Here’s our initial Big South men’s basketball power rankings for the 2016-17 season. These rankings are based on games played through November 27th.
Note: National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com.
1. Winthrop 3-2 #118
The Eagles own the Big South’s best win to this point of the young season, knocking off Illinois, 84-80 in overtime, thanks in large part to Keon Johnson’s 38 points. Pat Kelsey’s squad did drop a home game to New Hampshire on Sunday, their only other loss came at Florida State. Johnson and Xavier Cooks are both averaging over 18 points per game.
This week: 11/30 vs Furman, 12/3 @ Dayton
2. UNC-Asheville 3-3 #157
The Bulldogs may have lost their top 2 scorers from a year ago, but through the first 6 games of the season, they haven’t experienced much of a let down. Junior Ahmad Thomas leads the way at 15.7 points per game while freshman MaCio Teague is averaging 13.8 points. UNCA has one of the league’s best wins over Siena and have taken care of business against the lower rated teams they have faced so far this year.
This week: 11/29 vs Brevard, 12/3 @ Coastal Carolina
3. High Point 3-3 #261
High Point has wins over Averett, Navy, and UNC Greensboro, with their only losses against teams ranked in the top 100 of KenPom (Virginia Tech, North Dakota State, Clemson). Sophomore Andre Fox is 3rd in the league averaging 18.3 points per game. Anthony Lindauer and Miles Bowman Jr. round out their double figure scorers.
This week: 11/28 @ Morgan State, 12/3 vs Drexel
4. Liberty 3-3 #239
Coach McKay’s squad has picked up their first 2 non-conference Division I wins in 2 years with the Flames’ losses coming against VCU, Indiana, and William & Mary. Caleb Homesley leads the way at 13.2 points per game while Ryan Kemrite (12.0) and John Dawson (11.0) are also averaging double figures.
This week: 11/29 vs Central Penn, 12/3 @ UNC Greensboro
5. Radford 2-4 #283
The Highlanders have faced a tough schedule early on with all 4 of their losses coming away from the Dedmon Center and against top 170 KenPom teams. Mike Jones’ squad doesn’t have a single double digit scorer early on. We will find out more about Radford in the coming days as they face VMI, Elon, and UNC Wilmington over the next couple of weeks.
This week: 11/30 vs VMI, 12/4 @ North Carolina
6. Gardner-Webb 2-4 #233
The Runnin’ Bulldogs have also faced a tough early season schedule with all 4 of their losses coming against top 100 teams in SMU, Pittsburgh, Georgia, and Eastern Michigan. A couple of sophomores, David Efianayi and Laquincy Rideau, have paced Gardner-Webb leading the team in scoring at 15.0 and 13.8 points per game, respectively.
This week: 11/29 vs Coker, 12/3 @ VMI
7. Presbyterian 2-3 #346
PC has been the early season surprise in the Big South with wins over Furman and VMI, both teams in the top 300 of KenPom’s rankings. The Blue Hose losses have come against UNC Greensboro, William & Mary, and Boise State. Freshmen JC Younger and Jo’Vontae Millner are the only players for PC averaging over 10 points per game.
This week: 11/28 @ The Citadel, 12/1, vs Johnson & Wales
8. Charleston Southern 3-2 #287
The Buccaneers lead the Big South in scoring offense, scoring defense, and scoring margin at this point of the year. Of course, CSU is the only Big South school to play two non-Division I opponents already helping to pad their stats. Charleston Southern has one win over a Division I opponent, which came at Abilene Christian last week. Freshman guard Christian Keeling leads the Bucs in scoring at 16 points per game.
This week: 11/29 @ Alabama, 12/3 vs Abilene Christian
9. Campbell 2-3 #321
Led by last year’s Big South Freshman of the Year and current scoring leader Chris Clemons, the Camels have started the season at 2-3. Clemons is averaging 22.4 points per game while helping lead his team to wins over Bridgewater and VMI. Campbell has a couple bad losses on their resume losing to #220 Samford and #333 Morgan State.
This week: 11/28 vs Allen, 12/2 vs USC Upstate, 12/3 vs Colgate, 12/4 vs The Citadel
10. Longwood 1-3 #338
The Lancers have yet to beat a Division I opponent and have lost to two teams ranked 300+. Darrion Allen (16.8), Khris Lane (16.3), and Isaiah Walton (13.0) are all averaging double figures in points. Longwood ranks dead last in the Big South in scoring defense, allowing 76.8 points per game to opponents so far this season.
This week: 11/28 vs Dartmouth, 12/3 vs JMU
