We continue our conference tournament preview series with a look at the Big South Conference Tournament. This is a one-bid league with all 11 teams competing for the automatic birth. Radford won last year's conference tournament in dramatic fashion and then went on to win its opening round game in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament against LIU-Brooklyn.
Radford is the oddsmakers' favorite to go back to the tournament this year, but it's Campbell that owns the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage. This tourney will mark Fighting Camels' star guard Chris Clemons' last shot at getting to the big dance. The Camels haven't been to the dance since their only appearance in 1992, when they lost in the first round to eventual national champion Duke.
Let's take a closer look at this year's bracket to see if Campbell can end that drought, Radford can repeat or if someone else could sneak up on both to take home the Big South title.
Big South Conference Tournament Odds, Format
- Who: All 11 Big South teams
- Format: Single elimination (top five seeds get a bye)
- When: March 5-10
- Where: Higher seed hosts opening round, remainder at Campbell
- How to Watch: ESPN/ESPN3/ESPN+
- Defending Champ: Radford
Who Should Win?
This conference has been dominated all year by the two top teams: Campbell (+250) and Radford (+200). The Camels and Highlanders both finished the season 12-4, two games ahead of Gardner-Webb and Winthrop.
Campbell is led by the nation's leading scorer in Chris Clemons (30.1 ppg), who is only 114 points away from second-place on the NCAA's all-time scoring list. The 5-foot-9 inch senior does it all for the Camels, shooting 37% from 3 and 87% from the line. He also averages 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
The Camels defeated Radford twice during the regular season, but only by a total of three points. As a result, they will have home-court advantage, making Campbell my pick to win the Big South's bid.
Potential Sleeper
Winthrop +400
I really don't see any deep sleeper in the Big South. The only team I can see busting a Radford-Campbell final is No. 3 seed Winthrop. The Eagles are dangerous for the following reasons:
- Scoring: Winthrop ranks ninth in the nation in scoring, averaging 84 points per game. The Eagles are also top-50 in the nation from 3P at 37% as a team.
- Matchup: Winthrop already has a 90-86 road win at Campbell on Jan. 10 in their only meeting of the season. The Eagles are the only Big South team to win at Campbell this season.
- Rebounding: Averaging 41.1 rebounds per game, Winthrop ranks eighth best in the country. The Eagles have been even better on the defensive boards, ranking fourth overall. Any team that can limit their opponents to one-and-done possessions will always be dangerous in a tournament format.
The biggest hurdle for Winthrop might actually come in the semifinals against Radford. The Highlanders swept the Eagles this season and are the only Big South team with a better defensive rebounding percentage in conference play.
