2012 Charleston Classic Tournament Bracket // Andy Katz On The Field
The University of Dayton men’s basketball team will take on Colorado in the first round of the 2012 Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant on Thursday, Nov. 15, it was announced today by ESPN. The game between the Flyers and the Buffaloes will open the tournament and be played at 12:30 p.m. ET. It will be televised on ESPN3.com.
The Charleston Classic is an eight-team bracket tournament held in Charleston, S.C. Nov. 15, 16 and 18. Other teams in the field are Auburn, Baylor, Boston College, College of Charleston, Colorado, Murray State and St. John’s.
Colorado was the 2012 Pac-12 champion, and is one of three teams in the Charleston Classic that played in last year’s NCAA tournament. This will be just the third meeting between Dayton and CU. The two teams played a home-and-home series in the ‘80’s. Dayton won at UD Arena 67-66 on Jan. 8, 1986, and the Buffs avenged that score with a 77-59 win in Boulder on Jan. 10, 1987.
Baylor and Boston College are the other two teams on Dayton’s side of the bracket. Baylor advanced to last year’s Elite Eight and is projected to be a Top 15 team in 2012-13. Boston College was 9-22 last season with a team that carried nine freshmen on its roster.
Dayton is 16-7 against BCS opponents over the last five years. The Flyers were 4-2 last year, including wins over Wake Forest and Minnesota en route to winning the 2011 Old Spice Classic.
The Flyers return three starters from that team that went 20-13 and advanced to the NIT. Leading the returnees will be All-Atlantic 10 point guard Kevin Dillard, who was second in the A-10 and tied for 16th in the NCAA in assists per game with 6.0. The senior from Chicago also led the Flyers in scoring (13.3), steals (47) and minutes (32.7).
This is the fifth straight year UD has participated in an exempt tournament. Dayton has won four of the last eight in-season tournaments it has played in – the 1999 CoSIDA Classic in Albuquerque, the 2004 EA Sports Maui Invitational, the 2008 Chicago Invitational Challenge and last season’s Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
The Charleston Classic will include 12 games in three days, airing on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The championship game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Northwestern captured the Charleston Classic title last season, beating Seton Hall 80-73 in the championship game. Previous champions were Clemson in 2008, Miami (Fla.) in 2009 and Georgetown in 2010. Current Flyer Vee Sanford was a guard on that Georgetown team.
Discounted hotel accommodations as well as game tickets are now available for fans traveling to Charleston. Visit AnthonyTravel.com/CharlestonClassic or call 888-632-6951 for more information.
The Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN. All games will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com and through smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. The games from the Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant will all also air on ESPN3D.
