Feb 21st Conference Play Previews
Breaking down the action from Feb 19th and previewing the loaded slate on Feb 21st
Well, many have been waiting for this day for months, some have been waiting for it since Thursday but it’s finally here, Feb 21st.
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