Big South Basketball

John Caleb Sanders is a junior guard for Liberty. The Flames (15-20) won the Big South Conference tournament to clinch an NCAA tournament bid. Liberty plays North Carolina A&T in a first-round game on Tuesday night to become the 16th seed in the Midwest Region. The winner meets Louisville, the No. 1 overall seed, on Thursday.

It finally hit me last night that the Liberty Flames are in the NCAA tournament. You see your name in the bracket. Now today, we’re flying out, and it’s starting to become real.

Over the last week, it almost felt like Christmas break. We were practicing and not playing, and you didn’t really know what was next.

We leave today on a charter jet that will pick us up at the Lynchburg Airport, which is about a half-mile from campus. The plan is to rest a little bit when we get to Dayton, eat and have a short practice. We reviewed North Carolina A&T's stuff last night for the first time, and we’ll go over it again, but there isn’t a ton of time to prepare because we play the early game on Tuesday.

It’s going to be wild to play in front of such a big crowd. Most of the guys haven’t experienced that. As crazy as this may sound, I did in high school. I was home-schooled, and at Home School Nationals, we used to almost pack out Missouri State’s arena. The crowd was not hostile, as you can imagine with home-school families, but it was a lot of people.

We also traveled to Texas A&M last year, and the building was about half-full. We should handle the crowd well.

The key this week is that we get rest and have faith. No one has really believed in us, so that’s nothing new. I try not to pay attention to that stuff, but even fans around here lost faith. Our last home game, we probably had 1,000 people. My sophomore year, we averaged closer to 3,000.

Anyway, it was one of the worst home crowds, and that was on senior night. You could tell people had started to give up on us for this year and look forward to next year.

There was a little blurb on a blog that said we had a 0.5 percent chance to win the Big South. We were 10th out of 12 teams, but playing well. You want to say if you play hard, anything can happen. That was our focus. Everything kind of flipped for us once we won at Radford and beat Coastal Carolina.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptqDzt4t4f0

Like I said before, it’s real now that we have an opponent. I actually watched North Carolina A&T against Morgan State. Everyone knew we were going to be in the play-in game, so I looked at the SWAC and MEAC. I watched Morgan State closer because I thought it was going to win.

But A&T looked good. Just like any other team, it's hot right now. It's won four in a row. It has big guards. It's physical and rebounds well. It’s going to be a tough game.

I don’t feel like a massive underdog going into this game. I don’t know who the better team is; our records are not that different. If we win the game and get to play Louisville, we’ve just got to go in, have fun and enjoy the moment. Hey, we’ve got some good scorers. We shoot the ball and rebound well.

I’ve been saying this all week: It’s called March Madness for a reason. You go in there, play 40 minutes and you have no idea what could happen.

I’m a strong believer. Putting faith in God to keep persevering is the reason we’re here. We’re in the NCAA tournament for a purpose, and the bigger the stage we get, the more we have a chance to honor God.

The Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament got underway on Tuesday afternoon and from the opening tip of the first game between Winthrop and Radford, madness ensued. 

That game between Radford, who finished fourth in the North Division, and Winthrop, who finished fifth in the South Division, delivered plenty of thrills throughout their rematch of the January 26 clash that saw Radford win by one point.

The first game between the two teams saw Radford win 58-57. On Tuesday afternoon, Winthrop won by a 60-58 score in overtime. 

The Eagles, who won just six games in Big South play during the regular season, took down Radford on a Joab Jerome layup with two seconds to go in overtime. 

The overtime thriller to kick off the Big South Tournament was just the beginning of a crazy day at HTC Center.

The next game on the four-game schedule saw UNC-Asheville take on Longwood in a game where the third-place finishers from the North Division were highly favored.

The seeding and previous loss to UNC-Asheville on January 19 meant nothing to the Longwood Lancers as they stormed past the Bulldogs 87-72. 

Tristan Carey scored a game-high 21 points in the victory for Longwood, a team that only won four Big South regular season games. 

After the expected victory by Campbell over Presbyterian in the third game of the day, the madness resumed in the game between Liberty and Coastal Carolina. 

Liberty, who entered as the fifth seed out of the North Division took down the host and fourth seed out of the South Division, 78-61. Liberty guard Davon Marshall shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc on his way to a game-high 28 points. 

By seeds, that's 3 upsets in 4 games for day one of #MyrtleBeachMadness. Final of late game was Liberty 78, Coastal 61. What a wild day!

— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) March 6, 2013

With three out of the four Tuesday games seeing the lower seed come out victorious, we can not predict how crazy the Myrtle Beach Madness will get on Wednesday.

