Everyone’s best chance at March glory comes here, Trae Benham, Carlik Jones, DJ Burns and many other had their legacies cemented via this tournament right here.

The bracket is set.

The regular season is done.

Every game is simple, WIN or GO HOME.

Team Previews/Season Recap:

9 Seed: Gardner Webb 3-28 (1-15)

Recap: It has been a season to forget for the Runnin Bulldogs faithful from basically the moment the ball tipped off. In Game #1, they began the game down 23-1 to Minnesota but seemed to look better against Clemson before the true nail in their coffin against North Greenville suffering a loss by double digits. It took until December for Gardner Webb to get their first win, and until Jan 23rd to get their first win over a D1 school.

Despite the awful start to the season, Gardner Webb does seem to be improve playing games way close than they were even at the start of conference play. Gardner Webb lost to High Point by 55 in the Qubein Center in Paul Porter Arena that margin cut massively. Anything can happen in March, maybe GWU can harness a bit of that 2019 magic and make a run.

8 Seed: USC Upstate 13-18 (5-11)

Recap: The story for Upstate’s season was described with their non conference and overtime games, but both of those actually went good Upstate. Their one stumble has been conference play. Upstate began non conference play with a close loss to Cal Baptist before picking up a massive road win at Fresno State. They would later pick up an overtime win against Coastal Carolina, and a win over WCU along with a very close loss to Nebraska.

Conference play began pretty rough losing 3 straight before getting their first conference win, in overtime vs Charleston Southern. Before once again losing 3 straight, then winning 2 of their next 3 including another overtime win against Charleston Southern. Upstate picked up a massive win over Presbyterian before ending their season with another big win over Gardner Webb.

7 Seed: Charleston Southern 15-16 (5-11)

Recap: The story for Charleston Southern has been very similar to USC Upstate, the non conference and Overtime. In the non conference it seemed very possible that the 2nd best team in the conference wasn’t Radford, UNC Asheville or Winthrop but Charleston Southern. CSU had marquee wins over Richmond and ECU and close losses to other mid major contenders.

The start of conference play was much of that same thing, picking up two wins over Gardner Webb and UNC Asheville before narrowly falling to Winthrop. That loss to Winthrop set up a massive game with High Point and Charleston Southern gave them a run for their money taking them to OT, but fell in overtime. That loss was apart of 7 straight losses including 4 in overtime. CSU tallied another loss in overtime, making them 0-5 in games going past regulation but CSU is finally getting healthy right as they need it. CSU could cause some havoc in this thing.

6 Seed: Presbyterian 14-17 (7-9)

Recap: The story for Presbyterian’s season has been consistency. This team has basically been playing the same way all season and most of last season. In their first 4 games, PC only dropped one to Navy including wins over Georgia State and East Tennessee State. Presbyterian would take a few more big wins before entering conference play including hold The Citadel to 41 points and beating Morehead State.

In conference play, Presbyterian was basically always in the game outside of three total non conference games. They also weren’t consistently blowing team out either as only 1 of their 7 wins came from double figures or more and a total of 5 of their games being 1 possession games. Presbyterian is built for excitement in the month where excitement is the theme.

5 Seed: Longwood 16-15 (8-8)

Recap: The story of Longwood’s season has be flashes, there have been flashes on excellence whether it’s beating James Madison, or almost beating Wake Forest but in that same non conference they suffered losses to Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore at home which absolutely TANKED their metrics.

Conference was about the same way starting with likely one of the flashiest wins of any team beating Winthrop on day 1 of conference play, then a very nice win over Presbyterian that now pops on the resume. Then the floor started to creep back including losing to USC Upstate but Longwood seems to be trending up after winning of their last 4.

4 Seed: UNC Asheville 14-16 (8-8)

Recap: The story of Asheville’s season, their starting 5 and heartbreakers. The non conference began with 3 of their first 4 losses coming in heartbreaking fashion including a foul in the waning seconds against Tennessee State and a buzzer beater vs Western Carolina. Despite those losses, 4 players were standing out for UNC Asheville. Toyaz Solomon, Kam Taylor, Justin Wright and DJ Patrick.

Once conference play came around, much of the heartbreak followed them including 4, one possession losses compared to only 1, one possession win. As the season has moved on Asheville still has received not much production from their 4 main stars but have seen flashes from Mayfield and Thomas but not enough to move them out of the middle of the conference ending 8-8 in conference play.

3 Seed: Radford 16-15 (9-7)

Recap: The story of Radford’s season, has simply been headlines. It began with the hiring of Zach Chu and the out of the box-ness of that hire. Then headlines shifted to their stellar portal class and their first few wins of the season. After that, the 6 game losing streak, and Dennis Parker Jr breaking the Big South single game scoring record before finding some sense of normalcy ending conference play just under .500.

Once conference play came around, this team found an overdrive gear, including starting conference play at 4-1 before running into a gauntlet of 3 of the best team in the conference. After their gauntlet of HPU, Winthrop and CSU, Radford was able to end conference at 9-7 firmly putting them in the 3 seed.

2 Seed: Winthrop 21-10 (13-3)

Recap: The story of Winthrop season is, a few more possessions. Winthrop has only lost two games by double digits, and both happened to be back to back. Winthrop was the first season to win a game, picking up an 8am game vs Queens before two very close losses to George Mason and Coastal Carolina. Winthrop really burst onto the scene this season with their near win vs Arkansas, then their near win over Nebraska. A buzzer beater over LIU, and a few more non D1 wins put the team over .500 entering conference play.

After a loss to Texas Tech, Longwood was able to pick off a worn down Winthrop team. That loss seemingly sparked a fire for Winthrop as they went on a 12 game winning streak including a win over High Point and two close wins over Radford. That streak would end with a loss to High Point by 2 points, which all but ruined Winthrop regular season title hopes.

1 Seed: High Point 27-4 (15-1)

Recap: The story for High Point has been dominance, in each of their non conference wins, not one came with a margin less than 10. Including their opening win against Furman with two more wins following before High Point stumbled against UAB. High Point picked right back up winning 9 more games only falling to Southern Illinois and App State both on late game heroics by the foes.

Once conference came along it seemed HPU was set to make a massive run tearing through the conference, but HPU showed they can be stopped. Winthrop gave them their lone loss and only lost by 2 on the road, Charleston Southern took them to Overtime, Presbyterian only fell by 3 points. In the end for the THIRD season in a row, High Point has won the regular season title, this time with Flynn Clayman at the helm which included so far tying the record for most wins by a first year coach going 27-4.

Tournament Prediction:

Now this is the part I love, trying to predict the future and predict what will happen in Johnson City (something I somehow did perfectly last season).

Wednesday:

USC Upstate vs Gardner Webb:

The season series for this one was split evenly with both teams taking their home game but falling on the road, but that’s about where the comparison ends between the two. USC Upstate has the better team by a solid margin, the resume just has so much more to point towards as reasons to win this one. Marty Richter gets the Rubber Game and gets his first Big South tournament win.

Friday:

USC Upstate (8-9 Winner) vs High Point:

No matter who wins the 8v9 game, they get the pleasure of facing a runaway train in High Point that just seems to be walking down their opponents at will. In the two games Upstate had with High Point, they won those games by 20 and 25 points. I think High Point blows past that margin but takes their foot off the pedal with 3 games in 3 days but still win pretty comfortably.

Charleston Southern vs Winthrop

The rematch of a game that changed this tournament’s trajectory massively. With Winthrop’s loss two things changed, it officially eliminated Winthrop from contention for the #1 seed but also resulted in the injury of Logan Duncomb and his status very much up in the air. If Duncomb is Out, I think Charleston Southern wins this game and actually makes it to the finals. I will air on the side of caution picking Winthrop as I think Duncomb will do everything possible to play.

Longwood vs UNC Asheville

The 4v5 game is really interesting to look at, it’s a true massive contrast. UNC Asheville is truly carried 3/4 superstars while Longwood doesn’t have that “superstar” talent but has a very solid 6-7 players who can get 8-12 points easily night in and night out. If this game was deeper in the tournament I would favor Longwood as only having stars can only get you for Asheville. With this game being the 1st game, I think depth won’t play as much of a role and Asheville does a 3-0 sweep over Longwood.

Presbyterian vs Radford

The rematch of the most exciting game in the Big South according to KenPom. It’s actually been a while since these teams played, last coming on Jan 31st. That game went to triple overtime coming out in front after going on a 12-1 run to start the half. Presbyterian enters this game on what looks like a skid to most people but I think it’s a bit of momentum with close losses to the top 2 teams. I think PC finally breaks through getting their first Big South semifinal berth after beating Radford.

Saturday:

High Point vs UNC Asheville

The final that many people expected last year comes true, but this time it’s really not as exciting. Last time these two teams played High Point held UNC Asheville to under 50 points, the first time Asheville had been held under 50 in conference play since 2022. High Point just seems to be a level above UNC Asheville with both depth and starting 5, the level up should propel them to the finals.

Winthrop vs Presbyterian

A rematch of the regular season finale this time on a neutral court. The most recent game ended with PC only losing by 4 to Winthrop with PC looking like the better team at times in that game. I do think Winthrop wins this one just simply because they won both of the other games and it just seems that High Point and Winthrop are on a collision course.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY:

High Point vs Winthrop

This game has just seemed destined to happen since last season, last season ended in heartbreaking fashion blowing a 15 point lead in the 2nd half to fall to High Point. Winthrop shocking many they beat Winthrop earlier in the season and now most recently with High Point edging out Winthrop in the Qubein Center. For Winthrop it’s simple, this is the best chance Mark Prosser has had since his first season in Rock Hill to make the tournament. For High Point, the goal is to build on last year’s success and capture back to back Big South titles.

This game is truly a 50/50 in my eyes when both teams are fully healthy and we saw that when they faced off in the Qubein Center this season. I look back at both of the BIG MOMENT games of the past 3 games and both of those went the way of High Point, but I also have to admit. It seems like Winthrop has an almost destiny like entity on their side but ultimately, I will go with the boring pick of High Point.

And a little aside, I think either that represents this league will take home a game in the NCAA tournament.

Likely by the end of this day, we will have a good idea of the who will be the 1 and 2 seeds in Johnson City, and potentially the 3 and 9 seeds as well.

As I stated last preview, this will be the final preview before the conference tournament preview which will be coming out the night of the 28th. (or morning of the 29th I haven’t decided to be honest).

Feb 19th Recap:

Winthrop beats USC Upstate 68-64

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Logan Duncomb led the Eagles with 24 points and 16 rebounds while also setting the record for most Free Throw Attempts by a Winthrop Eagles in a single season.

• Kody Clouet joined Duncomb in double figures with 17 points, this was Clouets 5th straight game in double figures.

• Winthrop has now had Back to Back 20 wins seasons, and got their 700th win as a program.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Carmelo Adkins lead the Spartans with 21 points, his 4th 20+ point game of the season.

• Karmani Gregory joins Adkins in double figures with 18 points, his 8th game straight with double figures.

• USC Upstate won the turnover battle 14-9 including forcing 9 steals.

High Point beats UNC Asheville 74-48

High Point Takeaways:

• Rob Martin and Terry Anderson led the Panthers with 16 points each, Conrad Martinez joined them in double figures with 12 points.

• Cam’ron Fletcher hauled in a team high 11 rebounds including 5 offensive rebounds while also adding in 6 points off the bench.

• High Point forced UNC Asheville into 16 turnovers, including 11 steals.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• DJ Patrick lead UNC Asheville with 15 points, Myles Mayfield joined him in double figures with 11 points.

• UNC Asheville’s big 3 of Solomon, Wright and Taylor were kept quiet only having 20 points on 9-33 shooting along with 12 turnovers.

• Daniel Thomas hauled in a team high 12 rebounds for UNC Asheville.

Presbyterian beats Longwood 72-65

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Triston Wilson with a new career high of 28 points led the Blue Hose in scoring along with 4 steals.

• Carl Parrish with 15 points and Jonah Pierce with 13 points joined Wilson in double figures, Pierce also had 4 steals.

• Jaylen Peterson fell one point shy of a double double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Elijah Tucker led the Lancers with 22 points, along with a tied for team high 6 rebounds.

• Johan Nziemi with 13 points and Jacoi Hutchinson with 10 points joined Tucker in double figures.

• Jaylin Payne with tied on his D1 career high with 8 points, on a perfect 4-4 from the field.

Radford beats Gardner Webb 82-70

Radford Takeaways:

• All 5 Highlanders in double figures led by Dennis Parker Jr with 22 points.

• Del Jones with 14 points, 10 of which coming from the free throw line, he was also 100% at the free throw line.

• Tyson Brown with a double double having 11 points and 14 rebounds.

• Jaylon Johnson missed the game with Flu Like Symptoms

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Jacob Hudson lead the Runnin Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points.

• Jacob Hogarth with 12 points and 10 rebounds double double.

• Colin Hawkins, Curtis Williams and DJ Jefferson all joined Hogarth and Hudson with 10 points each.

• Gardner Webb was down 27 points with 6 minutes to go in the game.

Feb 21st Preview:

Winthrop at High Point - 4pm EST

Preview: I billed this game as the game of the weekend in the Carolina’s, simply because it is. The #1 and #2 seeds in the Big South facing off, with massive implications on the line. Mark Prosser has openly said, you need to hang banners at Winthrop. If he wins this one, he likely hangs at least 1 banner. On the other hand, High Point wants revenge after losing in Rock Hill earlier in the season, and obviously they’d love a banner of their own. High Point last home conference loss came in 2024 to USC Upstate, I think their home winning streak continues as they beat Winthrop in a close one.

Score Prediction: High Point 102 - Winthrop 98 (OT)

Longwood at Charleston Southern - 4pm EST

Preview: Another one of the wins that slipped away in the first half of non conference for CSU has to travel to the Buc Dome, this game went to OT in Farmville, and would have likely went to a 2nd if CSU had played better transition defense. CSU comes in with the slight rest advantage after playing on Tuesday beating Gardner Webb, I think CSU continues to roll and picks off a must win vs Longwood.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 83 - Longwood 75

Radford at UNC Asheville - 4:30pm EST

Preview: One of the early non conference shockers, at least in hindsight, was UNC Asheville going to Radford and winning by 19, that now being their only loss outside of the Top 2 seeds. This game will very likely play a massive role in who gets the #3 seed in the Big South tournament. I think this being Asheville’s homecoming does play into this but I do think Radford gets their get back and pulls up a massive road win.

Score Prediction: Radford 76 - UNC Asheville 74

Presbyterian at USC Upstate - 4:30pm EST

Preview: This game just doesn’t have the pop as the others, Presbyterian won the first game by 9 points after a very uninteresting game. I do think Upstate has became better since that first matchup but I also like what I’ve seen from Presbyterian during that time period as well. USC Upstate being at home does move the needle for me but just not enough to pick them to win the game.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 83 - USC Upstate 80

At the end of the week, we will see if that holds true, but before that both teams have games to preview, along with two other big games that could change the middle of the league.

Johnson City is fast approaching, and it’s DO OR DIE TIME.

PROGRAMMING NOTES: The final Big South Conference Play Preview will be Feb 21st. I will not be providing previews for the 26th and 28th as I prepare conference tournament content.

Feb 14th Recap:

Presbyterian beats UNC Asheville 58-57

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jaylen Peterson led the Blue Hose with 20 points, his 3rd 20 point game of the season.

• Carl Parrish with 13 points, Jonah Pierce with 12 points and Triston Wilson with 10 point joined Peterson in double figures.

• Jonah Pierce also tallied another double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, his 14th double double of the season.

• This was the 21st game of the year where team had 0 bench points and still won the game.

• Triston Wilson reached 100 assists this season, and currently has the 8th most in a single season since Presbyterian’s move to D1 in 2007-08.

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Kameron Taylor led UNC Asheville in scoring with 19 points along with a team high of 5 assists.

• DJ Patrick with 14 points and Justin Wright with 10 points joined Taylor in double figures.

• UNC Asheville’s 4 bench points, along with Presbyterian’s bench point made this the 3rd lowest scoring bench game of the season with a total of 4 points.

High Point beats Gardner Webb 112-87

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin lead the Panthers with 21 points, his 3rd doing so in the last 4 games.

• 7 Panthers in total joined Rob in double figures, including Cam’ron Fletcher, his first doing so since his return to the team.

• High Point won the rebounding total 44 to 15, including 16 offensive rebounds to Gardner Webb’s 0.

• Chase Johnston passed 400 career made 3PT’s, his current mark of 401 places him currently 27th all time along side former Radford player Doug Day.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Jacob Hudson led the Runnin Bulldogs with 20 points, marking back to back games in double figures.

• All of Gardner Webb’s starting 5 was in double figures. Talbert with 17 points, Hawkins with 15 points, and both Hogarth and Ferere having 12 points each.

• This was the 2nd game this season in which a team had 0 offensive rebounds, the other being Middle Tennessee State against Liberty.

Radford beats Charleston Southern 90-80

Radford Notables:

• Jaylon Johnson led the Highlanders with 17 points on senior night, his 2nd straight 17 point game and 5th of the last 6 in double figures.

• Del Jones with 14 points along with Dennis Parker and Mari Jordan with 12 points each joined Johnson in double figures.

• Dennis Parker Jr also hauled in 11 rebounds for his 4th of the season.

Charleston Southern Notables:

• A’lahn Sumler led the Bucs in the BIG 3 stats with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, his 2nd straight game with 16 points after returning from injury.

• Nate Brafford and Jacob Taylor with 14 points along with Trent Coleman with 12 points joined Sumler in double figures.

• Jacob Taylor won his 3rd Big South FOTW, joining Phlandrous Fleming as the only Bucs player to do so.

Longwood beats USC Upstate 82-75 (OT):

Longwood Notables:

• Alphonzo Billups led the Lancers with a career high 25 points, his second straight game with 20+ points helping him earn Big South POTW.

• Redd Thompson Jr with 12 points and Elijah Tucker with 11 points joined Billups in double figures.

• Elijah Tucker also gathered 11 rebounds for his 7th double double of the season.

• Tucker also hauled in his 500th career rebound.

USC Upstate Notables:

• Karmani Gregory led USC Upstate with 23 points, his 7th straight game in double figures.

• Mason Bendinger with 19 points and Carmelo Adkins with 13 point joined Gregory in double figures.

• Jafeth Martinez with 4 blocks, moves his season total to 46 which moves him to 6th most in a season at USC Upstate.

• This game marked USC Upstate 3rd OT game of conference play and 4th of the season.

Feb 19th Previews:

USC Upstate at Winthrop - 6:30pm EST

Preview: Both of these teams are entering this game in a very different situation, but both need the same result. A Win. Winthrop enters this game with nations 5th longest winning streak, USC Upstate comes in with 2 losses, the most recent of which coming in OT to Longwood. The only concern for me would be Winthrop looking ahead, but I truly do not see a Prosser looking ahead and losing because of that so I am riding with Winthrop.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 91 - USC Upstate 80

UNC Asheville at High Point - 7pm ET

Preview: The ESPN U game for this week takes us to the Qubein Center to once again see UNC Asheville on the road, this time facing High Point. UNC Asheville comes off a loss to Presbyterian and High Point enters rolling after their only conference loss to Winthrop. While UNC Asheville looks really solid at times, sometimes they can truly have zero spark like they did against Presbyterian. HPU seems to always have some kind of spark with that and being at home, I think HPU wins setting up game of the year in the Big South.

Score Prediction: High Point 89 - UNC Asheville 77

Longwood at Presbyterian - 7pm EST

Preview: Both of these teams entering with very grueling wins over UNC Asheville and USC Upstate respectively. Both teams are pretty evenly matched in my opinion with a slight lean talent wise towards Longwood. I just don’t like when a team with little depth faces a team with a lot of depth. Despite being at home, I think Presbyterian falls to the Lancers.

