2020 Big South Tournament Opening Odds: Radford -110 Favorite
- The Big South Tournament begins on March 3rd and runs through March 8th, with the championship game at the highest remaining seed
- The last six Big South Tournament champions have all won at least 10 games during regular-season conference play
- Read on to find out all the trends, odds, picks and best bets for the 2020 Big South Tournament
Historically, the Big South Tournament is not an event where longshots are good plays. While upsets can often prove to be the play of the day in the 2020 National Championship odds, the form charts tend to hold fairly regularly in this event.
The last six Big South Tournament champions have all won a minimum of 10 games within conference play during the regular season.
Games will be played at higher seeds on March 3rd, 5th and 6th, with the championship game on Sunday, March 8th at the highest remaining seed.
2020 Big South Tournament Odds
| School | Odds |
|---|---|
| Radford | -110 |
| Winthrop | +160 |
| Gardner-Webb | +700 |
| Longwood | +2500 |
| Campbell | +3500 |
| Hampton | +4000 |
| NC-Asheville | +4500 |
| Charleston Southern | +5000 |
| SC-Upstate | +6000 |
| Presbyterian | +8000 |
| High Point | +9000 |
Odds taken Mar. 2nd.
Big South Tournament Bracket
Big South Contenders a Short List
Only three schools got to 10 wins this season in Big South Conference play. In fact, only three schools posted winning records in conference play this season.
The Radford Highlanders and Winthrop Eagles both finished 15-3 in conference play this season. Behind them were the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs.
The defending Big South champs, Gardner-Webb went 11-7 in the Big South this season.
Longwood is the fourth-place team. The Lancers finished 9-9. The other seven Big South schools all ended up below .500 in conference play.
Analytics Favor Two Teams
According to the analytics site TeamRankings.com, realistically the pursuit of the Big South Tournament title is a two-team race between Radford and Winthrop.
Based on that site’s round-by-round survival odds, the Highlanders are given a 72.61% chance of playing in the final. The Eagles are offered a 67.06% chance of getting there. Gardner-Webb (22.37%) is a distant third, and the only other school in double digits.
As to winning the title, Radford (45.30%) is offered the advantage over Winthrop (37.77%). The defending champion Runnin’ Bulldogs are at 9.74%.
Statistically, Radford and Winthrop have proven to be the dominant teams as well. The Eagles are the #1 scoring offense in the conference at 80.8 points per game. The Highlanders (66.0 PPG) are the top scoring defense. Winthrop (+9.0) and Radford (+6.0) are 1-1 in the Big South in scoring margins.
Eagles Will Land It
Radford and Winthrop split two meetings this season, with the road team winning both times. The Eagles were 61-55 victors at Radford. The Highlanders won 81-77 at Winthrop.
Winthrop (11) has captured more Big South titles than any other school. Radford owns three, and there’s a pattern to wins by the Highlanders that suggests they aren’t due. They took the conference title in 1998, 2009 and 2018. Winthrop’s most recent win was in 2017.
CO-CHAMPIONS ?
The Eagles have earned a share of the #BigSouthMBB? regular season title! pic.twitter.com/0z5tkevLxR
— Winthrop MBB (@Winthrop_MBB) February 29, 2020
Winthrop played #7 Duke tough earlier this season season before falling 83-70. The Eagles have balanced scoring, with three players in the top 30 in the conference. Forward DJ Burns, a Tennessee transfer, owns a conference-best .585 field-goal percentage. That number jumps to .598 in conference play.
Pick: Winthrop Eagles (+160)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
