Big South

College Hoops Saturday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:59:34 -0500

Before getting into Saturday's action it's only right to salute the first team guaranteed a spot in the Field of 65. Cornell clinched their third consecutive Ivy League title on Friday night, winning at Brown by the final score of 95-76. The Big Red knocked down twenty (yes, twenty) three-pointers in the win, which is the fifteenth of the season away from home (a school record). All five scorers reached double figures with Jon Jacques leading the way with 20 points. The Big Red also limited the Bears to 30% shooting from the field and 29 points in the second half. This is a dangerous team given their experience and the non-conference schedule they took on. Look for Cornell to be seeded in the 10/11 range, which usually means a mid-level team from a BCS conference that could be caught unaware. This group will be a trendy pick in most pools depending on the matchup.

One of the more important games in regards to the bubble are Louisville hosting Syracuse in the final game to be played at Freedom Hall. The Cardinals requested Cincinnati due to their history but the Big East gave them the Orange instead and Syracuse rolls into the Derby City ranked #1 as well. But maybe someone remembered the last game at Manley Field House (John Thompson II: "Manley Field House is now officially closed.") and decided that this would be a shot are "redemption" for Syracuse. But Louisville has traditionally done a good job executing against that 2-3 zone, including a win at the Carrier Dome earlier this season.

If they can once again work out of the high post the Cardinals can earn the season sweep since that will likely mean that Samardo Samuels will have an impact on the game. Wes Johnson, according to head coach Jim Boeheim, did have his right hand worked on earlier this week. What the procedure was or what its' effect will be remains to be seen, but he's got ample help on both ends of the floor in the likes of Andy Rautins, Arinze Onuaku and others. A win leaves no doubt for the Cardinals in regards to getting into the Tournament while the Orange would take their top ranking into the Big East Tournament should they come out on top.

Round two of North Carolina/Duke will have an impact on who gets the top seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament (either the Blue Devils or Maryland, who visits Virginia), West Virginia visits Villanova is another matchup of Top 10-ranked Big East teams (it's also Senior Day for Scottie Reynolds and company; and the 1985 national champs will also be on hand), Texas A&M looks to sew up a first round bye in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament and Mississippi State hosts Tennessee with the chance to add a solid win to their currently meager resume. Add in three conferences determining their automatic qualifiers and we've got a busy Saturday on tap.

TV GAMES

Noon CBS West Virginia at Villanova
Noon ESPN Texas A&M at Oklahoma
Noon ESPN2 Florida State at Miami
Noon BTN Northwestern at Indiana
1p CBS-College Tulsa at Memphis
1:30p Raycom Maryland at Virginia
2p CBS Kansas at Missouri
2p ESPN Syracuse at Louisville
2p ESPN2 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
2:30p BTN Purdue at Penn St
4p CBS UCLA at Arizona St
4p ESPN Texas at Baylor
4p ESPN2 Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina (Big South Final)
4p VS Wyoming at UNLV
4p Raycom Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech
5p FSN-SEC Georgia at LSU
5:15p ESPNU Detroit vs. Wright St. (Horizon League Semi)
6p ESPN Tennessee at Mississippi State
6p ESPN2 Mercer vs. East Tennessee St (Atlantic Sun Final)
6p FSN California at Stanford
8p ESPN2 Morehead St vs. Murray St (Ohio Valley Final)
8p ESPNU Milwaukee vs. Butler (Horizon League Semi)
9p ESPN North Carolina at Duke
9p MTN San Diego St at Air Force

OTHER GAMES

Noon Cincinnati at Georgetown
1:30p Maryland at Virginia
2p Connecticut at USF
2p Richmond at Charlotte
2p Notre Dame at Marquette
6p Harvard at Princeton
7p Saint Louis at Dayton
7p Texas-San Antonio at Stephen F. Austin
9:05p New Mexico St at Utah St
10p Louisiana Tech at Nevada

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

America East (quarterfinals; West Hartford, CT) TV: AmericaEast.TV
Atlantic Sun (final; Macon, GA/Mercer hosts) TV: ESPN2
Big Sky (first round; at higher-seeded team) TV: see conference website
Big South (final; Conway, SC/Coastal Carolina hosts) TV: ESPN2
Colonial (quarterfinals; Richmond, VA) TV: Comcast/ESPN Full Court
Horizon (semifinals; Indianapolis/Butler hosts) TV: ESPNU
Metro Atlantic (quarterfinals; Albany, NY) TV: MSG/MSG2?MASN
Missouri Valley (semifinals; St. Louis, MO) TV: FS Midwest
Ohio Valley (final; Nashville, TN) TV: ESPN2
Summit (quarterfinals; Sioux Falls, SD) TV: see conference website
Sun Belt (first round; Hot Springs, AR) TV: see conference website
West Coast (quarterfinals; Las Vegas) TV: Comcast SportsNet/see conference website

The three title games take precedent on Saturday with the showdown between Morehead State and Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference likely being the best matchup of the three. The Racers escaped Eastern Illinois on Friday night while the Eagles made sure that Tennessee Tech entertained no thoughts of winning by halftime. By now many know about the balance of Billy Kennedy's Murray State squad with five players averaging at least ten points per game and a sixth at 9.5. But in Maze Stallworth and Kenneth Faried the defending champions have a pair of players who can be a handful for the top seed. But it was Steve Peterson and Terrance Hill who stepped up in Morehead's 70-65 win last Thursday. Look for this to go down to the wire.

Coastal Carolina hosts the Big South final by virtue of their regular season title but it won't be Radford on the other side of the court. Winthrop put together an outstanding defensive performance in the Big South semis, forcing the Highlanders to settle for perimeter jumpers that they failed to make. But the Chanticleers have more options on the perimeter than Radford and they've got the ability to make Winthrop pay if left open too often. Joseph Harris and Chad Gray are the leading scorers for Cliff Ellis' squad, who lost at Winthrop back on January 30th. Mantoris Robinson and Reggie Middleton led the way on that afternoon and will likely have to do so again if they're to win in CCU's gym. Tempo will also be key; Randy Peele's team doesn't shoot particularly well and they're also averaging almost thirteen points per game fewer than the Chanticleers. A running game will lead to a blowout.

And the Atlantic Sun wraps up a tournament that's been positively wild from the word go. Sixth-seeded Mercer has taken full advantage of hosting the tournament, knocking off Belmont and Jacksonville on consecutive nights. But fifth-seeded East Tennessee State, who won the tournament last season, stands between the Bears and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than 20 years. James Florence made just one field goal against the Dolphins Friday night; Mercer can't afford for their senior guard to do the same on Saturday. But big man Daniel Emerson was sensational, scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the win. Four Bears average at least 11.0 ppg. For the Bucs, Micah Williams and Tommy Hubbard combined for 38 points to end Kennesaw State's dreams of a miracle run. Mercer won both regular season meetings by five points apiece, meaning that this should be a good contest.

ONE PREDICTION

Morehead State over Murray State: Tough to pick against the best team in the Ohio Valley but for the second time in just over a week they'll take on the team that's been playing better than anyone in the OVC. Maze Stallworth and Kenneth Faried lead the way as Donnie Tyndall's team wins a second consecutive title in what should be a classic. Eagles by three.

College Hoops Thursday Recap: Dayton Drops Another Close One

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:54:35 -0500

Dayton went into Thursday night's game at Richmond knowing that they needed a tough win, especially on the road, to improve their resume in regards to a possible at-large bid. Having dropped six games by four points or less (five of which came on the road) they needed to find some way in which to reverse that luck. All they were able to do is add another line to the list, losing 60-56 at Robins Center despite out-rebounding the Spiders 44-25 on the night. The issues for Dayton have been two-fold and Thursday night was simply the most recent example. The Flyers haven't shot consistently from the field (34% against Richmond) and they've turned the ball over as well (19 TOs, converted into 20 Richmond points). When 32% of your possessions end with a turnover you're in trouble.

Chris Johnson led Dayton with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Marcus Johnson (10 points) was the other Flyer in double figures. The Spiders, who will have one of the four first-round byes in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, were led by Kevin Anderson (22 points) and David Gonzalvez (14 points). A problem for Dayton on this night: attempting more than a third of their shots from behind the arc, which is more an indictment of the tempo at which the game was played (62 possessions) than the shot selection of Brian Gregory's team. There are plenty of athletes who can run the floor on this team; getting drawn into a half-court game by a team like Richmond will get Dayton in trouble.

"We had too many empty possessions," said Gregory. "Twenty turnovers in a low-possession game works out to just about a turnover every other possession (quote courtesy of the University of Dayton)."

But they can ill-afford to worry about this result with Saint Louis visiting in the regular season finals. The Billikens won in overtime in the first meeting, a game very few expected Rick Majerus' young team to win. "The only thing we can afford to do is regroup, get back to Dayton and work toward getting a win on Saturday against Saint Louis," noted Gregory. And unfortunately for he and his team they're running out of opportunities to bolster their resume.

Three Key Happenings

1. A wild quarterfinal round drops three of the top four seeds in the Atlantic Sun. The quarterfinal round of the Atlantic Sun Tournament is in the books and it's a round many will point to as a clear answer in regards to how crazy March can be. Both lower-seeded teams won on Thursday night, with Mercer knocking off Belmont and East Tennessee State dropping Campbell. Adding these two to Kennesaw State beating Lipscomb yesterday and all of a sudden Jacksonville may come to the conclusion that they've got a clear path to the automatic bid.

Not so fast, especially considering that they'll be playing a virtual road game on Friday night against host Mercer. James Florence and Daniel Emerson combine to make up one of the better inside/outside tandems in the A-Sun. As for the Bucs, who take on the aforementioned Owls tomorrow, Micah Williams went off for 32 points to make the Camels pay for guard Lorne Merthie's cold night (3-13 FG). With conventional favorites Lipscomb and Belmont gone this is anyone's tournament but give the early edge to Mercer since they're the host school. Don't be surprised if the Bears end up cutting down the nets.

2. Ashton Gibbs' heroics clinch a double-bye for Pittsburgh. Providence was just 3.5 seconds away from a huge upset victory for Keno Davis' team. But as the Friars have shown this season they can leave the door open for foes, and they've been made to pay for it. Pittsburgh, thanks to Ashton Gibbs, simply became the most recent opponent to highlight Providence's inability to finish, and they also clinched the final double-bye for the upcoming Big East Tournament. Gibbs (25 points), Jermaine Dixon (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Brad Wanamaker (10 points, 13 assists) helped Pitt survive a putrid night from the foul line (3-10), but truth be told the Friars could have put things away had they made more foul shots themselves (13-23). The Panthers know firsthand that having the double-bye doesn't mean automatic success since they had it last year and lost to West Virginia in their first game. But the majority of coaches would be more than willing to take their chances with it.

3. Coastal Carolina and Winthrop take care of business to move on to the Big South final. The Chanticleers did as expected and routed UNC Asheville in front of a partisan crowd in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader. However it won't be defending champion Radford who they take on for the third time this season in Saturday's final. That's because Randy Peele's Winthrop Eagles did an outstanding job on the defensive end to neutralize Art Parakhouski, winning 61-46. Radford shot just 25% overall and 2-18 (11.1%) from beyond the arc.

The poor perimeter shooting allowed Winthrop the luxury of sagging defensively and taking away the paint, and despite double-doubles from Parakhouski (11 points, 18 rebounds) and Joey Lynch-Flohr (17 points, 11 rebounds) the Highlanders didn't have enough offensively to take care of Winthrop. But while the Eagles have the ability to defend they're going up against a far more versatile offensive team in Coastal Carolina on the Chanticleers' home floor. They'll need Thursday night's effort and then some if they're to pull off the upset on the road.

Top Three Games

1. Pittsburgh 73, Providence 71 See above.

2. Drake 63, Southern Illinois 61 A Josh Young jumper with one second remaining gave Drake their third win of the season over the Salukis, and their reward is a matchup with regular season champ Northern Illinois on Friday. Carlton Fay led SIU with 14 points.

3. Michigan St 67, Penn St 65 The Spartans avoided losing to the Nittany Lions in East Lansing for the second consecutive season behind 16 points from Raymar Morgan and 14 from Draymond Green. Talor Battle and Chris Tabb scored 16 apiece to lead the Lions.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Jamine "Greedy" Peterson (Providence) The redshirt sophomore was sensational in a losing effort for the Friars, scoring 24 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.

2. F Herb Pope (Seton Hall) Pope helped lead the Pirates to an 85-74 win over in-state rival Rutgers with 22 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks.

3. G Brandon Fields (Nevada) Fields finished with 32 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the Wolf Pack's 100-92 win over New Mexico State.

College Hoops Thursday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:47:24 -0500

In regards to bubble teams Wednesday saw a lot of teams leave the door open for someone to sneak in and grab an at-large bid, and it's made quite the case why we're just fine with sixty-five teams. But with this arguably being the weakest bubble pool in the 64/65 era there are ample opportunities for teams seemingly off the radar to sneak in and grab a bid. One of those teams is Dayton, who visits a Richmond team that looks to be a safe bet for the Big Dance. Just 2-5 in conference road games, the Flyers have dropped four of their last five on the road and while there's no shame in losing to a Temple or Saint Louis those defeats at Saint Joseph's and Duquesne have them in a bit of trouble going into the regular season's final weekend.

Dayton's going to play at a slightly higher pace that the Spiders but by no means is Brian Gregory's team an all-out running squad. The key for the Flyers: rebounding. Dayton's especially good at hitting the offensive boards with the likes of Chris Wright, Chris Johnson, Kurt Huelsman and Devin Searcy, boasting a offensive rebounding percentage of 34.7%. This ability boosts their overall offensive efficiency numbers but they do have issues with shot selection on occasion, something that will almost guarantee defeat at Richmond if they aren't judicious with the looks they find. Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez lead the way offensively while Justin Harper and Dan Geriot are the Spiders' best interior scoring threats.

Richmond's among the most efficient teams in the Atlantic 10 and they do a good job of taking care of the basketball, averaging just over eleven turnovers per game. London Warren and Rob Lowery will have to be pests on the defensive end in order to take Anderson and Gonzalvez out of their comfort zones and the same goes for every member of Dayton's rotation. Chris Mooney's team is the kind that can pick you apart offensively if allowed to run their stuff without any kind of pressure, and this will likely determine the outcome Thursday night.

TV GAMES

6p ESPNU Winthrop vs. Radford (Big South Semifinal)
7p ESPN2 Penn St at Michigan St
7p ESPN Seton Hall at Rutgers
7p CBS-College Dayton at Richmond
8p UNC Ashville at Coastal Carolina (Big South Semifinal)
8:30 FSN USC at Arizona St
9p ESPN Providence at Pittsburgh
9p ESPN2 LSU at Mississippi
10:30 FSN UCLA at Arizona
11p ESPNU Pacific at Cal State Fullerton

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Four conference tournaments will either open or resume play on Thursday with the Missouri Valley and Northeast conferences tipping off while the Atlantic Sun and Big South resume play. The A-Sun had the surprise of the day on Wednesday with Kennesaw State knocking off top seed Lipscomb, but two-seed Jacksonville took care of business in the nightcap. The other two quarters take place Thursday with host Mercer taking on Belmont in the second game of the day. Prolific scorer James Florence can be a handful as can E.J. Kusnyer from behind the arc for the Bears but the Bruins have the three-seed for a reason. Belmont is led by Ian Clark but it was Mick Hedgepeth who led the team with fifteen points in their win over Mercer on February 25th. But it should be noted that Florence missed that game due to injury; his presence could spark a win in front of the home crowd.

The top eight teams in the Northeast conference face off with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal games, including top seed Quinnipiac hosting a dangerous Monmouth squad they took care of with ease just last week. But with forwards Travis Taylor and Ed Waite, Dave Calloway's team is capable of giving the Bobcats a fight. However stopping a team led by NEC Player of the Year Justin Rutty and fellow First Team All-NEC member James Feldeine is far easier said that done. Robert Morris hosts Central Connecticut State while the league's hottest team, Mount St. Mary's, hosts Saint Francis (PA) and LIU hosts Fairleigh Dickinson. And in the Missouri Valley two first round games will be played to kick off Arch Madness with Missouri State taking on Evansville and Southern Illinois battling Drake. The winners will move on to face the MVC's top two seeds (Northern Iowa and Wichita State) on Friday.

As for the Big South they move on to the semifinal round with all four higher seeds winning in the quarterfinals to set up a pair of enticing matchups. Coastal Carolina takes on UNC Asheville in the second half of the doubleheader, a team they swept in the regular season with a one-point win at Asheville and a blowout at home. The first meeting is the one that has the better chance of deviating from seeding as Radford beat Winthrop in their first meeting by just two points less than a week ago. Art Parakhouski and company will have their hands full with the Eagles, especially if this turns into a game played at Winthrop's tempo.

Atlantic Sun (quarterfinals)
Big South (semifinals; ESPNU)
Missouri Valley (first round)
Northeast (quarterfinals)

ONE PREDICTION

Richmond over Dayton: The Flyers really need a good win at this point in the season and a win at Richmond would kill two birds with one stone for a group that's struggled in true road games. But behind the guard tandem of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalves the Spiders won't allow that to happen. Richmond wins by six.

College Hoops Tuesday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:02:14 -0500

While three leagues begin conference tournament play on Tuesday there's also plenty of things to be settled in conferences who won't start their tourneys until next week. Florida and Illinois are two teams that look to be in good shape as of right now but both are faced with ranked opponents who would vault them into the Big Dance for sure were they to win. The Gators host Vanderbilt, a team that's still got designs on the SEC's overall title, in a game they can win provided guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton make sound decisions with the basketball. Two areas made the difference in the Commodores' 95-87 win on January 9th: the foul line (VU: 26-33, UF: 16-21) and turnovers (VU: 7, UF: 14).

A.J. Ogilvy and Jermaine Beal combined for forty-seven points while the aforementioned Florida guard tandem scored fifty, but neither Chandler Parsons nor Vernon Macklin was playing as well as they have been of late. Add in a raucous atmosphere in Gainesville and this sets up as a game the Gators can win. As for the Fighting Illini, they've got to visit Evan Turner and company in Columbus with the hope that point guard Demetri McCamey can show off the ability that caused Turner to peg him the best point guard in the Big Ten in an interview Monday. In their meeting on Valentine's Day the Illini shot just 34.3% from the field as McCamey, Mike Davis and D.J. Richardson all struggled from the field. Also, keep an eye on the Buckeyes' offensive efficiency; twenty of their twenty-six baskets in the first meeting were assisted.

Other games of note on Tuesday include Cincinnati needing another high-profile win to move their way onto the "good" side of the fence, Louisville and Marquette facing off in a game that may have more of an impact on the seeding of both (they look like solid bets to make the NCAA Tournament). Georgia Tech and Clemson are both needing another win and UTEP visits Marshall with the opportunity to clinch the Conference USA title outright and that would be the first time since expansion that someone other than Memphis has done so. And top-ranked Syracuse hosts St. John's in their first home game as the number one team since the 1990 season.

TV GAMES

7p ESPN Vanderbilt at Florida
7p ESPN2 Villanova at Cincinnati
7:30p ESPNU USF at DePaul
8p Raycom Miami at North Carolina
9p ESPN Illinois at Ohio St
9:30p ESPNU Louisville at Marquette
9:30 MTN Air Force at Wyoming

OTHER GAMES

7p St. John's at Syracuse
7p UTEP at Marshall
8p Georgia Tech at Clemson

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Three league tournaments get underway on Tuesday with top seeds Coastal Carolina (Big South) and Murray State (Ohio Valley) looking to make their way to the NCAA Tournament (the top two seeds in the Horizon League have byes to the semifinals). In leagues in which one bid is the most they'll receive March can be a brutal month for regular season champs if they aren't careful. Billy Kennedy's Racers were without a doubt the best team in the OVC outside of a two-point loss at Morehead State on Thursday but none of that matters now. "We remember last year's experience and how demoralized we were after losing to Austin Peay (in last year's tournament)," said Kennedy on Monday.

He added that the loss to Morehead State last week served as a reminder to his team of how quickly the season can end at this stage in the season. Prior meetings can be scrutinized until one's eyes burn but the saying "on any given night" rings especially true this time of the year. Morehead State gets Tennessee State, who's an entirely different team now than they were in either of the two regular season meetings and their youth could mean that the Racers take on a team more than willing to throw caution into the wind. And Cliff Ellis' Chanticleers have a tricky matchup themselves in VMI, and with the Keydets more than willing to run up and down the floor this isn't your "conventional" first round conference tournament game.

In the Horizon seeds three through ten play with the higher seeded teams hosting all four games. Detroit and Valparaiso could be the most evenly matched game on the schedule yet outside of Youngstown State beating Green Bay it wouldn't be a major shock if a lower-seeded team pulled an upset. The winners move on to Friday's second round at Hinkle Fieldhouse where one more win would mean a matchup with either Butler or Wright State.

Big South Conference (Big South Network)
Horizon League (Horizon League Network)
Ohio Valley Conference (OVCSports.TV)

ONE PREDICTION

Villanova over Cincinnati: The Bearcats desperately need this win if they're to leap back into the at-large discussion and it's one that could push them past a Connecticut team they've swept should they get it. But the Wildcats should have better luck going up against a team that doesn't have as many offensive options as a team such as Syracuse. Villanova will keep the fouls down and pick up the close road victory.

Poll: Who Will Win the Big South?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:23:35 -0400

College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Campbell University to Re-Join Big South Conference

Press Release — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:11:23 -0400

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? The Big South Conference Council of Chief Executive Officers has voted to add Campbell University as a full member of the League, beginning July 1, 2011, it was announced today by Big South Conference Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander. Campbell, a charter member of the Big South in 1983 until its departure in 1994, will be eligible to compete for all Big South championships immediately upon entry in 2011. The Camels will continue to compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference for the next two seasons (2009-10, 2010-11).

"It is most appropriate as we celebrate the Big South Conference's Silver Anniversary, that we welcome back one of our founding members, Campbell University," said Kallander. "The Big South is proud of its history and heritage, which includes many outstanding performances by Campbell student-athletes and coaches. The Big South Conference counts amongst its core values excellence in academics and athletics, leadership, integrity, diversity and fiscal responsibility. The addition of Campbell University reflects those values, and many more. Campbell will be an integral part of the Big South's efforts in developing leaders through athletics, and we are so pleased to have them back in the family."

"We are excited about Campbell's return to the Big South Conference," added Campbell University President Dr. Jerry M. Wallace. "The Big South's membership is located in an area where most Campbell students, alumni and major supporters reside. We will feel at home with the excellent and well-recognized universities of the Big South and look forward to the rivalries we will share."

Campbell sponsors 20 varsity sports at the Division I level, 17 of which are sponsored by the Big South: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, volleyball and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field. Campbell's football (Pioneer League) women's swimming (Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association) and wrestling (independent) programs will not compete in the Big South Conference.

The Camels enjoyed athletic and academic success as members of the Big South Conference from 1983-94. Campbell earned the Big South's first automatic bid in men's basketball in 1992 and in baseball in 1990, and was the first Conference champion in men's soccer (1984) and women's soccer (1993). Its women's basketball program was one of the League's best in the Conference's first decade, and its rivalry with Radford on the hardwood was epic. The teams faced each other in the women's basketball championship game six consecutive years from 1987 to 1992. Campbell's women's golf program was the first in Big South history to advance to the NCAA Regionals in 1994, and did so as an at-large selection.

Conference Tournament Odds: Mid-Majors

Evan Dorey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:47:53 -0400

Tournament Odds: Mid-Major Conferences

These are conference tournament log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find.

- more odds coming soon!

America East - March 6-14

The first three rounds will be played in Albany’s home court, SECFU Arena, with the final happening on Saturday morning at the higher remaining seed.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Binghamton	100.00%	85.45%	53.64%	26.52%
2	Vermont	100.00%	87.92%	62.85%	45.92%
3	Boston University	100.00%	86.45%	32.33%	18.97%
4	New Hampshire	100.00%	28.09%	7.94%	0.82%
5	Stony Brook	100.00%	71.91%	34.71%	6.86%
6	UMBC	100.00%	13.55%	1.39%	0.19%
7	Albany	100.00%	12.08%	3.43%	0.47%
8	Maine	75.37%	12.98%	3.54%	0.24%
9	Hartford	24.63%	1.57%	0.18%	0.00%

Hometown team Albany got the worst possible opening draw, as the favorite, #2 Vermont will be a tough task. Binghamton and BU should be the main challengers, with Stony Brook a team from outside the top 4 that could cause a big surprise.

Atlantic Sun - March 4-7

With only seven eligible teams, champions Jacksonville get an opening round bye, while the bottom 6 teams play for the other semifinal spots. All games are held at the Allen Center, home to #4 Lipscomb.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Jacksonville	100.00%	54.37%	35.75%
2	East Tennessee St.	84.10%	52.47%	20.87%
3	Belmont	76.41%	37.58%	12.64%
4	Lipscomb	84.83%	43.25%	28.80%
5	Campbell	15.17%	2.38%	0.66%
6	Mercer	23.59%	5.87%	0.81%
7	Stetson	15.90%	4.07%	0.46%

Jacksonville’s first round bye doesn’t help them a whole lot, while Lipscomb’s home court advantage will give them a serious shot of breaking through to steal the bid.

(Ed: ETSU ended up winning, one of the few upset conference champions so far.)

Big Sky - March 7-11

The Big Sky Tournament features just 6 of the conference’s 9 teams, with the top two teams getting automatic semifinal byes. The first round games are played at campus sites, while Weber St. hosts the semis and final at the Dee Events Center.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Weber St.	100.00%	87.17%	73.11%
2	Portland St.	100.00%	58.13%	13.29%
3	Montana	94.12%	41.37%	7.97%
4	Idaho St.	70.40%	9.54%	4.30%
5	Northern Colorado	29.60%	3.30%	1.31%
6	Montana St.	5.88%	0.50%	0.02%

Weber would have been favorites at a neutral site. At home, they should be able to win the two games they’ll need.

Big South - March 3-7

The semis and finals will be hosted at regular season champs Radford.

#	Team	F	W
1	Radford	86.18%	69.39%
2	Virginia Military Inst	47.51%	12.44%
3	Liberty	52.49%	14.59%
4	NC Asheville	13.82%	3.58%

Radford’s home advantage should see them through, but the Liberty-VMI winner will give the Highlanders a tough fight

(Ed: As expected, Radford locked up the title.)

Big West - March 11-14

Hosted in Anaheim, the Big West conference tournament uses a bizarre style, which I don’t faithfully reproduce here, as they have a two-team double-level bye, just like the WCC, but also re-seeded at each level. These odds reflect the tournament without reseeding, so they somewhat hurt the top teams, but still give a basic idea of the overall picture.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	CS Northridge	100.00%	100.00%	59.70%	32.34%
2	Long Beach St.	100.00%	100.00%	58.41%	30.28%
3	Pacific	100.00%	73.63%	35.02%	17.31%
4	UC Santa Barbara	100.00%	60.42%	26.20%	12.48%
5	UC Irvine	71.81%	32.63%	12.71%	5.48%
6	UC Riverside	58.88%	17.18%	4.67%	1.35%
7	Cal St. Fullerton	41.12%	9.19%	1.90%	0.42%
8	UC Davis	28.19%	6.95%	1.39%	0.32%

The top two seeds get a huge boost by avoiding the opening two rounds, and look the likeliest to advance to the NCAA tournament. The two teams with single byes also have decent chances.

MAC - March 10-14

The MAC Tournament, held in Cleveland, gives four first round byes, and is mostly notable for the fact that the two division champs get the top two seeds, which elevates a below-.500 Ball St. team out of the first round up to #2.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Bowling Green	100.00%	57.17%	18.32%	7.90%
2	Ball St.	100.00%	52.39%	13.83%	3.75%
3	Buffalo	100.00%	43.91%	30.38%	13.72%
4	Miami OH	100.00%	43.91%	29.09%	16.40%
5	Akron	94.36%	55.65%	41.06%	26.52%
6	Kent St.	90.15%	54.67%	42.38%	23.49%
7	Central Michigan	77.03%	41.65%	12.33%	3.74%
8	Western Michigan	39.43%	14.41%	3.09%	0.96%
9	Ohio	60.57%	28.42%	8.37%	3.38%
10	Eastern Michigan	22.97%	5.97%	0.68%	0.08%
11	Northern Illinois	9.85%	1.42%	0.40%	0.05%
12	Toledo	5.64%	0.45%	0.07%	0.01%

This conference is simply insane. The top two favorites don’t even get a bye, and Akron fans in particular must be steamed at the division winners rule. There look to be five teams that can potentially win the tournament, all from the East division, and no matter who gets it in the end, the MAC will retain its reputation for eating its own. Don’t be too surprised if you see the #5 or #6 seed make a long run in Cleveland.

MEAC- March 9-14

The MEAC Tournament features the 11 eligible teams meeting in Winston Salem, with the bottom six playing for spots in the quarterfinals.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
1	Morgan St.	100.00%	95.15%	83.06%	69.88%
2	South Carolina St.	100.00%	67.26%	36.98%	9.43%
3	Norfolk St.	100.00%	61.85%	33.51%	8.22%
4	NC A&T	100.00%	50.79%	8.05%	3.58%
5	Coppin St.	100.00%	49.21%	7.62%	3.33%
6	Bethune Cookman	90.11%	37.43%	17.18%	3.35%
7	Hampton	48.95%	15.79%	5.84%	0.90%
8	Florida A&M	41.68%	1.66%	0.37%	0.07%
9	Howard	58.32%	3.19%	0.91%	0.22%
10	Delaware St.	51.05%	16.95%	6.43%	1.02%
11	MD Eastern Shore	9.89%	0.72%	0.06%	0.00%

Morgan St. is a dominant favorite, but after that, its truly a free-for-all. Delaware St. is a fascinating potential long-shot, should it survive its first round game.

Northeast - March 5-11

The NEC Tournament has all game played at the higher seed with 8 of the 11 teams making the quarters.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Robert Morris	94.76%	82.61%	64.72%
2	Mount St. Mary's	91.99%	66.85%	22.16%
3	Sacred Heart	91.38%	31.18%	9.09%
4	Long Island	72.84%	12.75%	3.11%
5	Quinnipiac	27.16%	3.76%	0.71%
6	Central Connecticut	8.62%	0.98%	0.06%
7	Wagner	8.01%	0.99%	0.07%
8	St. Francis NY	5.24%	0.88%	0.09%

Robert Morris has separated itself from the rest of the conference all season, and with it hosting every game it plays, it should be on course for the NCAA bid.

Ohio Valley - March 3-7

With the semifinals set, all games will be played in Nashville from now on in the tournament.

#	Team	F	W
1	Tennessee Martin	62.54%	31.86%
2	Austin Peay	28.48%	10.72%
3	Murray St.	71.52%	42.86%
4	Morehead St.	37.46%	14.56%

Murray and Martin are both favored to make the final, where a battle between the two would be a lot of fun.

