Busting Brackets
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Big South Basketball: Chris Clemons and Campbell tournament favorites

By Daniel Benjamin

BUIES CREEK, NC - MARCH 06: Players, coaches and staff of the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs pose for photos with their trophy following their 77-68 victory against the Winthrop Eagles during the championship game of the 2016 Big South Basketball Tournament at Pope Convocation Center on March 6, 2016 in Buies Creek, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
BUIES CREEK, NC - MARCH 06: Players, coaches and staff of the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs pose for photos with their trophy following their 77-68 victory against the Winthrop Eagles during the championship game of the 2016 Big South Basketball Tournament at Pope Convocation Center on March 6, 2016 in Buies Creek, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Donald Hicks #5 of the Radford Highlanders shoots the ball against Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Donald Hicks #5 of the Radford Highlanders shoots the ball against Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

The 2019 Big South Conference Tournament will be getting underway this week. Who are the favorites to get the coveted autobid?

The race for the Big South regular season conference title was again filled with drama. For the fourth time in five seasons, the conference winner lost at least four games. The league went to a single division prior to 2014-15.

This season the Big South was very competitive as only three teams finished with losing records, marking the second straight year that few squads finished with a non-winning season. Before these last two campaigns, at least four teams finished the season with a losing conference record.

Radford and Campbell ended the season with a conference 12-4 record. The Fighting Camels earned a share of the regular season title by defeating the Highlanders 64-62 in Buies Creek (N.C.) on the final day of the season (Saturday) as Jordan Whitfield sank two free throws with four seconds left. With the win, the Camels earned the No. 1 seed in the conference and the right to host the Big South Tournament as a result of winning both matchups with the Highlanders. Campbell defeated Radford 68-67 on Jan. 30.

Winthrop and Gardner-Webb tied for third with a 10-6 record. The Eagles, who fell to Hampton in their season finale to Hampton, and the Bulldogs, who defeated Longwood, split their regular season matchups against each other. Winthrop gets the No. 3 seed since the Eagles went 1-2 versus Campbell and Radford while Gardner-Webb went 0-2 against them.

There was more congestion in the middle of the standings with a five-way tie for fifth at 9-7. High Point ultimately earned the fifth seed by going 4-0 against the other teams that finished with identical records. Charleston Southern is the sixth seed by going 2-2 against HPU, Presbertyrian, and Hampton. Presbertyrian gets the seventh seed as a result of their victory over Hampton on Jan. 16. Thus, leaving Hampton as the eighth seed followed by Longwood (5-11), UNC Asheville (2-14) and USC Upstate (1-15).

Radford entered the season as the preseason favorite to capture the regular season crown.