Score Prediction: Longwood 77 - Presbyterian 72

Gardner Webb at Radford - 7pm EST

Preview: Thought under the congratulate the gag order helped Radford come back to be successful. When Gardner Webb played Radford, Radford only lost by 9 as Gardner Webb. Radford has improved greatly but not enough to sway the results. This time with the game being at Radford, I think Radford wins substantially more.

Score Prediction: Radford 93 - Gardner Webb 77

High Point, Winthrop, and UNC Asheville.

And that gets trimmed to just High Point and Winthrop with the next High Point win or UNC Asheville loss.

Despite that clear hierarchy at the top, the middle of the league continues to be one of the most exciting in the country. Team 3-6 are only separated by 1.5 games and if you count seeds 7 and 8, it’s 3.5 games. ALL VERY MUCH WITHIN REACH.

Let’s break down a massive Thursday night of hoops and preview the lovers day ahead:

Feb 12th Recap:

Winthrop beats Gardner Webb 103-85

Winthrop Notables:

• Kareem Rozier with a CAREER HIGH 33 Points, including going 9-15 from behind the arc.

• Logan Duncomb with another double double, this time with 24 points and 15 rebounds, along with a team high 6 assists.

• Kody Clouet joined Logan and Kareem in double figures with 19 points.

• Winthrop with 11 straight wins, currently the nations 4th longest winning streak.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Jacob Hogarth led the Runnin Bulldogs with 20 points along with 8 rebounds.

• Jacob Hudson and Colin Hawkins joined Hogarth in double figures, Hudson with 17 points and Hawkins with 13 points.

UNC Asheville beats Longwood 79-74

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Toyaz Solomon led Asheville with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Solomon also joined the 1000 points, 500 rebound, 100 blocks club, the 20th player to do so in Big South history.

• Justin Wright joined Solomon with 24 points, Kam Taylor joined both in double figures with 22 points.

Longwood Notables:

• Alphonzo Billups led Longwood with 20 points, a season high for Billups.

• Elijah Tucker with a 15 points and 11 rebound double double.

• Johan Nziemi with 11 points and Redd Thompson Jr with 10 points joined Tucker and Billups in double figures.

Charleston Southern beats Presbyterian 84-67

Charleston Southern Notables:

• A’lahn Sumler returned from injury and led CSU in scoring with 16 points in just 21 minutes off the bench.

• Lase Olalare with a new career high in points with 13 and career high in assists with 4.

• Jesse Hafemeister with 15 points and Nate Brafford with 11 points joined Sumler and Olalare in double figures.

• Charleston Southern breaks a 8 game losing streaking with this win.

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jonah Pierce with 23 points led Presbyterian in scoring, Carl Parrish joined Pierce in double figures with 14 points.

• Peterson, Pickett and Wilson all with 8 points each, only 6 bench points for the Blue Hose.

High Point beats USC Upstate 95-70

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin with 27 points led the Panthers in scoring, this is the 3rd time in the last 5 Martin has led the Panthers in scoring.

• Owen Aquino with 12 points and 10 rebounds, along with a tied for team high steals with 4.

• Conrad Martinez with 15 points and Terry Anderson with 14 points joined Martin and Aquino in double figures.

• High Point with 19 steals and 27 total forced turnovers.

USC Upstate Notables:

• Mason Bendinger led USC Upstate with 15 points, his 7th time leading the Spartans in scoring.

• Gregory, Skinner and Adkins all joined Bendinger with 13 points each.

• Jafeth Martinez returned to the team and tallied 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.

• Learic Davis missed another game with a shoulder injury but could be back by Saturday.

Feb 14th Previews:

Presbyterian at UNC Asheville - 2pm EST

Preview: Last time these two teams faced off UNC Asheville almost pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks of the season but fell short at the buzzer. Now UNC Asheville is at home, coming off a massive win on ESPNU but Presbyterian is coming in motivated after their loss. Both of these teams don’t provide a ton off the bench and I think Asheville has the better Starting 5, so I think Asheville gets a big home win.

Score Prediction: UNC Asheville 70 - Presbyterian 66

High Point at Gardner Webb - 2pm EST

Preview: Early in the season, HPU beat Gardner Webb by the largest margin in Big South Conference history, but a decent amount has changed since then. Gardner Webb got their first D1 win and seems much improved, and High Point have been to be at least beatable. While Gardner Webb is much improved and High Point has slipped up at times, I do think High Point wins this one but I think Gardner Webb keeps it close than many expect.

Score Prediction: High Point 94 - Gardner Webb 80

Charleston Southern at Radford - 2:30pm EST

Preview: Charleston Southern has finally snapped their cold spell and now they have to face Radford coming off 1 weeks rest. Last time the two faced off Radford pulled out an 84-75 win in the Buc Dome. In that game CSU shot horribly while Radford shot around there averages. I think CSU finally gets some momentum rolling and picks off Radford on the road.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 86 - Radford 80

USC Upstate at Longwood - 3pm EST

Preview: Longwood and USC Upstate are both coming off losses at home, now Upstate has to travel to play Longwood. Last time Upstate faced Longwood, Upstate won in the Hodge Center in something that I could barely even call basketball. Longwood I think takes this one pretty easily, the were pretty good near the end of the 2nd half and if it weren’t for a circus by Karmani Gregory, Longwood likely wins that game. I see Longwood getting revenge and splitting the season series.

Score Prediction: Longwood 73 - USC Upstate 65

None of the games were decided by more than 9 points, one overtime thriller, and some upset bids being spoiled down the stretch.

We recap the notable moments, along with preview our games for Thursday.

Feb 7th Recap:

Winthrop beats Longwood 79-74

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Tommy Kamarad led the Eagles with 15 points, Duncomb and Clouet with 14 points each and Josh Meo with 10 points join Clouet in double figures.

• Winthrop has won 10 straight, that is currently the 5th longest winning streak.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Johan Nziemi led the Lancers for the 2nd straight game, this time with 13 points, Jacoi Hutchinson joined Nziemi in double figures with 11 points.

• Alphonzo Billups was ejected in the 1st half after receiving two technical fouls, Billups had 8 points in 10 minutes of action.

• 32 fouls is tied for the most in a Longwood game at the D1 level, the other game also happened against Winthrop in which Longwood won 84-74 in 2024.

Presbyterian beats Gardner Webb 68-62

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with 16 points, Jaylen Peterson with 14 points, Khalon Hudson with 12 points and Triston Wilson with 10 points joined Parrish in double figures.

• Jonah Pierce and Jaylen Peterson both with double digit rebounds, Pierce with14 and Peterson with 10.

• Jonah Pierce was held quiet with only 7 points, only his 3rd game this season with less than 10 points.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Jamias Ferere led the Runnin Bulldogs with 13 points, his 2nd straight game of doing so.

• Jacob Hogarth and Spence Sims joined Ferere in double figures with 12 points each.

USC Upstate beats Charleston Southern 100-94 (OT)

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Karmani Gregory with a new career high of 29 points, Mason Bendinger with 25 points and Carmelo Adkins join Gregory with 20+ points.

• Breylin Garcia joins the aforementioned player in double figures with 16 points.

• USC Upstate was without Learic Davis (shoulder) and Jafeth Martinez (internal matter)

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• Jesse Hafemeister led the Bucs with 32 points, a new career at CSU.

• Jacob Taylor joined Hafemeister in setting a new career high with 24 points, Carraway joined those two in double figures with 11 points.

• CSU was down Brycen Blaine, A’lahn Sumler and Luke Williams, all out with injury but not expected to be season ending.

High Point beats Radford 86-77

High Point Takeaways:

• Terry Anderson led the Panthers with 24 points, his 6th game leading the Panthers in conference play.

• Owen Aquino with 17 points, Scotty Washington with 15 points, Rob Martin and Vincent Brady with 13 points each join Anderson in double figures.

• Aquino had 12 rebounds, earning a double double on senior night for High Point.

Radford Takeaways:

• Dennis Parker Jr led the Highlanders with 24 points, Del Jones joins him in double figures with 17 points.

• Parker fell one rebound short of a double double with 9 rebounds.

Feb 12th Previews:

Winthrop at Gardner Webb - 7pm EST

Preview: When this game was played earlier, Gardner Webb actually was leading in the 1st half before eventually falling to Winthrop. This time I don’t think Winthrop lets GWU get in front too much, while Gardner Webb has improved to this point, Winthrop has as well and I think Winthrop is just the more talented roster and home court advantage won’t change the talent gap enough to level out the playing field.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 95 - Gardner Webb 77

UNC Asheville at Longwood - 7pm EST

Preview: The ESPN U Wildcard game takes us to Farmville as UNC Asheville plays Longwood on their white out. UNC Asheville comes in with the rest advantage, but I do believe it is diminished with Longwood having 5 days off before this one. Longwood did lose the first matchup but Longwood has seen a bit of growth since that game something I have not seen from UNC Asheville. I think the white out, along with Longwood’s improved roster gives them the edge.

Score Prediction: Longwood 73 - UNC Asheville 68

Presbyterian at Charleston Southern - 7pm EST

Preview: Coming off a win vs Gardner Webb, ending their 3 game skid, Presbyterian now travels to Charleston Southern who is looking to end their 8 game losing skid. CSU comes off an overtime thriller against USC Upstate, and I saw a lot I liked from CSU in that one. I think CSU finally ends their skid and gets back going the right way with what will be a 3 in the win column.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 87 - Presbyterian 80

High Point at USC Upstate - 7pm EST

Preview: The “last” off the 4 games takes us to the smallest D1 arena as High Point plays against a pretty good USC Upstate team. The first 30-ish minutes of their first matchup was close until High Point pulled away. If Upstate can close up those last 10 minutes of the game, I think they could give High Point troubles. In the end, I do think HPU just has the talent to control this one despite the road trip.

Score Prediction: High Point 93 - USC Upstate 82

Now we move to the first Saturday in 3 weeks where all 4 games are actually being played on Saturday and none of them have been moved around.

Feb 4th Recap:

UNC Asheville beats USC Upstate 76-67

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Kameron Taylor led UNC Asheville in scoring 21 points, along with tying for the lead in assists with 5. Taylor has lead Asheville in 7 of 10 conference games.

• Toyaz Solomon had 15 points and 11 rebounds, along with that same team high 5 assists. This is Solomon’s 6th double double of the season.

• Justin Wright with 13 points and DJ Patrick with 12 points also finished with double figures.

USC Upstate Notables:

• Karmani Gregory led USC Upstate with 22 points, Carmelo Adkins joined Gregory in double digits with 12 points.

• USC Upstate won the turnover battle 12-9.

• Isaiah Skinner had 9 points which is his most in a conference game this season.

Winthrop beats Radford 80-78

Winthrop Notables:

• Logan Duncomb led the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but most importantly scored on his own putback to give Winthrop the eventual win.

• Kody Clouet with 17 points, Kareem Rozier with 13 points, and Joshua Meo with 11 points joined Duncomb in double figures.

• With this win, along with other results, Winthrop clinched AT LEAST the 7th seed in the Big South Tournament.

Radford Notables:

• Del Jones led the Highlanders with 21 points, Dennis Parker joined him with 20 points.

• Radford had a buzzer beater waived off at the end of the first half, this one being clearly late on the clock.

Longwood beats Gardner Webb 86-66

Longwood Notables:

• Johan Nziemi had a career high 20 points, which lead the Lancers in scoring.

• Elijah Tucker with 16 points, Jacoi Hutchinson with 15 points and Emanuel Richards with 12 points joined Nziemi in double figures.

• Longwood with 11 steals to only 11 turnovers.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Freshman Jamias Ferere led Gardner Webb with 16 points, a new career high.

• Colin Hawkins with 11 points, DJ Jefferson with 11 points and Jacob Hogarth with 10 points joined Ferere in double figures.

• 21 losses ties the 2nd most in Gardner Webb’s history in D1 (24 in 2003 is the most)

High Point beats Charleston Southern 80-55

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin led the Panthers with 22 points, but more notably 8 steals which is the 2nd most in High Point Program History.

• Owen Aquino with 18 points, Conrad Martinez with 13 points and Braden Hausen with 12 points joined Rob Martin in double figures.

• High Point forced 29 turnovers, the 3rd most in program history.

• High Point clinched AT LEAST the 6th seed in the Big South tournament.

Charleston Southern Notables:

• Jesse Hafemeister led Charleston Southern with 21 points, Brycen Blaine joined him in double figures with 18 points.

• Outside of those 2 in double figures, Charleston Southern had 16 points.

• Charleston Southern was missing A’lahn Sumler in this contest.

Feb 6th Previews:

Longwood at Winthrop - 2pm EST

Preview: In week one, one of the biggest noticeable results was Longwood beating Winthrop in Farmville. Now we get that rematch, this time in Rock Hill, SC. One more big thing changed between those two games, travel. Last time Winthrop was coming off a trip from Texas Tech compared to Longwood facing a Non D1, while Coach Prosser didn’t blame the “lag” it was obviously a factor. Without that factor, and being at home for this one, I think Winthrop pulls this one and gets revenge on Longwood.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 87 - Longwood 73

Gardner Webb at Presbyterian - 2pm EST

Preview: Before NIL, these teams would be in opposite places in the standings with GWU trending near the top and PC being the bottom feeder. GWU is now the bottom with PC being middle of the road. I do not like this spot for GWU, momentum seems to be gone once again and now they travel to play a WELL RESTED and HUNGRY Presbyterian team, I am taking the Blue Hose.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 81 - Gardner Webb 68

Charleston Southern at USC Upstate - 2pm EST

Preview: This game went to overtime in the Buc Dome, now we go to the even smaller GB Hodge Center where CSU hopes to end their 7 game losing skid. Both of these teams entered conference play in their best position in years and now seems like this could be the game that decides the other team in the 8-9 game in Johnson City. I still believe both of these teams can turn it around but I think I’ve seen more from CSU to believe it will happen. Despite that, I think Upstate takes this game with their home court advantage.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 77 - Charleston Southern 71

Radford at High Point - 7pm EST

Preview: Probably the most exciting game of the Saturday slate, and luckily, it’s the nightcap. The game in Radford, had Radford taking an early hold but eventually High Point winning by 10, that game, after Kody Clouet beat Radford at the buzzer. Now Radford after once again losing to Winthrop at the buzzer plays High Point. I think this game has a similar result, I think Radford might get out early but once again fall to a 2nd half High Point spurt.

Score Prediction: High Point 87 - Radford 80

Now we get to look towards our last Wednesday gameday of the year, but I think it goes out with a BANG.

Jan 31st Recap:

Winthrop beats UNC Asheville 84-71

Winthrop Notables:

• Logan Duncomb lead Winthrop with 26 points and 10 rebounds along with setting the Winthrop record for most free throws attempted with 19 and tying makes with 18.

• Kody Clouet with 19 points and Kareem Rozier with 17 points were the other double figure scorers.

UNC Asheville Notables:

• Kameron Taylor led Asheville with 25 points, his recent performances has gained the attention of NBA twitter scouts.

• Toyaz Solomon with 14 points and Justin Wright with 21 points joined Taylor in double figures, the 8th straight game all 3 have been in double figures.

Radford beats Presbyterian 93-84 (2OT)

Radford Notables:

• Jaylon Johnson led the Highlanders with 23 points, this plus his performance earlier in the week earned him Co Player of the Week.

• Del Jones, Dennis Parker and Lukas Walls all joined Johnson in double figures.

• Radford forced 12 steals, including 11 from their starting 5, while only giving up 9 turnovers total as a team.

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jonah Pierce lead Presbyterian with 28 points and 17 rebounds, 17 rebounds is the 2nd most in a game in Presbyterian’s D1 history. This is also the 2nd 17 rebound game this season for Presbyterian (Jaylen Peterson, 11/5/2025).

• Triston Wilson with a double double having 19 points and 11 assists, along with playing all 50 minutes of game time.

High Point beat Longwood 71-59:

High Point Notables:

• Terry Anderson lead High Point with 22 points, Anderson has lead High Point in scoring for 5 of the 9 Big South conference games.

• 5 Panthers in total were in double figures, including 4 of the 5 starters.

• High Point forced 13 steals and a total of 18 turnovers compared to only 8 turnovers by the Panthers.

Longwood Notables:

• Redd Thompson led the Lancers with 16 points, Johan Nziemi and Emanuel Richards joined him in double figures.

• Longwood won the rebounding battle by 10 including +7 with offensive rebounds.

Feb 4th Previews:

USC Upstate at UNC Asheville - 6:30pm EST

Preview: The 2nd game of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry, this time in Asheville. Last year this game came down the wire due to Upstate mounting a late charge from their defense. Upstate comes in with the rest advantage and coming off a big win over Longwood, as Asheville comes in off a loss to Winthrop. I just see this as a perfect spot for Upstate to get some momentum rolling as they take this one on the road.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 76 - UNC Asheville 72

Winthrop at Radford - 7pm EST

Preview: The time these two played just a few games ago, it was an all time classic like game with Kody Clouet getting the win at the buzzer. Since then, Winthrop has continued to cruise past their competition and Radford has struggled at time losing to High Point and going to 2OT’s with Presbyterian. Despite being 6-3, Radford is still viewed a middle of pack by the metrics, I personally still haven’t seen enough to think Radford can win these BIG games even at home.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 86 - Radford 79

Longwood at Gardner Webb - 7pm EST

Preview: Well, the break is over for Gardner Webb but they face a Longwood team that has looked beatable as of late. Longwood has lost two straight and almost fell to Charleston Southern. I do still believe Longwood has top tier potential but they undeniably have one of the lowest floor in the Big South. Despite that floor, Gardner Webb has a lower floor and hasn’t show much of a ceiling despite beating USC Upstate. I think Longwood gets right with a win over Gardner Webb heading into Winthrop.

Score Prediction: Longwood 72 - Gardner Webb 66

Charleston Southern at High Point - 7pm EST

Preview: Another rematch of a thriller from earlier in the season, this time one team has continued rolling while the other one has been on a massive skid. Charleston Southern comes in with a week off themselves, which truly I don’t like in this spot. I felt CSU needed that GWU game to shake the skid off but now they are going to the top dog in many peoples eyes in the conference and I just feel this could be bleak for Charleston Southern.

Score Prediction: High Point 93 - Charleston Southern 80

With us hitting the halfway point, that also means I will unfortunately be cutting the recaps of games in the previews to save precious writing time for some postseason content, I will still give shine to the best performances of the previous gameday and recap any BIG milestones players hit the previous gameday.

Best Performances and Major Milestones for Jan 29th:

UNC Asheville beats Gardner Webb 69-50

UNC Asheville Notables:

• DJ Patrick with a game high 16 points, all from the 3PT Line with 1 Free Throw

• Daniel Thomas with his FIRST CAREER Double Double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

• Kameron Taylor’s streak of 20 Points Games ends at 7 as Kameron Taylor went down with an apparent leg injury early in the 2nd half only have 12 points, Taylor returned to the bench WITHOUT a boot on.

Gardner Webb Notables:

• Spence Sims led Gardner Webb with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Radford beats Charleston Southern 84-75

Radford Notables:

• Del Jones led Radford in scoring with 27 points, tying his career high, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.

• Jaylon Johnson had 18 points and 6 rebounds.

• Dennis Parker Jr had 16 points and 9 rebounds, falling 1 rebound short of a double double.

Charleston Southern Notables:

• A’lahn Sumler with 26 points, his 4th straight with 20+ points.

• Armani Carraway returned from injury, getting his first action since Gardner Webb on 12/31, Carraway had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 35 minutes of game time.

USC Upstate beats Longwood 65-60:

USC Upstate Notables:

• Karmani Gregory led Upstate with 19 points along with 5 assists and 4 steals, his 12th game this season with 15 or more points.

