NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 8 teams in 2023 Myrtle Beach Invitational

The opening round matchups have been released in the Myrtle Beach Invitational for the 2023-24 NCAA Basketball season. Who should be the favorites?

Last season’s Myrtle Beach Invitational was one of the more wild NCAA Basketball Tournaments when it came to the results. Teams like Texas A&M and Colorado were preseason favorites but each ended up in the loser’s bracket, watching UMass beating Charlotte to take home the title.

This year’s field may not look intriguing on paper since there are no teams among the top five conferences. However, these are some of the best mid-majors in all of NCAA Basketball playing and the stakes are high since winning could help build a potential at-large resume from this.

With the brackets being released, it’s a good time to look at who should be viewed as the “favorites” from this event. Here’s how I’d rank the eight teams.

8. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Losing four of the top five scorers from a team that won just 11 games last season means that the Sun Belt program has lots of work to do. They did add a couple of good scorers in transfers, Kevin Easley and Brayon Freeman. Returning scorer Jomaru Brown (12.7 ppg) is set to be the go-to guy of the group.

7. Wyoming Cowboys

After making the NCAA Tournament the year prior, injuries and poor play from transfers saw the Cowboys plummet to just nine wins last season. Seven of the top scorers are gone, including all-around stat-stuffer, Hunter Maldonado. Tulsa transfer Sam Griffin has the chance to lead another team in scoring but needs some of the role players that were buried on the bench before to produce more to stand a chance.

6. Saint Louis Billikens

Few teams lost as much production this offseason as Saint Louis. Most starters and the overall rotation is gone, including the nation’s leading passer, Yuri Collins. Gibson Jimerson, who averaged 14.0 ppg on 40% three-point shooting, is the face of the roster. Late transfer pickup Mike Meadows gives the Billikens an experienced ball-handler to lead the group but massive questions remain in the frontcourt.

5. Vermont Catamounts

The perennial powerhouse out of the America East, Vermont did lose several key backcourt pieces, including Dylan Penn and Robin Duncan. But guard Aaron Deloney and forward Matt Veretto are back, along with TJ Hurley, who’ll step in as a new scoring option. Expect the Catamounts to have another roster capable of winning the league and putting a scare against top-100 foes.

4. Furman Paladins

The Paladins not only went to the NCAA Tournament last season but they pulled off the upset against Virginia in the 13 over 4 matchup. However, the two stars of the group, Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell, are now gone. The SoCon program still has a couple of very good pieces to build around in guard PJ Pegues and forward Garrett Hein, with Marcus Foster being a potential breakout candidate to watch.

3. Wichita State Shockers

All four double-digit scorers are gone from a team that went 17-15 overall. The Shockers do bring back big man Kenny Pohto, joined by center transfer, Jacob Germany. There are several other transfers joining that could have a big impact, including Bijan Cortes (Oklahoma), Harland Beverly (Miami), and most recently, Dalen Ridgnal. It’ll have to be a collective effort but Wichita State does have some potential depth to work with.

2. Liberty Flames

After dominating the ASUN Conference, Liberty may have a tougher time being at the top of Conference USA without star guard Darius McGhee, who averaged 22.8 ppg last season. However, several starting pieces that played a key role in them winning 27 games are back, including Kyle Rode, Shiloh Robinson, and Brody Peebles. Even without a dynamic individual scorer, look for the Flames to once again be an elite defensive unit next season.

1. College of Charleston Cougars

One of the top team surprises in all of NCAA Basketball, Charleston does return a pair of starters from its 31-win squad. Forward Ante Brzovic and guard Reyne Smith are returning double-digit scorers, joined by two more from the transfer portal in Frankie Policelli (Stony Brook) and CJ Fulton (Lafayette). The Cougars might not be 30 wins good next season but they’ll certainly be favorites to repeat as CAA champs.