Here’s our inaugural Big South men’s basketball power rankings for the 2017-18 season based on games played through November 28th.
Note: National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com.
1. UNC-Asheville 4-2 #109
The preseason conference favorite Bulldogs have picked up where they left off a season ago, with their only losses coming at the hands of top 100 programs Rhode Island and Vanderbilt, the latter of which was by just 3 points. MaCio Teague and Ahmad Thomas again lead the way for Nick McDevitt’s squad, combining for 27 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
This week: 11/29 vs USC Upstate, 12/3 @ Clemson, 12/5 @ Furman
2. Liberty 5-2 #164
The Flames have the best win of any Big South team to this point of the season with their win over Wake Forest. The rest of the league is a combined 0-16 against top 100 KenPom teams, including Liberty’s losses against Mercer and Houston. Bradley transfer Scottie James has been a huge boost to the team’s front line, averaging 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
This week: 12/2 vs UNC Greensboro, 12/4 @ Georgia State
3. Radford 3-3 #182
The Highlanders have losses to Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and Elon with solid DI wins over East Carolina and James Madison. 7th year head coach Mike Jones is utilizing a balanced scoring attack with no player scoring more than Ed Polite’s 12.7 points and 4 Highlanders are averaging between 12.7 and 8.2 points per game.
This week: 12/2 @ VMI, 12/6 @ Virginia Tech
4. Campbell 3-4 #220
The Camels have been on the short end of several close games this season with their 4 losses coming by a combined 26 points, 3 of which were decided by 6 points or less. Chris Clemons is averaging 23.6 points per game to lead the Big South, and his teammate, Marcus Burk, is 2nd in the league at 19.3 points per game.
This week: 11/30 @ Stetson, 12/4 @ East Carolina
5. High Point 2-4 #246
The Panthers opened the season with an impressive 34 point rout of William & Mary, but they have been unable to beat a Division I opponent since then. Scott Cherry’s squad has losses to Tennessee, the Citadel, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh. Andre Fox leads the team and ranks near the top of the Big South in scoring at 19 points per game.
This week: 12/1 vs Johnson & Wales, 12/4 @ College of Charleston
6. Winthrop 3-3 #212
The Eagles’ only win this season against a Division I opponent came on Sunday against South Carolina State, one of the worst teams in all of DI. They have a 34 point loss to Auburn and losses to Southern Illinois and Colorado State also on their resume. Big South Player of the Year candidate, Xavier Cooks, is averaging 14.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
This week: 11/29 @ Furman, 12/2 vs Reinhardt, 12/5 @ Georgia
7. Charleston Southern 4-3 #292
The Bucs had their 4 game win streak snapped Tuesday night with a 76-68 loss to VMI at the BucDome in Charleston. Prior to that, their 4 game win streak included two DI wins over USC Upstate and Illinois State. Sophomore Christian Keeling is averaging 15.3 points per game while Travis McConico is averaging 13.0 points per game.
This week: no game until 12/12
8. Gardner-Webb 2-6 #266
The Runnin’ Bulldogs have suffered through a difficult non-conference schedule to open the season with 3 losses in 5 days on a Florida trip that included games against Miami, Florida, and UCF. After losing in triple overtime to Jacksonville on Sunday, Gardner-Webb is still without a Division I win.
This week: 12/2 vs USC Upstate, 12/6 @ Auburn
9. Presbyterian 2-5 #343
Under first year head coach Dustin Kerns, the Blue Hose picked up their first Division I win on Black Friday by knocking off Chicago State by 2, and they followed that up with an upset win over UNC Greensboro Tuesday night. The Blue Hose used an off-balance buzzer beater to knock off the Spartans. Two good tests at home for Kerns’ squad this week.
This week: 12/2 vs North Carolina A&T, 12/5 vs South Carolina State
10. Longwood 1-5 #344
The Lancers started the year with 5 straight losses before knocking off non-DI foe North Carolina Wesleyan. Jayson Gee’s squad has lost all but 1 game by double figures including a 31 point blowout loss at UNC Greensboro.
This week: 11/29 vs Bluefield St, 12/2 vs Fayetteville St
