CCU

Men's Basketball Visits VMI Tuesday for Big South Tournament Quarterfinal Matchup

       

Men's Basketball Visits VMI Tuesday for Big South Tournament Quarterfinal Matchup

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – 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, 6 and 8 seeds.   Winthrop, Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian all tied for fifth-place in the Big South standings with 9-9 records, and though PC is not eligible for the tournament, the Blue Hose are factored into tiebreakers.  Winthrop receives the No. 5 seed by virtue of its 3-1 composite record against GWU and PC this season, with Gardner-Webb claiming the No. 6 seed.  Meanwhile, High Point tied Charleston Southern for eighth-place in the standings with 4-14 League marks, but the Panthers receive the No. 8 seed based on the second step of the Conference’s two-way tiebreaker.  With the teams splitting the regular-season series, the process moved to each team’s record against the top of the standings on down.  Both went winless against the top four teams, but High Point gains the advantage for sweeping No. 5 Winthrop, compared to Charleston Southern’s 0-2 record against the Eagles.   Radford (18-11, 15-3 Big South) already locked up the regular-season title and No. 1 seed a week ago, and will host No. 8 High Point (9-20, 4-14) Tuesday night at 7:00pm at the Dedmon Center.  VMI (22-7, 13-5) is the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 seed Coastal Carolina (11-19, 5-13) Tuesday at Cameron Hall, also at 7:00pm.  Liberty (21-10, 12-6) clinched the No. 3 seed with its win at Radford this evening and will entertain No. 6 seed Gardner-Webb (13-16, 9-9) Tuesday evening at the Vines Center at 7:00pm.  UNC Asheville – predicted to finish ninth in the preseason, notched the No. 4 seed with its 10-8 Big South record (14-15 overall) and will host No. 5 seed Winthrop (11-18, 9-9) at 7:00pm in the Justice Center in a rematch of last year’s Championship game, which was won by the Eagles.   Following the four quarterfinal games on Tuesday, the 2009 Advance Auto Parts Men’s Basketball Championship will continue with the Semifinals on Thursday, March 5 at the Dedmon Center on the campus of Radford University in Radford, Va.  Both games will air live on ESPNU, and the Championship game will be contested on the home site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 7 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 3 (at top four seeds) Game 1:  No. 2 VMI hosts No. 7 Coastal Carolina, 7:00pm ET (at Lexington, Va.) Game 2:  No. 3 Liberty hosts No. 6 Gardner-Webb, 7:00pm ET (at Lynchburg, Va.), TV: FTN Game 3:  No. 1 Radford hosts No. 8 High Point, 7:00pm ET (at Radford, Va.) Game 4:  No. 4 UNC Asheville hosts No. 5 Winthrop, 7:00pm ET (at Asheville, N.C.)   Semifinals - Thursday, March 5 (at Dedmon Center, Radford, Va.) 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 7 (at highest remaining seed) Game 7:  Championship - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:00pm ET; TV: ESPN2