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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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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: Tarin Smith #2 of the Connecticut Huskies looks to pass in the first half of the game against Syracuse Orange during the 2k Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: Tarin Smith #2 of the Connecticut Huskies looks to pass in the first half of the game against Syracuse Orange during the 2k Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Favorites and Dark Horses

The favorite to win this year’s edition of the Charleston Classic is the Xavier Musketeers. This is because of how talented they are mixed with their coaching which has and kept them ranked due to them having the ability to get out of tight spots. The only problem that we prevent them from winning is their lack of three-point shooting as they are only shooting .209 behind the arc which is 21.

Another favorite to watch out for on the other side of the bracket is the Miami Hurricanes. If you were to take away the Kansas game no other team in the tournament has looked stronger in their games than Miami. In addition, they have won this exact tournament two times in the two times that they went into this tournament so luck can end up favoring them

A nice dark horse for this tournament is UConn as they have the most momentum coming into this tournament.

The fact that they were able to beat Florida but lose to Saint Joseph’s means that they are the most unpredictable team in this whole tournament. They were able to stay above Florida the entire second half but they never had a lead larger than eight that entire half, and I feel like that if they can trap Xavier behind them they can easily eliminate them due to their poor three-point shooting.

The team that has the most pressure to win this is Florida. They have gone from the number 5 team in the country to unranked, all in the span of fewer than two weeks. They’ve recently had poor performance after poor performance against teams worse than them. They have the most talented players in the field, but if they don’t start doing something fast such as at least making the finals than their season might as well be over.

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