• Carmelo Adkins had his SECOND Career Double Double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

• Coen Collier with 4 blocks, this single game is tied for 10th all time. This is the 6th game for Upstate with 4 or blocks by a single player this season and Coen Collier’s 2nd 4+ block game this season.

Longwood Notables:

• Elijah Tucker led Longwood with 13 points and 12 rebounds, his 4th double double in the last 5 games.

• Jacoi Hutchinson had 12 points.

High Point beats Presbyterian 84-81:

High Point Notables:

• Rob Martin led High Point with 21 points, his 6th game this season with 20+ points.

• Terry Anderson with 18 points and 6 rebounds.

• Cam’ron Fletcher returned after missing the past 6 games with an “internal matter”, Fletcher had 5 points and 3 rebounds before injuring his wrist in the 2nd half. According to Steven Beck from Prowled Sports, Cam is good to go for their next game at Longwood.

Presbyterian Notables:

• Jonah Pierce and Triston Wilson both led Presbyterian with 25 points.

• Jonah Pierce recorded his 12th double double of the season also hauling in 10 rebounds, his 12 double double’s is the most in the Big South.

• Presbyterian tied their season high in blocks with 7.

Jan 31st (and Feb 2nd) Previews:

UNC Asheville at Winthrop - 12pm EST

Preview: The first of two games that got moved due to YET ANOTHER winter storm, this one being moved up 2 hours, but we don’t mind. This game should be really fun one, Asheville always seems to play their best ball when it matters, and well IT MATTERS. This game could come down to Kam Taylor’s availability and I do lean towards him not playing with the quick turnaround. I do like Winthrop to take this one, especially with being at home and coming off a week of rest.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 89 - UNC Asheville 82

Radford at Presbyterian - 2pm EST

Preview: Radford is now solely in 3rd place in the Big South, but PC and train of other teams are RIGHT on their tail. This game just screams trap game for Radford, having to make a road trip to Presbyterian, looking ahead at a home game vs Winthrop. I am still not convinced they are the 3rd best team but if they win this, I will eat crow on that. Give me Presbyterian to get a win before their week long break.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 72 - Radford 70

High Point at Longwood - 3pm EST

Preview: High Point is back tied for 1st place in the Big South, and by tip time we will know if this game will be for 1st place or once again just a tie. Last time High Point entered Farmville in 1st place, they lost to Colby Garland at the buzzer. The time before that, lost to Walyn Napper at the buzzer. Will this be 3rd times the charm for High Point? I actually think not. Longwood is coming in EXTREMELY motivated and High Point is coming off a scary game vs Presbyterian, with the slight but still noticeable rest advantage I am taking Longwood.

Score Prediction: Longwood 83 - High Point 80

Gardner Webb at Charleston Southern - Feb 2nd - 6pm EST

Preview: The only game to be moved a full day, takes us to the currently 8th and 9th seeds in the conference. Charleston Southern has been on a MASSIVE skid on 6 straight, but none by more than 9 points. Gardner Webb has been playing their best ball of the season but there is still a clear talent gap. That talent along with CSU being at home gives me the stuff I need to take CSU to win this one.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 74 - Gardner Webb 66

Two game winners, one overtime, three double digits lead evaporated.

And that’s not even counting the stellar game from Saturday, we break down that and MUCH MORE.

Snow Day Recap:

Gardner Webb beats USC Upstate 67-65

Recap: Coming into this one, Gardner Webb hadn’t beaten a D1 team all season and early in the going it looked like that trend would continue. Despite starting with a 5-0 lead, Gardner Webb was quickly down 10, then down a game high of 13. Unlike 3 of the past 4 though, Gardner Webb didn’t give up going on a 9-0 run to close the gap to 4. Upstate was able to stretch the game back out to 9 points, but GWU ended the half on a 6-0 run only being down 3 entering the 2nd half.

That 6-0 run, became 8-0 before a series of back and forth left Upstate with a small lead for around 8 minutes. With just under 12 minutes to go, Gardner Webb took their first lead since being up early in the game. After GWU took the lead, a LONG series of back and forth then over 2 minutes of stagnation and another bit of back and forth gave Gardner Webb a 5 point lead, but that was almost squandered as USC Upstate tied it at 65 with 20 seconds remaining. Luckily for Gardner Webb, they have the pride of Colorado Springs, CO in Colin Hawkins who hit the game winning layup with 3 seconds left as Gardner Webb got their first win against a D1 team and first Big South win this season.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Hungry, Hungry, Hogarth: Jacob Hogarth with 17 points and 11 rebounds, led GWU in both stats and had his 5th double double of the season.

• The Icebreaker: The first one is always the hardest one to get, will be interesting to see if GWU can rattle of some momentum after this.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Gardner Webb Woes: Since Marty Richter has taken over at Upstate, USC Upstate is now 4-0 against USC Upstate.

• Bleak Out Look: With only 1 new opponent left, Longwood, Upstate’s schedule looks VERY bleak having to face Top tier teams at their place and playing their winnable games away from home.

High Point beats Radford 93-83

Recap: Coming off a 6 day break, High Point came out sluggish being down 7-0 before taking their first lead with 10-9 right after the 16 minute mark. After a bit of back in forth in which High Point held the advantage for the majority of the time but never getting the lead past 3, Radford went on an 8-0 run to take the lead something they would hold onto for the rest of the half. Radford would get the lead to 10 points but High Point was able to cut the lead to 6 before halftime.

After halftime, it was all High Point as by the 14 minute mark that 6 point Radford advantage had flipped to a 6 point High Point advantage with Radford only scoring 3 points in those 6 minutes of game time. High Point was able to keep the lead at multiple possession for a majority of the 2nd half. High Point was finally able to deliver the “KO” punch with Radford hitting another dry spell as High Point held Radford scoreless until 2 minutes left in the game and High Point would win another game by double figures, this time by 10.

High Point Takeaways:

• Scary Terry: Once again Terry Anderson stood out, this time with 31 points and 11 rebounds, his 2nd straight double double.

• Aquino Assists: Owen Aquino has added a nice new tool to his bag, Assists, in his past 2 games he has led the team in assists with 7 and 8, far above his Liberty average of 2.7 APG.

Radford Takeaways:

• Turnovers: For the 2nd straight games, turnover issues really take Radford out of a win, this time losing the turnover battle 18 to 7.

• Lead Management: Something has became glaringly obvious, any lead is not big enough for Radford, Radford has been up double digits in each of the last 3 games and have only won one on a late game buzzer beater.

Longwood beats Charleston Southern 81-79 (OT)

Recap: The last of the three games moved to Friday evening with the two farthest Big South schools squaring off in Farmville, VA. Charleston Southern began with the lead before Longwood quickly took the lead going up 7. Charleston Southern was able to tie the game at 19 but Longwood then rattled off an 11-0 run then another 8-0 run to end the half with an 18 point halftime lead.

In the 2nd half that lead would quickly evaporate as within 6 minutes, Charleston Southern had cut the lead to 4 points. Longwood was able to extend their lead to 11 with just over 4 minutes to go but just like the Presbyterian/CSU game, this one was far from over as Charleston Southern cut that lead to single digits, then a single possession until with 12 seconds A’lahn Sumler hit a circus shot to tie the game at 67.

The overtime period was began with Longwood making a layup and Charleston Southern converting only 1 of 2 at the free throw line. Despite Longwood getting the early OT lead CSU seemed to be the better team starting the overtime period. That became evident as A’lahn Sumler scored 11 points but the game came down to one player, Jaylen Benard hitting a game winning layup to put Longwood up 80-79, which they would seal off winning 81-79.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Whole > Sum: The famous saying "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is a clear thing at Longwood, 4 player with 10 more points and 2 players with 9 for Longwood in this one.

• Make Your Free Throws: The main thing that won Longwood this game was Free Throws, Longwood made 82% of theirs, Charleston Southern made 65%.

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• Heartbreaker: Another loss for Charleston Southern, in their 5 straight losses, they have lost by a combined 17 points.

• Sumler’s Simply Stellar: Once again, A’lahn Sumler with a stellar game this time 30 points, his 2nd 30pt game of conference play.

Winthrop beats Presbyterian 82-72

Recap: The only Big South game on Saturday, but it seemed to have a bit of the Friday Flash. Winthrop jumped out to the lead early but after back and forth no one really had control until Winthrop went on 7-0 run to take a 22-13 lead. Another 7-0 run gave Winthrop a 29-17 lead near the end of the first half. Winthrop was able to get their lead to 13 points before Presbyterian was able to cut that lead to 8 before halftime.

The 2nd half began with Winthrop extending their lead to double figures once again, getting their to as much as 12. Despite that 12 point lead this game was FAR from over as Presbyterian came back and even tied the game at 54 but alas it still wasn’t enough as Winthrop got up 8 with just over 5 minutes to go and was able to hold Presbyterian scoreless over the last 2 minutes of action to win 82-72.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Triple D’s: Logan Duncomb once again with a double double, this time 38 points and 15 rebounds, and is seemingly paving a clear path to Big South POTY (more on this coming at a later date)

• Turnovers: Winthrop with only 5 turnovers tied for 2nd least by a Big South team this season.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• The 4 P’s: Presbyterian with 4 players starting with P in their starting 5 for this game. Parrish, Pickett and Pierce all in double figures.

• Not The Old PC: Sometimes has become clear, despite losing this one. Presbyterian is not that bottom feeder they used to be.

Jan 29th Previews:

Gardner Webb at UNC Asheville - 6:30pm EST

Preview: The game between two of the Western NC teams should be a fun one, both teams are one down seasons but both teams have something nice to come off of. Gardner Webb is coming off their first win of Big South conference play and UNC Asheville is coming off 1 weeks rest. I do think Asheville is just far better talent wise and with both home court advantage and 1 weeks rest. With all that being said I will side with the Bulldogs… of UNC Asheville.

Score Prediction: UNC Asheville 81 - Gardner Webb 68

Radford at Charleston Southern - 7pm EST

Preview: Entering this game, both CSU and Radford need a win bad, but one way more than the other. CSU enters on a 5 game skid that just seemingly can’t be stopped. Radford on the other hand has blown 3 straight double digit leads and if it weren’t for late game heroics would have lost all 3. I’m going to make a prediction that the team that is leading at the 35 minute mark won’t win the game and I think the leader at the 35 minute mark will be Radford with CSU coming back to win.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 91 - Radford 87

Longwood at USC Upstate - 7pm EST

Preview: Truly this game doesn’t pop off the table like the others, so it will probably be the best game of the day. This game does provide a lot to love, Fats Billups and Learic Davis were both some of the most talked about transfers this offseason and both teams have fun returners like Elijah Tucker and Karmani Gregory. With all that said, Longwood does have the better team but I think coming off a win like CSU in OT gives Upstate a chance to pull off a win, especially at home coming off a loss to Gardner Webb.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 76 - Longwood 74

Presbyterian at High Point - 9pm EST - ESPNU

Preview: The first of four ESPNU wildcard games takes up to High Point, NC as High Point welcomes the Blue Hose to the Qubein Center. High Point is looking to take advantage with Winthrop having the day off as we reach halfway in the season. Presbyterian looks to catch High Point looking ahead at Longwood on (potentially) Saturday. I think HPU comes out in front of their home crowd and the fans watching on ESPNU as they enter a tie for 1st place once again in the Big South.

Score Prediction: High Point 92 - Presbyterian 80

WINTHROP takes a .5 game lead over High Point in the conference standings, and now High Point makes any early trip to Radford due to the incoming snow storm.

All 4 games in total have been moved with 3 being moved to Friday with Winthrop/PC being earlier on Saturday.

Lets break down a rare Big South Friday and Saturday slate and much more.

Jan 21st Recap:

UNC Asheville beats USC Upstate 83-69

Recap: The first game of the Ingles I-26 rivalry which happen to begin with UNC Asheville breaking out into a 5-0 lead before Upstate could get on the board. Upstate was able to comeback and tie the game at 10 and kept it close through most of the first half but was never able to break through and take the lead. With the game tied at 30, Upstate seemingly stalled out to end the half as Asheville went on a 6-0 run to end the half leading 36-30.

Just like the end of the first half, Asheville continued their run getting it to 8-0 before Upstate was able to score. Upstate was able to keep it close throughout the 2nd half until giving up a run with around 8 minutes to go which game Asheville their first double digit lead of the game. Asheville was able to hold onto such a lead winning 83-69.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• KTwenty: Kam Taylor is the 1st UNC Asheville player to score 20 points in the first 7 games of conference play.

• Burning Sage: Sage Tolentino with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 stocks in a very useful 14 minutes something Asheville could use going forward.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Martinez Block Party: With his 2 blocks in this game, Jafeth moves to 7th all time for most blocks in a season by an USC Upstate Spartan.

• Bendinger’s Best: Mason Bendinger with likely his best game this season, 28 points on 12-15 from the field and 4-4 from behind the arc.

Winthrop beats Radford 76-75

Recap: In a game that would decide 1st place in the conference entering this week, it was like neither team wanted it with the first 3 possessions ending in turnovers before Winthrop opened up the scoring with a 3. After a long series of back and forth, Radford got up to a 18-12 lead before once again a long series of back forth ended with Radford taking the lead at the free throw and taking a 33-32 lead into halftime.

The second half started just like the entire first half was, constant back and forth until Winthrop hit a dry spell which sparked off a 11-0 Radford run giving them a 10 point lead and what seemed to be all the momentum. The Radford’s curse struck again as Winthrop was able to cut into the lead as Radford hit dry spell’s of their own even taking a 3 point lead late. Radford come back and took the lead, and was sent to the free throw line with 19 seconds left but only converted 1 of 2 giving Winthrop a chance to tie or win. And Win they did as Kody Clouet hit a buzzer beater 3 to win the game after Radford’s late heave did not go in.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• FIGHT: Despite not having the game go the way the Eagles likely wanted, they found a way to win and comeback from down 10.

• COMMANDER CLOUET: Kody Clouet with his 2nd big buzzer beater this season to give Winthrop a big win, the first coming against LIU.

• Turnovers: Winthrop forced 14 1st half turnovers and 19 in the entire game, Radford came in averaging around 12 per game.

Radford Takeaways:

• Leads: Radford has now blown back to back double digit leads, last week Del Jones saved them, this game he tried but was out done, Radford has GOT to control their leads better.

• Rebounding: Winthrop entered the game as one of the best rebounding teams in the Big South but was out done on the boards by Radford 31-28.

Longwood beats Gardner Webb 91-56

Recap: In a game Longwood really needed after the heartbreaker in Radford, they came out from the opening jump. Gardner Webb got their first lead 3-2 but after that it was all Longwood. Longwood began with a 10-0 run as they took their lead back going up 12-3 before Gardner Webb cut it to 5 before once again Longwood went on a this time 16-2 run going up 28-10. Despite Gardner Webb having the lead down to 12 at one point, Longwood carried an 18 point lead into the locker room.

The 2nd half was much like the first half on repeat, Gardner Webb was able to cut the lead to 14 but then Longwood fired off their last big run of the game this one being a 12-2 run putting then up 22. Gardner Webb was not able to get it any closer than 20 for the rest of the game as Longwood went on to win by a margin of 35.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Double Double Fever: Both Elijah Tucker (21 points and 10 rebounds) and Jacoi Hutchinson (14 points and 10 assists) had double doubles.

• Steal City: Pittsburgh must have rubbed on Longwood as in this one Longwood had 14 steals, including 5 from Benard which is tied 8th most in school history in a single game.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• I am completely out on this team until further notice.

Presbyterian beats Charleston Southern 87-83

Recap: Coming off a weeks rest, Charleston Southern had the first leads of the game with 2-0 and 4-3 but took the 6-4 lead and then after back and forth took a 10-9 lead. After taking that lead, PC went on a 13-2 run going up 23-11 and then over the next nearly 5 minutes only 5 points got scored, all by Charleston Southern. Presbyterian then stretched their lead to 11 and would maintain a similar gap until a buzzer beating layup by Sumler cut the lead to 9 before halftime.

In the 2nd half, Charleston Southern kept in double digits for most of the first chunk cutting the lead to 6 and 7 multiple times but never getting over the hump. Presbyterian then was able to stretch it to 12 before once again CSU cut the lead to 6 but Presbyterian got it back to double figures. Presbyterian got the lead to 15 with just over 5 minutes to go but CSU didn’t stop fighting cutting the lead to 4 with just 15 seconds left but Sumler missed a free throw for a 4 point play and after the usual foul game Presbyterian escapes with a 4 point win.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• FAB FIVE: Presbyterian with all 5 starters in double figures led by Jonah Pierce with 21 points.

• Chidi ChiakBLOCKU: Chidi Chiakwelu with a stellar 4 blocks coming off the bench for Presbyterian.

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• Stellar Sumler: A’lahn Sumler with another stellar game, this time 26 points and 6 assists with the absence of Luke Williams.

• 1 Possession Away: CSU’s 2-4 record is VERY deceiving, if a few players go different in each game, CSU could very well be 6-0 in conference.

Jan 23rd and 24th Preview:

USC Upstate at Gardner Webb - Jan 23rd - 7pm EST

Preview: The first of the three games to have been postponed to Friday is a rematch of the 8-9 game last season in Johnson City, and both teams enter this game in those same spots, just flipped. As I said in my takeaways for Gardner Webb, I am completely out on this team, if there was a game they could win, it would be this one but I still have seen nothing in their past 2 games that makes me think that will happen, especially with this game being in a weird scheduling spot. I think Upstate wins this one pretty handedly and gets their 2nd win, and 2nd road win.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 82 - Gardner Webb 66

High Point at Radford - Jan 23rd - 7pm EST

Preview: High Point gets their week off cut one day short thanks to this game being moved and now they have to face a Radford team coming off a loss to Winthrop at the buzzer. This game comes down to two things for me, one how does High Point handle coming off their rest and how does Radford come off their loss and having a look ahead spot having to go to Charleston Southern next week. This game will probably be the better of the 3 games but in the end I think the rest is the deciding factor as High Point gets a statement road win over a very interesting Radford bunch.

Score Prediction: High Point 91 - Radford 85

Charleston Southern at Longwood - Jan 23rd - 7pm EST

Preview: The “last” of the Friday night Big South games has Charleston Southern going to Farmville to face Longwood. Longwood coming off one of their best wins of the season and CSU seemingly coming off their worst loss of the year. This game being on Friday is rough for Charleston Southern considering they just played at Presbyterian. I think CSU is the better team, but I think Longwood being at home for both games and having an easier game headed into this one gives them the edge.

Score Prediction: Longwood 77 - Charleston Southern 73

Winthrop at Presbyterian - Jan 24th - 2pm EST

Preview: The only game to stay on it’s scheduled day was Winthrop at Presbyterian but even this game was effected moving up around 2 and 1/2 hours. Winthrop now with sole possession of first place until their bye game are coming off a massive buzzer beater win over Radford. Presbyterian is a shocking 4-2 after rattling off 3 straight, but I do think that streak ends. Winthrop could come out and lose like they did after their buzzer beater win over LIU but I don’t think that happens and this trip is not like the others where they have a massive drive back and little rest, this is a quick trip (not pun intended) for Winthrop and I see them stopping at Quik Trip after they get the win in this one.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 84 - Presbyterian 79

Both were answered, so we still have 3 teams with one loss atop the conference. Two of them face off, the other has the day.

Will we have a new team in SOLE possession of #1 in the conference or will we have a new team tied with High Point atop the conference?

That AND SOOOOO MUCH in this preview.

