[TIMSCAR20]

My best case scenerio would be for Liberty to win both the games this weekend and Winthrop get to host the tournament. I would love get to call one more home game although I have already braced myself for the possibility that it won't happen. However I want to go to the Semi's and finals regardless of who is in it but I really don't want to go to Kimbel Gymnasium. I would have made the trip this weekend and helped Nick on the radio but I unfortunately had to come to Philly for a funeral of one of my friends. I may actually get stuck here in yet another snow storm! Sheesh.

[g-webb1994]

LU making the long trip to Asheville in round one would really suck for y'all. However, if that were the 4/5 matchup, the winner would really stand a good shot at Coastal in round two, even with the travel.

Also, I feel a bit bad for VMI, they play at Coastal Saturday, trek home 7 hours in a bus, then turn around and make the 7 hour trek back down to Conway Tuesday if they meet up in the 1/8 matchup? Yuck.

If the Big South can put the womens tourney in one spot, they should do the same with the mens tourney.

[SuperJon]

I highly doubt that VMI will leave the beach after Saturday if they are to play Coastal in the first round.

If we end up at Asheville in the first round, we're going straight there after Charleston. If we end up at Radford, we'll probably come home first.

[JK37]

I might try to make it to the Libery/CSU game on Saturday. That could be a good game.

Good luck!

Me, too. Talked the wife into watching even more basketball on my rare night off.

If you know the right way, no more than 5-5.5 hours.

You beat me to it. And you can save at least another 20 minutes now.

[SuperJon]

I used to make it from Coastal to Liberty in five hours flat. I'm hoping to get down there in 4:45 or so today.

[horrez]

If the Big South can put the womens tourney in one spot, they should do the same with the mens tourney.

They did it in the past... this way is better (in my opinion). Since the only real chance a Big South team has of making it to the NCAA Tournament is to win the conference tournament, it wouldn't really be fair to the regular season champ to have to possibly play far away from home. For example, if Coastal wins the regular season, it would stink for them if they had to then play their tournament games at a location close to Winthrop (or Liberty, Radford.....). The way the mens tournament is done is one thing I think the Big South does right. It makes the regular season a little more important.

[SuperJon]

The way the mens tournament is done is one thing I think the Big South does right. It makes the regular season a little more important.

And the tournament more exciting too.

I just wish they would institute a policy saying if you have a gym that seats under 1500, you have to host in civic center or something. Every school with a small gym has a civic center close by.

[BJWilliams]

The way the mens tournament is done is one thing I think the Big South does right. It makes the regular season a little more important.

And the tournament more exciting too.

I just wish they would institute a policy saying if you have a gym that seats under 1500, you have to host in civic center or something. Every school with a small gym has a civic center close by.

Paging uncafan...please pick up the blue courtesy telephone...uncafan...please pick up the blue courtesy telephone...

[SuperJon]

No, BJ, you don't get what I'm saying. I'm not asking them to change the rules for this tournament. I'm saying for the future. UNCA and Coastal are building new arenas that seat more. Under the current rules, more power to them for not wanting to move. If I were in their situation, I wouldn't want to either. What I was suggesting was a rule change for the future that would encourage better facilities. We came to an agreement on that two years ago when this argument came up.

[kdinva]

.....Also, I feel a bit bad for VMI, they play at Coastal Saturday, trek home 7 hours in a bus, then turn around and make the 7 hour trek back down to Conway Tuesday if they meet up in the 1/8 matchup? Yuck.....

Knowing the VMI brass, they'll tell Duggar to bus on home. Plus, consider the VMI-CCU game is at 2:00. It'll be at least 10:30 before the Conf. office formally announces the bracket. VMI will be on the bus home by 5:15 or so, and Duggar will have his cell phone on and fully charged.

Of course, VMI has only themselves to blame for having to sweat out this week's games. Frankly, we blew our home games w/UNCA, Gard-Webb, Winthrop, and even you guys. . Plus, choking a 17-point lead at Presby. We should be at least 9-7 now.

[g-webb1994]

Talk about your travel oddities....when G-W's women beat LU in the Vines a couple of Mondays ago, we were to play Radford on the following Wednesday....our women came all the way back to Boiling Springs due to the weather threat, then turned around and went all the way back up to RU and beat them in OT.

I think G-W could host the tourney(s) with no problem in Porter Arena, however, the trick would be with lack of hotel space....teams would have to stay in Gastonia or even Charlotte possibly. Of course, if UNCA or Winthrop were in the mix, they would probably bus home and back anyway.