Winthrop will open the play on Wednesday against South Division winners Charleston Southern. That game will be followed by Longwood and VMI. The night session of games will see Campbell and Gardner-Webb play before upset-minded Liberty will face North Division winners High Point in the nightcap.

For more insight throughout March Madness, follow me on Twitter, @JTansey90.

   Long the most popular team at Longwood, the LU men’s basketball has fought for a decade under tenth-year head coach Mike Gillian to enter a conference, and last year they completed that fight in a “big” way, joining the Big South Conference.

   The team’s 2012-13 schedule was released recently, with the team’s opening contest being played on the road at Marshall of Conference USA on Nov. 9, and then the Lancers come home for the season’s first home match on Nov. 15 against Norfolk State of the MEAC. After that, the team will play in the Las Vegas Invitational against Arkansas, Creighton, Florida A&M, and another team yet to be determined.

   In an interview with Gillian, the longest-tenured men's basketball coach in school history said that “In putting the schedule together in the past, you always try to put as many home games as possible right there in the beginning portion because we’re not sure how many of those home games we’ll get later on in the year … Once we knew we were in the Big South, we knew we would be locked into a certain number of home games once we got to January and February, so how you build it there is a little different and how you approach the season is a little different.

   “Also, with that in some of those games against higher-name opponents like Marshall and when we get to the period after Finals, I want those games to be done with … We may not have quite as many home games early on, and we may have those high-profile games early on, which makes that a little more challenging.”

   Gillian said that Marshall would be a team picked to finish high in their conference in preseason.

   At some point in six of the past seven seasons, the Lancers have made the trip to Charlottesville to play local power Virginia, but the Cavaliers are a noticeable absence on Longwood’s schedule this year. Gillian noted that “We worked with them to try and put [a game] together once again, and now for us, there are fewer games that we have control of. In the past, we had 31 games that we had control of. Now, that’s not really the case.

   "I’m talking to them now about getting back together with them in 2013-14. It’s certainly something we’d like to do and they’d like to do, but it’s something that has to work out together for both sides."

   The team will again be active over the winter break, playing eight games in that time period, including at Georgetown on Dec. 10, at Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 21, and their first-ever Big South game at home against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 5. Gillian remarked that there is some local flavor fame over the holiday break, as well as some familiarity from last year’s schedule: “You always want to have the profile of the program raised as much as possible. I think we’ve been able to do that and we’re going to keep back referring to the Big South because that’s the biggest part. You have Radford, Liberty, [and] VMI built in twice a year."

   He added, “We want to try and maintain those in-state opponents to try and maintain the profile of our program. And although Georgetown’s not in Virginia, it’s Georgetown. It’s a prominent program in Washington, D.C., so it’s a huge time period for us. Even going to Buffalo to play Canisius is tough.”

   When asked if he had any games in particular circled on the calendar yet, he firmly said “no,” saying that every game was, in fact, circled and that it’s not the same anymore. He said that the “cherry on top of the sundae” is the Big South Tournament, hosted by Coastal Carolina in early March.

"There are some realities as a coach that you realize. It’s very difficult for more than one team [in the Big South] to realize their dream and go to the NCAA tournament. That one team that does get that opportunity is the one that gets that win in March," he said.

   "If we were circling anything, we’re circling that conference championship when we do get there, and you certainly want to be peaking at the end of the year."

   All 12 teams from the conference make the Big South tournament. The top two teams from the North and South divisions earn an automatic berth in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, while the other eight battle it out in the opening round.

Sure, it flew in the face of the one piece of refined bracketology fact—never choose a 16 seed to upset a one seed—but I don’t regret picking UNC-Asheville to upset Syracuse in the Round of 64.

I know, by the time I’ve finished writing this article No. 1 seeds will have a 110-0 record against No. 16 seeds, and that record will be 112-0 tomorrow.

But did you see the game? It was close. Very close.

It was a reasonable upset call to make. UNC-A was one of the most solid 16-seeds in the last decade, and Syracuse was missing their starting center, who just happened to be the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. The fact that the game was close legitimizes my call, but I would have been fine with my pick even if Syracuse had looked a bit more like the team that they were supposed to be and won by a fair margin.

It’s fine that I can be mocked for making a rookie mistake with my bracket. I was seven points and three refs away from looking like a veritable genius.

Put aside, for the moment, even the dubious turn that the game took in the last few minutes to seal the close win for the Orange. Forget the fact that the Bulldogs played a great game against one of the better teams in college basketball.

