Charleston Southern might be the most dangerous team in the Big South Conference.
That's not typically the case for a basketball team seeded eighth going into its conference tournament, but this hasn't been a typical season for the Bucs.
CSU?s tournament play begins Tuesday night as the Bucs host Presbyterian in a first-round game at the CSU Fieldhouse.
The two teams split the regular-season matchups, each winning as road teams. Charleston Southern has won eight of its last 11 games and finished the regular season at 8-8 in league play and 14-15 overall. The Bucs, with 10 new players on the roster, have come a long way since a six-game losing streak in January.
?So excited about this time of year and thrilled with how this team is playing,? CSU coach Barclay Radebaugh said. ?We have positioned ourselves to be good enough to win this tournament. This team has worked extremely hard. Our growth in February has been amazing. Their attitude and effort has been A-plus.
?What this team has accomplished over the last month has been a ton of fun. It?s easy to be around this team with their energy, and they have been a lot of fun to coach. Even when we lost six in a row, the energy level never changed with this group.?
The Buccaneers went 7-2 in the second half of the conference schedule, losing a two-point game at Gardner-Webb and then in overtime to regular-season champion UNC Asheville. CSU had the ball with a chance to win late in both games.
Radebaugh said the key to his team's late-season success has been on the defensive end. The Buccaneers lead the conference in forced turnovers. That could be crucial in the tournament, where games tend to slow into half-court battles of execution.
?These last few games have already felt like we?re in the postseason,? Radebaugh said. ?It does become a half-court game, a game of execution. All of us are desperate at this time of year. No lead is safe. Every possession is about execution on offense and getting stops on defense in the half-court. We fully expect a tough, grind-it-out type of game.?
Presbyterian finished ninth in the regular-season standings under first-year coach Dustin Kern. The Blue Hose finished the season on a three-game losing streak and were 4-14 in conference play. However, one of those wins came at CSU, and the Blue Hose were as competitive in league games as they have been in recent years.
?It?s a tough draw for us,? said Radebaugh, whose team finished in a four-way tie for fifth but was moved to eighth after tiebreakers. ?We know they can come in here and win. We know we have to be ready from the opening tap. Both games we played with them were very difficult for us. They will come in here ready to play.?
That's not typically the case for a basketball team seeded eighth going into its conference tournament, but this hasn't been a typical season for the Bucs.
CSU?s tournament play begins Tuesday night as the Bucs host Presbyterian in a first-round game at the CSU Fieldhouse.
The two teams split the regular-season matchups, each winning as road teams. Charleston Southern has won eight of its last 11 games and finished the regular season at 8-8 in league play and 14-15 overall. The Bucs, with 10 new players on the roster, have come a long way since a six-game losing streak in January.
?So excited about this time of year and thrilled with how this team is playing,? CSU coach Barclay Radebaugh said. ?We have positioned ourselves to be good enough to win this tournament. This team has worked extremely hard. Our growth in February has been amazing. Their attitude and effort has been A-plus.
?What this team has accomplished over the last month has been a ton of fun. It?s easy to be around this team with their energy, and they have been a lot of fun to coach. Even when we lost six in a row, the energy level never changed with this group.?
The Buccaneers went 7-2 in the second half of the conference schedule, losing a two-point game at Gardner-Webb and then in overtime to regular-season champion UNC Asheville. CSU had the ball with a chance to win late in both games.
Radebaugh said the key to his team's late-season success has been on the defensive end. The Buccaneers lead the conference in forced turnovers. That could be crucial in the tournament, where games tend to slow into half-court battles of execution.
?These last few games have already felt like we?re in the postseason,? Radebaugh said. ?It does become a half-court game, a game of execution. All of us are desperate at this time of year. No lead is safe. Every possession is about execution on offense and getting stops on defense in the half-court. We fully expect a tough, grind-it-out type of game.?
Presbyterian finished ninth in the regular-season standings under first-year coach Dustin Kern. The Blue Hose finished the season on a three-game losing streak and were 4-14 in conference play. However, one of those wins came at CSU, and the Blue Hose were as competitive in league games as they have been in recent years.
?It?s a tough draw for us,? said Radebaugh, whose team finished in a four-way tie for fifth but was moved to eighth after tiebreakers. ?We know they can come in here and win. We know we have to be ready from the opening tap. Both games we played with them were very difficult for us. They will come in here ready to play.?
