GAME NOTES: The Charleston Classic moves on to the semifinal round on Friday afternoon, as the Akron Zips take on the Miami-Florida Hurricanes.

The winner advances to play either Charlotte or South Carolina in the title bout on Saturday, while the losers face off in the third-place game.

Akron opened up this event with a dominant first-round victory over USC, 66-46. The triumph allowed the Zips to move to 2-0 on the young season after winning their opener at home last Friday at UMBC, 74-57.

Miami began tournament play with an easy win of its own over Drexel, coincidentally by the same score as Akron's (66-46). The triumph allowed the Hurricanes to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2011, with their most notable win coming in Gainesville over No. 8 Florida on Monday, 69-67.

The Zips and the Hurricanes have split the two previous meetings in the all- time series, with Miami winning most recently in December of 2011, 69-61.

The Zips' contest with USC on Thursday was never in doubt, as their advantage didn't dipped below seven points in the second half on their way to the 20- point victory. Although their offensive output was far from great - they shot just 40 percent from the field overall and 8-of-27 from 3-point range (.296) - they were stout on the other end of the floor, as USC shot a lowly 28.3 percent from the floor with more turnovers (16) than field goals (15). Pacing the effort was Pat Forsythe and Kwan Cheatham Jr., who both scored 15 points and collected nine and seven rebounds, respectively. Noah Robotham added 14 points to the winning effort.

In a short sample size of two games this season, Akron has outshot its opponents from the field, 43.4 percent to 34.7 percent, for a +18.5 scoring margin while forcing an average of 16 turnovers per game. Cheatham (12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.5 bpg), Robotham (11.0 ppg) and Forsythe (10.5 ppg) are the team's core, especially now that Demetrius Treadwell (10 points, 13 rebounds in the opener) has been suspended indefinitely.

The Hurricanes played lock-down defense in their opening-round victory, holding Drexel to a mere 31.4 percent field goal shooting. Their offensive effort wasn't spectacular (43.9 percent field goal shooting), but they made the most of their 3-point opportunities by knocking down 11-of-21 from long range. Angel Rodriguez and Manu Lecomte led the team in scoring with 15 points apiece, with Rodriguez making a difference on the other end of the floor as well with three steals and two blocks. Tonye Jekiri was a force in the paint with eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.

On the season, Miami outperformed its opponents by a significant margin, shooting 46.1 percent from the field for 73.0 ppg while allowing 54.0 ppg on 36.6 percent shooting. Rodriguez leads the way with 18.3 ppg and has been red- hot from 3-point range, knocking down 11-of-20. Sheldon McClellan (11.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Lecomte (10.7 ppg) and Jekiri (7.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg) have also gotten off to strong starts.

Miami's strong play in the early going has made it the favorite in this event, and if it plays like it has during the past week it will be advancing to the finals.