Jan 17th Recap:

Winthrop beats UNC Asheville 69-67

Recap: The first of our 1 loss scares comes from Asheville in a game they NEEDED to win to continue any hopes of trying to win the conference or get a good seed in the conference tournament. Both teams seemingly wanted the other team to win in the first half with both teams having a sluggish back and forth until Winthrop finally broke away a little going up 14-9 with 12 minutes to go. Asheville would cut that lead to 2 points but Winthrop would continue to extend their lead to as much as 9 before halftime before Asheville hit a free throw to cut it to 33-25 going into halftime.

In the start of the second half, Asheville was the hot shot team cutting the lead to 3 in just under 4 minutes. After Asheville cut to 3, Winthrop went on a near kill shot with a 9-0 run putting them up 12 and seemingly putting Asheville away. Much like the game vs Presbyterian, Asheville wanted to fight until the very end cutting it to 2 with 36 seconds left and after a good defensive possession they had a shot to win it. Despite having 3 timeout, Coach Morrell let the possession play out, and that would result in Kareem Rozier poking the ball away from Justin Wright and falling on it to win the game 69-67.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Commander Clouet: Kody Clouet was the superstar for Winthrop with 21 points including 5 3’s along with 6 rebounds.

• History in the Making?: As of Jan 21st, Logan Duncomb is on pace for the HIGHEST PER in Winthrop history by over 3 points, and the 6th highest in Big South history.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• Can’t Take Them Home: Simply put, YOU NEED TO CALL A TO THERE. You can’t take them home with you.

• One Score Games: UNC Asheville has been in 3 one score games in conference play and a total of 7 (counting WCU). The amount they’ve won: ZERO.

• Thomas Turn Around: Daniel Thomas has been a solid piece in conference play and is showing a breakout we did not see during non conference play.

Presbyterian beats Gardner Webb 92-55

Recap: Coming off a close game to Radford, Gardner Webb was looking to keep that momentum rolling as this game was basically over when it tipped off. Presbyterian scored on their first possession and didn’t look back. By the first media timeout, Presbyterian was up 11-1. That 11-1 was apart of a 21-3 run which ended with Gardner Webb getting a few to fall through the hoop. Presbyterian’s response, a 10-0 run going up 31-9. Presbyterian would carry that momentum leading 40-21 at halftime.

The second half followed the pace of the first half with Presbyterian in complete control including a 10-2 run mid way through the 2nd half and then a final massive 13-0 run to end the game before Gardner Webb hit a layup as the final make for either team as Presbyterian won 92-55.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Perfect Game?: If you are Presbyterian, this has to be a perfect game in your eyes, 1.31 Points Per Possession, lead the entire game (outside of the first 20 seconds at 0-0) and the 18th most dominant win this season.

• Hudson Hornet: Khalon Hudson with 17 points off the bench was a nice spark for Presbyterian, only missing 1 FG and 1 FT all game.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Open Letter to GWU’s Admin: I don’t need to put any takeaways, I understand the issue at Gardner Webb. It’s been the issue all year, it’s not the coaching staff, it’s not the players. It’s the Green, The Moolah, The $$$. I am asking the admin, as a fan of all 9 Big South schools, PLEASE give this team support, found a collective, do SOMETHING MORE to support your program. I can’t believe there is not 5-10 people who could cut a check to help this team. I know football is KING, it always will be but I ask, Nate Evans, Brenden Fahey if you see this.
  
  PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS, your fans, players, students and coaches deserve it.

Radford beats Longwood 85-83

Recap: The Battle of Virginia in the Big South looked like the Slaughter of Virginia to begin this one with Radford starting out with a 17-3 lead just over 6 minutes into the game. Radford was able to get that lead to 17 multiple times led by their hot 70% shooting from inside the arc and 53% shooting from beyond the arc. Longwood just wasn’t able to cut into the lead in the 1st half entering halftime down 17.

In the 2nd half, slowly but surely Longwood would capitalize on Radford’s achilles heel, that being holding on to a 2nd half lead. Longwood was able to cut it from 18 to 11 with 14 minutes left to go. Longwood continued to cut the lead getting to the 7 points with 10 minutes to go, then finally to 3 with just over 4 minutes to go. Radford started to sense the comeback it was too late, Longwood was back in it tying it at 80 with 1:10 left, after two three’s from both teams, the game was in Zach Chu’s hands. Then the game entered the hands of Del Jones, and with a quick drive to the rim, HE CALLED GAME.

Radford Takeaways:

• 2nd Half Horrors: No matter what happens, it seems Radford can’t hold onto a 2nd half lead. Radford allows the 341st defensive 2nd half points.

• Fantastic Freshman: Frederik Erichsen won Big South Freshman of the Week including 8 points and 2 rebounds in this content.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Tucker’s Sweet 16: Elijah Tucker ended the game with 17 points and 16 rebounds, a new career high for rebounds for Tucker.

• Turnovers: Longwood lost the turnover battle 15-10 but only 4 of which were steals.

• Redd, Yellow, GREEN: Redd Thompson has the GREEN light in Ronnie Thomas’ system having 21 points in this game including the 3 that tied the game at 83.

High Point beats USC Upstate 89-69

Recap: Coming off their loss to Winthrop, High Point was looking to hit the rest button before entering their off week, Upstate wanted to keep their momentum rolling. Upstate began the scoring at the free throw line before quickly losing the lead to High Point which would be the only lead change of the game. High Point would jump to a 12-3 lead their largest lead of the game to that point before Upstate cut into a bit before once again they got a 9 point lead. Once again Upstate came back even tying the game at 27 but entered the half behind High Point 35-31.

The second half started much like the entire first half with High Point in control but not really able to pull away, Upstate just seemingly kept themselves in the game via the offensive glass and making shot even tying the game at 53 with 12 minutes left to go in the game. After that bucket, High Point ended the game on 36-16 run over the last 12 minutes to win the game 89-69.

High Point Takeaways:

• Scary Terry: Terry Anderson in a self described “not good” game led the team in points with 22 and rebounds with 12.

• All Around Aquino: Owen Aquino with one of the most interesting stat lines I’ve seen all season with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks and 0 assists. The only player to have such a stat line this season.

• The Return of the Cam: In the post game press conference, one massive elephant question was answered, “Where is Williams?” which was corrected to “Where is Cam Fletcher?”, Flynn addressed it as a internal issue which wasn’t news, but added “We expect him to be back.”

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Glass Cleaners: Jafeth Martinez and Breylin Garcia combined for 20 rebounds including 13 offensive rebounds between the duo.

• Leader Learic: In Big South conference play, Learic Davis has lead Upstate in scoring in 3 of the 5 games including their win over Charleston Southern.

Jan 21st Previews:

UNC Asheville at USC Upstate - 6pm EST

Preview: The biggest Big South rivalry, the world renowned Ingles I-26 Rivalry has their first game on Wednesday and it should be an interesting one. This game is truly a matter of depth vs talent. UNC Asheville has probably 2-3 of the best players in the game but has nothing really outside of those, Upstate has a ton of medium level talent but no really “WOW” player. I think this game being at home really helps Upstate pull away with a close, but very much needed win.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 75 - UNC Asheville 73

Radford at Winthrop - 6:30pm EST

Preview: The game that is either first place, or a tie for first place depending on the winner. Winthrop currently has the tie breaker over High Point but with a win they will have 1st place by .5 games due to not having their bye game yet. Radford would become first if they win due to again a tie breaker which would set up a true game for first on Saturday against High Point. Sadly, I don’t think that game for first will happen on Saturday. Winthrop has played a harder schedule and I’m not convinced Radford is all that despite their 4-1 record so for that reason, and home court, I am taking Winthrop.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 87 - Radford 80

Gardner Webb at Longwood - 7pm EST

Preview: This is a game Longwood needs, after their heartbreaking loss to Radford they now sit at 2-3 and have a chance to get to .500 before facing Charleston Southern. Gardner Webb still looking for win #1 and this is a game where it could be done as Longwood has stumbled at time. I don’t think Longwood stumbles this time though as I think they roll past Gardner Webb and win pretty handedly.

Score Prediction: Longwood 73 - Gardner Webb 65

Charleston Southern at Presbyterian - 7pm EST

Preview: Charleston Southern comes off their bye week after suffering 3 brutal losses to Winthrop, High Point and USC Upstate and now have to face Presbyterian which is coming off two big wins over UNC Asheville and Gardner Webb. This game will come down to how CSU used their off time to prepare, if they failed to fix their mistakes from the last 3 games, they’ll drop this game. I think CSU used this time correctly and I think they get a perfect get right road win over Presbyterian and get back to .500.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 77 - Presbyterian 72

NONE.

And right now, we have a tie atop the Big South standings with both Winthrop and High Point at 4-1 but Radford is not far behind at 3-1. Will someone get sole possession of 1st place? Or will be enter next week with a tie atop the standings again?

Jan 14th Recap:

Winthrop beats High Point 92-75

Recap: This game went about how everyone expected, for about 4 minutes of action. High Point began the scoring before a little back and forth gave Winthrop the lead at 5-4, a lead they would maintain for the rest of the game. Winthrop would extend that lead to 8 until before High Point cut the lead to 3 with a 3 pointer from Scotty Washington and a dunk from Terry Anderson. Then Winthrop gave, what really seemed to be the fatal blow, being a 15-2 run over a 3 minute stretch extending Winthrop lead to 16 points. That 16 point lead would then balloon over the next 9 minutes to 24 points entering halftime.

At the start of the 2nd half, it seemed like shades of Johnson City as High Point sparked off a 10-0 run but unlike in Johnson City, their comeback was thwarted as Winthrop continued to really just protect their lead and not thwart their own chances by playing aggressive. Winthrop would never let their lead fall below 14 points in the 2nd half as they cruised to their biggest resume win of the season and entering a tie for 1st place in the Big South.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• 106 Words: On October 3rd, 2023 Logan Duncomb stepped away from basketball with a 106 word statement. Now in March of 2026, he could very well hear 6 words. Big South All Conference 1st Team, and potentially a bigger 6 words.

• D2 Shootas: Tommy Kamarad and Kody Clouet, both former D2 stars, both ended the game in double figures. Kamarad with 17 points and Clouet with 14.

• Turnover Battle: Winthrop becomes one of the few team to beat Winthrop in the turnover battle, even having more steals that the Panthers in this one.

High Point Takeaways:

• Cam’ron Fletcher: The spotlight, at least off the court is turned toward Cam’ron Fletcher after Rico Bosco posted that he was “dismissed”. This was stated to be false by the program

• Stumble but Don’t Fall: Realistically, High Point was going to lose in conference play. It was just a matter of when, now you got to get back up and push forward.

• Feb 21st: Not to look ahead at the schedule, but the home game vs Winthrop on Feb 21st now is a MUST WATCH game. (and sadly won’t be a Wild Card game.)

USC Upstate beats Charleston Southern 86-81 (OT)

Recap: Both teams entered this game needing and win and both teams played like it. Charleston Southern began the scoring but Upstate took the lead back, which would become a common sight in the game with 2 baskets on back to back trips down the floor. The lead swapped numerous times throughout the first half with neither team holding more than 6 point advantage, which was the exact lead CSU took into halftime 41-35.

At the start of the 2nd half, CSU finally got their lead to 8 points, the largest of the game at the time. Then, just like clockwork USC Upstate storms back and take their largest lead of the game thus far being 4 points around the midway point of the 2nd half. Then it seemed as if CSU was finally going to put Upstate away being up 8 with less than 4 minutes to go, but Upstate wasn’t done just yet despite their 3.4% chance to win as they storm back and tie the game with just over minute to go as they held CSU scoreless for the last 3:41 of regulation but neither team hits their last shots and we headed to Overtime.

In overtime, Reis Jones began the scoring with a dunk on the first possession and then Jaquias Franklin forced a turnover leading to free throws, but CSU could only convert 1 of 2 allowing Upstate to stay within one possession. After a bit of back and forth, Learic Davis hit the biggest shot of the game giving Upstate a 2 point lead after his 3 went through the bottom of the next. After an Upstate miss, down 3, Brycen Blaine takes a transition 3 which goes off the rim and CSU has to wait over 5 seconds to foul, Karmani Gregory then ices the game at the line giving Upstate that 86-81 win.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• 3.4%: 3.4% was the chances given to USC Upstate when down 8 with 3:41 left in the 2nd half. That is the lowest chance to win in ANY Big South game this season resulting in a win and 67th (6-7) in the nation.

• Do-It-All Davis: Learic Davis had a new career high of 22 points along with 8 rebound and 2 steals.

• Chuck Town Lovin: Marty Richter is now 2-0 in the Buc Dome, coming off his win 79-69 last season in the same venue.

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• The Masked PG: Luke Williams gets banged up and couldn’t return against Upstate. While Franklin played very good minutes, Williams absence was felt, definitely something to watch entering PC on 1/21.

• Rebounding: One thing Coach Nimley hammered home in his post game presser, REBOUNDING. Mainly offensive rebounding, their next game? Against the #2 Offensive Rebounding team in the Big South.

• Sumler is BACK: If there was any DOUBT that Sumler was truly him again, 35 points 5 assists and ZERO TURNOVERS. Only the 3rd such game this season.

Presbyterian beat UNC Asheville 71-70

Recap: One of the more under appreciated games of Wednesday was between the red hot UNC Asheville team playing at Presbyterian. The game began with a little bit of back and forth before Presbyterian took a 12-7 lead, then Asheville took their final lead of the game going up 22-19. After Asheville took that lead, Presbyterian had a 9-0 run to take the lead back and hold for the rest of the 1st half. After a Justin Wright buzzer beater, Presbyterian carried a 6 point lead into halftime.

The 2nd half began like the 1st half ended with Presbyterian holding onto a single digit lead until Presbyterian broke through that glass ceiling extending their lead to 13 with 10 minutes left in the game. Asheville would cut that lead down to single digits but once again with 5 minutes to go, the lead was 13 points. With 2 minutes to go, it seems that Presbyterian would coast their second victory with a 12 point victory but UNC Asheville didn’t give up cutting that lead down to 2 with just under 1 minute to go, but they would miss their buzzer beater 3 to tie it and only tip it back in for 2 and after two missed free throws by Presbyterian and a tipped around rebound, Presbyterian escapes 71-70.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Triple P: The trio of Carl Parrish, Jonah Pierce and Jaylen Peterson scored 63 of Presbyterian’s 71 points.

• Perfection Parrish: Carl Parrish went 5-5 from behind the arc, and was the only PC player to make a 3 in the contest.

• Block Party: Both Pierce and Peterson had 3 blocks, along with Iverson King with 1.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• Bench Issues: Once again, the bench just has NOT shown up for Asheville, only scoring 4 points for the Bulldogs.

• Wright, Right on Time: Justin Wright had his best game of conference play so far with 26 points, leading UNC Asheville in scoring.

• KT: Kameron Taylor with his 5th straight 20+ point game, all coming in conference play.

Radford beats Gardner Webb 89-80

Recap: Likely the game that Gardner Webb was pointing at as a very good chance to win was this one. Rest advantage and a Radford team that is as streaky as a C List Actor, put Gardner Webb in a good spot to win. Early in the game, it seemed like they would as Gardner Webb jumped out to 20-8 lead but within 5 minutes, that changed as Radford took their first lead 27-25 with 8 minutes to go. Then at the end of the half after a Del Jones buzzer beater layup, Radford entered halftime up 45-31.

The 2nd half started out much like the 1st half ended with Radford nursing their lead and even extending to a high of 16 until Gardner Webb came storming back. Gardner Webb cut the lead to 10, then to 6 with just over 10 minutes to go. Radford then once again stretched their lead to 11 but Gardner Webb didn’t go away cutting the lead to 5 with just over 5 minutes to go. Then the killshot came after Dennis Parker Jr was fouled on a 3 which he made allowing Radford to extend the lead to 9, a lead they would hold onto winning 89-80.

Radford Takeaways:

• Del and Dennis: Once again the ACC transfers were the star of the show, Del Jones leading Radford with 27 points and Dennis Parker with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

• Thinner Bench: Something I’ve noticed, Radford has been playing less players and it’s working as Radford is 3-1 in conference.

• Double Double: Along with Dennis Parker, Tyson Brown also had a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• The Corner: It seems like Gardner Webb is turning the corner, they have been playing some of their best basketball while missing a few big pieces, once those comeback, GWU could be interesting.

• Turn it up: DJ Jefferson led the Runnin Bulldogs with 21 points, his 2nd straight 20 point game and the first two of his career.

• Injuries: 4 out of 5 Day 1 Starters missed this game, will be interesting to see how GWU plays when they comeback.

Jan 17th Previews:

Winthrop at UNC Asheville - 2pm EST

Preview: We go from Winthrop’s White Out, to Asheville’s Black Out as Winthrop now travels to Asheville to face UNC Asheville. A game that Asheville in my opinion NEEDS to win and a game Winthrop would very much LOVE to win. This game is simply coming down to does Asheville get production from their bench and can Winthrop control their emotions and not let people down. Based off the history of the season, I lean No and Yes, there for I lean Winthrop to get a massive road win.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 82 - UNC Asheville 74

Presbyterian at Gardner Webb - 2pm EST

Recap: According to Jeff Goodman’s anonymous rankings, this is a game between the two worst Big South jobs but don’t tell either coach that. Both of these teams are playing some of their best basketball of the season, really making this one a game to watch. This game will likely come down to Gardner Webb hitting their 3’s and Presbyterian playing bully ball down low. I do lean Presbyterian to win this one simply because they seem to be playing their best ball as well.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 75 - Gardner Webb 71

Longwood at Radford - 2:30pm EST

Recap: A good ole VA throw down with a diaper dash during halftime, and two first year coaches facing off. This game will be one won at the free throw line, both teams get to the line at massive rates and both teams send team to the line at massive rates. The issue is, one team hits 76% at the line, one hits 72.2%, and the one that hits 76% is better at both getting to the line and limiting teams getting there. For that reason, and because I am still not sure what to make of Radford, give me Longwood.

Score Prediction: Longwood 79 - Radford 73

USC Upstate at High Point - 7pm EST

Recap: The night cap, and it’s a TRUE weekend night cap with this one tipping off at 7pm. USC Upstate enters coming high off their overtime win over Charleston Southern and High Point enters at a low point after their loss to Winthrop. Both teams are in need of this one, and realistically it will come to the turnover battle. HPU and USC Upstate provide insane pressure on PG’s and whichever teams PG group doesn’t crack likely wins this one. I do think Upstate performs really well but falls in the end has High Point gets back on track with a win.

Score Prediction: High Point 91 - USC Upstate 80

but now High Point enters one of their toughest test of the season having to make the trip to Rock Hill and face Winthrop, for their white out.

That and MANY more getting previewed, but first let’s recap last Saturday’s action.

Jan 10th Recap:

Winthrop beats USC Upstate 71-50

Recap: It took a bit for either team to get the lid off the basket, but finally after 2 mins of no scoring, USC Upstate began the game with a 3-0 lead. That 3-0 lead would be their only lead of the game as after 4 minutes Winthrop began their scoring which was also the start of a 12-0 Winthrop run taking the lead of which they would hold for the rest of the game. Upstate stopped that 12-0 run with 2 free throws, just for Winthrop to then spark another 8-0 run taking a 20-5 lead over just 10 minutes of action. Winthrop just kept piling onto their lead including sparking a 16-0 run between the end of the first half and start of the 2nd half as Winthrop entered halftime doubling Upstate’s total 38-19.

As I said above Winthrop started a 16-0 run that ended in the 2nd half, but by the time Upstate was able to end that run, it was already 46-19 with only 17 minutes remaining. After a bit of back and forth between Winthrop and Upstate including cutting the lead to under 20 multiple times. The lowest Upstate would close it up to was 15 with just under 4 minutes left in the 2nd half but eventually Upstate would ultimately fall to the hands of Winthrop 71-50.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Berry Returns: Daylen Berry returned from injury after missing last game, only put up 3 points but also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 21 minutes.

