Big South Basketball: 2022 Conference Tournament preview and prediction

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 19: D.J. Burns Jr. #30 of the Winthrop Eagles attempts the shot against the Villanova Wildcats during the second half in the first round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 19, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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Tubby Smith the former head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats and present head coach of the High Point Panthers (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

First Round (March 2, ESPN+)

#8 Radford vs #9 North Carolina A&T – 11:30 a.m.

North Carolina A&T has lost nine of its last 11 games after a 4-1 start in league play. Radford has won four of its last five games with a lone loss in that stretch coming on the road to No. 1 seed Longwood.

Radford and A&T split their meeting this season, although the Aggies win came back on Jan. 8 while Radford just won in Greensboro this past Saturday to close out the regular season.

Prediction: Radford 65, North Carolina A&T 63

#5 UNC Asheville vs #12 Charleston Southern – 2 p.m.

UNC Asheville could have the Big South Player of the Year in Drew Pember (15.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG), a 6-10 transfer from Tennessee who leads the league in blocked shots. The Bulldogs were 2-0 against Charleston Southern this season, winning those two games by an average of 21 points.

UNCA is a potential sleeper team while the Buccaneers finished last in the Big South at 1-15 this season.

Prediction: UNC Asheville 78, Charleston Southern 62

#7 High Point vs #10 Hampton – 6 p.m.

Tubby Smith officially stepped down as High Point’s head coach on Feb. 16, with the program announcing that his son and HPU Associate Head Coach, G.G. Smith, would step in as head coach for the rest of this season and for 2022-23.

I still like High Point to win this game based on its star power. John-Michael Wright leads the Big South in scoring at 18.5 PPG and Zack Austin ranks seventh in scoring and first in rebounding, averaging 14.5 PPG and 7.8 RPG.

Prediction: High Point 69, Hampton 65

#6 Campbell vs #11 Presbyterian – 8 p.m.

Campbell was picked to win the North division of the Big South this season, which made sense considering their level of returning production. The Fighting Camels are the oldest team in the league, led by a senior in Cedric Henderson Jr. who is averaging 14.1 PPG on the season.

Presbyterian beat Campbell by six points in their only meeting this season but ranks No. 357 (out of 358) nationally in 3-point percentage.

Prediction: Campbell 64, Presbyterian 59