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NCAA Basketball: Biggest takeaways from 2019 Charleston Classic

By Tristan Freeman

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 15: Andrew Nembhard #2 of the Florida Gators celebrates in the game against the LSU Tigers during the Quarterfinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 15, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 15: Andrew Nembhard #2 of the Florida Gators celebrates in the game against the LSU Tigers during the Quarterfinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 15, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 15: Head coach Travis Steele of the Xavier Musketeers is seen during the second half against the Missouri State Bears at Cintas Center on November 15, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 15: Head coach Travis Steele of the Xavier Musketeers is seen during the second half against the Missouri State Bears at Cintas Center on November 15, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

The 2019 edition of the Charleston Classic has come and gone, with the Florida Gators capturing the title. What are some takeaways from all the participating teams?

Coming into the 2019-20 NCAA Basketball season, the Charleston Classic was one of the more intriguing non-conference tournaments to watch for. Considering that it was one of the early events and presided ESPN’s “Feast Week”, the Charleston Classic had plenty of eyes on it.

That included the supposed to be “favorites” in the Florida Gators, a preseason top-10 team that had lost a couple of games before even arriving in South Carolina. That left the Xavier Musketeers being the only ranked program in the tournament. But in the end, the two programs managed to meet in the finals on Sunday night.

It certainly wasn’t an easy path for either team. Florida had a rough start in the opening game against Saint Joe’s and needed all 40 minutes just to get by. They had an easier time versus the Miami Hurricanes in the semifinals. Xavier took care of Towson in the quarterfinals but had to overcome the UConn Huskies in a double-overtime instant classic to advance to the title game.

Florida defeated Xavier, 70-65 to win the Charleston Classic and was the only team to leave unscathed. UConn handled Miami by 20 points to capture 3rd place, while Buffalo edge Missouri State in a fun consolation battle. Saint Joe’s was the only program not to win a game, after losing to Towson to land in 8th place.

There were several entertaining battles that could’ve gone either way, despite the overall results going as the consensus predictions. Here are takeaways that I had after watching all the teams in the Charleston Classic.

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