During its four-game exhibition tour against various European teams this past week, Purdue men’s basketball looked a lot different than what most college basketball fans have been used to seeing.

As evidenced by the Musketeers’ run as a No. 3 seed to the Sweet 16 in last season’s NCAA Tournament, there’s little dreaming of the past in the program right now.

There is renewed optimism in State College — and for good reason.

How do you follow your first appearance in the Elite Eight in 82 years?

Throughout all of its sightseeing and memories made in Italy over the past week, the Tennessee men’s basketball team also had a little bit of work to do.

The Xavier men’s basketball 2023-2024 season will unofficially start in August for the team’s foreign tour trip to the Bahamas.

College basketball programs nationwide capitalize on an NCAA rule that grants them the exciting opportunity to embark on an international trip every four years during the Summer.

For Tennessee men’s basketball in its aim to get to a Final Four, the grind for the 2023-2024 season starts in Italy.

Purdue men’s basketball wishes things went just a bit differently.

Although the Penn State Basketball season doesn’t officially start until November, players will get the opportunity to practice and play together in August during their foreign tour in the Bahamas.

The Creighton men’s basketball team will get some experience before the season officially starts in November.

The Italian basketball scene is about to see some shades of orange.

The first steps on the road to Glendale, Arizona, home of the 2024 Final Four, begin for a stacked Creighton Bluejays squad this August in the Bahamas.

Xavier took a risk by opting to give coach Sean Miller – who first coached the Musketeers from 2004-2009, before leaving to spend over a decade at Arizona – a second stint, considering the varying success of coaching returns.

Creighton men's basketball boasts 25 NCAA Tournament appearances spread across eight decades, 20 conference championships, five runs to the Sweet 16 — two of which have come in the past three seasons — and a bevy of standout players who left lasting impressions on the game during their time as Bluejays.