• Welcome Back Wilson: Not a true welcome back, but Isaiah Wilson finally seems to be finding his footing with two double digit point games, the first since his injuries that sidelined him for two seasons.

• Duncomb Dominance: Despite only having 8 points, Logan Duncomb still made his impact felt with 13 rebounds, the most of all players.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Bench Mob: 39 of USC Upstate’s 50 points come from the bench including Breylin Garcia with 16 points and Adkins with 14.

• Rebounding: USC Upstate lost the rebounding battle 49-31 with their leading rebounder having only 6 and allowing 18 offensive rebounds for Winthrop.

• Smith The Swipper: Tyler Smith with a game high 4 steals, his 4th game with 4 more steals and first since Tennessee Tech.

High Point beats Charleston Southern 84-82 (OT)

Recap: It might be early to crown a game as Game of the Year, but this definitely the front runner so far. Charleston Southern started out with a small 5-0 lead and held a similar advantage throughout most of the first half occasionally having cut to one but never being able to push the lead past 7. That small lead finally get cut to 0 with just over 5 minutes left in the 1st half when High Point took the lead 31-30 but that lead was short lived as CSU with 1:48 left, just to give it back on the next possession with a High Point score on the other end. High Point held onto a narrow 1 point, 41-40 lead headed into halftime.

The 2nd half started with CSU taking the lead and seemingly trying to put High Point away going up as much as 10 points with just 8 minutes of action left. Then High Point stormed back tying the game at 67 with just over 4 minutes left and then taking the lead again 68-67 after a late free throw with just over 3 minutes to go. After a bit of back and forth, it seemed like High Point would escape with a win in regulation as they were up 4 with 38 seconds left. Luke Williams had other ideas, with two big shots to take the game to overtime.

In the overtime period, High Point took the first lead at the free throw then Jacob Taylor hit a massive 3 to give Charleston Southern a 2 point lead, just for Conrad Martinez to hit an even bigger 3 on the next possession to give High Point the lead again. After a Terry Anderson layup and two Owen Aquino free throws, it seemed like High Point FINALLY put CSU away, but alas CSU got to the line and made 3 of 4 and stopped two High Point attempts to ice the game giving CSU a chance to end it, but A’lahn Sumler’s buzzer beater feel short and High Point escaped 84-82.

High Point Takeaways:

• ConRAD: Conrad Martinez is slowly becoming an undernoticed Big South Player of the Year candidate, that’s might not indicate it but he is tied for most Game MVP’s for HPU on KenPom and is tied for highest Big South PRPG! on Torvik.

• Double Digit No More: Entering this game, EVERY High Point win came by double figures, this was their first single digit win of the 25-26 season.

• JC Rematch: If the league plays out how it seems, we might be in store for a rematch of this one in Johnson City.

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• Real Deal: Despite being 2-2 this team has proven they are FOR REAL, those two losses are against the Top 2 in the league and one was AT Winthrop.

• Turnovers: CSU kept their turnovers to only 12, while also forcing 9 from High Point, a team that DOES NOT turn it over much.

• Lead Management: This is about the 5th-6th where CSU has a late lead but allows the opponent to pull back in, that could be something to watch as the season rolls on.

UNC Asheville beats Radford 91-72

Recap: Despite this one being close at the start, UNC Asheville led this one wire to wire with only one tie. The scoring began with Asheville getting out to a 4-0 lead, with Asheville continuing to hold onto a slim margin until Radford tied it up at 10 early in the first half. Then once again Asheville took the lead, this time extending it to 8 before Radford proceeded to cut the lead to 2, the closest it would be for the remainder of the game. After some sluggish offense on both sides, UNC Asheville had a 45-36 advantage headed into halftime.

At the start of the 2nd half, Asheville came out sluggish allowing Radford to cut the lead to 5, before Asheville took it to 9 again, but once again having it cut to 5 by Radford. The one thing that has plagued Radford all season showed up once again, a shooting slump as UNC Asheville started a 20-5 run, basically putting the game away. Radford did charge a late game comeback but Dennis Parker Jr getting into foul trouble cut their comeback effort short by 8 points before Asheville closed out the game winning 91-72.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• Kam (Taylor’s Version): Kam Taylor fell 2 points short of his career high but was the clear star for Asheville with 27 points along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

• DJ Patrick Star: DJ Patrick once again with a big game, this time 24 points, a new season high.

• Bench Bummer: This time, Mike Morrell put out his normal starting 5 and once again Asheville only saw 8 bench points.

Radford Takeaways:

• 3 from 3: Radford once again seems to entering a shooting slump as they went 3-26 from behind the arc.

• Dennis, The Menace: Dennis Parker Jr, leads the Big South in scoring with 20.1 PPG, and is paving his path to a potential Big South POTY campaign.

• Frederik The Freshman: Frederik Erichsen, despite not starting out great, had his first double digit game against a D1 team with 11 points.

Longwood beats Presbyterian 77-70

Recap: Both teams entered this one needing a win but obviously only one could leave with it. For the first 6 minutes, this one seemed like it would be a dog fight as both Longwood and Presbyterian swapped the lead until Longwood got their final lead of the game 9-8 at the 15 minute mark. Longwood would extend that lead to 23-17 before they put that lead to 15 after Longwood sparked off a 9-0 run. Presbyterian would close that lead to 12 points after a buzzer beater layup.

Despite being down 12, Presbyterian didn’t stop fighting sparking off a 6-0 run cutting Longwood’s lead to 9 points. Longwood then once again extended the lead to 14 points before Presbyterian once again cut the lead this time to 10 points with 8 minute remaining. Then link a rubber band effect in a video game, Longwood extended their lead to 16 before Presbyterian once again sparked off a run this time an 8-0 run cutting the lead to 8 but time just ran out as Presbyterian had to begin fouling allowing Longwood to put the game away and win 77-70.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Double Trouble: Elijah Tucker got his 2nd double double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

• Hot Shot: Longwood got hot in this one shooting 47% from 3PT land, their best performance of the season.

• Turnover Battle: Longwood won the turnover battle 13-10 including 10 steals 3 by VCU Transfer Alphonzo Billups.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Peterson Breakout: Jaylen Peterson led the Blue Hose in scoring with 21 points, his 2nd 20 point game in the past 5.

• King of the Bench: Iverson King led Presbyterian with 12 points off the bench, his highest total against a D1 school.

• Turnovers: Presbyterian had 13 turnovers, 6 off their star big man Jonah Pierce.

Jan 14th Previews:

High Point at Winthrop - 6:30pm EST

Preview: The rematch of Johnson City is finally here, the stars might be different and so is one of the head coaches but this game should still be a good one. This game likely comes down to Logan Duncomb and his impact. Duncomb has been the clear star for the Eagles and if High Point is able to limit his production, something they managed to do well against Toyaz Solomon but that was WITH Cam’ron Fletcher who has missed time due to an “internal matter” and has a very unclear status for this game. With that being said, I do think High Point is able to weather the storm and take home another MASSIVE non conference win.

Score Prediction: High Point 91 - Winthrop 85

USC Upstate at Charleston Southern - 7pm EST

Preview: This game also has the likelihood to be a very fun one as both teams need a win, USC Upstate has started 0-3 after their best non conference start since joining the conference and Charleston Southern has lost two big games but can get right with a win at home. The key for this one is truly turnovers, if Tyler Smith and others for Upstate can force CSU to give up the ball they could be in for an upset. I do think CSU limits their turnovers like they did against High Point but I think Upstate stays in this one and even maybe takes a late lead but falls in the end.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 81 - USC Upstate 76

UNC Asheville at Presbyterian - 7pm EST

Preview: This game really just doesn’t stand out like other two in my opinion. Both teams in my opinion lack 1/2 pieces off being a top tier Big South contenders. The matchup in the paint will be interesting between Toyaz Solomon and the two headed monster of Peterson and Pierce. I also do think Carl Parrish and Justin Wright is another matchup worth watching. In the end, I do see these teams on similar tiers and I think Presbyterian being at home court is the deciding factor of this one.

Score Prediction: Presbyterian 67 - UNC Asheville 64

Radford at Gardner Webb - 7pm EST

Preview: I think this game will be interesting, I am still not 100% sold on what Radford is and isn’t. Radford started out conference play 2-0 then got their teeth kicked in by UNC Asheville with really only 4 players. Gardner Webb has not had a good season so far, but they come in with the rest advantage and home court. Really this game will come down to can Zach Chu coach this team to this win, and I’m not confident it happens. I think Gardner Webb shocks the Big South and gets a MASSIVE home win.

Score Prediction: Gardner Webb 72 - Radford 66

With Charleston Southern and Presbyterian losing their first conference games of the season, we have two undefeated teams left. Radford and High Point.

Will both of them stay undefeated until their matchup on Jan 24th, I personally think at least one will slip up, most likely Radford but High Point also doesn’t have an easy stretch either.

High Point has to travel to CSU, Radford hosts UNC Asheville, will either of them lose this week?

Jan 7th Recap:

UNC Asheville beats Longwood 72-61

Recap: After a little bit of back and forth the start the game, including the only two lead changes of the matchup. UNC Asheville went on a 9-0 run to make their 3-2 deficit into a 11-3 lead which became a pretty steady cushion for Asheville throughout the first half. Longwood would periodically cut it down to as little as 3 points before Asheville would stretch it back it, at time to as much as 15 points. Asheville’s offense would stagnate near the end of the half allowing Longwood to cut the lead to 5.

Much of that stagnation followed UNC Asheville into the start of the 2nd half allowing Longwood to cut the lead to 1 within 3 minutes of the 2nd half starting and even allowing them to tie the game at 50 with just under 11 minutes to go in the game. Then Asheville went on a 10-2 run giving them a 60-52 lead with around 6 minutes to go and that seemingly be enough as Longwood just ran out of gas only scoring 11 points in the last 10:25 of action allowing UNC Asheville to win 72-61.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• Morrell Magic Tricks: Last game Morrell had Solomon coming off the bench, this game it was Kam Taylor, both players with some of their best performances of the year.

• DJ PaTREYick: DJ Patrick with 6-10 from 3, one of his best games of the season and is 1 of 9 Big South players to average 40% from behind the arc on volume.

• Double Digit Dan: Dan Thomas with his 1st double digit rebound game, along with 8 points.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Turnovers: Longwood held their turnovers to 10, and had their lowest TO% since their loss to American earlier in the season.

• 3PT Woes: Longwood once again shot below 30% behind the arc, and even shot below their season average of 28% which is 348th in the country.

• Rebounding: Longwood allowed 14 offensive rebounds, compared to Longwood’s 9 including ZERO in the 2nd half.

Winthrop beats Charleston Southern 81-77

Recap: Likely the most anticipated game of the day, and it did not fail to meet expectations. After a bit of back and forth, Charleston Southern took the first notable lead of the game with a 19-12 lead after a 6-0 from the Bucs gave them that advantage. CSU even stretched that lead to 9 going up 30-21 with 7:02 remaining before Winthrop went on a 13-1 run going up 34-31 before once again cooling off and even losing to lead before an Isaiah Wilson half court heave gave Winthrop a slim 37-36 advantage going into halftime.

The 2nd half was much of the same with almost non stop back and forth until Charleston Southern broke out a 6 point with just under 8 minutes to go. CSU would hold onto that lead until 4 minutes left in the game but two massive things happened in those 4 minutes as both Lase Olalare and Reis Jones would foul out of the game, leaving CSU with only 1 big man in Devin Brafford left in the game. While Brafford did play very good in those minutes, Logan Duncomb was too much of a headache as he scored 12 points in last 5 minutes to help Winthrop win 81-77.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Duncomb POTY: Logan Duncomb is quietly becoming the front runner for Big South POTY, which would be Winthrop’s first since DJ Burns in 21-22.

• No Berry, No Issue: Daylen Berry missed this game due to an ankle injury in which he suffered last game.

• DEFENSE: Despite allowing teams to shoot over 35% from 3, Winthrop held CSU to 25.8%.

CSU Takeaways:

• Sumler Resurgence: In all 3 Big South games so far for CSU, A’lahn Sumler has led the team in scoring, averaging 23 PPG in conference play.

• No Worries: I have no reason to be out on this CSU team, Blaine had his worst game of the season and as a team shot 25.8% from 3, which is unlikely to be a trend.

• Brafford Block Party: Devin Brafford had 5 blocks, which is tied for 2nd most this season and had the least minutes of anyone with 5 blocks this season in the Big South.

High Point beats Gardner Webb 104-49

Recap: This game was truly a blood bath from the beginning, High Point jumped out to a 16 point lead before Gardner Webb got even their first points of the game. After that maybe Gardner Webb began a run, nope. High Point then scored another 14 before Gardner Webb got their next points of the game. High Point finally capped off their 40-6 run and almost immediately began another 13-1 run before Gardner Webb hit a layup to enter halftime down 40, which considered this game, as Erik Haslam form HaslamMetrics would say #AnalyticallyFinal.

After a little bit of back and forth to begin the 2nd half, High Point went on their 3rd and final big run of the game. This time it was a 21-3 run which put them up 80-20 and High Point continued to cruise to their 104-49 victory which was the largest in Big South conference history.

High Point Takeaways:

• This Year’s Bobby, Conrad: One of the best players this year for High Point, much like last year, is their bench PG. Last year it was Bobby, this year it’s Conrad Martinez. Conrad currently has a 3.6 PRPG!, which ties him for 2nd in the Big South.

• Dominance: This is currently the 4th most dominant win in all of CBB this season, the most dominant in a conference game, and High Point 3rd game in the Top 100 most dominant games.

• Elite Company: In the post game presser, Flynn Clayman mentioned High Point and Houston are the only two teams to be Top 15 in Offensive Turnover % AND Defensive Turnover %. HPU is 6th in Offensive and 11th in Defensive.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• DJ Jefferson Breakout: DJ Jefferson led Gardner Webb with 20 points, many of which coming in the 2nd half. It would be interesting to see if he can build off it.

• Bo Knows: Bo Barber, a Grad Assistant at the start of the year, led GWU in assists with 4.

• KenPom Gains: Thanks to The Citadel losing by 38 to Mercer, Gardner Webb actually moved up to 358 on KenPom, gaining 1 spot from their previous spot at 359th.

Radford beats Presbyterian 80-61

Recap: The final of the four Big South games on Jan 7th, and this one was guaranteed to take aways one of the team’s 0 in the loss column in conference play. The first half was a near constant back and forth between Presbyterian and Radford until Radford took the lead at the 10 minute mark and continued to hold their narrow margin until at the buzzer Carl Parrish hit a 3 to tie that game at 36.

The second half was different story, after the 18 minute mark where Presbyterian once again tied the game, this time at 40. Radford started to take hold of this contest, due in part to Del Jones with 2 3’s and Tyson Brown getting 2 of his own sparking off an 8-0 run. Radford was able to keep their lead pretty healthy and finally delivered a final blow with 12-0 run over 5 minutes of game time and extending Radford lead to 19, which is the exact margin Radford would win by, 80-61.

Radford Takeaways:

• Del and Dennis Show: Radford might have one of the best two player duos in the Big South with Del Jones and Dennis Parker, Parker has averaged 23 PPG in conference and Jones is averaging 19.5 PPG in conference.

• Radford is Rollin: Despite starting the season 2-6, Radford is now 9-8 with those only 2 losses coming to a in hindsight pretty decent Southern Miss team and CAA contender William and Mary.

• Keep the 0: Radford has kept their 0 in the loss column for the first time since Mike Jones in the 2020-21 season.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• Free Throw Woes: Presbyterian shot 50% from the free throw line, 16% lower than the season average for PC.

• Homegrown Talent: 58 points of PC’s 61 came from players who were in the program last year.

• Pierce and Peterson: Jonah Pierce and Jaylen Peterson both with stellar performances including a double double for Pierce and 7 points and 8 rebounds for Peterson.

Jan 10th Preview:

Winthrop at USC Upstate - 2pm EST

Preview: Winthrop pulled likely the biggest resume win so far in Big South conference play, and their reward? Traveling to USC Upstate which coming off a week of rest. So far teams taking a week off are 2-0, one funny enough faced USC Upstate. The game will really come down to the matchup down low between Duncomb and the duo of Coen Collier and Jafeth Martinez. I think the rest, and home court advantage along with their two defense forward centers gives Winthrop issues as Upstate cruises to their first conference win.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 78 - Winthrop 72

High Point at Charleston Southern - 2pm EST

Preview: This game right here, could be potentially game of the year for the Big South. High Point just got done with biggest win in Big South history and CSU is MOTIVATED after losing a close one to Winthrop. This game likely comes down to what High Point can stop, I think High Point will do what they want on the offensive end and I think CSU has to make this a true shootout and start out hot. In the end, it’s hard to pick against High Point, they seem to be the Killdozer and the Big South is the town of Granby.

Score Prediction: High Point 91 - Charleston Southern 87

UNC Asheville at Radford - 2:30pm EST

Preview: Another must see Big South game on Saturday, this time it’s two teams that both seem to some of the most interesting teams in the conference. Radford despite an awful start seems to be playing their best hoops of the season and UNC Asheville has 4 all conference level players, but really seemingly have no other offensive output from the others. If this game gets into crunch time, I favor Radford and with this being a conference game, I think we get into crunch time and that depth will take Radford to the finish line before UNC Asheville.

Score Prediction: Radford 72 - UNC Asheville 70

Presbyterian at Longwood - 3pm EST

Preview: I will be honest, this game just doesn’t pop off the page like the others. Not slight to either team as I think both are still very high level and could very well put on a good game. Longwood seemingly can be the Top Dog but can also stumble and be the bottom, PC is much more consistent but can also stumble that same way. I do think Longwood handles business at home and gets back to .500 in conference play.

Score Prediction: Longwood 68 - Presbyterian 61

Lets recap what all happened on our first Big South Saturday, and preview what will happening during the start of Week 2 of Big South play.

Jan 3rd Recap:

Presbyterian beats USC Upstate 86-77

Recap: The first game of Presbyterian’s Big South campaign didn’t disappoint as this game was defined by the runs. The first of which coming after Upstate had an 8-6 lead early in the going before Presbyterian rips off the first of 2 “kill shot” runs as they took a 16-8 lead after a 10-0 run by Presbyterian. Presbyterian continued to extend their lead going up as 31-21 before Upstate rattled off a run of their own to cut the deficit to 1 at half.

After a bit of back for forth at the start of the 2nd half, Presbyterian had a 39-36 lead before Upstate rattled off another run, again for 9 points giving them a 6 point lead. After extending their lead to 7, Presbyterian finally delivered their final “kill shot” with a 13 point run to take the lead which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game winning 86-77 behind Jonah Pierce’s 29 point and 12 rebound double double and Jaylen Peterson’s 13 point and 13 rebound double double.

Presbyterian Takeaways:

• When everything is clicking, Presbyterian plays levels above the perceived talent.

• Jonah Pierce is a SNEAKY Big South POY contender, especially if he keeps a similar form to the past 3 games.

• 43 Free Throws for a team that isn’t known for getting to the line, will be interesting to see if this trend follows.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• Got to clean up the free throw shooting, Upstate isn’t the best FT shooting team in the Big South but shooting 59% you aren’t going to win many games.

• Rebounding Margin, Upstate lost to rebounding margin by 9 to a Presbyterian team who didn’t play anyone taller than 6’10 then 6’8.

• DO NOT PANIC: Upstate ran into a buzzsaw with this matchup, PC coming off a week of rest and getting 43 free throws. Something like this likely won’t happen again for USC Upstate.