Think, instead, about the reason that we call this wonderful season of sports insanity by the name of “March Madness.” Crazy things happen, legends are made and unprecedented events take place. It would have fulfilled all three of these benchmarks for UNC-A to upset Syracuse.

That kind of thing is the reason that we watch. It would have been worth ruining my entire bracket to see a 16-1 upset, and I wouldn’t have batted an eye. Picking the upset didn’t hurt me in the long run, either, because I would have chosen Kansas State over either team in that game.

I knew it was a bad idea, statistically speaking, but I went with my gut feeling, a premonition that this game would be close. I made the pick with the most upside. I chose the team that would lead me to March Madness glory instead of the team that would leave my bracket sitting in the mediocrity of probability.

And I was wrong. So what? I’m happy with my choice, and I’d make that pick again every time. It’s fun to have a winning bracket, but sometimes it’s better to just sit back, realize that you’ll never get it right and bask in the craziness of the NCAA Tournament.

The Shakedown

It's the beginning to be the best story in college athletics, the cinderella story.

The Big South Conference has been nothing more than a doormat in the NCAA tournament the past few years but this year things could be different.

With conference tournament season right around the corner, its time to take a look at this year's pretenders and contenders in the Big South.

Who will wear the slipper, can anyone challenge Asheville, and what lower-seeded team has a chance to dance? Lets find out!

The Breakdown

1. UNC-Asheville 21-9 (16-2 Big South)

UNC-Asheville comes in to the Big South tournament as the overwhelming favorite. Asheville poses a major scoring threat lead by Matt Dickey (17.1 PPG) and J.P. Primm (14.9 PPG).

The Bulldogs are sixth in the NCAA with their average of 81.2 PPG. Despite being the favorite however, Asheville has been challenged throughout  conference play this year.

The Bulldogs lost to Charleston Southern on January 19th at home and have seven conference wins that were by single digits.  

2. Coastal Carolina 19-10 (12-6 Big South)

What looked to be a promising season in the Big South took a turn for the worse in February.

Coastal Carolina won just three games throughout February but has managed to grab the second seed. After being a favorite the past few years in the Big South, the Chanticleers will play a bit of the underdog role in this year's tournament.

Inconsistent conference play has most wondering if they can put together three wins in a row for a chance to dance. 

3. Campbell 17-14 (11-7 Big South)

The Campbell Fighting Camels may be the big challenge for the Bulldogs in the conference tournament. With a potential championship matchup looming, the Camels have plenty of confidence heading to Asheville for a chance to dance.

Campbell does have a road win at Iowa earlier this season that proves they can play with some pretty good competition. Campbell did lose the last three games, but have been working on resting players down the stretch.

I expect that Campbell will be ready in the Big South tournament. Campbell's last NCAA tournament appearance was 1992, where they lost to Duke 82-56.

4. Charleston Southern 18-11 (11-7 Big South)

Charleston Southern earned the fourth seed in the Big South tournament. The Bucs have won four out of their last five and seem to be putting things together at the right time. Charleston Southern also has impressive conference wins over Asheville and Campbell earlier this season.

If the Bucs can get past a scorching Liberty team, they could give Asheville fits in the semifinals.

5. Liberty 14-17 (9-9 Big South)

The Flames of Liberty sneak into the Big South conference tournament with the fifth seed. Led in scoring by seniors David Manaya and Jesse Sanders (12.8 PPG each), the Flames have the senior leadership to make some noise.

Despite a slow start in conference play Liberty has won seven of its last nine games and looks to carry that momentum into the tournament.

6. Winthrop 11-19 (8-10 Big South)

Winthrop is the most decorated team in the Big South. The Eagles made eight NCAA tournament appearances from 2000-2010. 2012, however, has been somewhat of a rebuilding year for Winthrop.

The Eagles have great upside and potential but have not proven that they can string together several wins at a time. It will be tough sledding for the Eagles if they have any hopes of getting past the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. 

7. Virginia Military 14-16 (8-10 Big South)

The VMI Keydets locked up the seventh seed for the Big South conference tournament. The Keydets' inability to win on the road will most certainly be their struggle in this tournament. VMI is 1-12 on the road this season.

The Keydets would likely have to win three road games in a row if they wanted to make the NCAA tournament, something that I can almost guarantee will not happen.

8. High Point 12-17 (8-10 Big South)

The High Point Panthers have a major theme to their 2011-2012 season:  inconsistency. High Point has impressive wins over Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern and Winthrop, but has lost to Radford, Gardner Webb and Presbyterian.

While that kind of play may give them an edge for an upset or two, it hurts their chances at a deep run in the Big South tournament.

