Ole Miss and Marquette Will Meet in First Round of the Charleston Classic

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will take the court against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first round of the 2021 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic (Nov. 18-21), as ESPN Events revealed the tournament bracket Thursday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT inside TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 18 and will be seen on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

These two teams have face-off on the hardwood once before back in the semifinals of the 2011 Paradise Jam (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands), the No. 19 Golden Eagles came away with the win to advance to the championship game.

West Virginia and Elon join Ole Miss and Marquette on one side of the bracket with the winners and losers of each opening round game squaring off in the second round (Nov. 19). Boise State, Clemson, St. Bonaventure and Temple make up the other half of the bracket. The teams compete once per day, regardless of results. The two unbeaten teams will face off in a championship game at 6:30 p.m CT on Sunday, November 21, on ESPN.

The Rebels have advanced to the championship games of both regular season tournaments under Davis. Ole Miss was a finalist in the 2018 Emerald Coast Classic as well as the 2019 NIT Tip-Off with victories over Baylor and Penn State, respectively. The Rebels were set to play in the 2020 Cayman Islands Classic before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ole Miss is no stranger to the Charleston Classic, having participated in the 2015 tournament and going 1-2 over the trio of contests.

Staff Report