Here’s our updated Big South Basketball Power Rankings with games played through December 8th.
Note: National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com. Arrows denote movement in power rankings since last week.
1. Charleston Southern 5-2 #193
no change
The Buccaneers won their only game of the week against Columbia International, 105-55. Saah Nimley and Arlon Harper led the way with 38 points on 6/10 shooting from behind the arc. CSU travels to Raleigh to face NC State on Friday.
2. High Point 6-2 #164
no change
After their win over William & Mary, the Panthers are right on the Bucs heels for the #1 spot. HPU was keyed by a 23-4 run in the 2nd half to overcome a 14 point deficit. John Brown led the Panthers with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. High Point travels to face #12 Ohio State later this week.
3. Gardner-Webb 5-4 #188
no change
The Runnin’ Bulldogs fell to #3 Arizona 91-65. The game was relatively close until the Wildcats went on a 16-0 run in the 2nd half to break open the contest. Jerome Hill had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists as the Runnin’ Bulldogs shot just 37% from the field. GWU closed the week with 2 wins over non-Division I opponents.
4. Coastal Carolina 6-2 #160
1
Cliff Ellis made his return to Auburn where he was the Tigers head coach from 1994-2004. The Chanticleers would knock off Auburn, 58-54. Josh Cameron’s 22 points paced the Chants who trailed by as many as 11 in the 2nd half before coming back to win the game.
5. UNC-Asheville 3-4 #214
1
Just one game for the Bulldogs this week, a 91-66 win over Limestone. Andrew Rowsey led the way with 22 points.
6. Radford 5-3 #179
1
The Highlanders picked up a big win over Virginia Tech, 68-66. Radford trailed 66-60, but finished the game on a 8-0 run. R.J. Price led the way with 25 points. It was Radford’s first ever win over an ACC opponent.
7. Winthrop 3-4 #199
3
As good as the top half has been this season, a loss to Jacksonville State #304 in KenPom, will drop you a few spots. The Eagles also lost to Maryland this week, 82-62.
8. Liberty 3-5 #343
no change
There is a clear line between the top 7 teams in the league and the bottom 4. Any of the top 7 teams could win the conference championship this season. As for the bottom 4? The biggest news around the Flames this week is the loss of forward Tomasz Gielo who is “week to week” with a stress reaction in his leg.
9. Longwood 3-6 #345
no change
The Lancers split a pair this week, beating Dartmouth before falling to UT Martin. Quincy Taylor averaged 30 points per game during the week while shooting 9/15 from 3 in Longwood’s 2 games.
10. Campbell 2-5 #298
no change
The Camels fell at James Madison, 63-61, before rebounding on Monday night with a win over Johnson & Wales. The game against the Dukes was tied at 61 before JMU scored with just 3 seconds left to win the game.
11. Presbyterian 3-6 #342
no change
The Blue Hose fall to 0-6 against Division I competition this week with losses to Wofford and UNC Greensboro. It was UNCG’s first Division I win of the season and came on PC’s home court.
