Big South Conference tournament prediction, bracket, odds, schedule and standings

Buckle up, the Big South Conference tournament is set to tip-off on Wednesday, March 1.

UNC Asheville handedly won the regular season crown, finishing the season with a 16-2 conference record, four clear of second place Longwood.

As a result, the Bulldogs have the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and will have take on the winner of No. 8 High Point and No. 9 Charleston Southern.

Let’s take a look at the tournament odds, bracket, schedule, and my best bet to win the Big South Conference tournament.

Big South Conference tournament odds

Big South Conference tournament bracket

Big South Conference tournament schedule (Dates, times, channel)

The first round will take place on Wednesday, March 1. The quarterfinals will then take place on Friday, March 3. The Semifinals will be on Saturday, March 4 and then the Championship Game will take place at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 5.

Every game will air on ESPN+, except for the Championship Game, which will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Big South Conference tournament prediction and pick

Despite winning the regular season crown with a four game cushion, UNC Asheville isn’t the betting favorite to win the tournament, and in my opinion, for good reason.

UNC Asheville is very good team when it comes to shooting and playing defense, which is good enough to beat weaker teams, but they have a few major shortcomings that will cause them to struggle against better teams that will come back to haunt them.

The Bulldogs rank 343rd in effective possession ratio and 323rd in extra scoring chances per game, largely due to turning the ball over a ton and failing to grab many offensive rebounds.

That’s why I’m instead going to back Longwood, who can hang with the Bulldogs when it comes to shooting, but they rank 41st and 14th in effective possession ratio and extra scoring chances per game.

UNC Asheville is 313rd in turnovers per possession, while Longwood is 32nd in opponent turnovers per possession.

Sure, the Bulldogs won both games against the Lancers in the regular season, but if they meet in the final, I expect Longwood to get it done.

Big South Conference tournament dark horse pick

Based on shooting alone, I like Winthrop as a dark horse bet in the Big South tournament.

Make no mistake about it, the Eagles are absolutely terrible defensively, but they can shoot the lights out. Heading into the tournament, Winthrop ranks 17th in the country in effective field goal percentage.

If they can lock things down on defensive and continue to be hot from the field, teams better be on their “A” game against them, or Winthrop could make a deep run in the tournament.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.