.

The game has changed. College basketball wasn’t as monetized last time NC State was in the position they are in today, and thus neither were these pre-season tournaments.

We used to look at the Maui Invitational and ‘Battle 4 Atlantis’ as the elite Thanksgiving week tournaments. Usually littered with Top-10 teams, these haven’t looked the same.