Kelley L. Cox-USA Today Sports
On Tuesday morning, the bracket for the 2013 Old Spice Classic was released and the pairing were set for the double-elimination, quarterfinal bracket that will take place at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The eight-team bracket will kick off on Nov. 28 and conclude on Dec. 1 with one winner taking home the tournament title.
At quick glance, the bracket features some interesting first round match-ups, but it’s the down-the-road contests that could highlight the event itself. Some of the notable participants in this year’s field include Oklahoma State, Memphis, Butler and LSU, but it’s those Cowboys that stick out the most as the bracket’s early favorite.
Oklahoma State will square off against Purdue in the quarterfinal round before a potential semifinal match-up with the Butler Bulldogs, who surely will be no pushover under newly appointed head coach Brandon Miller. The biggest threat to the Cowboys’ title chance in Orlando will be those pesky Tigers from Memphis, however.
Memphis head coach Josh Pastner has an improved squad led by the return of star point guard Joe Jackson. Throw in a highly-touted freshman class and the Tigers should be barking at the bit themselves to claim the Old Spice Classic championship on that first day in December.
In all however, Oklahoma State, which is led by the dangerous trio of Marcus Smart, Markel Brown and LeBryan Nash, should be considered to be the early favorite heading into this year’s Old Spice Classic field.
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS
