Big South: Conference Tournament Preview

Tournament Begins: March 4
Conference Championship: March 8
Television Coverage: ESPN3, ESPN2
Tournament Bracket: http://big-south.s3.amazonaws.com/sports/brackets/41/bracket.pdf?1425171045

Overview:
The top 5 teams in the Big South Tournament get a bye. In this case, it is well deserved. Each of the top 5 teams in the league have spent some time in first place. The top 5 teams are separated by just 1 game. Charleston Southern is the 1 seed, but it took a triple overtime win over High Point (the tournament's 2 seed) to get them there. All that is to say, the top of the Big South Conference is jam packed. Picking a favorite, and picking just one team as a likely spoiler, was no easy task. The number 5, or 6 or 7, seed all have legitimate chances to win this tournament. It should be filled with upsets and close games from the first tip.

Favorite to Win Tournament: High Point (22-8, 13-5)

High Point is the favorite here despite their recent loss to Charleston Southern. Before that game they had won 5 in a row, and they beat Charleston Southern earlier in the season at home. A neutral court game between these two might be a toss up, but we'll give the edge to the Panthers. One reason? John Brown. He leads the team in points (18.6 per) and rebounds (5.8). No team has an easy road to the Big South Tournament Championship and automatic NCAA Tournament bid, but High Point has the chops to do it.

Most Likely to Upset Favorite: Charleston Southern (19-10, 13-5)

The Big South Tournament's 1 seed would probably be none to happy to see High Point as the favorite. After all, the just beat the Panthers and are the tournament's number 1 seed. They have won 6 of 7, and 4 of their 5 conference losses were to other teams in the top 5 of the league. The Buccaneers are, indeed, solid. Then again, so are about 4 other teams in the Big South this season. It's not a knock on Charleston Southern that we didn't pick them as the favorite - it's a testament to the depth of the league. Don't sleep on the Buccaneers.

Dark Horse to Win Tournament: Radford (21-10, 12-6)

Radford is the dark horse pick to win for two reasons. First, they have been playing well. They started Big South play 0-3, including 2 back-to-back double overtime losses. Since then, they are 12-3. The second reason they could come from the 4 seed to win the tournament? Of those 12 wins in their last 15 games, two came against Winthrop, 2 came against High Point, and 1 came against Charleston Southern. In other words, they have already done what they will need to do. Their first opponent is Winthrop. Then they will likely get Charleston Southern. If they get past those two, High Point could be waiting - a team Radford has already beaten twice. The Highlanders should be coming in with tremendous confidence. If they can put that confidence into playing well, they could very easily be dancing.

Expected Tournament Bid(s): Conference Tournament Winner

The Big South is deep, but it is not made up of NCAA Tournament teams. This is a one-bid league. In fact, in his most recent Bracketology, Joe Lunardi has the Big South representative as a 16 seed playing in the First Four. It will be an exciting tournament, but only the champion will be dancing at the end of it.