[Chris Lang]

When I went down there for football this year, I stayed in Gastonia. Only about a 40-minute drive. Not bad at all.

[Chris Lang]

Also, getting back to the scenarios ... The more I think about it, Coastal wraps things up with a win tonight, no matter what happens with Winthrop.

Coastal finishes no worse than 14-4 with a win. Winthrop can finish no better than 14-4.
* They split
* They both will have split with Radford
* UNCA cannot finish behind Liberty or High Point if Coastal beats Liberty and Winthrop beats High Point. High Point has to win twice and have UNCA lose to GWU to finish ahead of the Bulldogs; Liberty has to win twice and have UNCA lose.
* Therefore, because Coastal swept UNCA and Winthrop split with UNCA, Coastal wins the tiebreak.

Now if Coastal loses tonight and beats VMI to get to 14-4 and Winthrop wins twice, Winthrop then will win a tiebreaker if Liberty beats CSU and Gardner-Webb beats UNCA, because Liberty would then finish fourth and Winthrop advances on the strength of a sweep of the Flames.

[jcmanson]

Thanks for making my head spin Lang

[Chris Lang]

Field getting clearer:

http://bit.ly/9Hyw9Y

[g-webb1994]

looks like LU traveling down to play a Winthrop team on a two-game losing streak....

[ToTheLeft]

I'd rather it be HPU or Radford.

[SuperJon]

I want to go to Radford.

[Chris Lang]

So do I. Then again, I just want the shortest drive possible. My feeling is that it'll be Winthrop.

[Cider Jim]

So, according to Lang, our first conference playoff game will be away at one of 4 schools:

Winthrop
Radford
Asheville
High Point

So here’s your field. Locked in teams are in bold:
#8 VMI or Gardner-Webb at #1 Coastal Carolina
#5 Liberty or High Point or UNC Asheville at #4 UNC Asheville or High Point
#6 Liberty or High Point at #3 Winthrop or Radford
#7 Charleston Southern at #2 Winthrop or Radford

Lang has already chimed in, thinking we will be playing Winthrop. Do most of you agree with that, or do you think we will most likely be playing Radford, Asheville, or High Point?

[Kolzilla41]

I hope High Point or Radford. Anything further, makes it hard to travel on a Tuesday.

[kdinva]

.....Also, I feel a bit bad for VMI, they play at Coastal Saturday, trek home 7 hours in a bus, then turn around and make the 7 hour trek back down to Conway Tuesday if they meet up in the 1/8 matchup? Yuck.....

Knowing the VMI brass, they'll tell Duggar to bus on home. Plus, consider the VMI-CCU game is at 2:00. It'll be at least 10:30 before the Conf. office formally announces the bracket. VMI will be on the bus home by 5:15 or so, and Duggar will have his cell phone on and fully charged.

I stand corrected. I heard on our radio broadcast, that if we lost (we did, in pukey fashion ), we'd hang around Conway (after that loss), to await the results of GW v. UNCA (4:30 tip). So, by 7:00 tomorrow nite, we'd either go back to the hotel, or head back to Lex.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Field getting clearer:

http://bit.ly/9Hyw9Y

Hey Chris, nice work on the scenarios...the one place I differ with you (I put together the same type of thing on the winthropfans.com board) is with HPU getting the #4 seed. Along with them needing to win and a UNCA loss, I think they'll need LU to lose as well. Because if LU wins, it will be a three-way tie at 10-8 between HPU, UNCA, and LU...and UNCA would win that (since they will be 3-1 in the head-to-head, while HPU would only be 2-2, and LU would be 1-3). Just a minor detail, but HPU only gets that #4 spot if they are in a 2-way tie with UNCA, not a 3-way tie.

[Chris Lang]

Good catch on that one, WEF. Thanks. I'll jump in and make that correction.

Liberty's only possible opponents are Radford, Winthrop or UNCA. The Flames can't play High Point, because if High Point steals the No. 4, Liberty will be No. 6. UNCA can't finish lower than No. 5.

EDIT -- Changed the pairings part to alleviate confusion.

[kdinva]

High Point will wind up 8-1 at home in Conference.......and be kicking themselves for that one loss.......VMI (VMI's best overall effort in an away league game this season).

Coach of the Year: Ellis
Most underachieving team: VMI