$100 Match Bonus from Bodog!
Open an new account with Bodog and deposit $100 or more for a $100 match bonus!

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

2009 Big South Conference Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on March 2, 2009

big-south-3209 The 2009 Big South Conference Tournament gets underway Tuesday March 3rd with the quarterfinal rounds. Action continues on March 5th with the semifinal round games, which can be seen on ESPN U. The championship game will then be held on Saturday March 7th on ESPN 2. Jimmy Boyd breaks down this seasons Big South Conference Tournament in this college basketball predictions article.

The Favorite: Radford Highlanders
For those of you unfamiliar with the Big South, you may not have ever even heard of Radford, but the Highlanders brought home the regular season title with a 15-3 mark in conference play. They play host to No. 8 seed High Point Tuesday night and that figures to be an easy win as Radford beat High Point in both regular season meetings. The Highlanders have come a long way in a year’s time as they were the No. 7 seed in last year’s tournament and were stomped by 31 points by No. 2 seed and eventual champion Winthrop. The Highlanders split with VMI and Liberty during the regular season and both of those teams figure to challenge for this title as well. 6′11” center Artsiom Parakhouski from Minsk is the big man on campus for the Highlanders. He averages 16 points per game and 11 rebounds per contest. There aren’t many players across the country averaging a double-double. While Radford lost to Liberty in its season finale, Parakhouski was sensational with a 39-point, 19 rebound performance.

Another Team That Can Win: Liberty Flames
Liberty finished in third place in the Big South Conference this season behind Radford and VMI and I feel it has the next best chance of winning. Liberty advanced to the semifinal as a No. 4 seed last season and now adds a huge scoring threat in Seth Curry. The little brother of Davidson star Stephon Curry has probably been the biggest story in the conference this season and this might just be his coming out party. Curry led the Flames in scoring with a 20.7 points per game average this season and he put up 25 big ones in a win over Radford in the regular season finale. I know VMI just beat the Flames by 37 last week, but that actually plays to Liberty’s favor here. Liberty has already won at VMI, where they would play the Keydets, and it will be out for major revenge if the two teams meet.

Recap of 2008 Big South Conference Tournament:
It appeared UNC Asheville was going to cruise to the 2008 Big South Tournament title when it defeated Charleston Southern by 24 in the first round and Liberty by 18 in round two. But it was hit in the mouth hard by Winthrop in the championship game, getting dealt an 18-point defeat. The win marked Winthrop’s 9th conference tournament championship. It was the fourth straight season the Eagles had advanced to the Big Dance. After making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007, it was one and done last year, with 13 seed Winthrop getting whacked 40-71 by 4 seed Washington State. Its been a down year for the Eagles in 2009 as they finished just 11-18 on the season and 9-9 in conference play.

Bet the Big South Tournament at Bookmaker and receive a 20% cash sign up bonus.

Do your college basketball betting with Jimmy Boyd during March Madness for the most winners against the NCAA basketball odds.

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