Big South Basketball: 2021 Conference Tournament preview, predictions

BUIES CREEK, NC - MARCH 06: Players of the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs celebrate 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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Big South Basketball NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /

Big South Basketball Bracketology

The main storyline in this conference is whether the Eagles have any hopes of getting an at-large bid in case they fall in the conference tournament. With just one loss on the season, Winthrop stands out and has looked impressive all year.

The problem for them is that none of the nationally known Bracketology projected fields of 68 currently has the Eagles in. They’re a consensus 13 seed as a projected automatic qualifier but that would mean that they can’t afford a loss to have any chance of consideration, meaning that it’s win or NIT for the program. With a NET ranking around 70 and a 0-0 record against Quad 1 opponents, this team simply doesn’t have the resume to warrant an at-large bid.

If Winthrop does win the conference tournament, look for them to not only be a lock as a 13 seed, but a favorite upset pick in brackets after Selection Sunday. The one-loss record will stand out for fans, along with the quality depth.

If the Eagles aren’t the team that represents the Big South in the NCAA Tournament, then the projected seeding will be much lower. The best hope to avoid a 16 seed would be Radford or Campbell. Outside of that, there will have to be a ton of upsets around the other one-bid leagues to make sure that this conference avoids one of those “first four” matchups.

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