9. Gardner-Webb 12-19 (6-12 Big South)

Gardner-Webb comes into the Big South tournament as the ninth seed. The Bulldogs have been surprisingly competitive this year within the Big South but haven't been able to lock up wins. Eight of the Bulldogs' t12 conference losses have been by six points or less.

If they can figure out their late-game execution, Gardner-Webb may find a way to make this tournament interesting. 

10. Radford 6-25 (2-16 Big South)

Radford owes a big thank you to Presbyterian for being the newcomer. A team that would not regularly be eligible for the tournament will grab 10th seed due to Presbyterian's eligibility in the Big South tournament.

I wouldn't count it as much a favor though, as Radford's road the NCAA tournament will more than likely end on the first night of the tournament. 

*Presbyterian 14-15 (8-10 Big South)

Not eligible for postseason play due to transfer to Division I.

The Takedown

First Round

No. 7 VMI over No. 10 Radford

No. 9 Gardner Webb over No. 8 High Point

Quarterfinals

No. 1 UNC-Asheville over No. 9 Gardner-Webb

No. 2 Coastal Carolina over No. 7 VMI

No. 6 Winthrop over No. 3 Campbell

No. 5 Liberty over No. 4 Charleston Southern

Semis

No. 1 UNC-Asheville over No. 5 Liberty

No. 2 Coastal Carolina over No. 6 Winthrop

Championship

No. 1 UNC-Asheville over No. 2 Coastal Carolina

Big South Tournament Champions: UNC-Asheville (24-9, No. 16 Seed in NCAA tournament) 

The Final Buzzer

Joe Lunardi has Asheville as a potential 16-seed in the NCAA tournament. One seeds beware, as this Asheville team has no fear taking on the top dogs. Asheville has been competitive against the likes of North Carolina State, UNC, UCONN and Tennessee this year.

While it is highly unlikely they would actually pull the upset, my prediction is that regardless who they are matched up with, it will be a 10-point game at the most.  

CLINTON, S.C.—Senior forward Al'onzo Coleman posted a game-high 24 points and Presbyterian connected on all 19 of its second-half charity shots, as the Blue Hose posted their first win over the Furman Paladins since February of 1989, with a 75-71 victory on Tuesday night at Templeton Arena.

With the win, PC improved to 5-5 on the season, while Furman had its three-game winning streak snapped, making them 6-5. Coleman connected on 8-of-12 shots from the field and ripped down 11 rebounds to finish off his double-double effort before fouling out with two minutes to play.

Coleman was also 8-of-9 from the charity stripe on a night when the Blue Hose were a near-flawless 26-of-28 from the free throw line.

It appeared PC was going to run away with a double-digit victory, leading 73-63 with three minutes to play. However, the young Paladins would mount a furious rally.

Furman would reel off eight straight points, to cut the Blue Hose lead to 73-71. Dominic Early started the run by making the first of two free throws.

Brandon Sebirumbi grabbed the rebound on Early's missed second free throw and kicked it out to a wide open Jordan Lloyd, missed a three from the top of the key.

The scrappy Sebirumbi got his second rebound in quick succession off the Lloyd miss and made a short lay-up to cut the Blue Hose lead to seven, at 73-66.

It would be the freshman Lloyd that would come up with a huge play on the defensive end on the ensuing possession, as he stole the ball away from Blue Hose guard Pierre Moore and was fouled.

He stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down both of his double-bonus free throws, cutting the Paladin deficit to five, at 73-68.

The Blue Hose would run the clock on the ensuing possession, milking the shot clock down to nearly zero before Josh Johnson's three-pointer from the top of the key came off the back iron, and the ball went out of bounds in the corner off of the Blue Hose.

On the ensuing Paladin possession, Lloyd would knock down maybe the biggest shot of his young Furman career, stroking a three from the top of the key, which brought the Paladins to within a bucket (73-71) with 43 seconds to play.

After another missed shot underneath the basket, Lloyd would grab the rebound for the Paladins. In an effort to hit a streaking Bobby Austin, who was running free 80 feet down the floor, the ball was over-thrown on the attempted run-out pass and the ball went out of play. Turnover for the Paladins.

The Blue Hose took possession of the basketball on their own end with 5.2 seconds remaining, and Furman was forced to foul speedy PC point guard Eric Washington with 2.3 seconds remaining. T

he true freshman showed plenty of composure in stepping to the charity stripe and knocked down both foul shots ease, delivering the four-point, 75-71, PC win.

It was Furman that controlled the opening half, leading by as many as nine points (37-28), before seeing the Blue Hose usurp the momentum of the basketball game in the final four minutes of the opening frame.