Charleston Southern beats UNC Asheville 86-83

Recap: Probably the longest game we will see all season in the Big South, this game elapsed 2 hours and 19 minutes of video time, not counting media timeouts. The last 30 seconds alone elapsed nearly a half hour. The game actually began with Charleston Southern taking a 14-6 lead before UNC Asheville used an 8-0 run to tied it before CSU entered a 6-0 run of their own. After that run CSU continued to extend their lead to as much as 15 before Asheville entered an 8-0 run closing the gap to 9 before halftime.

Asheville continued their 8-0 run in the 2nd half closing it to 3 before CSU could get on the board to start the 2nd half, then closed the gap once again to a 1 point Charleston Southern lead at 41-40 before CSU really began their 2nd half. UNC Asheville kept it close throughout the 2nd half cutting it to a single possession multiple times but never got over the hump. With a little over 3 minutes left in the game, CSU had a 15 point lead before UNC Asheville got hot and normal Big South shenanigans allowed Asheville to close to 3 before getting a shot to tie the game on a late 3, but Toyaz Solomon’s buzzer beater hopes bounced off the front and back rim and finally off the hoop giving CSU the win. Giving CSU their best conference play start since the 2012-13 season.

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• Make your free throws, if CSU shoots better than 51.7% from the free throw line, this game is not close at all.

• Depth, this team has around 5-6 real scoring threats, two to three of which usually coming off the bench, this is a hard to game plan for.

• Luke Williams is that man. He is worthy of all conference honors at seasons end. I currently don’t have a vote for it, but he would definitely be on at least be an HM for me in his current form.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• 19 offensive rebounds. Asheville had as many ORB’s as they had DRB’s. That is something you have to like if you are an Asheville fan or coach.

• Starting Lineup Change? For some reason, Sage Tolentino got the start over Toyaz Solomon then Solomon played the rest of the game. Mike Morrell’s Mind Tricks.

• DJ Patrick, Underrated. Despite not really having a great game, Patrick still made his presence known with 4 steals almost as many as Charleston Southern’s entire team which had 5.

High Point beats Longwood 80-67

Recap: The last two schools to represent the Big South in the Big Dance, it’s usually fireworks, this time, not so much. The game began with Longwood taking a 2-0 lead then High Point taking the lead after a Braden Hausen 3, creating the only lead change of the entire game. High Point stretched that lead to as much as 11 in the 1st half but some scoring droughts allowed Longwood to pull within 2 points at halftime.

The first 5 minutes of the 2nd half was much like the 1st half where Longwood was still within arms reach but never took the lead tying the game multiple times. Until, like many times this season, High Point goes a run and extends their lead this time to 9 points, which seemed to put it out of reach. The true kill shot came with just under 10 minutes left as High Point went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 17 which Longwood cut down to 13 before the clock struck 0:00.

High Point Takeaways:

• REBOUND!!! Seemingly a rally cry for High Point fans in almost every single game, it’s something that High Point always seems to struggle with. This time allowing 11 offensive boards and losing the overall battle by 4.

• Ball Hawks. High Point continues to reek havoc forcing Longwood into 15 turnovers, 11 of which coming off steals without Chase Johnston for a majority of the game.

• No Cam, No Problem: Cam Fletcher missed this game for what’s been described as a “inner team concern” but it was no issue as Terry Anderson and other stepped up and seemingly filled in his role nicely.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Lacking that SUPERSTAR. Going to use a Madden Reference here. The successful Longwood teams had a X-Factor level star, this team just seems to have a ton of Superstar’s but no true X-Factor.

• Fats Finding Footing: After a few rough games in the middle of the non conference, it seems like Fats Billups is finding a middle ground, could be interesting if he has some breakouts.

• Turnovers = Game Over. The biggest flaw for Longwood has been their turnover issues. In both of their bad losses they have 19 and 16 turnovers, when they control the ball well, they usually win or give themselves a chance to.

Winthrop beats Gardner Webb 88-77

Recap: Much like the game for Gardner Webb earlier this week, they started out with a massive offensive output leading by 8 in the 1st 6 minutes led by Spence Sims who scored 7 of those first eleven. It didn’t just stop there for Gardner Webb as they jumped out to an 18 point lead with 6 minutes left in the 1st half. Winthrop then began to cut into the lead entering the half down 13, but lost Daylen Berry to an apparent ankle injury which caused him to miss the rest of the game.

The start of the 2nd half was much like the end of the first half as Winthrop continued to cut into the lead getting it to under 10 by the 16 minute mark. Then continued to cut into more coming within 1 point with 12:41 remaining, and after a bit of a stalemate Winthrop finally took the lead with Kody Clouet hitting 2 free throws. That one lead change would be the only lead change of the game as Winthrop continued to extend their newly found lead winning by 11 led by Logan Duncomb with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Logan Duncomb is the CLEAR #1 for Winthrop, 31 points last game and 21 in this one.

• Rebounding Domination: In this game Winthrop won the rebounding battle 49-25 almost doubling Gardner Webb, including 4 players have the same or more rebounds than GWU’s leading rebounder.

• Kody Clouet becoming the #2 scorer, with Berry seemingly out for a bit will be interesting if he can keep this up.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• NIL, Gardner Webb needs to do something with their money situation or they will be left behind by even the middle of the pack like they have this season.

• Freshman of the Year, it is very likely Spence Sims will win Big South FOY. It is imperative that GWU tries to keep him around next season if they want to win.

• 1st Half Dominance and 2nd Half Drubbing. GWU has outscored teams 96-71 in the first half and have been outscored 106-60 in the 2nd half of conference games.

Jan 7th Game Previews:

Longwood at UNC Asheville - 6:30pm EST

Preview: There is always talk about contrasting styles, but this is more of a contrast of rosters. Longwood being viewed as one of the deeper teams in the conference and UNC Asheville having one of the most anemic benches in all of college basketball. This game is really one to watch, if Asheville can pull this one out, then I think Asheville will be a middle of the pack team but if they fall in this one, they might be headed to a 7 to 8 seed in Johnson City. While I do think Asheville will lead this one for a bit, but as the game goes on I think Longwood pulls it out with their depth and ability to draw fouls carrying them to the road upset.

Score Prediction: Longwood 77 - UNC Asheville 74

Charleston Southern at Winthrop - 6:30pm EST

Preview: Last years game at Winthrop was an INSTANT classic as it went to triple overtime including 2 buzzer beaters and ending in a 103-97 win for Winthrop. This one could be up for the same billing as CSU travels to (hopefully) play their former star guard Daylen Berry. Both teams live and die by the 3 ball, CSU more than Winthrop and Winthrop allowed teams to average 36.7% from 3PT, CSU also does a very good job of forcing bad shots. I feel we see an “upset” brewing, so I am taking Charleston Southern took keep rolling into their marquee game vs High Point with a win.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 95 - Winthrop 89

Presbyterian at Radford - 7pm EST

Recap: Two of the four undefeated teams in the Big South both having wins over the same USC Upstate team. Radford is coming off their bye game and Presbyterian had theirs on Day 1 of conference play. Along with that, this is both the fastest Big South team in Radford against the slowest team in the Big South being Presbyterian. Radford seems to have found something, at least in their 1 conference game, that along with the extra rest and being at home makes me think Radford will get their 2nd win of conference play.

Score Prediction: Radford 72 - Presbyterian 63

Gardner Webb at High Point - 7pm EST

Recap: We have talked about contrasting roster, and contrasting styles in this article. Now we have the ultimate contrast between High Point and Gardner Webb. Simply, everything about these schools is direct opposites outside of both being in North Carolina. Last year this game was just a simple beatdown by High Point being up 53-23 at halftime. This year, I don’t know if High Point will be up 30 at halftime but I think they will take this one pretty handedly.

Score Prediction: High Point 97 - Gardner Webb 71

We saw some interesting results, some comebacks, and some expected results.

In this article we will break those games down, get some big takeaways, and look at the next weeks games.

Dec 31st Recap:

Radford beats USC Upstate 76-69.

Recap: Probably the least noticeable result of the 1st day of Big South action, Radford just seemed to have this one in control after Mari Jordan’s near half court 3 at the buzzer to end the first half. During the 2nd half, Radford extended the lead to as big as 13 points but after a few turnovers from the Highlanders, Upstate closed the game to 6 and could have cut it down more if it weren’t for shooting going dry.

Radford Takeaways:

• When Dennis Parker is hot, this team is a true threat to anyone in the conference.

• Tyson Brown is the only true rebounder, when he’s off the court, Radford is lost on the glass.

• The bench production needs to step it up.

USC Upstate Takeaways:

• The late game defensive traps and effort will win them games during conference play.

• Having multiple BIG BODY centers will benefit them against smaller teams, 15 ORB’s in this one against Radford.

• The awful shooting could be the limiting factor for Upstate.

High Point beats UNC Asheville 87-69

Recap: After trading baskets in the opening minutes, High Point took the lead and never really looked back and ended up taking a 49-35 lead into halftime. After halftime, not much changed from the first half as High Point just continued to maintain their lead, taking their first conference win of the season at one of the toughest Big South venues at UNC Asheville.

High Point Takeaways:

• UNREAL depth, Asheville limited Cam Fletcher to 9 points but it opened the flood gates for Scotty Washington to have 26, along with 3 more in double figures.

• Despite Asheville being one of the best interior teams in the country, High Point shot 89.5% from within 4.5 feet of the rim.

• Scotty Washington is finding his footing in the offense as this is 2nd game setting a new season high for himself.

UNC Asheville Takeaways:

• If you have to take one of the Big 4 off the court, it better not be for long, without one of Kam Taylor, Toyaz Solomon or Justin Wright, NET Rating is nearly -30. Without Patrick -14.5

• There is ZERO depth to this roster, partially due to absences but only 7 bench points in this contest for Asheville.

• Winning the turnover battle against High Point is hard and yet Asheville managed to do just that 11 to 8.

Charleston Southern beats Gardner Webb 89-79

Recap: Probably the most entertaining game of the 3 2pm EST games, and even more eye catching the 3pm between Longwood and Winthrop, this game was excitement throughout. In the 1st half, Gardner Webb looked on their way to their first D1 win and starting out conference up 1-0 even taking a 17 point lead at one point in the 1st half before taking a 12 point lead into the break. Then Charleston Southern came to play taking the lead with 12 minutes to go and never looking back winning by 10 after a 55-33 second half performance.

Charleston Southern Takeaways:

• The bench ability along with fluid starting lineups makes this time very hard to scout.

• Sumler is back to pre injury Sumler, 29 points in this one, 26 vs Furman, 29 vs IU Indy.

• GWU’s press gave this team some issues, interesting to see if they can fix that/adapt.

Gardner Webb Takeaways:

• Navuan Peterson with a big game, interesting to see if it can carry over.

• Hogarth and Sims are still the key pieces, if they are off, it’s tough for them to compete.

• Shooting variance is all over the place for Gardner Webb, nearly 50% EFG% in the 1st half, 35% EFG% in the 2nd half.

Longwood beats Winthrop 82-70

Recap: Finally we have the “nightcap” for Big South night one and a rematch of what felt like one of the most monotonous games from the Big South tournament last season. For the first around 4 minutes of action it was a back and forth between Longwood and Winthrop but after Elijah Tucker made a hook shot, it was Longwood to the finish. Winthrop seemingly kept it within reach throughout the game being only down 9 at half and never being down more than 13 points but coming off a grueling game against Texas Tech it just seemed like Winthrop was the more fatigued team in this one.

Winthrop Takeaways:

• Logan Duncomb has that IT factor, 31 points and 13 rebounds in this contest.

• DO NOT PANIC, Winthrop had an off game, that happens especially coming off a grueling game with a quick turnaround, you will not shot 32% from the field every game.

• 17 offensive rebounds is something you have to love if you are a Winthrop fan or coach.

Longwood Takeaways:

• Momentum is building, after their loss to Delaware State, something flipped for this team, win at NC Central, vs a Non D1, and now Winthrop.

• The sum is greater than the parts, when everyone is on for this team. You need your team to ALL be on as well.

• 7-18 from 3PT land, one of their better shooting performances of the season.

Jan 3rd Preview:

USC Upstate at Presbyterian - 2pm EST

Preview: Rough spot for Upstate, you are coming off a home loss to Radford and your reward? Face the team that had opening night off at their venue. Presbyterian obviously has the rest advantage and also their game before was against a Non D1 so really it’s been since Dec 21st that Presbyterian has faced a true D1 team. I do think Upstate is the better team and if they can turn Presbyterian over they should win this game, so for the talent and clearer path, I do think Upstate gets right and wins this one.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 72 - Presbyterian 68

UNC Asheville at Charleston Southern - 2pm EST

Preview: DJ Patrick will return to the Buc Dome, this time in a conference rivals colors as Asheville makes the trip to face Charleston Southern. Usually these two teams would be in flipped positions with Asheville being the team entering with all the momentum and wins and CSU hovering around .500. This game should an interesting one to watch, neither team seems to turn the ball over, nor create turnovers. CSU seems to have an interior defensive advantage but hasn’t faced a big man like Toyaz Solomon. With the home court advantage, momentum and I think better depth, I do think CSU goes 2-0 to start Big South play.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 89 - UNC Asheville 82

Longwood at High Point - 2pm EST

Preview: This matchup always seems to be one of the best games of the season and I expect this to not disappoint. There has been something special about Ronnie Thomas and being able to coach in that Wake Forest to Durham area with a near win over Wake Forest and their buzzer beater win over NC Central. Longwood won 14 of 15 before High Point’s win last year but all those were with different coaches. High Point with their new coach seems to be rolling with only 3 losses but got a massive win over UNC Asheville. I think last years win got the monkey off High Point’s back and they continue to roll winning this one, but Longwood should keep it close.

Score Prediction: High Point 92 - Longwood 85 (OT)

Gardner Webb at Winthrop - 4pm EST

Preview: Another player facing their former school, this time its Pharrell Boyogueno facing Gardner Webb. This is a game both teams NEED to win, Winthrop has hopes of making the tournament and Gardner Webb needs to find some hope, luckily this is a game that both team I think will “get up” for and play some of their best games of the season. Sadly I don’t think that bodes well for Gardner Webb with the clear talent gap, while I think Gardner Webb will keep it close than many might expect, I do see Winthrop winning this one.

Score Prediction: Winthrop 85 - Gardner Webb 78

Conference Play is FINALLY here, no more. “I think Team A will win the league.” “I think Team B will win the league.”

Now we get to see which teams are real contenders and which teams are real bottom feeders.

Wednesday - Dec 31st

(Games are ranked in no particular order if they begin at the same time)

Radford (7-8) at USC Upstate (8-7) - 2pm EST

USC Upstate Preview: USC Upstate was picked 9th during media day but on opening night, despite losing, it became CLEAR that was NOT true and that’s been prevalent all season with solid wins over Coastal Carolina, Fresno State and Western Carolina and having their best start since joining the Big South. The Spartans are led by a solid defensive stalwarts down low with Jafeth Martinez and Coen Collier along with two scoring guards in Karmani Gregory and Mason Bendinger.

Radford Preview: Radford was picked 4th during media day but some people, me included had them as high as 2nd. Much like Upstate it became clear that wasn’t going to happen pretty early, just this time to the downside as Radford began the season 2-6. Good news for Radford, they are now 7-8 and might have righted the ship. Bad news, their best win during that time frame is VMI which is ranked in the mid 300’s. Radford’s mid season resurgence is mostly due in part to Dennis Parker Jr who is averaging over 20 PPG including 53 points against Coppin State. Alongside Parker, there is Del Jones who is also averaging over 15 PPG and Jaylon Johnson who has shown a true potential during this recent stretch of the season.

Game Preview: This game should be a fun clash of styles, Radford is looking to run as they rank 17th in Tempo in the entire country something that Upstate did last season but not as much this year. Along with that contrast, Upstate relies on their defense compared to Radford that relies on their offense. They say defense travels, this time I don’t think it needs to go far as I think Marty Richter slows this one down and Radford gets into a shooting slump against Upstate’s interior and underrated 3PT defense and Upstate will begin conference play 1-0.

Score Prediction: USC Upstate 75 - Radford 70

High Point (12-3) at UNC Asheville (6-8) - 2pm EST

High Point Preview: Despite entering conference play with 12 wins and being the only team entering conference play with 10 or more wins, I feel High Point might have a sour taste in their mouth. Their losses to Southern Illinois and App State both came down to not executing when it mattered but when they execute, they are a HARD team to beat. Like last year, this team has a two headed monster group at PG with Rob Martin and Conrad Martinez, both seemingly able to create without any turnover issues but they have one massive change over last year in the front court, Cam’ron Fletcher. The former Kentucky (and others) forward has been a massive part of High Point success being able to do it almost anywhere on the court.

UNC Asheville Preview: It wasn’t the non conference Mike Morrell would have dreamed of, only going 6-8 with two BRUTAL losses at the buzzer back to back along with a loss to Miami (OH). This team could very well be a 10 win team if a few thing go their way in a few games. Something that has gone Asheville’s way, player development as they have 4 true all conference level players. Justin Wright, Toyaz Solomon and Kameron Taylor are all averaging over 15 PPG through the non conference and CSU transfer DJ Patrick is averaging just over 10 PPG.

Game Preview: A rematch of two barn burners from last year. As I said, Asheville could very well be 10-4 entering this one and High Point IS 12-3 entering this contest. With that being said, I think High Point is just a bad stylistic matchup for Asheville. Asheville has not done a good job at protecting the ball ranking 333rd in turnover percentage, a stark contrast from last year. High Point on the other hand, creates the 12th most turnovers in the country, last year Asheville won the turnover battle in both games keeping them in it, I don’t think that happens this go around.

Score Prediction: High Point 92 - UNC Asheville 83

Charleston Southern (9-6) at Gardner Webb (2-13) - 2pm EST

Charleston Southern Preview: For the first time since 2014-15, when now Coach Saah Nimley was the STAR at Charleston Southern, CSU enters Big South play above .500. Two wins over buy game opponents, the most road wins of any team entering Big South play, and the 2nd best record entering conference play. Their success has been from their BOMB’S AWAY approach from behind the arc as they rank 2nd in the nation in 3PT makes and 1st in the nation in 3PT attempts. Led by now 3 time Big South Player of the Week Brycen Blaine, the JUCO guard is averaging 18.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 3.6 APG, but it’s not just Blaine. Saah Nimley said after beating North Florida, “The best thing about this team, is we are a team. We are built that is someone has an off night. The next guy just steps up.” and that team feel is EVIDENT when you look down the stat sheet, Luke Williams 5.5 APG, Reis Jones 1.7 BPG, Jesse Hafemeister 12.1 PPG and A’lahn Sumler with 13.8 PPG.

Gardner Webb Preview: The non conference is something Gardner Webb would want to forget. They had only 2 wins, both coming against non D1 opponents and only one was truly convincing, that coming against Toccoa Falls. Their D1 opponents along with North Greenville really took GWU to the woodshed winning by an average of 25 points and only 2 being by single digits. If Gardner Webb turns it around in conference play, it will come from Spence Sims and Jacob Hogarth. Both Sims and Hogarth have shown flashes but they haven’t seem to shown them at the same time in games. Maybe Gardner Webb could get some nice bench minutes out of their mid season addition in Bo Barber as Coach Luther has increased his minutes each of the past 4 games, Barber holds the Spring Hill College Assists Record

Game Preview: This is a tough spot for Charleston Southern, coming off an emotional win, facing a team coming off 10 days of preparation. It would be the perfect spot for CSU to stumble and drop their league play opener. Sadly, I don’t see a path for Gardner Webb to win this one. CSU is one of the highest value 3PT shooting teams, facing a team that has given up open 3PT shots all season along with just haven’t played defense with much intensity all season.

