Another competitive season of Big South play is coming. A usual program is on top of my predictions with Winthrop but some new programs who haven’t had success lately with be in the hunt for that at large bid when March comes around
- Winthrop (15 Seed)
- Charleston Southern
- UNC Asheville
- Radford
- South Carolina Upstate
- High Point
- Hampton
- Campbell
- Gardner Webb
- Longwood
- Presbyterian
- Winthrop- The Eagles were part of a two headed monster with Radford on top of the Big South in 2019-20. Unlike Radford, Winthrop brings back everyone on the roster which includes big man DJ Burns who will be in the Big South Player of the Year race. With point guard Hunter Hale as an experienced floor general I don’t think anyone can challenge the Eagles in the Big South.
- Charleston Southern- Guard Phalndrous Fleming Jr is my pick for Big South Player of the Year. I think he leads this Buccaneers squad to their best season in recent memory. Charleston Southern will shock a lot of people who don’t follow the Big South closely. Fleming Jr vs Winthrop in the conference title game would be very entertaining.
- UNC Asheville- The Bulldogs have the best junior class in the Big South. They lost 7 games last season by 5 or less points. Some of those games go the other way and Asheville looks a lot better. With another year of experience, I think this is the team that can challenge Winthrop and upset them in the conference tourney.
- Radford- The Highlanders lose their 8 top scorers from that team who won a share of the Big South regular season title. Most teams that lose that much talent I would put even lower than this, but I trust Coach Mike Jones to get the most out of this roster. It is possible they are in the bottom half of the conference but I just cant put a powerhouse that low until I see it happen.
- South Carolina Upstate- The Spartans seem to always be an average team in the Big South. Nothing about their roster makes me think that will change. Except Upstate to have a .500 record with a good upset and a bad lose on the resume.
- High Point- I think Panther fans excepted the name of Tubby Smith to be able to get more recruits or transfers into this program. While still underwhelming they finally have an experienced team with some transfers coming in. They were a very young team last season and they played better late in the season. I think Tubby will have the best team at High Point in a long time and will be taking the steps towards success in the Big South
- Hampton- On Paper the Pirates bring back a lot of their production from last season but they do lose Jermaine Marrow who was their best player by a mile. They will need someone to step into that role and that might take a few games to happen so I could see the Priates being the most improved team when you compare December to March.
- Campbell- Campbell might have the best front courts in the Big South with 3 quality centers that they can rotate in. The Fighting Camels came in last place in Big South play last season but I do see improvement towards the middle of the conference with potential to be a top team if everything clicks.
- Gardner Webb- The Bulldogs separated from the rest of the conference as the 3rd best team behind the two headed monster. They lose also as much as Radford and do not bring in any transfers to replace that talent. They will need Jaheam Cornwall to play out of his mind for the team to have any success.
- Longwood- The Lancers had a great run in the Big South to a 9-9 conference record which exceeded expectations. That senior class has left the building, and no one is coming in to replace them. This will be a bad season for a program that seemed to be on the rise.
- Presbyterian- This program is in a tailspin, losing transfers everywhere and not replacing any of that talent. The Blue Hose might not win a game in the Big South if their young players don’t improve drastically.
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