PC would end the half with a 5-0 run, cutting Furman's lead to four (37-33) at the break. That run would continue into the second half, eventually reaching 19-5, in the opening five minutes of the second half, as PC would overtake the Paladins to lead 47-42, with 15:14 to play.

From that point, the Paladins would make a run back at the home-standing Blue Hose, with a 10-4 run of their own, regaining the lead, 52-51, on an old fashioned three-point play from Brandon Sebirumbi with 11:47 to play.

But that would be the last lead the Paladins would enjoy for the remainder of the night, as PC would put together a 10-0 run to take control of the game until the furious Furman rally in the waning moments.

Furman enjoyed its best shooting performance of the season, knocking down 52.2% (24-of-45) of its shots for the game and taking relatively good care of the basketball, turning it over just 14 times in the contest against a tenacious PC defense.

Furman, however, was plagued by foul trouble for most of the evening, especially in the front court.

Furman was able to connect on 70.8% (17-of-24) charity shots, while shooting 46.2% (6-of-13) from three-point range in the contest. Furman was out-rebounded by just one, 24-23.

Furman was led by a pair of players in double figures, as Brandon Sebirumbi led the way with a career-high 20 points, marking the second-straight game Furman's leading scorer has also established a new career-high.

Sebirumbi's 20 points eclipsed his previous career standard of 16 points set nearly a year ago to the day, as he posted that total on Dec. 18 of 2010 in a win at North Florida. Sebirumbi connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field and 6-of-8 shots from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Bryson Barnes was the only other Paladin in double figures, posting 10 points and five boards. Barnes has scored in double figures in both his outings this season. His 10-point effort this evening comes on the heels of a career-high 26-point and 11-rebound effort in the 76-63 win at Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

Lloyd just missed double figures, but the freshman guard from Atlanta established a new career-high with nine points on the evening.

PC's Coleman was joined in double figures by senior guard Khalid Mutakabbir, who added 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.

PC held advantages in points in the paint (40-28) and second chance points (12-6). For the game, the Blue Hose connected on 46.7% (23-of-49) from the field, but were just 23.1% (3-of-13) from three-point range.

The Blue Hose made up for that with there performance at the free throw line.

Furman returns to action on Friday afternoon when they visit the Georgia Bulldogs. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m.

It will be the first meeting between the Paladins and Bulldogs since Nov. of 2001, as the Paladins dropped a 75-62 decision in the season opener in Athens.

The Paladins are 4-21 all-time against the Bulldogs.

The Virginia Military Institute is famous for many reasons. General Stonewall Jackson was a professor there, many of their cadets fought at the Battle of Cold Harbor, and it's the alma mater of such highly regarded individuals as General George Marshall and comedian Mel Brooks.

However, they've never been able to translate this success into the realm of sports outside of an Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen appearance for the men's basketball team, in 1976 and 1977 respectively. 1977 also happens to be the last year that the Keydets made the NCAA tournament.

New head coach, Duggar Baucom, has created several successful teams that have come close in recent years, and it looks like this year might finally be his chance to do something really special. With the talent he has assembled for this coming year, he just might be able to lead the Keydets into the NCAA tournament.

How, you may ask, will this happen? Coach Baucom has had great teams in the past, with Reggie Williams and Chavis and Travis Holmes dominating on the court. His teams traditionally are at or near the top in scoring average for NCAA basketball but always come up short. They even beat Kentucky at Lexington, 111-103 in November 2008, but that year, they once again came up just short in the championship game, losing to Radford in the Big South Tournament championship game.

Despite losing twins Chavis and Travis Holmes after that tournament loss, the Keydets were still able to keep themselves competitive the past two years. They had a winning season last year, something that was a rarity before Coach Baucom. Not only that, but the only major player they lost from last year's 18-13 team that went 10-8 in conference play, is Austin Kenon.

While Kenon was the leading scorer of last year's team, VMI always seems to be able to replace scoring. What they truly needed was some talented big men. Luckily for this year's squad, it looks like they will have that. 6'9" Sophomore forward, D.J. Covington, who last year was the team's third leading scorer with almost 10 ppg will be better developed this year, and with last year's second leading scorer forward, Stan Okoye, it looks like VMI will finally have a good front court to go with the always stellar back court.

I believe that with Baucom's high powered offense being led by Covington and Okoye, VMI will finally make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the magical 1977 season. Coach Baucom also recently signed an extension through 2015, and with him at the helm this might be the beginning of the best period of time in VMI basketball history.

Dates:  March 1, 3 and 5

Bracket:  The Big South Conference

Sites:  The first round is hosted by higher-seeded teams while semifinal action will take place at Coastal Carolina University.  The championship will be played on the campus of the highest remaining seed.