Score Prediction: Charleston Southern 92 - Gardner Webb 79

Winthrop (8-7) at Longwood (8-7) - 3pm EST

Winthrop Preview: Coming off a Big South final loss last season, Winthrop is hoping to be hoisting that title this season and this team has a shot at it. Despite being 8-7, the metrics LOVE Winthrop, mostly due to their close losses to Nebraska, Arkansas and George Mason along with wins over LIU and a MASSIVE win over Mercer. The Talford and Doucet duo is gone but the presence down low is still there with Logan Duncomb, and he’s surrounded by true studs in Kareem Rozier, one of the best PG’s in the Big South and hot shooting Kody Clouet nearly shooting 40% from 3.

Longwood Preview: It’s another even year, if you are the kind of person look at trends, this should mean Longwood will take home some hardware after Johnson City. If they want to bring that trophy they will need to go back to the early season form that they had when they beat James Madison. It seems as if everyone game one or two of their stars is showing up but always seem 1 player away from winning the game. Redd Thompson might be one of the most underrated addition in the Big South as he’s been a pretty consistent 10 PPG off the bench. Two headed monster down low with Johan Nziemi and Elijah Tucker have both been great at times but has been rocky at times as well.

Game Preview: The rematch of the final 1st round matchup from the last year’s Big South tournament is the final matchup for Day 1 of Big South play. Both teams are coming in on complete opposite, Longwood won their last two games against NC Central and Averett, Winthrop lost to Texas Tech but showed a ton of heart. This game will come down Longwood keeping the ball safe and getting to the line, with them having home court, I do think they carry their momentum into a win.

Score Prediction: Longwood 77 - Winthrop 75

For that reason this week we have a TOTAL of 9 games, with both High Point and Presbyterian taking the week off.

So for that reason, instead of giving each team a “Game of the Week”, I will just preview the entire 9 game slate.

Dec 7th - 2:30pm EST - St Francis (PA) at Radford

Radford Weekly Recap:

Dec 3rd: Radford falls to Southern Miss 82-75

• Tyson Brown led the Highlanders with 19 points, a season high for Brown along with 5 rebounds.

• Jaylon Johnson with 18 points, all coming in the 2nd half.

• Del Jones and Dennis Parker round out those in double figures with 15 points for Jones and Parker with 10.

• Radford suffered the “epitome of brutality” as they paid Southern Miss for this game.

St. Francis Breakdown:

• Coach: Luke McConnell (1st year at St. Francis)

• Record: 2-7

• Best Win: vs Franciscan (OH) 85-60

• Notable Losses: vs Mt. St. Mary’s 74-66

• Record vs Radford: Radford leads the series 1-0

• Leading Scorer: Skylar Wicks - 19 PPG

Game Breakdown: If you asked me before the season, how much I thought Radford would win this one by, I would have said nearly 30. Now I am having a hard time picking them at all, everything I have seen from Radford is just, not good. With that being St Francis is basically a D3 team, just staying at D1 until they make their drop down next season. If Zach Chu drops this one, I feel his time at Radford might be nearing an end.

Official Prediction: Radford 82 - St Francis 78

Dec 8th - 7pm EST - SC State at Charleston Southern

Charleston Southern Weekly Recap:

Dec 2nd: Charleston Southern falls to UT Martin 73-56

• Luke Williams led the Bucs with 19 points

• Brycen Blaine was the only other Buc in double figures, but also had his 5th double double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Dec 4th: Charleston Southern beats Warren Wilson 124-63

• Armari Carraway broke the single game 3PT’s made record for CSU with 11, as he had a team high 39 points.

• CSU set a new team record for 3PT’s made with 24 in total.

• Jesse Hafemeister with 26 points, a season high.

• Luke Williams with 13 assists, the most in a Charleston Southern game since Ed O’Neil had 13 in 2004 vs High Point.

SC State Breakdown:

• Coach: Erik Martin (4th year at SC State)

• Record: 0-9

• Best Win: N/A

• Notable Losses: at Winthrop 101-79

• Record vs Charleston Southern: SC State leads the series 23-14

• Leading Scorer: Owen Bronston Jr - 13 PPG

Game Breakdown: This is a really good game for Charleston Southern. Other than SC State entering winless, they have not been able to stop good shooting teams in Louisville, Winthrop and Missouri. I do think it will be close than the Missouri and Louisville games, but I expect the same result.

Official Prediction: Charleston Southern 83 - SC State 74

Dec 9th - 6:30pm EST - Toccoa Falls at Winthrop

Winthrop Weekly Recap:

Dec 3rd: Winthrop beats LIU 94-92

• Logan Duncomb led Winthrop with 28 points along with 6 rebounds.

• Daylen Berry with 21 and Kareem Rozier with 13 round out those in double figures.

• Kody Clouet hit a buzzer beater in overtime to give Winthrop the win.

Dec 6th: Winthrop falls to Coastal Carolina 88-84

• Kareem Rozier led all scorers with 19 points along with having 8 rebounds.

• Logan Duncomb with his 2nd double double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

• Kody Clouet with 18 points and Daylen Berry with 11 points.

Game Breakdown: Winthrop should steamroll Toccoa Falls pretty handedly. Winthrop has the talent gap, size gap, and home court advantage compared to Toccoa Falls, and really any Non D1 buy game team.

Official Prediction: Winthrop 113 - Toccoa Falls 67

Dec 10th - 6pm EST - Miami (OH) at UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville Weekly Recap:

Nov 30th: UNC Asheville beats App State 67-55

• Toyaz Solomon led Asheville with 25 points, also bringing in 8 rebounds.

• Kameron Taylor with a double double having 12 points and 10 rebounds.

• Justin Wright and DJ Patrick both in double figures with 13 and 11 respectively.

Dec 2nd: UNC Asheville beats UNC Greensboro 82-77

• Toyaz Solomon in back to back games with 20+ points, 20 in this one once again leading Asheville in scoring.

• DJ Patrick with 19 points, a season high for Patrick.

• Justin Wright and Kameron Taylor with 18 points each.

• Capped off a 2 game, 2-0 stretch at Harrah’s Cherokee Center.

Dec 6th: UNC Asheville falls to NC State 75-63

• Kameron Taylor with 20 points led the Bulldogs, along with a team high 7 rebounds.

• Justin Wright with 16 points, DJ Patrick with 15, and Toyaz Solomon with 12.

• The rest of UNC Asheville shot 0-2, and had 0 points.

Miami (OH) Breakdown:

• Coach: Travis Steele (4th year at Miami OH)

• Record: 8-0

• Best Win: vs UNC Greensboro 82-71

• Notable Losses: N/A

• Record vs UNC Asheville: FIRST EVER MATCHUP

• Leading Scorer: Evan Ipsaro - 14.8 PPG

Game Breakdown: As much as I like what I have seen for UNC Asheville, they are facing a buzzsaw of a team in Miami (OH). I do think Asheville gives Miami a run for their money. In the end I do think Miami takes this one, but in a close one.

Official Prediction: Miami (OH) 78 - UNC Asheville 77

Dec 12th - 7pm EST - Brevard at Gardner Webb

Gardner Webb Weekly Recap:

Dec 3rd: Gardner Webb falls to Queens 107-74

• Jacob Hogarth, Spence Sims and Ace Talbert led the Bulldogs with 15 points each.

• Curtis Williams was the lone GWU player in double figures, but not 15. Williams had 13.

• Hogarth and Williams led GWU with 7 rebounds each.

Dec 6th: Gardner Webb falls to Georgia Southern 88-84

• Jacob Hudson lead Gardner Webb with 22 points, Spence Sims joins him with 20 points.

• Hogarth with 13 and Hawkins with 12 rounds out those in double figures.

• Hogarth was 1 rebound off a double double with 9 rebounds.

Game Breakdown: This season has been long and torturous for Gardner Webb. Starting the season with 11 straight losses including one to North Greenville. Luckily, I see that streak coming to an end. Simply, I feel Brevard likely won’t shoot 50%+ from 3 to follow in North Greenville’s footsteps.

Official Prediction: Gardner Webb 85 - Brevard 80

Dec 13th - 2pm EST - USC Upstate at North Carolina

USC Upstate Weekly Recap:

Dec 3rd: USC Upstate beats Coastal Carolina 85-78 (OT)

• Mason Bendinger led the Spartans with 27 points, Karmani Gregory joins him in the 20 point club with 21.

• Carmelo Adkins with 14 points and Learic Davis with 11 rounds out those in double figures.

• Upstate took their first lead of the game just under 1 minute into overtime.

Dec 6th: USC Upstate beats Western Carolina 78-67

• Gregory and Bendinger led the Spartans with 15 points each.

• Join Gregory and Bendinger in double figures were Adkins with 14 and Davis with 11, their 2nd straight game with those exact point totals, along with Skinner having 10 points.

• Learic Davis fell 1 rebound short a double double, with 11 points and 9 rebounds (which he also had vs Coastal Carolina)

North Carolina Breakdown:

• Coach: Hubert Davis (5th year at North Carolina)

• Record: 7-1

• Best Win: at Kentucky 67-64

• Notable Losses: vs Michigan State 74-58

• Record vs USC Upstate: FIRST EVER MEETING

• Leading Scorer: Caleb Wilson - 19.2 PPG

Game Breakdown: Upstate looks much improved over last year and should be a solid contender in the Big South. With that being said, I don’t think Upstate wins this one. North Carolina looks like a pretty solid national title contender and should win this one pretty handedly.

Official Prediction: North Carolina 92 - USC Upstate 77

Dec 13th - 2pm EST - St Thomas at UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville Recap Above on Dec 10th vs Miami (OH)*

St Thomas Breakdown:

• Coach: Johnny Tauer (14th year at St Thomas)

• Record: 6-4

• Best Win: vs Northern Colorado 73-72

• Notable Losses: vs Cal State Fullerton 88-80

• Record vs UNC Asheville: FIRST EVER MATCHUP

• Leading Scorer: Nolan Minessale - 20.1 PPG

Game Breakdown: This game is extremely underrated, St Thomas is a really solid MM program despite this being their first NCAA Tournament eligible season and UNC Asheville is always a contender to make the tournament. I do think Asheville takes this one, simply because Kimmel Arena is a very tough place to play, especially on a quick turnaround like St. Thomas will have.

Official Prediction: UNC Asheville 79 - St Thomas 75

Dec 13th - 3pm EST - Delaware State at Longwood

Longwood Weekly Recap:

Dec 3rd: Longwood beats Pfeiffer 101-55

• Elijah Tucker led the Lancers with 24 points, a new career high for Tucker.

• Emanuel Richards with 17 points, Hutchinson with 15, Billups with 14 and Thompson with 12 round out those in double figures.

• Longwood won the rebounding battle 42-25.

Dec 6th: Longwood beats Morgan State 84-80

• Johan Nziemi and Jacoi Hutchinson both with 15 points led the Lancers in scoring.

• Lancers had 9 player scoring in the contest, all ranging between 5-15 points each.

• Longwood won the rebounding battle 36-27 and got to the line over twice as much as Morgan State.

Delaware State Breakdown:

• Coach: Stan Waterman (5th year at Delaware State)

• Record: 3-8

• Best Win: vs Delaware 75-72

• Notable Losses: vs Virginia State (D2) 62-58

• Record vs Longwood: Longwood leads series 6-0

• Leading Scorer: James Ponce - 12.9 PPG

Game Breakdown: Both teams should be well rested with 1 week to rest before this one. Delaware State is coming off their best performance of the season against Delaware, and I would expect a little bit of a let down from them. With this game being at Longwood, and the let down factor for Delaware State. I will be taking Longwood in this one.

Official Prediction: Longwood 73 - Delaware State 62

Dec 13th - 6:30pm EST - Bob Jones at Winthrop

Winthrop Recap Above on Dec 9th vs Toccoa Falls*

Game Breakdown: Much like the Toccoa Falls game above, I do not think Winthrop will have any trouble with Bob Jones. Winthrop just has more talent and size than Bob Jones, along with home court advantage.

Official Prediction: Winthrop 107 - Bob Jones 64

Now we are entering some really good games compared to the start of the season, neutral site battles, some tough road trips, and some sneaky home games.

So lets bask in these amazing games as we move into conference, starting with this weeks slate of games.

Nov 30th:

Nov 30th - 4pm EST - Presbyterian vs The Citadel

Presbyterian Weekly Recap:

Nov 26th: Presbyterian beats Columbia International 93-50

• Khalon Hudson led the Blue Hose with 20 points, a new career high for Hudson. Hudson also added 10 rebounds, getting his 1st double double at Presbyterian.

• 13 was a magic number for Presbyterian. Iverson King, Jonah Pierce and Jaylen Peterson all had 13 points in the contest.

• Presbyterian snapped a four game losing streak with this win, dating back to their win against Georgia State on Nov 10th.

The Citadel Breakdown:

• Coach: Ed Conroy (4th season at The Citadel)

• Record: 2-5

• Best Win: vs Erskine 105-61 / vs North Greenville 70-57

• Notable Losses: vs Charleston Southern 96-86

• Record vs Presbyterian: Citadel leads 8-4

• Leading Scorer: Christian Moore (11.6 PPG)

Game Breakdown: This game is interesting for a load of reasons. The teams both have shown flashes of being good, but they’ve also shown flashes of being really bad. The Citadel showing more of the latter. With both teams basically wanting to take the air out of the ball, I expect it to be a slog of a game and I think that will favor Presbyterian more than The Citadel.

Official Prediction: Presbyterian 65 - The Citadel 61

Other Games on Nov 30th:

• App State vs UNC Asheville - 1:30pm EST - ESPN+

• Longwood at American - 4pm EST - ESPN+

Dec 1st: No Games

Dec 2nd:

Dec 2nd - 12pm EST - Charleston Southern at UT Martin

Charleston Southern Weekly Recap:

Nov 25th: Charleston Southern beat Piedmont 93-81

• Brycen Blaine led the Bucs with 25 points along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists coming off the bench.

• Charleston Southern had 3 players with 11 points: Jacob Taylor, Luke Williams and Nate Brafford.

• Charleston Southern out rebounded Piedmont 54-36.

Nov 28th: Charleston Southern falls to South Carolina 74-62

• Brycen Blaine with 23 points, leading the Bucs once again in scoring.

• A’lahn Sumler and Jesse Hafemeister both end the game in double figures, Sumler with 14 and Hafemeister with 10.

• Charleston Southern out rebounded South Carolina 43-37

UT Martin Breakdown:

• Coach: Jeremy Shulman (2nd season at UT Martin)

• Record: 5-2

• Best Win: at UNLV 86-81 / at Bradley 78-67

• Notable Losses: vs Southern Miss 70-60

• Record vs Charleston Southern: Charleston Southern leads 1-0

• Leading Scorer: Andrija Bukumirovic (16.1 PPG)

Game Breakdown: This might be one of the best Mid Major games of the week, not just in the Big South. Charleston Southern has looked amazing to start the season and UT Martin has pulled off two pretty impressive wins. With the quicker turnaround for Charleston Southern and the fact that UT Martin is coming off a Non D1 home game, I do lean UT Martin taking this one.

Official Prediction: UT Martin 83 - Charleston Southern 77

Dec 2nd - 7pm EST - UNC Greensboro vs UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville Weekly Recap:

Nov 25th: UNC Asheville falls to Tennessee State 75-73

• Heartbreak once again for Asheville as they fall at the buzzer in the 2nd straight game.

• Three man show for Asheville with Kameron Taylor leading the way with 23 points, Toyaz Solomon with 21 points and Justin Wright with 20.

• Apart from those 3 scorers, only DJ Patrick with 8 points and Myles Mayfield with 1 were scorers.

UNC Greensboro Breakdown:

• Coach: Mike Jones (5th season at UNC Greensboro)

• Record: 1-7

• Best Win: vs Youngstown State 68-62

• Notable Losses: at Queens 101-94

• Record vs UNC Asheville: UNC Greensboro leads 3-1

• Leading Scorer: Justin Neely (13.5 PPG)

Game Breakdown: The battle of the UNC satellite campuses, and both are in a somewhat familiar venue. UNCG plays their conference tournament in the Harrah’s Cherokee Center and UNC Asheville will have played there earlier in the week vs App State. Mike Jones always seems to have his worst games in Harrah’s and I don’t see that changing this go around.

Official Prediction: UNC Asheville 79 - UNC Greensboro 68

Other Games on Dec 2nd:

• Winthrop at LIU - 7:30pm EST - NEC Front Row

Dec 3rd:

Dec 3rd - 7pm EST - Southern Illinois at High Point

High Point Weekly Recap:

Nov 29th: High Point beats Western Carolina 93-73

• Cam’ron Fletcher led the Panthers in scoring with 20 points and a team high 9 rebounds.

• Rob Martin with 17 points, Terry Anderson with 16, and Conrad with 12 end the game in double figures.

• Chase Johnston went 3-3 from behind the arc for the Panthers, totaling 9 points.

Southern Illinois Breakdown:

• Coach: Scott Nagy (2nd season at Southern Illinois)

• Record: 4-4

• Best Win: vs Delaware 79-59

• Notable Losses: at North Dakota State 92-85

• Record vs High Point: High Point leads 1-0

• Leading Scorer: Quel’ron House (15.5 PPG)

Game Breakdown: In the preseason, SIU was viewed as one of the major tests on High Point’s schedule and it seems like it will be as expected. While SIU enters with a not great record, their losses have to came to very good teams, including a shared loss with UAB. With all that being said, I think High Point doesn’t let this one slip out of their grasp as they try to build a resume for a potential tournament bid.

Official Prediction: High Point 93 - Southern Illinois 85

Dec 3rd - 7pm EST - Southern Miss at Radford

Radford Weekly Recap:

Nov 24th: Radford falls to SMU 89-72

• Dennis Parker Jr led the Highlanders with 18 points.

• Del Jones and Jaylon Johnson both end the game in double figures, Jones with 16 and Johnson with 15.

• Radford forced 12 steals from the Mustangs.

Nov 29th: Radford beats Notre Dame (MD) 102-75

• Mari Jordan with a 20 points double double after leading the team in scoring and rebounds with 10.

• Dennis Parker Jr with 19, Frederik Erichsen with 14 and Lukas Walls with 10 all in double figure for the Highlanders.

• Jaylon Johnson with a solid performance with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

Southern Miss Breakdown:

• Coach: Jay Ladner (7th season at Southern Miss)

• Record: 4-3

• Best Win: vs UT Martin 70-60

• Notable Losses: at Grambling State 75-70

• Record vs Radford: FIRST MEETING BETWEEN THE TWO PROGRAMS

• Leading Scorer: Tylik Weeks (18.3 PPG)

Game Breakdown: Radford is interesting, against the ACC teams in UNC and SMU they looked really good. The D2 games, much of that same story. Every other game, has looked ugly to say the least. I do think Radford wins this one, I think Southern Miss while having more rest, I doubt it helps them with over a week and a half of rest.

Official Prediction: Radford 91 - Southern Miss 87

Dec 3rd - 7pm EST - Gardner Webb at Queens

Gardner Webb Weekly Recap:

Nov 26th: Gardner Webb falls to Navy 84-51

• Jacob Hudson and Jacob Hogarth were the only player in double figures both with 11 points.

• Gardner Webb shot 37% from the field and 16% from behind the arc.

• 51 is the lowest amount of points scored in a Gardner Webb game since 2022.

Nov 28th: Gardner Webb falls to SE Louisiana 76-68

• Ace Talbert led the Runnin Bulldogs with 15 points, his 2nd time in double figures this season.

• Jacob Hudson with 13 and Curtis Williams with 10 round out those in double figures.

• Gardner Webb had their first halftime lead of the season in this contest.

• 21 turnovers for GWU, a season high.

