Missouri State v. Miami

What will be the GAME RESULT?

Missouri State: Wins or Single Digit Loss

Miami: Wins By Double Digits

Current odds:

Missouri State: (+320)

Miami: (-400)

• The line for this game is Miami by 7.5 points.

• Miami and Missouri State get set to tip off the 12th annual Charleston Classic with a first-round game on Thursday at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. Each school will compete in three matchups in four days and the Hurricanes are the only team to win the tournament twice as they earned the trophy in both of their previous appearances in 2009 and 2014. “Hopefully this tournament will give us an opportunity to really compete against the highest level teams in the country and see where we stand,” said Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga, who coached Miami to that 2014 tournament win, “because once those games are over, we jump right into the ACC-Big Ten Challenge which is going to be tough and then come January it’s all ACC from there.” The Hurricanes come into the tournament on the heels of an 80-52 triumph over Quinnipiac and have won three straight after opening the season with an 87-74 loss to ACC foe and current No. 2 Louisville. One key for the Hurricanes is their ability to protect the ball as they rank fifth in the nation with just 8.5 giveaways per game and they have forced more turnovers than they’ve committed in all four matchups.

• Missouri State hasn’t been nearly as protective of the ball and the Bears are coming off a hard-fought 59-56 loss to No. 21 Xavier in which they were guilty of a season-high 22 turnovers leading to 25 Musketeers points.

• The Bears were picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference and their two losses this season were by a combined four points. Senior guard Keandre Cook spearheads the charge, averaging a team-high 17.8 points thanks to hitting nine of his 15 3-point attempts over the last three games, including 6-of-7 in a career-best 31-point performance in a win over Alabama State. Forward Tulio Da Silva ranks first with eight rebounds per game and third in scoring (8.3) behind West Virginia transfer Lamonte West (10.8 points), but Da Silva (10), Cook (14) and Tyrik Dixon (11) are responsible for 35 of the team’s 67 turnovers in four games.

• The Hurricanes continue to get strong play from Oklahoma transfer Kameron McGusty, who matched his career high with 22 points against Quinnipiac to increase his team-best scoring average to 14.8. Senior guard Dejan Vasiljevic also equaled a personal high in that contest with a team-best 10 rebounds as he produced his second career double-double, also adding 13 points. The Hurricanes frustrated Quinnipiac’s 3-point shooters, giving up just 5-of-30 long-distance shots (16.7 percent) and Miami is now allowing opponents to connect on just 28.4 percent from deep.

• The teams have met just once, with Miami winning 81-72 at home in the NIT in 2011.

• Miami held Quinnipiac to 31.7 percent shooting from the floor, the team’s best defensive showing since it limited George Washington to 30.2 percent in December 2017.

• The Hurricanes were hot from beyond the arc after intermission against Quinnipiac, hitting 11-of-15 (73.3 percent), their most makes in a half against a Division I team since joining the ACC in 2004-05.