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The AdvoCare Invitational at Walt Disney World Resort will feature three Top 25 teams this year.
The field, which has been lauded by college basketball experts as one of the deepest among the upcoming preseason tournaments, involves Villanova, Florida State and LSU, which each enter the 2018 season ranked in several of the nation’s Top 25 preseason polls.
ESPN, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, CBS Sports and SB Nation recently released updated Top 25 polls with Villanova, FSU and LSU among their Top 25. Villanova is ranked 9th in all five national polls, after finishing last season with a 36-4 record, the winningest campaign in the university’s 98-year history. Last year, the Wildcats also earned their second national championship in three years.
The Florida State Seminoles – an Elite Eight team last season that returns seven of their 10 leading scorers in 2018 – are ranked 17th in all five polls, while the vastly improved LSU Tigers – led by sophomore guard Tremont Waters — are ranked 23rd in each of the five polls as well.
These three squads join 2018 NCAA tournament-qualifier College of Charleston, Alabama-Birmingham, Canisius College, Memphis and Oklahoma State in the AdvoCare Invitational. Memphis is led by first-year head coach Penny Hardaway, a four-time NBA All-Star who played 16 NBA seasons, including seven with the Orlando Magic (1993-1999).
Single session tickets for the tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney are on sale now and can be purchased here.
The four-day tournament is played over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and players get to spend free time enjoying the Disney theme parks and attractions and are also treated to a Thanksgiving Day dinner.
Media members interested in covering this year’s event should contact Charley Green (cgreen@breakaway-sports.com).
Florida State (2009) and Memphis (2013) are the only previous AdvoCare Invitational champions in the field. Other previous winners include Arkansas (2006), North Carolina State (2007), Gonzaga (2008, 2012, 2016), Florida State (2009), Notre Dame (2010), Dayton (2011), Memphis (2013), Kansas (2014), Xavier (2015) and West Virginia (2017).
This year marks the 13th year of the AdvoCare Invitational tournament at Walt Disney World Resort.