TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team is competing in the Gildan Charleston Classic for the second time in four years. The tournament commences on Thursday, Nov. 21 and concludes on Sunday, Nov. 24 at the TD Arena on the campus of the College of Charleston.
 
All 12 games, including the three the Tigers will play, will be televised on the ESPN family of networks. Towson opens with Xavier on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in a game to be televised on ESPNU.
 
The Tigers will play either UConn or Buffalo on Friday, Nov. 22 at either 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. Towson will face either Missouri State, Saint Joseph's, Miami (Fla.) or Florida on Sunday, Nov. 24.
 
The Tigers are part of a competitive field. Through four games, Towson has dropped one in overtime to Kent State and another on the road to 15th-ranked Florida. Towson has enjoyed a different leading scorer in each game this season. Juwan Gray led TU with 19 points against George Washington. Nigel Haughton had a career best 17 points against Bryn Athyn. Brian Fobbs scored 20 points against Kent State and Allen Betrand finished with 14 points against Florida.
 
Jakigh Dottin leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio while Gray is tied for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) lead in 3-point field goal percentage.
 
Here's a brief overview of each team in this week's Charleston Classic.
 
Buffalo (2-1): After losing its season opener to Dartmouth (68-63), the Bulls have won their last two games by beating Nazareth (109-72) and Harvard (88-76). Members of the Mid-American Conference, Buffalo is led in scoring by Jayvon Graves (16.7 points per game). The balanced Bulls also have Ronaldo Segu (14.3 points per game), Antwain Johnson (13.7), Davonta Jordan (11.0) and Josh Mballa (10.3) averaging double figures. Mballa leads Buffalo in rebounding (7.7). Buffalo is shooting 42.4 percent from 3-point distance.
 
Connecticut (2-1): Members of the American Athletic Conference, UConn has played all three of its games at home, beating Sacred Heart (89-67) and Florida (62-59) and losing to Saint Joseph's (96-87). Christian Vital leads four Huskies averaging double figures with a 19.3 point per game average. Vital is also one of two UConn players averaging at least eight rebounds. He leads the Huskies in rebounding (9.0). Also averaging double digits for the Huskies are Josh Carlton (13.3, 8.3 rebounds), Alterique Gilbert (12.7) and Tyler Polley (12.7).
 
Florida (2-2): Kerry Blackshear leads the Gators in scoring (14.5) and rebounding (11.0). Keyontae Johnson adds 10.5 points per outing and Scottie Lewis scores at a 9.0 point per game clip and leads UF with five blocked shots. Lewis led the Gators in last week's game against Towson with 15 points. Andrew Nembhard has 23 assists for Florida, which has allowed 61.0 points per game.
 
Miami (3-1): Members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Miami has won three straight games since a season-opening setback to Louisville. The Hurricanes have defeated Florida Atlantic (74-60), UCF (79-70) and Quinnipiac (80-52). Kameron McGusty leads Miami in scoring at 14.8 points per game. Other double digit scorers for the Hurricanes are Chris Lykes (14.0), D.J. Vasiljevic (13.3) and Harlond Beverly (12.0). Rodney Miller leads the Hurricanes in rebounding (6.8).
 
Missouri State (2-2): The Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorites have been led this season by the duo of Keandre Cook (17.8 points per game) and Lamont West (10.8). Tulio Da Silva is Missouri State's top rebounder (8.0). Tyrik Dixon has 13 assists. The Bears' two losses have been by a combined four points to Little Rock (67-66) and Xavier (59-53). Missouri State's two victories were against Alabama State (59-50) and Cleveland State (73-53).
 
Saint Joseph's (2-2): The Hawks are members of the Atlantic-10 Conference. They have defeated Bradley (86-81) and UConn (96-87). Saint Joseph's losses are to Old Dominion (82-69) and Loyola Chicago (85-68). Ryan Daly, who played at Delaware for two seasons before transferring, leads the Hawks in scoring at 19.3 points per game. Rahmir Moore (12.3), Lorenzo Edwards (12.3), Myles Douglas (10.0) and Taylor Funk (10.0) are also double digit scorers for the Hawks, who are under the direction of first-year head coach Billy Lange.  Daly also leads the Hawks in rebounding (9.0).
 
Xavier (4-0): Members of the Big East, Xavier defeated Missouri State, 59-56, in the finale of its four-game homestand last Friday. Xavier has three players averaging double figures led by Naji Marshall's 16.5 points per game average. Tyrique Jones scores at a 14.5 point per game clip and Paul Scruggs chips in 12.7 points per contest. Jones is the Musketeers leading rebounder (7.8). Xavier has made just about as many free throws (65) as its opponents have attempted (66).
 
The Charleston Classic, entering its 12th year in 2019, is one of many tournaments organized by ESPN Events.
 
ESPN Events 
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of 32 collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 15 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, a college softball event and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 375-plus hours of live programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 800,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.