This year’s Big South pecking order seems more difficult than ever to predict. A team can go from the top of the league towards the bottom, and vice versa, in the matter of just a couple of weeks. Here’s our updated Big South men’s basketball power rankings based on games played through January 24th.
Note: National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com. Arrows denote movement in power rankings since last ranking.
1. Winthrop 12-8, 6-3 #148
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Since conference play started, the Eagles have been a very hot and cold team. They dropped 3 straight to fall to 1-3 after their first 4 Big South games. Since that time, the defending conference champs have reeled off 5 straight wins to vault into a 3-way tie for 2nd place and just 1 game behind first place Radford.
This week: 1/27 vs Campbell, 2/1 @ Liberty
2. UNC-Asheville 13-9, 6-3 #185
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The Bulldogs have won 5 of their past 6 games with the only loss coming at the league’s hottest team. Asheville has been in contention for a regular season conference championship in each of Nick McDevitt’s first 4 seasons and 2018 looks to be no different.
This week: 1/27 vs High Point, 2/1 @ Campbell
3. Campbell 12-9, 6-3 #234
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Behind the firepower of Chris Clemons and Marcus Burk, the Camels are a team no one will want to face in a one-and-done situation. This combo set all sorts of records when they combined for 20 made 3s and 74 points in their win at Liberty on Tuesday. Campbell enters a tough stretch as 3 of their next 4 games are on the road and all of them are against teams with winning Big South records. If they survive that stretch, they could be a legitimate challenger for the regular season title.
This week: 1/27 @ Winthrop, 2/1 vs UNCA
4. Radford 14-8, 7-2 #170
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Winners of 3 of their last 4 games, including 2 in overtime, and alone in first place, but the Highlanders drop 3 spots in this week’s power rankings. It’s not so much what Radford has done, but more that the other 3 teams ahead of them are just playing at a very high level right now.
This week: 1/27 vs Charleston Southern, 2/1 vs Gardner-Webb
5. High Point 10-10, 5-4 #192
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The Panthers are extremely close to breaking into the top 4 as they attempt to solidify themselves as a contender. Their last 2 losses were by 1 point at Campbell and a 2 point buzzer beating setback in overtime against Radford.
This week: 1/27 @ UNCA, 2/1 @ Charleston Southern
6. Gardner-Webb 10-12, 5-4 #264
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Since knocking off Radford and moving into a tie for first place on January 12th, the Runnin’ Bulldogs have lost 3 of 4. They look to right the ship when Longwood pays a visit to Boiling Springs on Saturday.
This week: 1/27 vs Longwood, 2/1 @ Radford
7. Longwood 6-16, 3-6 #341
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Tip of the cap to the Lancers who opened conference play with 2 really bad performances in losing by 41 points to Charleston Southern and by 13 points at home to PC. But Longwood has steadied the ship and even won 3 out of 4 games before dropping their last 3.
This week: 1/27 @ Gardner-Webb, 2/1 @ Presbyterian
8. Liberty 12-10, 3-6 #218
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The Flames are reeling, having lost 5 straight and now dealing with injuries to Lovell Cabbil and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz and an indefinite suspension to Isaiah Williams.
This week: 1/27 @ Presbyterian, 2/1 vs Winthrop
9. Presbyterian 9-13, 2-7 #330
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The Blue Hose are certainly a more competitive ball club under first year head coach Dustin Kerns than they were a year ago when PC won just 1 conference game. The wins have been hard to come by, but they have given several teams some scares.
This week: 1/27 vs Liberty, 2/1 vs Longwood
10. Charleston Southern 7-13, 2-7 #316
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Despite sitting at the bottom of these power rankings, the Buccaneers have the capability to beat most anyone in this league as evidenced by their win over Gardner-Webb earlier this week.
This week: 1/27 @ Radford, 2/1 vs High Point