(Ed: Like ETSU above, Morehead St managed to defy the odds.)

Patriot League - March 4-13

All games in the Patriot League tournament are at the higher seed’s arena.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	American	99.07%	97.22%	86.03%
2	Holy Cross	93.81%	80.21%	12.37%
3	Navy	85.31%	17.26%	1.28%
4	Army	66.79%	1.75%	0.16%
5	Lehigh	33.21%	0.83%	0.08%
6	Colgate	14.69%	1.39%	0.04%
7	Bucknell	6.19%	1.14%	0.03%
8	Lafayette	0.93%	0.19%	0.01%

American has had an excellent season, and should head back to the NCAA tournament, especially with all its games at home.

Southland - March 12-15

Eight of the league’s 12 teams meet in Katy, TX to decide the Southland title.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Stephen F. Austin	70.74%	46.69%	28.36%
2	Nicholls St.	80.97%	40.99%	19.77%
3	Sam Houston St.	76.46%	46.90%	25.31%
4	Texas A&M Corpus Christi	63.42%	28.37%	14.03%
5	Texas Arlington	36.58%	11.81%	4.32%
6	Texas San Antonio	23.54%	8.15%	2.23%
7	Texas St.	19.03%	3.96%	0.74%
8	Southeastern Louisiana	29.26%	13.13%	5.23%

Prepare for good four-way battle between the top seeds, with the #8 Southeastern Louisiana potentially poised to bust some brackets.

Summit League - March 7-10

The Summit League Tournament is a pretty simple 8-team affair, with all games in Sioux Falls, SD.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	North Dakota St.	92.48%	83.64%	52.90%
2	Oral Roberts	88.37%	61.87%	31.48%
3	Oakland	81.52%	32.35%	12.02%
4	IUPUI	54.58%	7.58%	1.39%
5	Southern Utah	45.42%	5.50%	0.87%
6	IUPU Fort Wayne	18.48%	2.75%	0.41%
7	South Dakota St.	11.63%	3.04%	0.48%
8	Centenary	7.52%	3.28%	0.46%

North Dakota St. will be a team to watch for an upset in the NCAA tournament, but only if they can get by tough challenges from the winner of an ORU-Oakland semifinal.

SWAC - March 11-14

Eight teams meet in Birmingham to determine the SWAC automatic bid.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Alabama St.	94.70%	81.39%	63.36%
2	Jackson St.	84.03%	57.22%	20.15%
3	Prairie View A&M	72.56%	31.36%	8.01%
4	Arkansas Pine Bluff	70.73%	14.11%	6.07%
5	Southern	29.27%	3.05%	0.75%
6	MVSU	27.44%	6.57%	0.84%
7	Texas Southern	15.97%	4.84%	0.55%
8	Alabama A&M	5.30%	1.44%	0.27%

Alabama St. is a big favorite, with only the top four looking to have any kind of shot, and the top two in particular dominant favorites to meet in the title game.

Also: BCS Tournament Odds

Also: High-Major Tournament Odds

More: Championship Week Coverage

+2009 NCAA Tournament
	• All Tournament Coverage • NCAA Tournament Capsules • NIT Capsules • NCAA Tournament Schedule • Venue Info & Tickets • Bracketology

Big South Tournament Preview: Radford the Favorite

Evan Dorey — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:45:48 -0500

This is the first in a series of conference tournament previews I’ll be doing for CollegeHoops.net, in which I run down all the teams involved, giving a breif statistical review and picking out some of the key players, and presenting the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency.The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Big South

The Big South Tournament features the top 8 teams out of a 10 team league, with the quarterfinals being hosted at the home courts of the top 4 seeds, the semifinals at the regular season champion, Radford, and the final held at the highest remaining seed. Presbyterian is ineligible for the conference tournament.

Tournament Odds

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Radford	95.02%	82.91%	67.71%
2	Virginia Military Inst	84.48%	42.44%	12.06%
3	Liberty	74.55%	41.85%	12.56%
4	NC Asheville	74.07%	12.51%	4.08%
5	Winthrop	25.93%	3.24%	0.82%
6	Gardner Webb	25.45%	11.64%	2.18%
7	Coastal Carolina	15.52%	4.07%	0.43%
8	High Point	4.98%	1.33%	0.15%

Radford are hosting every game they play, so should be clear favorites to win. VMI and Liberty are close for the second spot, and should contest a good semifinal if both survive. There’s just an 8% chance of somebody outside the top 3 grabbing the bid, with most of that belonging to Asheville.

#1 – Radford Highlanders (18-11, 15-3) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.112

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1998 (1^st Round)

The Highlanders feature the Big South’s best defense, holding their opponents under 40% from the field, and doing an excellent job both inside and outside. They also do well on the defensive glass, and rarely foul, so the fact they force very few turnovers doesn’t hurt them. Offensively, Radford rarely takes threes, and has a lot of problems with turnovers, but lead the league on the glass and in getting to the free throw line.

Players to watch:

6-11 JR Arstiom Parakhouski, 16.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 54.7 eFG% - The Belarusian big man leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, and is one of only two players in the conference to average a double-double. He’s a solid shot blocker as well, but his shooting percentage isn’t that great for a big guy.

6-8 JR Joey Lynch-Flohr, 13.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 52.7 eFG% - Another quality scoring forward, he’s not as good a rebounder as Parakhouski, but shoots a similar percentage and is a solid second option.

#2 – Virginia Military Institute Keydets (22-7, 13-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.045

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1977 (Sweet 16)

VMI started the season 11-2 in conference, and after beating Kentucky in the non-conference, looked like they might be on course for the league title, but things fell apart a bit down the stretch, and the Keydets find themselves in second spot. This is easily the nation’s fastest paced team, the only one averaging more than 80 possessions a game, and it takes more than 50% of its shots from behind the arc. The Keydets hold on to the ball exceptionally well despite their speed of play, and shoot a good percentage inside and outside. The problem is on the other end, as their fast pace forces a lot of turnovers, but also results in the third-worst two-point defense, and the second-worst defensive rebounding in the nation.

Players to watch:

6-4 SR Chavis Holmes, 22.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG,3.2 SPG, 61.5 eFG% - The first of the Holmes twins is the nation’s second ranked player in steals, and while his big average numbers are mostly a result of the team’s fast pace, he’s a very good percentage player as well, and the conference’s best three-point shooter.

