With a couple weeks of play under our belt, here’s our inaugural Big South Basketball Power Rankings for the 2014-15 season.
Note: National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com.
1. Charleston Southern 4-2 #190
The Buccaneers don’t have any bad losses and own the best win in the Big South so far this season having beat #67 Ole Miss in overtime. CSU has been led by senior guard Saah Nimley’s 15 points, 5 boards, and 4.5 assists per game. Hopefully you caught the highlight of their game winner in overtime to beat the Rebels to open the season.
2. High Point 5-2 #168
The Panthers opened their season with 3 impressive wins in Hawaii including a win over the Rainbow Warriors as part of ESPN’s college basketball tipoff marathon. Their 2 losses have come against Richmond and Clemson. Preseason Big South Player of the Year John Brown is leading the way with 20 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Brown had season highs with 26 points and 7 boards against Clemson.
3. Gardner-Webb 3-3 #189
The Runnin’ Bulldogs have a couple of good wins over College of Charleston and Clemson while their losses have all come against teams ranked in the KenPom top 100 (LSU, ODU, Seton Hall) . Jerome Hill is carrying things for GWU early with 18.5 points and 8 boards per game. The 2nd year head coach, Tim Craft, leads his team against #3 Arizona Tuesday night.
4. Winthrop 3-2 #179
After a run to the Big South Championship game last season, head coach Pat Kelsey hopes to have turned the corner with the Eagles. Winthrop opened the season 2-0 including a win over Clemson, before losing to Savannah State and East Tennessee State. Kelsey’s squad did rebound Monday night with a bit of revenge in beating Savannah State by 21 at home. Keon Moore leads the Eagles in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
5. Coastal Carolina 4-2 #171
The Chanticleers have 3 wins against sub-DI opponents in their first 6 games. They have also lost to UCLA and Chattanooga and defeated Louisiana Monroe. Josh Cameron and Warren Gillis have led the way for Coastal so far this season, scoring 15.4 and 12.8 points per game, respectively.
6. UNC-Asheville 2-4 #219
It has been the Andrew Rowsey show early and often for the Bulldogs this year. The sophomore guard has scored over 20 points each game this season, and has gone for 26 or more in 5 of UNCA’s 6 games. Rowsey has attempted 43 3-pointers in his last 3 contests. The Bulldogs’ only DI win so far this season came against East Carolina.
7. Radford 4-3 #185
The Highlanders are 4-3 on the season after winning consecutive games in the Corpus Christi Challenge over the weekend against North Carolina A&T and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. After dropping the first 2 games of their season to Richmond and JMU, Radford has rebounded to win 4 of their past 5. Javonte Green is averaging a double-double with 13.1 points and 10 rebounds per game.
8. Liberty 3-4 #297
The Flames are 3-0 at home, but 0-4 away from the Vines Center. Coach Dale Layer’s squad lost 4 straight games, all part of the Cancun Challenge, but rebounded Monday night at home by beating Furman, 66-52. Junior college transfer David Andoh has been a pleasant surprise averaging 8.6 points and 7 rebounds per game. Tomasz Gielo leads the Flames in scoring at 12 points per game.
9. Longwood 2-5 #345
The new look Longwood Lancers have dropped 4 straight since opening the season 2-1. Their only DI win this season came against UNC Greensoboro in overtime. The Lancers have lost to JMU, Youngstown State, Eastern Michigan, George Washington, and Iowa. Lotanna Nwogbo, a transfer from Tulane, leads Longwood in scoring (15.1) and rebounding (8.9).
10. Campbell 1-4 #311
The Camels are 0-4 against Division I competition, but at least they’ve played solid competition. Their losses have come to Ohio State, Colgate, Davidson, and Sacred Heart. Reco McCarter is scoring 19 points per game. Campbell travels to Harrisonburg to face JMU on Tuesday.
11. Presbyterian 3-4 #343
All 3 wins came against sub-Division I competition. The Blue Hose got embarrassed by Duke, 113-44, on opening night, and have lost each of their games by at least 20 points including a 63-38 loss to American. Jordan Downing leads Presby with 17.1 points per game.
