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) Coastal Carolina 13-9, 6-2 #240 2
The Chanticleers beat both Liberty and Campbell this week to claim sole possession of 1st place in the South Division at 6-2. Coastal has now won 4 straight games, and 6 of their past 7. Warren Gillis banked in a fadeway jumper with just over 1 second to play to defeat the Flames on Wednesday night in icy Conway. Then, in a matchup between the 2 division leaders on Saturday morning on ESPNU, the Chanticleers outlasted Campbell 61-58. Coastal was led by Warren Gillis’ 18 points.
2. (2nd S) Gardner-Webb 12-11, 5-3 #242 2
The Runnin’ Bulldogs are hot having won 5 of their past 6 games including 4 conference road wins. This week Gardner-Webb defeated Longwood and Radford, both on the road. GWU jumped out to an early 33-13 lead on the Lancers thanks to 70% shooting in the early going. They never looked back as they won 82-62, and were paced by Jerome Hill and Naji Hibbert who combined for 36 points. On Saturday, the Runnin’ Bulldogs used a Jerome Hill game winning jumper in overtime to defeat the Highlanders 73-72. Hill had 29 points in the game.
3. (1st North) VMI 12-9, 5-3 #243 5
The Keydets game at UNC-Asheville got moved up due to the threatening snow storm, but that did not phase VMI as they won a very entertaining game 109-105. The Keydets were led by QJ Peterson’s 37 points and 15 rebounds and Rodney Glasgow’s 35 points and 10 assists. Glasgow and Peterson combined for 51 points in VMI’s 107-93 win over Presbyterian Friday night.
4. (2nd N) Campbell 11-12, 5-3 #315 1
The Camels split their home games with the Buccaneers and Chanticleers this week. Campbell held Charleston Southern to 32.8% field goal shooting in their 65-57 win on Wednesday. Reco McCarter missed a game-tying 3-pointer on Campbell’s final possession as they fell to Coastal Carolina 61-58.
5. (3rd S) UNC-Asheville 11-11, 5-3 #234 4
After racing out to a 4-1 start to conference play, Asheville has now lost 2 of their past 3 games. Andrew Rowsey’s 35 points on just 18 field goal attempts was not enough to hold off the high-scoring Keydets. Rowsey then went for 32 points on Saturday as the Bulldogs defeated Longwood 67-66. Rowsey has now scored 30 or more points in 3 games this season, and is averaging 22.13 points per game in conference play this season.
6. (3rd N) High Point 9-12, 5-3 #281 4
High Point has won 3 consecutive and 5 of their past 6 including wins this week over Presbyterian and Winthrop. Devante Wallace scored a career-high 28 points in the win over Presbyterian on Tuesday, and John Brown led the way with 26 points in the win over Winthrop. The Panthers shot over 50% from the field in both games as they seem to have adjusted to life without Allan Chaney on the floor.
7. (4th S) Winthrop 10-10, 4-4 #270 5
Suddenly the Eagles are struggling having lost 2 straight, 3 of their past 4, and 4 of their past 6 games. This week Winthrop fell to both Radford and High Point. Radford jumped out in front of the Eagles and never trailed as they finished with a 76-64 win at Winthrop. The Eagles were led by Joab Jerome’s 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Highlanders shot 60% from the field in the game. High Point’s Adam Weary hit a jumper with 8 seconds left to give the Panthers a 65-64 victory over Winthrop on Saturday. High Point shot 53% from the field.
8. (4th N) Radford 14-9, 4-4 #256 2
The Highlanders split their games this week with a win over Winthrop, 76-64, and an overtime loss to Gardner-Webb on their home court Saturday. Radford led the entire way against Winthrop as they shot over 60% from the field in Rock Hill. After Jerome Hill’s jumper gave GWU the 1-point lead with 23 seconds left, Rashun Davis missed a layup in the waning seconds giving the Runnin’ Bulldogs the victory.
9. (5th S) Charleston Southern 10-11, 4-4 #248 2
The Buccaneers faced life without Saah Nimley and Arlon Harper as they were both injured in the game against Longwood, but split their first 2 games without their stars being major contributors. Charleston Southern fell to Campbell 65-57 as they shot just 32.8% from the field, but responded behind hot shooting Sheldon Strickland to beat Liberty 80-66 in a game which wasn’t that close. Strickland scored 35 points including 7 3-pointers.
10. (5th N) Liberty 9-14, 3-5 #278 1
The Flames are a mess right now after losing to both Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern this week. Liberty has now lost 4 of their past 5 games. Coach Dale Layer and crew have had several problem areas over the past few weeks including closing games out on the road, slow start to 2nd half, and turnovers. The road doesn’t get any easier as the Flames play host to Winthrop Tuesday before travelling to Asheville on Saturday.
11. (6th N) Longwood 7-16, 2-6 #336 no change
The Lancers fell back to reality after winning 2 consecutive games 2 weeks ago. Longwood dropped both games this week to Gardner-Webb and UNC-Asheville. Tristan Carey averaged 29.5 points per game in Longwood’s 2 games this week.
12. (6th S) Presbyterian 4-19, 0-8 #347 no change
Another week, 2 more losses for the Blue Hose. Presby’s best chance for a win comes Wednesday night when they face Longwood in the battle of the cellar.
