Men’s Basketball: Charleston Classic Preview

Miami’s 2024 Holiday Tournament is an Opportunity for Several Quality Wins

Miami’s Men’s Basketball is off to a 3-0 start with blowout wins over Coppin State, Binghamton, and Farleigh Dickinson. None of those teams even sniffed the NCAA Tournament last season, and none of those teams are expected to compete for a bid this season.

Time to step up the competition.

Miami’s holiday tournament this year is the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic. Miami opens the eight team holiday tournament this Thursday at noon ET.

(Thursday, 11/21) Drake Bulldogs

Time and Coverage: 12:00pm ET on ESPN2

Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Drake is the reigning Missouri Valley Conference champion and earned a 10 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, losing a close contest in the First Round to Washington State. The Bulldogs are 3-0 this season with comfortable home wins over York and Stephen F. Austin in addition to a come-from-behind victory over Florida Gulf Coast.

Drake is one of the strongest Missouri Valley Conference programs having finished with 25+ wins in four straight seasons, but the Bulldogs are battling a ton of roster turnover and were only picked to finish fifth in the MVC. The Charleston Classic is a huge opportunity for Drake to not only prove critics wrong but also to pick up Tier I and II wins that will be hard to come by once the Bulldogs enter conference play.

Part of Drake’s turnover is due to the Bulldogs having a new coach this season. Darian DeVries, a long-time Creighton assistant before becoming Drake’s head coach in 2018, was rewarded for his success at Drake and was hired as West Virginia’s head coach this past offseason. In comes new head coach Ben McCollum who won two Division II National Championships at NW Missouri State.

Coach McCollum brought four transfers with him from NW Missouri State including starters (F) Daniel Abreu and (G) Bennett Stirtz, both of whom played all 40 minutes in a nailbiter win over FGCU. Abreu was the hero of that game hitting 4 of 7 three-pointers including this game winner…

Drake is a bit of an unknown with a new coach and a ton of transfers, but barely beating Florida Gulf Coast is not a good sign for the Bulldogs’ competitiveness this year. FGCU is more than a decade removed from its memorable 2013 Dunk City season, and this year FGCU has started 0-4 including a 9 point loss to UNC Greensboro.

Drake is tougher than Miami’s first three opponents, but Drake should also be Miami’s weakest opponent at the Charleston Classic. Miami itself is going through a ton of roster turnover, so expect a deep rotation for Coach Larrañaga as he continues to build team chemistry for tougher matchups ahead. Hopefully the Hurricanes cruise into the winner’s bracket.

(Friday, 11/22) Oklahoma State or Florida Atlantic

Time and Coverage: 11:30am ET on ESPN2, or 2:00pm ET on ESPNU

William Purnell-Imagn Images

Although FAU is only two seasons removed from a Final Four run, Oklahoma State is probably the tougher opponent here and likely to prevail in their first round matchup. Both are longshots to make the NCAA Tournament this season.

Like Drake, Oklahoma State has a new head coach this season. Unlike Drake, it’s because the Cowboys fired their coach after a 12-20 season. Steve Lutz was hired to head Oklahoma State after steering Western Kentucky to a 2023 NCAA Tournament birth. Oklahoma State also has a lot of turnover with the coaching change, but anchoring the Cowboys is former McDonald’s All-American (G) Bryce Thompson, a five-star shooting guard who played one season at Kansas before transferring in 2021 to Oklahoma State.

As for FAU, the Owls are also dealing with a new coaching staff after coach Dusty May cashed-in his Final Four run for an opportunity to lead the Michigan Wolverines. John Jakus, a long-time Baylor assistant, was hired to try and build off Coach May’s success. Unfortunately, the Owls have stumbled to a 3-2 start having already dropped close games to UCF and Charleston. That doesn’t bode well for an FAU return to the NCAA Tournament in Jakus’ inaugural season as a head coach.

Neither FAU nor Oklahoma State is expected to make much noise this season, so hopefully Miami finds itself in the championship match regardless of the second round opponent.