Television:  Semifinals on ESPNU; Championship on ESPN2

Tourney Fact:  Only the top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament.  Presbyterian is not eligible for the conference tournament this year.

Favorite:  Coastal Carolina (26-4, 16-2) had their way in the Big South for most of the season.  However, the suspension of leading scorer Desmond Holloway and the report of possible NCAA violations have definitely caused some distractions as the Chanticleers have dropped two of their last four.  Still, with all of the negative attention, Coastal Carolina is the team to beat.

Best of the Rest:  Liberty (19-12, 13-5) finished second in the Big South but have lost four straight and are limping into the tournament.  UNC-Asheville (16-13, 11-7) has been playing well lately and own a win over Coastal Carolina.  Don’t be surprised if Matt Dickey and the Bulldogs find their way to the finals.

Sleeper:  VMI (17-12, 10-8) can put up points in bunches.  If the Keydets get hot they could be the spoiler in the Big South tourney.

Also, check out Conference Tourney Breakdown: The Horizon League

The Shakedown

It's here. It's time. The first day of March will officially kick off the greatest tournament in all of sports.

March Madness is here, and it starts with the little guys. The Big South Conference tournament will be underway, as each team strives to be the new Cinderella.

What is the beauty of a tournament like this? It's simple.

A team like Gardner-Webb (11-20, 6-12 Big South) has every opportunity that Duke and Kansas have at a national title! Likely? No, not even a little bit, but it's the chance that matters.

The Breakdown

The Big South Conference tournament will be held March 1-5 at the high seeds' home courts.

The field will consist of eight teams from the 10-team conference. We already know Radford (5-24, 2-16) will not be dancing this year since they did not qualify for their conference tournament. Presbyterian (13-18, 7-11) had a rather impressive season in their first year in the Big South, but they are also ineligible for conference tournament play until next season.

No. 1 Seed: Coastal Carolina (26-4, 16-2 Big South)

Coastal Carolina comes into the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

The Chanticleers have posted an impressive record this season, including a school-record 26 wins. Coastal Carolina is led in scoring by Desmond Holloway, who is averaging 18.5 points per contest. The Chanticleers are a team that can put up points in a hurry, but also have a solid defense.

It is also worth mentioning Coastal Carolina has a NIT bid locked up for winning their conference regular season.

No. 2 Seed: Liberty (19-12, 13-5 Big South)

Liberty comes into the Big South tournament seeded second, despite four consecutive losses.

The Flames have been a bit inconsistent this year in their play, but have proven they can run with Coastal Carolina, even though the Flames lost both regular season matchups against the Chanticleers by a combined nine points. Liberty is led in scoring by Evan Gordon at 14.5 points per game.

The Flames have not been to the big dance since 2004.

No. 3 Seed: UNC Asheville (16-13, 11-7 Big South)

UNC Asheville earned the three seed in this year's Big South tournament.

A true threat to win the tournament, Asheville has a conference win over Coastal Carolina. The Bulldogs have also played two tight games against Liberty, where they dropped both contests by a combined six points.

Asheville made their last tournament appearance in 2003, losing to No. 1 seed Texas 82-61.

No. 4 Seed: VMI (17-12, 10-8 Big South)

Virginia Military Institute reached 10 conference wins this season to earn the fourth seed.

VMI can put up points in a flash, ranking first in the nation in points per game at 88.5. Their unique style of basketball has put them in many high-scoring affairs. VMI will need to play their best basketball of the year if they want a chance in this tournament, and they have been blown out twice by Coastal Carolina this year.

VMI is 3-3 in the NCAA tournament and is looking for their first appearance since 1977.

No. 5 Seed: Winthrop (13-16, 9-9 Big South)

Winthrop checks in as the No. 5 five seed in their conference tournament.

Winthrop has been no stranger to postseason play the last few years, as they have made it to the dance five of the last six years from the Big South. Robbie Dreher leads the Eagles in scoring and has been an important piece to the puzzle.

It may also be important to remember the Eagles knocked off Wake Forest earlier this season, proving they do not back down from anyone.

No. 6 Seed: Charleston Southern (16-15, 9-9 Big South)

Charleston Southern is looking for their first trip the dance since 1997. The Bucs come into the tournament as the six seed and are playing some of their best basketball of the season.

CSU has won three of their last four and took Coastal Carolina down to the wire this past weekend. Kelvin Martin is the go-to guy for Charleston Southern, averaging 12.2 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. This, in addition to Jemarco Warren's sharp shooting, could be dangerous for other Big South opponents.