Nov 29th: Gardner Webb falls to UNCW 88-62

• Spence Sims led Gardner Webb 19 points, Curtis Williams joined him in double figures with 14.

• Jacob Hogarth was 1 point off a double double with 9 points along a team high 11 rebounds.

Queens Breakdown:

• Coach: Grant Leonard (4th season at Queens)

• Record: 3-5

• Best Win: vs Sacred Heart 81-64

• Notable Losses: vs Winthrop 81-74

• Record vs Gardner Webb: Queens leads 4-2

• Leading Scorer: Nasir Mann (14.5 PPG)

Game Breakdown: I don’t know what to expect for Gardner Webb, they have not looked good at all. I have trust in this staff to figure it out, the talent is there and the coaching staff looked good last season. I sadly do not see them fixing in this game, Queens is a very solid ASun team and should take this one pretty handedly in front of their home crowd.

Official Prediction: Queens 77 - Gardner Webb 66

Other Games on Nov 3rd:

• Coastal Carolina at USC Upstate - 7pm EST - ESPN+

• Pfeiffer at Longwood - 7pm EST - ESPN+

• Presbyterian at Wofford - 7pm EST - ESPN+

Nov 4th: No Games of the Week

Other Games on Nov 4th:

• Warren Wilson at Charleston Southern - 7pm EST - ESPN+

Nov 5th: No Games of the Week

Other Games on Nov 5th:

• NJIT at High Point - 7pm EST - ESPN+

Nov 6th:

Nov 6th - 2pm EST - Coastal Carolina at Winthrop

Winthrop Weekly Recap:

Nov 23rd: Winthrop beats Jackson State 80-62

• Logan Duncomb led the Eagles in scoring with 14 points, his 2nd straight in double figures.

• Seifeldin Hendawy and Tai Hamilton both set or tied career highs with their double digit performances.

• Winthrop outscored Jackson State 48-30 in the 2nd half to pull away with the win.

Nov 25th: Winthrop falls to Nebraska 80-73

• Kareem Rozier led the team in scoring with 14 points.

• Daylen Berry with 12 and Pharrell Boyogueno with 11 both end the game with double figure points.

• Logan Duncomb was 2 points shy of a double double having 8 points and 10 rebounds.

• Winthrop won the rebounding battle 48-38.

Nov 29th: Winthrop beats SC State 101-79

• Kody Clouet led the Eagles with 21 points, including 5 3 pointers.

• Logan Duncomb and Tommy Kamarad with 19 points each, Duncomb was 1 rebound shy of a double double.

• Kareem Rozier had 15 points and 6 assists rounding out those in double figures.

• 2nd straight 100+ point game for Winthrop at home, last one was vs Mercer on homecoming.

Coastal Carolina Breakdown:

• Coach: Justin Gray (2nd season at Coastal Carolina)

• Record: 4-3

• Best Win: vs Winthrop 72-66

• Notable Losses: vs Western Michigan 76-71

• Record vs Winthrop: Coastal Carolina leads 46-41

• Leading Scorer: Joshua Beadle (15.7 PPG)

Game Breakdown: A rematch of their game early in the season, Winthrop has been looking amazing since that game only losing two close games to Top 30-ish level teams. Coastal has looked ok since that early season game but hasn’t moved the needle too much. These games are always close, and with Winthrop caring a ton of momentum and motivation, I think they take it this go around and split the season series.

Official Prediction: Winthrop 86 - Coastal Carolina 80

Nov 6th - 2pm EST - Western Carolina at USC Upstate

USC Upstate Weekly Recap:

Nov 25th: USC Upstate beats NC Central 82-67

• Mason Bendinger led Upstate with 19 points, 1 point shy of extending his 20+ point game streak to 3 games.

• Karmani Gregory had 17 points along with a tied for team high 5 assists.

• Jafeth Martinez with 16 points, a new career high along with 5 blocks, also a new career high.

Nov 29th: USC Upstate falls to Nebraska 72-63

• Karmani Gregory led the Spartans with 20 points, along with a team high 4 assists.

• Mason Bendinger with 13, Isaiah Skinner with 12 and Carmelo Adkins with 11 round out those in double figures.

• Both Adkins and Jafeth Martinez were 1 rebound away from double figures with 9 rebounds each.

• USC Upstate forced 13 turnovers, including 4 by Isaiah Skinner.

Western Carolina Breakdown:

• Coach: Tim Craft

• Record: 3-4

• Best Win: vs UNC Asheville 80-73

• Notable Losses: at Lipscomb 83-62

• Record vs USC Upstate: Upstate leads 3-2

• Leading Scorer: Cord Stansberry (15.6 PPG)

Game Breakdown: Last year, Marty Richter got his first win over a D1 opponent against Western Carolina, but last year doesn’t matter when talking about right now. Both of these teams look vastly better than last years roster. I do think Marty gets it done at home vs Tim Craft but I expect it to be a really good game.

Official Prediction: USC Upstate 87 - Western Carolina 84

Nov 6th - 4pm EST- Longwood at Morgan State

Longwood Weekly Recap:

Nov 23rd: Longwood falls to Columbia 95-70

• Redd Thompson Jr led the Lancers with 13 points.

• Elijah Jones and Jacoi Hutchinson round out those in double figures with 10 points each.

• Columbia made 18-36 3PT shots, the most in school history against a D1 foe.

Nov 28th: Longwood falls to Siena 70-63

• Redd Thompson Jr led the Lancers with 15 points, his 2nd straight game leading the team in scoring.

• Jacoi Hutchinson joined Thompson with 15 points, those two being the only two in double figures.

• Longwood with 19 turnovers, 12 being steals by Siena.

Nov 29th: Longwood beats Maine 65-61

• Elijah Tucker and Jaylen Benard led the Lancers in scoring with 13 points each, Tucker had 5 rebounds and Benard had a tied for team high 6 rebounds.

• Hutchinson and Richards both end up with 11 points.

• Longwood with 19 turnovers, 12 being steals by Maine.

Morgan State Breakdown:

• Coach: Kevin Broadus (7th season at Morgan State)

• Record: 1-6

• Best Win: vs Central Pennsylvania 101-77

• Notable Losses: vs NC A&T 79-73

• Record vs Longwood: Longwood leads 3-1

• Leading Scorer: Alfred Worrell Jr (14.6 PPG)

Game Breakdown: Despite Longwood not playing their best basketball, I don’t see this game ending like the UMES game. Morgan State really hasn’t shown any flashes outside of against Drexel and UMBC, two teams I think Longwood is likely better than. I think Longwood takes this on pretty handedly.

Official Prediction: Longwood 81 - Morgan State 67

Nov 23rd:

Nov 23rd - 2pm EST - Longwood at Columbia

Longwood Weekly Recap:

Nov 18th: Longwood falls to UMES 83-82 2OT

• Jacoi Hutchinson set a career high with 21 points, included in that 21 points was going 10-10 from the free throw line.

• Johan Nziemi with 17 points (also went 10-10 from the line), Elijah Tucker with 12 points, and both Elijah Jones and Alphonzo Billups with 10 each round out the double figure scorers.

• As of Nov 18th, was considered the 7th most exciting game of the season and the most exciting game in the Big South.

Columbia Breakdown:

• Coached by 1st year head coach and 2025 National Champion Kevin Hovde, Hovde got his 1st career win against New Haven on Nov 7th.

• Kenny Noland leads Columbia in scoring with 15.6 PPG.

• The series is split evenly between the two programs at 2-2, both with one home and one away win.

Game Breakdown: I do like both of these teams a lot, Columbia is coached by an amazing coach as is Longwood. I do see this being a weird scheduling spot for Columbia, they are coming off a game vs Lehigh and have to travel to Fairfield on Wednesday. For that reason alone, along with Longwood likely being motivated, I am taking the Lancers.

Official Prediction: Longwood 72 - Columbia 70

Other Games on Nov 23rd:

• Winthrop at Jackson State - 8pm EST - SWAC TV

Nov 24th:

Nov 24th - 8pm EST - Radford at SMU

Radford Weekly Recap:

Nov 16th: Radford falls to Cleveland State 89-82

• Del Jones led the Highlanders with 18 points, along with adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

• Tyson Brown got his first double double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

• Dennis Parker with 15 points and Lukas Walls with 13 rounds out those with double figures.

• Radford blew a 17 point lead, including giving up a 16-3 run from 5 minutes left to just under 1 minutes to go.

Nov 18th: Radford falls to South Carolina 87-58

• Del Jones led Radford with 16 points, Dennis Parker was the only other Highlander in double figures with 10.

• Cold shooting plagued the Highlanders as they went 17-55 from the field and 7-24 from behind the arc.

Nov 21st: Radford falls to UNC Wilmington 81-73

• Dennis Parker Jr and Del Jones with 27 and 26 points led the team respectively.

• No one else scored more than 10 points for the Highlanders.

SMU Breakdown:

• Andy Enfield is entering Year 2 at the helm of the Mustangs after going 24-11 last season and just missing the tournament, making the NIT.

• This game is a homecoming of sorts as Zach Chu was on Enfield’s staff last season, along with members of Radford’s staff having gone to SMU.

• Boopie Miller leads the Mustangs with 19.5 PPG.

• This is the 2nd ever matchup between the two program, SMU won the first matchup in 1986, 82-61.

Game Breakdown: I think this will be a bloodbath, simply put. I am completely out on Radford because of some internal details. I do not see that getting any better from the time I am writing this and Monday night. SMU should destroy Radford pretty easily.

Official Prediction: SMU 102 - Radford 71

Nov 25th:

Nov 25th - 6:30pm EST - Tennessee State at UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville Weekly Recap:

Nov 19th: UNC Asheville falls to Western Carolina 80-73

• Toyaz Solomon led the Bulldogs in scoring with 22 points along with 3 blocks and 2 steals.

• Kameron Taylor with 17 points and Justin Wright with 12 points round out those with double figures.

• DJ Patrick returned from injury and scored 8 points off the bench.

• After Cord Stansberry’s buzzer beater 3 point shot, Mike Morrell was ejected for arguing for a foul, leading to the 7 point win.

Tennessee State Breakdown:

• After the late departure of Penny Collins, Nolan Smith took over at Tennessee State. Smith earned a win his debut vs Fisk and currently holds a 2-3 record.

• Smith is a former McDonalds All American and NBA role player.

• Aaron Nkrumah leads the Tigers with 18.6 PPG.

• UNC Asheville won the only game between the two programs last season, 92-74.

Game Breakdown: For taking over the job very late, Coach Smith has done a very good job of getting this team pretty competent. Asheville is entering a spot in-between two rivalry games with WCU being before this, then a game in Asheville vs App State. In any other spot, I would take Asheville, but with the weird scheduling spot I like Tennessee State.

Official Prediction: Tennessee State 82 - UNC Asheville 78

Nov 25th - 7pm EST - NC Central at USC Upstate

USC Upstate Weekly Breakdown:

Nov 19th: USC Upstate falls to Tennessee Tech 88-84

• Carmelo Adkins and Mason Bendinger both with 20+ points led the Spartans in scoring.

• Tyler Smith and Karmani Gregory both with 10+ point rounds out those with double figures.

• Tyler Smith led the Spartans with 8 assists and 4 steals, the assist total being a season high for Smith.

Nov 21st: USC Upstate falls to West Georgia 72-64

• Mason Bendinger led the team with 21 points, his second straight 20 point game.

• Carmelo Adkins was the only other Spartan in double figures with 19.

• Jafeth Martinez added in a team high 12 rebounds.

NC Central Breakdown:

• LeVelle Moton enters Year 17 at NC Central in which he holds a record of 273-198 including making 4 NCAA Tournaments.

• Gage Lattimore leads NC Central with 21.5 PPG.

• NC Central holds a 2-1 record over USC Upstate, but lost the most recent matchup 85-82 in 2023.

Game Breakdown: This is a tale of two programs looking at years off their past trajectory. USC Upstate looked to be a bottom tier D1 program a few seasons ago and NC Central looked to be a true MEAC contender in that time period. This season those have somewhat flipped, Upstate looks pretty good and NC Central looks to be near the bottom of the MEAC. I do think Upstate gets right before their trip to Nebraska with a win in this one.

Official Prediction: USC Upstate 75 - NC Central 68

Other Games on Nov 25th:

• Piedmont at Charleston Southern - 7:30pm EST - ESPN+

• Winthrop at Nebraska - 8:30pm EST - Big 10 Network

Nov 26th:

Nov 26th - 1pm EST - CIU at Presbyterian

Presbyterian Weekly Breakdown:

Nov 16th: Presbyterian falls to Sacramento State 64-62

• Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with 14 points.

• Jonah Pierce had a double double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, his 2nd double double of the season.

• Jaylen Peterson and Triston Wilson both with 10 points rounds out the double figure scorers.

• Sacramento State ended the game on a 12-2 run, earning the win.

Nov 18th: Presbyterian falls to Cal 67-57

• Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with 16 points, and follow what has seemed to be a trend for Parrish, 13 of those came in the 2nd half.

• Jonah Pierce and Triston Wilson both with 13 points rounds out those in double figures.

• Presbyterian won the rebounding battle 34-30.

Nov 21st: Presbyterian falls to UCLA 86-46

• Jonah Pierce led the Blue Hose with 13, Pierce was also the only player in double figures.

• Josh Pickett had his first start in a Presbyterian uniform.

Game Breakdown: Simply, this was Presbyterian’s only game this week and I don’t think it will be a close one at all. CIU was pretty good last season, but they lost to Furman by 30. Give me Presbyterian taking this one pretty handedly.

Official Prediction: Presbyterian 95 - CIU 74

Other Games on Nov 26th:

• Navy vs Gardner Webb - 4pm EST - FloSports

Nov 27th: No Games

Nov 28th:

Nov 28th - 4pm EST - Charleston Southern at South Carolina

Charleston Southern Weekly Recap:

Nov 18th: Charleston Southern beats IU Indy 103-91

• A’lahn Sumler led the Bucs with 29 points coming off the bench, Armari Carraway had 24 points of his own.

• Brycen Blaine with a double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

• Jesse Hafemeister rounds out those in double figures with 10.

• Most possessions in a game against a D1 for Charleston Southern since 2021.

Nov 21st: Charleston Southern beats East Carolina 77-65

• Brycen Blaine led the Bucs with 23 points along with grabbing 11 rebounds, earning him his 4th double double of the season and 2nd straight.

• Luke Williams returned from injury, wearing a mask. Williams had 13, the only other Buc in double figures.

• Charleston Southern became the 3rd Big South team in 3 straight seasons to beat ECU, earning a Epitome Of Brutality tweet from Jon Rothstein.

South Carolina Breakdown:

• Coached by Lamont Paris who is entering Year 4 at South Carolina with a record of 53-50.

• Paris won SEC Coach of the Year in 2024.

• Meechie Johnson leads the Gamecocks in scoring with 16.4 PPG.

• South Carolina leads the series 8-1, including winning the most recent game 73-69 in the 23-24 season.

Game Breakdown: Picking the game of the week for Charleston Southern was tough, it was either Piedmont or South Carolina, and South Carolina is just slightly more interesting. I do think South Carolina takes it but I think CSU will give them a run for their money.

Official Prediction: South Carolina 84 - Charleston Southern 76

Other Games on Nov 28th:

• SE Louisiana vs Gardner Webb - 12pm EST - FloSports

• Siena vs Longwood - 1pm EST

Nov 29th:

Nov 29th - 2pm EST - Western Carolina at High Point

High Point Weekly Recap:

Nov 17th: High Point beats Canisius 93-50

• Rob Martin led the Panthers with 17 points, along with leading the team with 8 assists.

• Chase Johnston with 15 along with Cam’ron Fletcher and Conrad Martinez with 12 points each round out those in double figures.

• 43 points is the largest win over a D1 program in HPU Men’s Basketball History.

Nov 20th: High Point beats UIC 90-80

• Cam’ron Fletcher set a new career high with 27 points and his third 20 points performance of the season.

• Chase Johnston with 18, Rob Martin with 14 and Scotty Washington with 12 all ended up in double figures, Johnston and Washington having new season highs.

• Chase Johnston led the team in steals with 5, with the team having 13.

Nov 22nd: High Point beats Incarnate Word 91-80

• Terry Anderson led the team with 23 points going 101-2 from the field.

• Cam’ron Fletcher with an 18 point and 12 rebound double double, his third double double of the season.

• Martinez (13), Aquino (11) and Washington (10) all in double figures.

• High Point won the rebounding battle 38 to 27.

Western Carolina Breakdown:

• Coached by former Gardner Webb Head Coach Tim Craft, they are headed into Year 2 of his tenure for the Catamounts.

• Former Runnin’ Bulldog Julien Soumoaro leads the Catamounts with 14 PPG.

• High Point holds a 6-1 record over WCU, the most recent being a 97-71 win in 2023.

Game Breakdown: This game is a sleeper game, Western Carolina has looked pretty good compared to last year and High Point, well has looked like High Point. Coming off their MTE and Thanksgiving can give teams issues. I don’t think that will phase this High Point team, but it would be something to watch, with that being said. Give me High Point taking this one.

Official Prediction: High Point 92 - Western Carolina 81

Nov 29th - 3pm EST - Gardner Webb at UNC Wilmington

Gardner Webb Weekly Recap:

Nov 18th: Gardner Webb falls to DePaul 93-62

• Jacob Hogarth with his first double double led the team in points and rebounds with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

• DJ Jefferson with 12 along with Ace Talbert and Spence Sims with 10 rounds out those with double figures.

• Chris Holtmann earned his second win in the Gardner Webb vs DePaul series, his first coming as the coach of GWU in 2012.

Nov 22nd: Gardner Webb falls to Richmond 102-67

• Spence Sims led Gardner Webb with 17 points and DJ Jefferson followed him in double figures with 11.

• Gardner Webb was outscored in the first half 62-30.

• Gardner Webb allowed Richmond to shoot over 50% from 3 in the first half.

UNC Wilmington Breakdown:

• Former GWU player and assistant coach, Takayo Siddle leads UNC Wilmington.

• In 2022, UNCW took home the CBI Title under Siddle’s leadership.

• Nolan Hodge leads the Seahawks with 18.7 PPG.

• This is the first matchup between the two in-state programs.

Game Breakdown: It’s really cool to see UNCW invite Gardner Webb to their MTE, Takayo gets to face his alma mater in Gardner Webb, and Gardner Webb gets a somewhat close MTE with similar level teams. With all that being said, UNC Wilmington will be the clear favorite, being the home team and having the better roster and I agree with that sentiment.

Official Prediction: UNC Wilmington 97 - Gardner Webb 71

Nov 29th - 4pm EST - SC State at Winthrop

Winthrop Weekly Recap:

Nov 18th: Winthrop falls to Arkansas 84-83

• Kareem Rozier led the Eagles with 23 points, his 2nd straight 20 point performance.

• Kody Clouet with 16, Logan Duncomb with 13 and Daylen Berry with 13 rounds out those in double figures.

• The game ended in controversy as Logan Duncomb and Nick Pringle had a scuffle resulting in 4 ejections between the two rosters.

SC State Breakdown:

• Coach Erik Martin is entering Year 4 at SC State, so far having a career record of 39-62.

• Coach Martin won the 2023-24 MEAC Regular Season Title.

• Owen Bronston Jr leads the Bulldogs with 12.2 PPG.

• Winthrop holds a 2-1 record against SC State, the most recent game coming in 2022 which Winthrop won 81-67

Game Breakdown: Winthrop seems way better than their 2-3 record seems, they played Arkansas and George Mason very close and their really “bad” loss was to Coastal Carolina, and that game is always very close. South Carolina State on the other hand really has not looked good at all, losing every game by double digits so far this season, and I see Winthrop adding to that streak.

Official Prediction: Winthrop 92 - SC State 73