In its third year, the Charleston Classic is a made-for-ESPN exempt tournament that is played at the Carolina First Arena and hosted by the Southern Conference (Wofford is this year’s host team). Both previous champions have been from the ACC: Clemson in 2008 and Miami last year. The Charleston Post & Courier ran an interview with Dan Shoemaker, the man responsible for creating the Classic, who talks about its origins:
“The College of Charleston played in our inaugural Puerto Rico Tip-Off event in 2007. Coach (Bobby) Cremins was telling me how much he enjoyed the tournament and said if there was an opportunity in the future they’d really be interested in playing in another event. I kind of half-jokingly said, ‘What if we did one of these in Charleston?’ His response was, ‘You’re kidding.’ I said it was something we’d take a serious look at.
Unlike last year’s Glenn Wilkes Classic, the Charleston Classic is both an actual bracket-tournament format and also has 10 of its 12 games televised — four by ESPNU and six by MASN (which TWC doesn’t offer in the Triangle). There’s certainly a “Carolinas” — ever notice the same folks that say “The Carolinas” are the same ones that use the long “a” in Appalachian? — feel to the tournament this year, with three teams each from North Carolina and South Carolina and two from the D.C. area. In addition to State, this year’s eight-team field also includes Coastal Carolina, Georgetown, USC Upstate, Wofford, East Carolina, George Mason, and Charlotte.
ESPN’s Andy Katz picks the potential Georgetown vs. State Championship as one of his 10 must-see exempt-tournament games of 2010.
Based on the Bracket and TV schedule, if State beats the Pahrats on Thursday, then its game Friday would be against the winner of George Mason vs. Charlotte at 6:30 on ESPNU.
Thursday, November 18
Game 1 (Noon, MASN): Coastal Carolina vs. Georgetown
Game 2 (2:30, MASN): USC Upstate vs. Wofford
Game 3 (6:00, MASN): East Carolina vs. NC State
Game 4 (8:30, MASN): George Mason vs. Charlotte
Friday, November 19
Game 5 (Noon, MASN): Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
Game 6 (2:30, ESPNU): Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 7 (6:00, ESPNU): Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
Game 8 (8:30, MASN): Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser
Sunday, November 21
Championship (7:30, ESPNU): Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner
You can vote for who you think will win the Charleston Classic in the ESPN SportsNation Poll.
You can discuss this tournament on the SFN Forums.