No. 7 Seed: High Point (11-18, 7-11 Big South)

The High Point Panthers have been struggling down the stretch. They have lost five of their last six regular season games and come into the tournament looking for answers.

High Point also had an eight-game losing streak earlier this season. While the outlook is bleak, the Panthers have a chance, and as mentioned earlier, that is all that matters!

No. 8 Seed: Gardner-Webb (11-20, 6-12 Big South)

The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs snatched the eighth and final seed in the Big South tournament.

Gardner-Webb is fortunate Presbyterian was not eligible, or they would also be sitting on the sidelines watching. The Bulldogs have also been playing their best basketball as of late, including a win over Coastal Carolina. They are looking for their first NCAA tournament appearance.

THE TAKEDOWN

Let the games begin. Here is how I see the Big South Conference tournament playing out:

First Round:

Coastal Carolina 69 Gardner Webb 62

Liberty 80 High Point 57

Charleston Southern 66 Asheville 63

Winthrop 85 VMI 81.

Semi-Finals:

Winthrop 70 Coastal Carolina 69

Liberty 73 Charleston Southern 67

Big South Championship:

Liberty 66 Winthrop 63

BIG SOUTH CHAMPION: Liberty Flames (22-12, 15 Seed in NCAA tournament)

 

Please feel free to pick your conference tournament champion for each tournament as I publish them in the next few days, and post it in the comments section. I will be keeping a log of people's picks and will do an article about the person who correctly picks the most conference champions. 

With the start of the new month, March Madness officially gets underway. As usual, the Big South and Horizon League tournaments will be the first conference tournaments of the year, both starting on March 1. 

With that, here is a preview of the Big South tournament. The first round is played on March 1, the semifinals on March 3 and the championship game on March 5.

Quarterfinals, March 1 (Hosted by higher seed)

Game 1: No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 7 High Point

Liberty may be a very high seed in the Big South tournament, but the Flames used early season success to get to that point. Just a few weeks ago, the Flames stood at 13-2 with the only two losses coming to first place Coastal Carolina.

Now, they have lost four straight games, three of them being to Big South opponents.

Despite Liberty's recent struggles, the Flames still will not have too much trouble making the semifinals, mainly because of rebounding and three-point shooting.

The Flames are one of the top rebounding squads in the nation, while High Point only averages 34.2 RPG.

Also, the Panthers' best games have come when they shoot well from beyond the arc. High Point seems to be a streaky team in terms of shooting, and I doubt they will be able to get on a roll against Liberty's perimeter defense, which allows opponents to only shoot 31 percent from three-point range.

My pick: Liberty by 14

  

Game 2: No. 3 UNC-Asheville vs. No. 6 Charleston Southern

Despite a differential in seeding, this should be a good, tight game. These two teams match up well, and the season series was split with both games being close.

One deciding factor in this game will be turnovers. Both teams force a lot of of turnovers, but both also turn the ball over more than they would like. In the second meeting between the two teams, there were 41 turnovers total.

Another deciding factor will be rebounding. In each of the regular season meetings, the team that won the battle on the glass won the game.

My pick: UNC-Asheville by four

  

Game 3: No. 1 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 8 Gardner-Webb

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Coastal Carolina held the nation's longest winning streak, but the team has unraveled with suspensions and injuries to fall back to a team that can be beaten in the Big South. And by the way, one of the Chanticleers' two losses came at home to Gardner-Webb.

The main reason the Chanticleers lost that game was because they shot poorly from the field and from three-point range. Coastal Carolina, which averages nearly five three-pointers a game, only made one in that game.

Plus, the Chanticleers shot less than 40 percent from the field.

That is not at all what Coastal Carolina basketball is about.

The Chanticleers are No. 5 in the nation in field goal percentage at 48.9 percent. They need to come at least close to hitting that mark in order to send Gardner-Webb home without an upset. 

Looking for an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 1993 on their home floor, the Chanticleers will not miss enough shots for Gardner-Webb to have a legitimate chance.

My pick: Coastal Carolina by 10

Game 4: No. 4 VMI vs. No. 5 Winthrop

Winthrop might not have the offense to keep up with VMI, but VMI has enough of a lack of defense. Although the Keydets lead the nation in scoring, Winthrop has been able to keep up with them in both meetings this season. In the first meeting, Winthrop won in overtime. When the Keydets visited Winthrop, they won by four. 

So, it should be a good matchup between two teams that were at the top of the Big South just a few years ago.

In a playoff atmosphere, Winthrop's defense will prove itself to be more powerful than VMI's offense. Although the game will still most likely be higher scoring than Winthrop would have liked, the Eagles will advance to the semifinals.

