Here’s our updated power rankings based on games played as of January 19, 2014. It is becoming increasingly difficult to do these power rankings. As soon as I think I’ve figured it out, there’s a couple results that don’t make any sense. I think there are 3-4 teams that have set them apart from the rest at the top, 6 teams in the middle that you could just flip a coin on any given week, and then Longwood and Presbyterian bringing up the rear.
Note: Division ranking in parenthesis. National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com. Arrows denote movement in overall Power Rankings. since previous power rankings.
1. (1st South) UNC-Asheville 9-9, 3-1 #209 2
Asheville is the hottest team in the conference having won 8 of their past 10 including a road win on Saturday over Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs only conference loss came last week in Myrtle Beach to Coastal Carolina. Freshman sensation Andrew Rowsey is leading UNCA with 17 points per game including his 35 points Saturday on 10-of-16 shooting and 6-of-9 from 3.
2. (2nd S) Winthrop 9-7, 3-1 #244 no change
The Eagles split their pair of games with Gardner-Webb and Coastal Carolina. Winthrop lost at home to the Runnin’ Bulldogs before beating the Chanticleers in overtime. Keon Moore led the way for the Eagles with 26 points against Coastal. A big matchup looms Wednesday between Winthrop and Asheville.
3. (1st North) Radford 13-6, 3-1 #254 2
The Highlanders dropped a home game to VMI 101-88 before rebounding to a 93-76 win over Longwood. All 5 starters scored in double figures for Radford in their win over the Lancers, led by Javonte Green’s 17 points and 19 rebounds. Radford will look to knock Campbell off on Wednesday in a matchup between the North Division leaders.
4. (3rd S) Charleston Southern 8-9, 2-2 #214 1
The Buccaneers continue their up and down play with a convincing 95-58 over Presbyterian, followed by a home loss 80-76 against UNC-Asheville. Arlon Harper struggled in the loss shooting just 1-of-7 from the field as he scored just 4 points. CSU concludes their first trop through their South Division counterparts Wednesday evening as they pay Gardner-Webb a visit.
5. (4th S) Coastal Carolina 9-9, 2-2 #256 1
The Chanticleers nearly pulled off a huge sweep on the week, but fell short to Winthrop in overtime on Saturday. Cliff Ellis’ squad did hand UNC-Asheville their only conference loss to this point with an 81-78 win earlier in the week behind Josh Cameron’s career-high 29 points on 5-of-6 3-point shooting.
6. (2nd N) Liberty 8-11, 2-2 #265 2
Liberty held off Campbell after leading by as much 16 in the 1st half. In both of their games this week, the Flames struggled coming out of the locker room for the 2nd half. They were unable to overcome those struggles on Saturday against High Point falling 76-70. Liberty has 2 winnable games this week as they face the worst teams in the Big South in Longwood and Presbyterian; however, the Flames have never won at Longwood’s Willett Hall.
7. (5th S) Gardner-Webb 9-10, 2-2 #273 2
The Runnin’ Bulldogs won both of their road contests this week against Winthrop and Presbyterian after opening conference play with 2 consecutive home losses. Naji Hibbert averaged 14. 5 points during the week. GWU will now try to right the ship at home with consecutive home games against Charleston Southern and Campbell.
8. (3rd N) Campbell 9-10, 3-1 #313 no change
I’m still not buy the Camels hot start to conference play. They lost to Liberty as expected, but did knock off the Keydets in overtime on Saturday. Campbell has a tough upcoming stretch including games with Radford, Winthrop, and Asheville. After this stretch we should know if they are real contender.
9. (4th N) VMI 9-8, 2-2 #237 2
VMI scored a big upset on the road against Radford, but could not sustain their momentum at Campbell. Rodney Glasgow went for a career-high 36 points against the Highlanders on 13-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. He followed it up with 20 points in the loss to Campbell, and has scored 20 or more points his last 3 times out.
10. (5th N) High Point 6-11, 2-2 #298 no change
High Point proved they could still compete in the Big South even without Allan Chaney sweeping the LUs. The Panthers look to keep their hot play going against VMI on Wednesday.
11. (6th S) Presbyterian 4-15, 0-4 #347 no change
The Blue Hose fell to 0-4 with losses to Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb. I’m just not sure how many wins they can pull out in the tough South Division.
12. (6th N) Longwood 5-14, 0-4 #342 no change
Longwood continues to struggle after losses to High Point and Radford this week. The Lancers will look to keep their win streak over Liberty at Willett Hall alive this week when the Flames pay a visit for a battle between the nearby rivals.
