:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51883861/usa_today_9133660.0.jpeg)
The Utah State Aggies and Boise State Broncos received exciting news this week as both will be participating in headlining early season tournament events next season.
Utah State, off to a quick 3-0 start this year, will take part in the 2017 Diamond Head Classic, first reported by FanRag’s Jon Rothstein this week. The games will be played on December 22, 23 and 25 at the Stan Sherrif Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The full list of participants is listed below:
| Miami Hurricanes (ACC) |
| USC Trojans (Pac-12) |
| Davidson Wildcats (A-10) |
| Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (CUSA) |
| Akron Zips (MAC) |
| New Mexico State Aggies (WAC) |
| Utah State Aggies (MWC) |
| Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (BW) |
The list is chock full of teams that compete for NCAA Tournament bids on a yearly basis, and if the progression of the Aggies roster goes as anticipated, there's no reason to believe why Utah State can't enter the tournament conversation in the near future.
For Boise State, it was announced early Thursday morning that the Broncos would be a participant in the 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off has provided fans with a number of memorable moments in the past decade, and is one of the most notable early season tournaments in college basketball. Due to the Zika virus outbreak, the event will be played in Florida this season, but is expected to return to Puerto Rico next season. Here are the eight teams that will participate:
| Florida State Seminoles (ACC) |
| Boise State Broncos (MWC) |
| Illinois State Redbirds (MVC) |
| South Carolina Gamecocks (SEC) |
| Iowa State Cyclones (Big 12) |
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane (AAC) |
| UTEP Miners (C-USA) |
| Western Michigan Broncos (MAC) |
Regardless of the matchups Boise State and Utah State will see, this is a great recognition for two Mountain West teams that have promising futures with talented underclassmen currently on the respective rosters. Recently, the MWC has struggled to piece together non-conference slates that will help boost metrics used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. With two major events already in place for Utah State and Boise State, the conference is off to a good start for the 2017-18 campaign.