6-4 SR Travis Holmes, 19.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 3.3 SPG, 54.4 eFG% - They may be identical twins, but Travis’ game features better ball movement and somewhat weaker shooting

#3 – Liberty Flames (21-10, 12-6) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.052

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2004 (1^st Round)

Like VMI, Liberty shoot a huge percentage of their shots from behind the arc, nearly 50%, but they make a higher percentage from inside. The conference’s second best offense also depends on good free throw shooting and avoiding turnovers to make up for poor offensive rebounding. The Flames struggle on the defensive interior, allowing a high percentage of shots and getting few defensive rebounds. One notable thing they do well is avoid fouling; only a handful of teams in the country send opponents to the line less often than Liberty.

Players to watch:

6-5 SR Anthony Smith, 17.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 59.0 eFG% - Smith doesn’t start, but is the second leading scorer and leading rebounder for the Flames. He’s just 6-5, but shoots over 60% from inside the arc, while being a nice outside shooter as well.

6-3 FR Seth Curry, 20.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 51.1 eFG% - He’s no Stephen Curry, at least not yet, but he’s still a pretty remarkable player in his own right, the only freshman in the nation averaging over 20 PPG. Seth doesn’t have a long way to go to reach the same level as his brother, just needing to increase his two-point percentage.

#4 – NC Asheville Bulldogs (14-15, 10-8) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.011

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2003 (1^st Round)

Asheville seemed like it was doomed to the bottom half after starting the conference season 5-6, but put together a solid record since then to earn a home game in the tournament. The Bulldogs have a good offense, making a nice percentage of shots from inside and outside. They struggle with defence, though, with only VMI worse out of the tournament teams. The Bulldogs have real troubles inside, where they are weak on the glass and allow conference opponents to shoot nearly 50%.

Players to watch:

6-4 SO John Williams, 13.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 56.3 eFG% - Williams is the team’s most efficient scorer; he does all of his work inside, and is an excellent shot-blocker, quite impressive for a 6-4 player, even in a smaller league like the Big South.

6-6 SR Reid Augst, 15.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 50.7 eFG% - Augst is the team’s leading scorer, but struggles from behind the arc, where he shoots below 30%. Like Williams, his offensive play is best inside the arc.

#5 – Winthrop Eagles (11-18, 9-9) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.023

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (1^st Round)

Winthrop have represented the Big South in each of the last four NCAA tournaments, but its chances are very thin after a tough season. A strong finish will give Eagle fans some hope, but this is still a work in progress. Their problem is offense, as Winthrop is simply abysmal at making shots. They shoot just 41% overall, and rarely make threes or get to the free throw line. The reason that they’ve managed to stay nearly at .500 is defense; the Eagles are the second best defenders in the conference tournament. They are the Big South’s best shot-blockers and typically get opponents to shoot a lot of threes, where they are good defenders as well.

Players to watch:

6-2 FR Andre Jones, 8.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 42.8 eFG% - Jones is the team’s third leading scorer, but has been an inefficient player, especially with two-point shots, where he is well below 40%. He’s Winthrop’s best long-distance shooting option, but at 36%, that’s a bit of a back-handed compliment.

6-7 SO Charles Corbin, 9.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 47.2 eFG% - Corbin’s numbers are modest, but he’s the team’s top scorer and rebounder. He was slowed somewhat with injuries in mid-February, but has had some big games, including a double-double against Radford. If he can find some form, the Eagles can cause opponents a lot of trouble.

#6 – Gardner Webb Bulldogs (13-16, 9-9) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.013

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

Gardner Webb looked good at 7-5, but losing four straight conference games cost it a first round home game. The Bulldogs are a deserved mid-table team, boasting both a middle-of-the-road offense and defense. They depend a lot on outside play, making 35% of threes and rarely turning the ball over, while forcing a fair number of turnovers themselves and allowing over 50% of opponents’ attempts from inside the arc.

Players to watch:

6-3 SR Aaron Linn, 14.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.9 SPG, 48.7 eFG% - Linn leads the team in scoring, and just barely makes enough shots to stay reasonably efficient. He’s a better threat from inside than outside, and is also the team leader in steals.

6-0 JR Grayson Flittner, 14.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, 49.1 eFG% - Flittner was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer when he suffered a knee injury, and while he returned earlier in the month, he has struggled since, just 10-for-his-last-43 from the field.

#7 – Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (11-19, 5-13) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.049

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1993 (1^st Round)

Coastal Carolina are pretty much mediocre across the board, and it adds up to a mediocre season. The Chanticleers are good offensive rebounders, but their shooting is inconsistent, and they tend to give up a lot of steals. Defensively, they have trouble stopping the long distance-shot, and are below average in most other areas. When they do win, it’s usually because they’ve made a lot of shots, especially from two, where they are occasionally quite dangerous.

Players to watch:

6-5 JR Joseph Harris, 15.5 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 57.3 eFG% - I can’t pretend to be an expert on the conference, but Joseph Harris has to be a factor in the Big South player of the year race with his numbers. One of only two Big South players to average a double-double, Harris leads the conference in rebounds, and leads his team in points, steals and blocks as well. He’s a high-percentage inside shooter who gets to the free-throw line a lot, and will be a handful for any opponent.

6-5 SO Anthony Breeze, 10.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 56.2 eFG% - Another strong interior scorer, Breeze is second on the team in points, but would be a lot closer if his free throw shooting wasn’t an abysmal 52%. Interestingly, he doesn’t start, and is just 6^th on the team in minutes, but from an outside perspective I really couldn’t tell you why, he’s the Chanticleers most efficient non-Harris player.

#8 – High Point Panthers (9-20, 4-14) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.083

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

With Presbyterian ineligible, a 9^th place finish was enough for a young High Point team to sneak in as the #8 seed, despite an fairly poor record. The Panthers have struggled to score all season, committing a lot of turnovers and making less than 42% of field goal attempts, including under 30% from behind the arc. One bright spot on both sides of the ball is rebounding, where High Point is very good. Their defense is decent, good at forcing turnovers and reasonable defending shots, but unlike another weak offensive team, Winthrop, it’s nothing special, and can’t make up for the lack of scoring.

