Tournament: 2K Classic

When and where: Nov. 20 and 22 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.

Teams involved: Duke, Georgetown, VCU and Wisconsin

Initial thoughts: Yes, please.

Let's be honest. So many times these tournaments have what can only be described as fillers -- teams that are there to round out a field, offering little more than a guarantee game in a remote location.

There are no fillers here. The defending national champion and the national runner-up are here as two of the four host schools, which combine for 25 Final Four appearances, as tradition, success in the present and past, and a dose of change all coalesce into one great little two-night tourney in Madison Square Garden.

The Gazelle Group, sponsors of the 2K Classic, are no fools, either. The bracket is set up to create the potential for a national championship rematch. Duke plays VCU first, while Wisconsin gets Georgetown.

But no matter how you mix this quartet, it shakes out pretty well.

To repeat: yes, please.

The 2K Classic offers up the possibility of a national championship game rematch between Duke and Wisconsin. Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire

Why you'll want to watch: College basketball is always a work in progress. Ideally, a team looks wildly different at the end of March than it did in November, but what makes these early-season tournaments interesting is the sneak peeks they offer. You can see the potential for both preeminence and pratfalls.

Duke looked very good early last year, but Mike Krzyzewski knew his team was not nearly as flawless as its early record. Still, he liked his team from the get-go -- their personalities, their coachability and, above all else, their selflessness. There were no issues between the upperclassmen and the highly-rated freshmen because the freshmen were more than willing to cede to their older teammates.

Will it be the same this year? That's what will make this early-season tourney so intriguing for the Blue Devils. It's a very similar recipe for Duke -- a host of talented returning players in Amile Jefferson, Marshall Plumlee, Grayson Allen and Matt Jones -- blending with yet another top-rated freshman class of Chase Jeter, Derryck Thornton, Luke Kennard and Brandon Ingram.

Equally critical, how will Thornton do replacing Tyus Jones? After all, it was the point guard, not top prospect Jahlil Okafor, who ended up as the Final Four most outstanding player. It was a reward for what he had done all season -- deftly guide the talented Blue Devils' offense.

Thornton has just as many weapons at his disposal, but can he be as savvy as Jones? The game against VCU and its Havoc defense will be a good indicator.

Maybe no one at the 2K Classic comes to New York under more scrutiny than Will Wade. Shaka Smart's successor has the unenviable job of keeping things going as they always have been for the Rams, yet somehow establishing his own identity. He wisely intends to continue using VCU's trademark defensive style, but no one is a clone. It will be interesting to see how Wade, who had a successful run at Chattanooga, tinkers with Smart's program.

The changing of the coaching guard won't really get going at Wisconsin for another year -- when Bo Ryan retires -- but there is a shift this year already. How the Badgers reinvent themselves without Frank Kaminsky (and Sam Dekker, Josh Gasser and Traevon Jackson) will be interesting to watch, especially here.

In freshman Jessie Govan, Georgetown has the sort of back-to-the-basket center that harkens back to the Hoyas' glory days. The New Yorker, ranked 11th at his position in his class, is still considered underappreciated by a lot. He's that good.

And really, Wisconsin doesn't have anyone like him, at least not anymore.

Obviously the championship game everyone wants to see is Duke-Wisconsin, but don't discount Georgetown's ability to upset the expected. The Hoyas have more experience, and their strengths -- guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and forward Isaac Copeland -- match up well with the Badgers' best returners in Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes.

And while loyal Badger fans travel well, Georgetown and the Garden have a nice little history.