Feb. 27, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C.(www.BigSouthSports.com) – The seedings and pairings for next week’s Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Championship have been determined following the conclusion of the Conference’s regular-season schedule this evening. Tiebreakers were needed to determine the No. 5 and 8 seeds.
High Point and Liberty both tied for fifth-place in the Big South standings with 10-8 records. With the teams splitting the regular-season series, the process moved to each team’s record against the top of the standings on down. High Point earned the No. 5 seed by virtue of its 1-1 record against No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina, compared to Liberty going 0-2 against the Chanticleers in the regular-season. Meanwhile, VMI and Gardner-Webb tied for eighth-place in the standings at 5-13, and the Keydets receive the No. 8 seed based on the second step of the Conference’s two-way tiebreaker. The teams split the regular-season series and both went winless against the top four teams. VMI gained the advantage for its 2-0 record against No. 5 seed High Point, compared to Gardner-Webb’s 0-2 mark against the Panthers.
Coastal Carolina (26-5, 15-3 Big South) – predicted to finish eighth in the preseason, locked up the regular-season title and No. 1 seed on Thursday, and will host No. 8 VMI (10-18, 5-13 Big South) Tuesday night at 7:00pm at Kimbel Arena. The Chanticleers are the No. 1 seed for the first time since 1990-91. In a game Saturday to determine the No. 2 seed, Radford (18-11, 13-5) defeated Winthrop to clinch the No. 2 spot, which dropped the Eagles to the No. 3 position. The Highlanders will host No. 7 seed Charleston Southern (13-16, 7-11) Tuesday at the Dedmon Center, also at 7:00pm. No. 3-seeded Winthrop (16-13, 12-6 Big South) will entertain No. 6 seed Liberty (15-15, 10-8 Big South) Tuesday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum at 7:00pm. UNC Asheville notched the No. 4 seed with its 11-7 Big South record (14-15 overall) and will host No. 5 seed High Point (15-14, 10-8) at 7:00pm in the Justice Center.
Following the four quarterfinal games on Tuesday, the 2010 Advance Auto Parts Men’s Basketball Championship will continue with the Semifinals on Thursday, March 4 at Kimbel Arena on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. Both games will air live on ESPNU, and the Championship game will be contested at the home site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 6 live on ESPN2 at 4:00pm. The Big South’s Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, March 2 (at top four seeds)
Game 1: No. 2 Radford hosts No. 7 Charleston Southern, 7:00pm ET (at Dedmon Center), Live Video: Big South Network
Game 2: No. 3 Winthrop hosts No. 6 Liberty, 7:00pm ET (at Winthrop Coliseum), Live Video: Big South Network
Game 3: No. 1 Coastal Carolina hosts No. 8 VMI, 7:00pm ET (at Kimbel Arena), Live Video: Big South Network
Game 4: No. 4 UNC Asheville hosts No. 5 High Point, 7:00pm ET (at Justice Center), Live Video: Big South Network
Semifinals - Thursday, March 4 (at Kimbel Arena, Conway, S.C.)
Game 5: Semifinals – No. 2/No. 7 winner vs. No. 3/No. 6 winner, 6:00pm ET; TV: ESPNU
Game 6: Semifinals – No. 1/No. 8 winner vs. No. 4/No. 5 winner, 8:00pm ET; TV: ESPNU
Championship - Saturday, March 6 (at highest remaining seed)
Game 7: Championship - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:00pm ET; TV: ESPN2