Players to watch:

6-11 JR Cruz Daniels, 7.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 63.0 eFG% - Daniels isn’t a key player in the offense, only reaching double digits on a few occasions, but does just about everything else you could ask of a big man. He’s an excellent rebounder, with his relatively low minutes somewhat masking excellent rebounding rates, and the conference’s best shot-blocker. When he does attempt to score, he’s high percentage, over 60% from the field, but he doesn’t get to the free throw line much for a big guy.

6-2 FR Nick Barbour, 14.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 48.6 eFG% - The team’s leading scorer, Barbour is High Point’s only legitimate three-point threat, and he hits just enough to make up for a weak performance inside the arc.

My statistical all-Big South team:

VMI G SR Chavis Holmes, 22.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG,3.2 SPG, 61.5 eFG%

Liberty G SR Anthony Smith, 17.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 59.0 eFG%

Liberty G FR Seth Curry, 20.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 51.1 eFG%

Coastal Carolina F JR Joseph Harris, 15.5 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 57.3 eFG%

VMI F SR Travis Holmes, 19.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 3.3 SPG, 54.4 eFG%

Big South Tournament: Quarterfinal Previews

Press Release — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:54:29 -0500

#8 High Point Panthers (9-20, 4-14 Big South) at #1 Radford (18-11, 15-3 Big South), 7:00pm ? Live Video: Big South EDGE on www.BigSouthSports.com

Radford and High Point meet in the Big South Tournament for the third time in the last four years and fourth time overall. High Point has won all three postseason meetings (2002, 2006, 2007) ... The Highlanders are the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2001 and fourth time overall ... Radford has lost six-straight Tournament games and is looking for its first Semifinal berth since 2003, when it was a No. 6 seed ... The Highlanders won the season series over the Panthers. KENNY THOMAS averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds against HPU ... High Point is the No. 8 seed for the just the second time since joining the Big South Conference, the first coming in 2003 ... NICK BARBOUR averaged 18.5 points in High Point's two losses to the Highlanders ... High Point has reached the Semifinals in each of the last five seasons -- all under head coach BART LUNDY ... CRUZ DANIELS is averaging 13.8 points, 14.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his last four games.

2002 Semifinals -- (7) High Point 72, (3) Radford 70 -- OT
2006 Quarterfinals -- (5) High Point 87, (4) Radford 84
2007 Quarterfinals -- (2) High Point 90, (7) Radford 73

#5 Winthrop Eagles (11-18, 9-9 Big South) at #4 UNC Asheville (14-15, 10-8 Big South), 7:00pm ? Live Video: Big South EDGE on www.BigSouthSports.com

This is the third consecutive year the teams are meeting in the Big South Tournament, and it is a rematch of last year's Championship game .... Winthrop is 5-3 overall against UNC Asheville in the Tournament ... Winthrop carries a Big South-record 12-game Tournament game win streak into the Quarterfinals ... UNC Asheville is the No. 4 seed for the first time since 2000, when it reached the Championship game. The Bulldogs won the title as the No. 4 seed in 1989 ... Asheville has reached the Semifinals in eight of head coach EDDIE BIEDENBACH's 12 seasons ... Winthrop head coach RANDY PEELE is 6-1 in the Big South Tournament with two titles (UNC Greensboro, Winthrop) ... The Eagles swept the season series in 2008-09 and have won three-straight over the Bulldogs.

1988 Quarterfinals -- (4) Winthrop 63, (5) UNC Asheville 58
1993 First Round -- (8) Winthrop 101, (9) UNC Asheville 87
1996 Quarterfinals -- (3) UNC Asheville 69, (6) Winthrop 61
2000 Championship -- (2) Winthrop 75, (4) UNC Asheville 62
2003 Semifinals -- (5) UNC Asheville 81, (1) Winthrop 80 -- OT
2004 Quarterfinals -- (6) UNC Asheville 49, (3) Winthrop 46
2007 Semifinals -- (1) Winthrop 79, (5) UNC Asheville 60
2008 Championship -- (2) Winthrop 66, (1) UNC Asheville 48

#7 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (11-19, 5-13 Big South) at #2 VMI Keydets (22-7, 13-5 Big South), 7:00pm ? Live Video: Big South EDGE on www.BigSouthSports.com

This is the first meeting between Coastal Carolina and VMI in the Big South Tournament ... VMI is hosting a Conference Tournament game for the first time since joining the Big South in 2003-04 ... The Keydets are looking for their first Semifinal berth since advancing to the Championship game in 2007 ... Coastal Carolina is looking for its first Semifinal berth since advancing to the Championship game in 2006 ... The teams split the season series in 2008-09, which featured two epic battles .... VMI won the first match-up, 103-102 on Jan. 10 when Coastal's STEVEN SEXTON banked a shot at the buzzer, but it was ruled that his foot was on the three-point line, giving VMI the victory ... In Conway on Feb. 14, MARIO EDWARDS hit a three-pointer as time expired to give Coastal Carolina a 100-97 victory ... TRAVIS HOLMES averaged 29.5 points in the season series, while twin brother CHAVIS HOLMES averaged 26.5 ... JOSEPH HARRIS owns a career 19.2 points per game average in six meetings against VMI ... Harris has 11 consecutive double-doubles (17.9 points, 13.6 rebounds) and needs four (4) rebounds to break the Big South single-season record of 342.

#6 Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (13-16, 9-9 Big South) at #3 Liberty Flames (21-10, 12-6 Big South), 7:00pm ? TV: Flames Television Network ? Live Video: Big South EDGE on www.BigSouthSports.com

Big South newcomer Gardner-Webb is a No. 6 seed in a Conference Tournament for the second season in a row, as the Runnin' Bulldogs were the sixth seed in the 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, their final year in that League. GWU defeated No. 3 Stetson, 82-63, a year ago .... Liberty is a Top 4 seed for the sixth time in the seven years of the Big South's home site Tournament format and is looking for its second-straight Semifinal appearance ... The Flames are the No. 3 seed for just the second time in its Big South membership, but the second time in three years (2007) ... The teams split the regular-season series ... Gardner-Webb had six players average double figures scoring against the Flames this season, while JOSHUA HENLEY averaged 13.0 rebounds ... For Liberty, KYLE OHMAN averaged 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds against GWU ... SETH CURRY has set Big South single-season freshman records for points (640) and three-pointers (95), and is looking to become the first freshman to average 20.0 points a game (currently at 20.6).