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Bracketology 2023: UNLV, UConn, and Alabama with key matchups to watch

By Jason Burgess

Feb 21, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A Big East logo on the court at the Wells Fargo Center before a game between the Villanova Wildcats and the DePaul Blue Demons. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A Big East logo on the court at the Wells Fargo Center before a game between the Villanova Wildcats and the DePaul Blue Demons. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bracketology Charleston Cougars guard Ryan Larson James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Bracketology Charleston Cougars guard Ryan Larson James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

Charleston Cougars at Towson Tigers

Saturday, December, 31, Towson, MD, 12:00 PM ET

There’s a big game in the Colonial on New Year’s Eve with Charleston traveling up to Maryland to battle Pat Skerry’s Towson Tigers. Both teams had a successful non-conference portion of their schedules, Charleston win the Charleston Classic by knocking off Virginia Tech and their opponent owns a double-digit win over UMass and hasn’t lost a game by more than seven points.

Now it’s time to focus on league play and with the CAA a one-bid league this will be a big game for positioning as the two teams won’t meet again until the penultimate game of the regular season. Charleston (12-1) is a deep team that can wear opponents down by having nine guys that average at least 15 minutes per game and four double-digit scorers that help them put up 80 points per game. Pat Kelsey’s squad is also good defensively, since their win over Virginia Tech they have given up an average of 64 points in those seven wins.

Towson was the nearly unanimous choice to win the Colonial in the preseason, garnering 12 of the 13 first-place votes. The Tigers are 8-5 but three of those losses have come by five points or less. However, after starting 8-1 the Tigers have lost four straight and the last two losses have been by a much larger margin to Northern Iowa and Bryant. The senior guard combo of Nicolas Timberlake and Cameron holden have led the way offensively did the Tigers with both putting up over 15 points per game. Towson holds a win over UMass and took Clemson to overtime, and in this league opener looks to take charge of the CAA from a Charleston team that has stormed to the forefront thanks to what they’ve done early on.

There is a full conference slate to be played, but this game could be vital for both teams when it comes to tournament seeding. Charleston gets the chance to make a big statement at home and Towson has a perfect opportunity to right its ship.

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