(Sunday, 11/24) Seton Hall or VCU or Vanderbilt or Nevada

Time and Coverage: TBD, likely on ESPN or ESPN2

Matt Lunsford-Imagn Images

After a rest day on Saturday to watch Hurricanes Football beat Wake Forest, Miami will be back on the court Sunday hopefully to compete for a tournament championship. The championship match is scheduled for 8:30pm ET on ESPN, while the other games are scheduled for 12:30pm, 3:00pm, or 6:00pm on one of the ESPN networks.

Unfortunately, there are no ranked teams on the other side of the bracket, although VCU is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches polls. The VCU Rams are off to a 4-0 start including an 80-55 beat down of Boston College. VCU was voted as the pre-season favorite to win the Atlantic 10, so beating the Rams in the championship game is arguably the best case scenario for Miami in terms of securing a quality win.

VCU is likely to dispatch Seton Hall in its opening round matchup. Despite winning the 2024 NIT Tournament, Seton Hall was picked to finish second-to-last place in the Big East and has already dropped games to Hofstra and Fordham this season. Seton Hall is without a doubt the weakest team on this side of the bracket, so if the Hurricanes play the Pirates on Sunday then something probably went horribly wrong for Miami.

After VCU, the Nevada Wolfpack arguably are the strongest candidate to make the NCAA Tournament this season. Nevada snagged an at-large birth and a 10 Seed last year, and this year they’ve already notched a 63-53 victory over the Washington Huskies as part of a 3-0 start. After Coach Larrañaga, the Wolfpack have the next most veteran coach in the field with coach Steve Alford who previously served as the head coach at UCLA, Iowa, and New Mexico.

Finally there’s the Vanderbilt Commodores whose basketball team has essentially the same reputation as the football team, but like their football brethren the basketball team is off to a surprising start having won their first four games including a 85-69 victory over California. Something must be going right for new coach Mark Byington who was hired away from James Madison who advanced to the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Charleston Classic – At a Glance

• Three teams made the 2024 NCAA Tournament: Drake (10 Seed) won the Missouri Valley Conference auto-bid, while Florida Atlantic (8 Seed) and Nevada (10 Seed) earned at-large bids. No team advanced out of the first round.
• Two teams were selected for the 2024 NIT Tournament: Seton Hall won the NIT and VCU was a quarterfinalist.
• Six teams enter the Charleston Classic undefeated this season: VCU (4-0), Vanderbilt (4-0), Nevada (4-0), Miami (3-0), Drake (3-0), and Oklahoma State (3-0).
• No teams are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, but VCU and Miami are receiving votes. No teams are currently ranked in the Coaches Top 25, but VCU and Nevada are receiving votes.
• ESPN’s Joe Leonardi’s latest bracketology predicts VCU (10 Seed), Miami (Last 4 In) and Nevada (Last 4 In) to make the NCAA Tournament this season. CBS’ Jerry Palm’s pre-season bracketology predicted VCU (11 seed) and Miami (Last 4 In) to make the NCAA Tournament this season.
• Miami (No. 31) has the highest Basketball Power Index (BPI) ranking followed by Nevada (No. 33), VCU (No. 51), and Florida Atlantic (No. 68).
• Four teams have new head coaches this season: Drake (Ben McCollum), Oklahoma State (Steve Lutz), Florida Atlantic (John Jakus), and Vanderbilt (Mark Byington)
• Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga is the most veteran head coach having led an NCAA Division I program since 1986, followed by Nevada’s Steve Alford whose first head coaching job was in 1995. On the other end of the spectrum, Florida Atlantic’s John Jakus is in his first year as a head coach after being a Baylor assistant coach since 2017. Drake’s Ben McCollum is also in his first season as a Division I head coach, however McCollum led Division II NW Missouri State since 2009.
• Miami opens against Drake at Noon on Thursday. Miami last played Drake in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. No. 5 Seed Miami defeated No. 12 Seed Drake 63-56 in the first round in route to Miami’s first Final Four appearance. Although just two seasons ago, Miami’s Nijel Pack is the only scholarship player remaining from either of those teams.