The official seeding and pairings for the 2018 Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Championship are now finalized with Radford—predicted to finish seventh in the preseason poll —earning the No. 2 seed based on its current RPI of 140 through all college basketball games played of Feb. 24.
After dropping three in a row, Radford won its last four games, entering the week needing only one win to clinch the No. 3 seed in the tournament. With two games remaining on the regular season docket, Radford received a chance to tie for the No. 2 seed with two losses by either UNC Asheville or Winthrop.
The Eagles from Rock Hill, S.C., dropped contests to UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern. The teams tied for second in the Big South standings at 12-6, and the tiebreaker procedure reached the final step of each team’s RPI due to no advantage in the previous steps. Winthrop lands in the No. 3 seed as its current RPI is 170.
UNC Asheville is the No. 1 seed and will host the quarterfinals and semifinals March 1-2. Tickets are now on sale through Asheville’s ticket office and at uncabulldogs.com/BigSouthTickets. The highest remaining seed will host the championship game on March 4.
The Kimmel Arena box office will be open 90 minutes prior to the start of quarterfinal one of the championship on Thursday, March 1. Tickets will be sold for two daily sessions on Thursday (includes two games per session). The building will be cleared between sessions.
Tickets for the quarterfinal and semifinal round of the Big South Men’s Basketball Championship for adults are $20 per session and $15 for seniors who are 65 and older with valid ID. Groups of 10-plus will also be able to purchase tickets for $15 per session. Children and college students will be able to purchase tickets for just $5.
Earning a bye straight to quarterfinal play, Radford will play the winner of No. 7 High Point/No. 10 Longwood on Thursday, March 1 at 1 p.m. The tournament’s first round games will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
The 2018 Big South Men’s Basketball Championship will continue with the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 1 and semifinals on Friday, March 2 with both days being carried live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN. The Championship game will be contested on Sunday, March 4 live on ESPN at 1 p.m.
The Big South’s Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:
First Round – Tuesday, Feb. 27 – Big South Network/Roku
Game 1: #10 Longwood at #7 High Point, 7 p.m.
Game 2: #9 Presbyterian at #8 Charleston Southern, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 1 – ESPN3
Game 3: #2 Radford vs. #7/10 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Winthrop vs. #6 Gardner-Webb, 3 p.m.
Game 5: #1 UNC Asheville vs. #8/9 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 6: #4 Campbell vs. #5 Liberty, 9 p.m.
Semifinals – Friday, March 2 – ESPN3
Game 7: Semifinals – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Semifinals – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8 p.m.
Championship (Location Highest Remaining Seed) – Sunday, March 4 – ESPN
Game 9: Championship – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 1 p.m.
–RU Athletics