Rothstein: Wake Forest to Play in 2023 Charleston Classic

According to CBS Sports’s Jon Rothstein, Wake Forest has been added as the final team of the 2023 Charleston Classic.

In April, it was announced that the Deacs would play in the 2023 Cayman Island Classic alongside Drake, LMU. Marshall, Oakland, Ole Miss, Stephen F. Austin, and Utah State. As teams can only play in 1 MTE (multi-team event) per season, it seems as if Wake will no longer be making the trip to the Cayman Islands.

Based on the teams in both tournaments, I would say this is an upgrade for the Deacs. As the tweet above states, the 2023 Charleston Classic features Houston, LSU, St. John’s, Utah, Dayton, North Texas, and Towson. That’s definitely a step up in competition from the Cayman Island Classic and includes a 1 seed from the NCAA Tournament and the NIT champions from last season. Charleston is also way easier to travel to, which is good news for fans as these tournaments typically occur right around Thanksgiving.

Here’s a quick rundown of how the Charleston Classic teams fared in the 2022-23 season:

1. Houston: 33-4 overall, #2 in Kenpom, lost to Miami in the Sweet 16.
2. LSU: 14-19 overall, #151 in Kenpom.
3. St. John’s: 18-15 overall, #82 in Kenpom, just hired Rick Pitino.
4. Utah: 17-15 overall, #75 in Kenpom, ended the season on a 6 game losing streak.
5. Dayton: 22-12, #79 in Kenpom, lost to VCU in the A-10 Championship Game.
6. Towson: 21-12, #127 in KenPom
7. North Texas: 31-7, #31 in KenPom, won the NIT, but lost their coach and best player.

Wake Forest last played in the Charleston Classic in 2016, where they finished 2-1 with wins over UTEP and College of Charleston and a loss to reigning National Champion Villanova.

Go Deacs!