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NCAA Basketball: 2019 Charleston Classic preview and predictions

By Cody Gerena

ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 05: The Florida Gators huddle before the NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal against the Connecticut Huskies at AT&T Stadium on April 5, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 05: The Florida Gators huddle before the NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal against the Connecticut Huskies at AT&T Stadium on April 5, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 02: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes directs his team during the first half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 02, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 02: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes directs his team during the first half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 02, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Top Bracket Team Previews

Miami Hurricanes (3-1)

The Hurricanes enter into this tournament as one of four teams that are coming from a win. They are the only team out of those four in the top half of the bracket so they have the most momentum on this side coming into the tournament. They have won three straight with their most recent game being an 80-52 win against Quinnipiac from November 16.

Miami is led by senior guard Dejan Vasiljevic who is second on the team in rebounds per game and first in points and assists per game with 5.3 rebounds, 13.3 points, and 2.3 assists per game. Also leading them will be junior guard Kameron McGusty who leads the team in points with 14.8 per game.

They will be in the opening game of the tournament against the Missouri State Bears at 11:00 AM on ESPNU. Even though they have been in tougher match-ups this season where they looked good such as the 79-70 win at UCF, the Hurricanes will still need to tread lightly as if they don’t take the Bears seriously they will lose.

Missouri State Bears (2-2)

Missouri State is coming from a loss but this was not just any loss, it was practically the most quality loss that you could get as a team in their position. They are coming off of a very close 59-56 defeat at the hands of fellow tournament competitor Xavier. This was a close game for nearly the entire second half where they even managed to tie the game at 56 with a minute left before Xavier managed to squeak by.

The Bears are led by senior guard and All-MVC Third Team member Keandre Cook who leads the team in scoring with 17.8 points per game and is second in rebounds with 5.3 per game. In the frontcourt will by senior forward and All-MVC First Team member Tulio Da Silva who leads the team with 8 rebounds per game and led last year’s team in scoring with 14.3 points per game.

Florida Gators (2-2)

Florida comes into the tournament as the most disappointing team in probably not just this tournament but in the entire country. For a team that started off as fifth in the country. They’ve only had one good performance all season which was a 74-59 win against North Florida before following that up with a loss to Florida State, a close win against Towson, and now another loss at Connecticut. They will be facing the St Joseph’s Hawks at 2 PM on ESPN2.

This is a tournament that they really need to make some waves in and it is set-up in a way that they could. St Joeseph’s is ranked the worst team in the field by KenPom so that should be a good game to get the wind back underneath their sails.

The Gators are led by senior forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. in scoring and rebounds with 14.5 points and 11 rebounds per game. Interestingly enough he was on last year’s Virginia Tech team which won last year’s Charleston Classic, and we should also bring up that he was chosen to the All-ACC Second Team and NCAA Tournament East All-Region Team. If Florida wins it will be because of this man and if they make the finals, he will most definitely be the top choice for the tournament MVP. Another key player in the frontcourt is sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson who is second in scoring with 10.5 points per game but first in shooting with a .563 field goal percentage.

St. Joseph’s Red Hawks (2-2)

St Joseph’s may be ranked the worst team by KenPom, but that doesn’t mean they should be counted out. It is not like they don’t have the talent to win, it’s just that they are the most inconsistent team in the tournament. They went from soundly beating UConn on the road 96-87 to being decimated by Loyola-Chicago on the road 85-68 where they even held a lead into the second half before they got outscored by 20 points in that half alone. This is a team that when they’re on they could win this tournament, but when they’re off they could easily get eighth place.

The senior guard Ryan Daly lead the Red Hawks in scoring, rebounding, and assists with 19.3 points, nine rebounds, and six assists per game. If he were to improve on his sub .400 field goal percentage then he could easily make the Red Hawks go far this season. The junior forward Lorenzo Edwards is second in scoring and rebounding with 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

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