NCAA Basketball: 2018 Gildan Charleston Classic preview and predictions

Early favorites

As mentioned earlier, the Boilermakers and Hokies are on a collision course to meet in this year’s Gildan Classic final. The Hokies should have their hands full with a scrappy Cardinals squad in the opening matchup and if all goes well, they’ll face the winner of Alabama/Northeastern. Virginia Tech lost to the Crimson Tide in last year’s NCAA Tournament, so there’s some added incentive to beat them this year.

Purdue will face the Appalachian State Mountaineers in their opening game. The Mountaineers aren’t but one thing the Boilermakers can improve upon is their 3-point shooting. They shot 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) from behind the arc in their victory over Ball State, a number that can be improved upon in this tournament.

Under-the-radar teams

The under-the-radar teams to watch play in the opening round. Davidson and Wichita State are both well-coached squads and are typically at the top of their respective conferences by season’s end. Whoever wins their game could find themselves in the championship game on Sunday.

Davidson needed three free throws from Kellen Grady with 4.7 seconds left in their last game to get a 79-76 victory over a hot-shooting Dartmouth squad. Wichita State is a different beast, shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range as a team so far this season.