Potential ranked matchups abound in holiday tournaments

Get ready for a week full of potential matchups of ranked teams in college basketball's Thanksgiving holiday tournaments.

[...] there's the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in New York, which could feature a Friday championship matchup between No. 19 West Virginia and No. 25 Florida State.

If the brackets fall right, there could be plenty of matchups that boost NCAA Tournament resumes when it comes to seeding and earning a close-to-home opening weekend in March.

Every year, the teams that are in there, you have several teams that have chances to win a national championship, go to a Final Four," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of the Battle 4 Atlantis, adding: "After this tournament, you walk away, win or lose, a better team because of the competition you faced.

The Wildcats (4-0) host Cleveland State on Wednesday then UT Martin on Friday before heading to the Bahamas for a Monday meeting with Arizona State.

Kentucky, led by its latest stellar recruiting class, has reached No. 1 in six of coach John Calipari's eight seasons with the Wildcats.