Campbell to face Gardner-Webb on first day of potentially "wild" Big South tournament
The Big South Conference men?s basketball tournament begins Wednesday in Conway, South Carolina, and 10th-seeded Campbell has a first-round game against a seventh-seeded opponent that has beaten teams from the ACC and Big Ten.
It's been that kind of year in the Big South, which had a seven-way tie for first place in early February.
"There is something exciting about a conference that's so competitive," second-year Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan said. "There are so many good teams in this league. I think it's going to be a wild tournament."
Five schools in the 11-team league open tournament play in the quarterfinal round Friday, and Campbell (10-21, 4-14) takes on Gardner-Webb (18-13, 10-8) at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the second of three first-round games.
The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated Clemson 72-70 in a pre-Thanksgiving tournament and won 89-84 at Purdue, the Big Ten's third-place team, a few days before Christmas. Gardner-Webb lost 78-59 at Campbell a month later and trailed by eight points with less than two minutes left in regulation of a 73-65 overtime victory at home.
The Camels held a halftime lead in seven of their first 10 league losses.
"If you look at our games, we lost a lot of games where we were up double figures," redshirt senior Reco McCarter said. "We can play with any team in this league. It's all about us staying together, playing together and locking up on defense."
The winner between Campbell and Gardner-Webb advances to a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed High Point, which shared the regular-season title with No. 1 seed Charleston Southern.
Here's a closer look at some Big South tournament storylines:
FAVORITE: High Point
High Point (22-8, 13-5) earned at least a share of the Big South regular-season title for the third straight year, but head coach and North Carolina alum Scott Cherry's program is still seeking the first NCAA tournament berth in school history. A foot injury prevented 6-foot-8 star John Brown from playing in the conference tournament two years ago, and Winthrop hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than one second left to upset the top-seeded Panthers in a 2014 quarterfinal.
DARKHORSE: Coastal Carolina
The tournament is held at the HTC Center, which is on Coastal Carolina's campus, and the Chanticleers (21-9, 12-6) went 7-2 in Big South home games with losses to Gardner-Webb and Winthrop. Coastal is in the same half of the bracket as High Point, which went 0-2 against the Chanticleers this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Saah Nimley, senior guard, Charleston Southern
Nimley, who is shorter than his listed height of 5-8, was named the league's player of the year after averaging 25.6 points in Big South games. He had seven 30-point games in the league and made 102 3-pointers during the regular season.
John Brown, redshirt junior forward, High Point
Brown, who is on track to graduate after this season, is arguably the nation's top dunker. He's also an extremely productive player, with averages of at least 16.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in all three of his seasons with the Panthers.
Andrew Rowsey, sophomore guard, UNC-Asheville
The 5-10 Rowsey averages 18.9 points, 1.4 fewer than his total as a freshman, and he's attempted 510 3-pointers in less than two full seasons.
Curtis Phillips, freshman guard, Campbell
The Camels, who have two standout redshirt seniors in Andrew Ryan and Reco McCarter, also have three freshmen in their rotation. One is the 6-5 Phillips, who has started the last 14 games and reached double figures in eight of them, recording a season-high 24 points in the finale.
The Big South Conference men?s basketball tournament begins Wednesday in Conway, South Carolina, and 10th-seeded Campbell has a first-round game against a seventh-seeded opponent that has beaten teams from the ACC and Big Ten.
It's been that kind of year in the Big South, which had a seven-way tie for first place in early February.
"There is something exciting about a conference that's so competitive," second-year Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan said. "There are so many good teams in this league. I think it's going to be a wild tournament."
Five schools in the 11-team league open tournament play in the quarterfinal round Friday, and Campbell (10-21, 4-14) takes on Gardner-Webb (18-13, 10-8) at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the second of three first-round games.
The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated Clemson 72-70 in a pre-Thanksgiving tournament and won 89-84 at Purdue, the Big Ten's third-place team, a few days before Christmas. Gardner-Webb lost 78-59 at Campbell a month later and trailed by eight points with less than two minutes left in regulation of a 73-65 overtime victory at home.
The Camels held a halftime lead in seven of their first 10 league losses.
"If you look at our games, we lost a lot of games where we were up double figures," redshirt senior Reco McCarter said. "We can play with any team in this league. It's all about us staying together, playing together and locking up on defense."
The winner between Campbell and Gardner-Webb advances to a quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed High Point, which shared the regular-season title with No. 1 seed Charleston Southern.
Here's a closer look at some Big South tournament storylines:
FAVORITE: High Point
High Point (22-8, 13-5) earned at least a share of the Big South regular-season title for the third straight year, but head coach and North Carolina alum Scott Cherry's program is still seeking the first NCAA tournament berth in school history. A foot injury prevented 6-foot-8 star John Brown from playing in the conference tournament two years ago, and Winthrop hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than one second left to upset the top-seeded Panthers in a 2014 quarterfinal.
DARKHORSE: Coastal Carolina
The tournament is held at the HTC Center, which is on Coastal Carolina's campus, and the Chanticleers (21-9, 12-6) went 7-2 in Big South home games with losses to Gardner-Webb and Winthrop. Coastal is in the same half of the bracket as High Point, which went 0-2 against the Chanticleers this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Saah Nimley, senior guard, Charleston Southern
Nimley, who is shorter than his listed height of 5-8, was named the league's player of the year after averaging 25.6 points in Big South games. He had seven 30-point games in the league and made 102 3-pointers during the regular season.
John Brown, redshirt junior forward, High Point
Brown, who is on track to graduate after this season, is arguably the nation's top dunker. He's also an extremely productive player, with averages of at least 16.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in all three of his seasons with the Panthers.
Andrew Rowsey, sophomore guard, UNC-Asheville
The 5-10 Rowsey averages 18.9 points, 1.4 fewer than his total as a freshman, and he's attempted 510 3-pointers in less than two full seasons.
Curtis Phillips, freshman guard, Campbell
The Camels, who have two standout redshirt seniors in Andrew Ryan and Reco McCarter, also have three freshmen in their rotation. One is the 6-5 Phillips, who has started the last 14 games and reached double figures in eight of them, recording a season-high 24 points in the finale.