My pick: Winthrop by five

  

Semifinals, March 3 on ESPNU (Hosted by Coastal Carolina)

Game 5: No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 3 UNC-Asheville

UNC-Asheville will be set up for another close game in the semifinals. The Flames swept the Bulldogs in the regular season, but only by a total of six points. The Bulldogs will be at a disadvantage since Liberty is the superior team, but they cannot be counted out yet on the neutral site.

Although the general stats and numbers favor UNC-Asheville, Liberty was really able to control the Bulldogs from using their strengths during the regular season.

UNC-Asheville's two biggest strengths are field goal percentage and its ability to force turnovers. In each regular season meeting, Liberty fell victim to one but limited the other.

In the first meeting, despite Liberty's 21 turnovers, the Bulldogs only shot 18-for-51 from the field. In the second meeting, UNC-Asheville shot 53.8 percent but Liberty only turned the ball over 12 times. 

UNC-Asheville is simply not good enough to beat Liberty, but the Bulldogs are good enough to play close.

My pick: Liberty by seven

Game 6: No. 1 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 5 Winthrop

Winthrop took Coastal Carolina down to the wire twice—and that was when Coastal Carolina was winning games. If Winthrop could take a full-power Coastal Carolina team down to the wire, the Eagles should at least stand a chance against a depleted version of the same team.

First, Winthrop is a defensive-minded team that has the potential to shut down Coastal Carolina. In both meetings this season, Winthrop held the Chanticleers below their scoring average.

The one real shaky spot for Winthrop is turnovers. The Chanticleers' opponents average 15 turnovers per game. Winthrop is not terrible at taking care of the ball, but the Eagles sometimes have the tendency to turn the ball over.

If Winthrop can take care of the ball, it will have the first big upset of March. 

My pick: Winthrop by two

Championship, March 5 on ESPN2 (Hosted by higher seed) 

Game 7: No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 5 Winthrop

Winthrop almost won at Liberty early in the season and then completely controlled the game in the second meeting just a few days ago when the Eagles won 61-56 at home.

The key in this game will be how many times Winthrop can turn Liberty over. I am making my mark for Winthrop to be 15 Liberty turnovers.

Liberty has struggled with taking care of the ball all season long. Against defensive-minded teams, the Flames have really struggled. 

So get ready for parties in Rock Hill as Winthrop goes to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and the sixth time in the last seven years.

My pick: Winthrop by two

And now, here is a preview for the opening round of the Horizon League tournament.

First Round, March 1 (Hosted by higher seed)

Game 1: No. 3 Cleveland State vs. No. 10 Illinois-Chicago

UIC will be no match for Cleveland State. Although the Vikings had a few slip-ups late in the regular season, they have in no way fallen far enough that they would lose a first round game to UIC. 

My pick: Cleveland State by 18

 

Game 2: No. 6 Wright State vs. No. 7 Green Bay

A few weeks ago, Wright State was a legitimate contender for a Horizon League title. However, the Raiders lost four straight Horizon League games and are no longer in such a favorable position in the conference. 

In addition, the Raiders are playing Green Bay, who have been playing much better basketball the past week. The Phoenix took down Valparaiso, then defeated Youngstown State on the road and then nearly beat Cleveland State on the road. Also, the Phoenix almost beat Wright State in both regular season meetings, so Green Bay knows it can contend with the higher seeded team.

Despite that, here is why Wright State will win. The Raiders have the best defense in the Horizon League, only allowing 61.7 PPG. Green Bay plays its best basketball when the score gets into the seventies and eighties.

My pick: Wright State by five

Game 3: No. 4 Valparaiso vs. No. 9 Youngstown State

Although Valparaiso is not such a strong three-point shooting team as a whole, there are a few Crusaders who know how to shoot well. Youngstown State has the third worst three-point defense in the Horizon League, so Brandon Wood and Ryan Broekhoff should make sure they are ready to shoot on Tuesday.

My pick: Valparaiso by nine

Game 4: No. 5 Detroit vs. No. 8 Loyola (IL)

Detroit looked great at Wright State in the final game of the regular season. However, Loyola looked strong down the stretch, winning three of its last four Horizon League games. The one loss came in a close game at Butler.

Detroit won each of the regular season games by double digits. Although I expect this game to be a little closer than the regular season meetings, Detroit will still hold on.

Loyola relies heavily on three-point shooting, and Detroit is one of the better squads in the Horizon League when it comes to defending the perimeter.

My pick: Detroit by seven

Follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer for more college basketball news.