BetUS $500 Match Bonus
Sign up for a new account with BetUS and deposit $500 or more to get a $500 match bonus!

$20 Free Play at Sportsbook.com
Your first bet is free when you open a new account at sportsbook.com!

2009 Big South Conference Basketball Tournament Predictions

Written March 3, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Big South Basketball The Big South Men’s Basketball Tournament is one of the early conference tournaments that get started this week, and everyone knows what’s at stake for the teams in this conference that are trying to earn that automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Winthrop has won this tournament the past 4 seasons, and 8 of the last 10. The Eagles run could be put to an end, as they finished the regular season at just 9-9, with Radford taking home the regular season crown by going 15-3 to edge out Virginia Military by two games. The tournament is set to start on Tuesday March 3rd, with semifinal action on Thursday, and the championship game on Saturday afternoon. Here are our 3 favorites to come out on top, and a sleeper that could spoil everyones plans this week. Bet Big South Conference Tournament at Bookmaker.com.

1. Radford Highlanders (18-11, 15-3 Big South)

There is no question the team that was the best during the regular season should be the team to beat when the tournament gets underway, and this is a team that has beat every other school in the conference at least once this season. The Highlanders are led by center Arsiom Parakhouski, who averages a team-best 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. The Highlanders are coming off a loss to Liberty in their final regular season game, but we expect them to get it rolling against High Point in the first round, who they just beat last Wednesday 69-64.

2. Virginia Military Keydets (22-7, 13-5 Big South)

The Keydets are a scary team, as you have to remember the shocking upset they pulled on Kentucky to start the season. Virginia Military was on top of this conference for most of the season, but lost 3 out of their last 5 to fall behind Radford in the standings. The Keydets know how to score the basketball, as they have 4 players averaging more than 13 points a game, including 22 points per game from Chavis Holmes and 19 points per game from his twin brother Travis Holmes. The Keydets have shown they can hang with Highlanders on the hardwood, as they went into their home court and handed them a 87-72 beating early in the season.

3. Liberty Flames (22-10, 12-6 Big South)

The Flames finished the season in third place, but have to be riding high after beating Radford 92-85 to end their regular season. The win was much needed after they lost the previous two games by a combined 61 points. Liberty is led by Seth Curry’s 20.6 points per game, who is the younger brother of Davidson’s star guard Stephen Curry. Its hard telling what to expect out of this team, as they could catch fire and win this thing, or could play like they did against Old Dominion and VMI and be out in the first round.

Sleeper: UNC-Asheville Bulldogs (14-15, 10-8 Big South)

Though the Bulldogs finished the season 4th in the conference, it is unlikely that you are going to have a team from the bottom of the division shock everyone in these small conferences. The Bulldogs have played all the top 3 teams close this season, and if the shots are falling right the Bulldogs could sneak into the championship game, but will have to beat defending champion Winthrop in the first round.

Prediction: Virginia Military Keydets

For those of you looking for some help on all the NCAA basketball betting coming up over the next month, check out our expert NCAA basketball picks, and get the latest college basketball odds for all the big games at Betfirms.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

No comments yet, but your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Got something to say?