Big South Conference Tournament 2023
It’s the most wonderful time of the year for a college basketball fan with tournament time upon us. With the best record in the Big South, the UNC Asheville Bulldogs are slim +250 favorites to take the conference title with last year’s winners, Longwood right behind them with +260 odds.
It’s been seven years since UNC Asheville were last crowned champs of the Big South. All 10 teams in the league qualify for this tournament which runs from March 1st to March 5th and will be played at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. ESPN 2 will broadcast the final on Sunday, March 5th.
Below, you can find the odds for all the Big South teams. We’ll preview this tournament and offer up our best bet and prediction as to who will emerge as the Big South tournament champion.
2023 Big South Conference Tournament Odds
There has been a steady rotation of winners in the Big South tournament over the last decade with Winthrop collecting the most titles during that span with three championships. Finishing the season with an overall record below .500, the Eagles have the 5th shortest betting odds at +900 to claim their conference leading 14th crown.
They are a team that the chalk in the conference would be wise to watch out for. The Eagles are one of just two league sides that dealt UNC Asheville a loss this season with a 62-60 win back on New Year’s Eve.
Odds as of February 27th at Caesars Sportsbook.
Big South Conference Tournament Format
With all 10 teams qualifying for the conference tourney, the top six sides get a bye straight to the quarterfinals. Seeds 7 through 10 will play in the first round. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
At this point, UNC Asheville is projected as the No. 16 seed in the March Madness bracket, in the East region, which would set up a date with one of the very best in the country.
Best Bets to Take Down UNC Asheville in Big South Tournament
Since campus sites will be a non-factor, this tournament could get interesting. The Bulldogs deserve to be favorites considering they have four more conference wins than the two teams behind them in the league standings, but Longwood announced themselves to the nation in claiming the title last year.
Destroying conference heavyweights, Winthrop, 79-58 in last year’s final, the Lancers made the big dance for the first time in the school’s history. With recent championship experience on their side, sportsbooks have given Longwood much shorter odds than Radford, a school that finished with an identical record in conference play.
No team enters this tourney with as much confidence as the top side, as the Bulldogs won each of their last six games. Next to the chalk, Winthrop comes into tournament play with a four game winning streak, but they fell in both regular season gams to Radford, the squad they will matchup against in the quarterfinals.
2023 Big South Teams KenPom Ratings
According to the KenPom ratings, UNC Asheville deserve to be in the spot they’re in. Besides championship pedigree, another reason to be cautious of Winthrop is their offensive prowess. With an adjusted offensive efficiency of 109.6, they are the only conference squad to rank in the top 30% in the nation.
For the season, the Eagles averaged 72.9 points per game, good for 119th amongst all Division I squads and right behind the league leading Bulldogs who scored 73.0 points per contest.
Gardner Webb owned the best adjusted defensive efficiency in the conference, and if they win their quarterfinal contest USC Upstate, as expected, they will likely matchup with the top seeded Bulldogs in the semifinals.
2023 Big South Tournament Prediction
If you’re looking for a longshot bet to take this tourney, look no further than the squad that has dominated the Big South landscape this century in Winthrop. They have captured almost half the tournament crowns, with 11 since 2000 and boast the top offense in the league according to the analytics.
However, the smartest bet is to ride it out with the favorites who are paying out at a fair +250 to follow a first place regular season with a tournament title.
Not only do they come in on a high as winners of six straight, they boast the top player in the conference. He’s not going to be a contender in the Wooden Award odds, but Drew Pember put up a conference leading 20.4 points, 9.2 boards and 2.3 block per outing this campaign.
Teaming with one of the best three point shooters in Tajion Jones who made an amazing 45.6% of his triples this year, our prediction is UNC Asheville claims their sixth conference title in school history, giving them sole possession of 2nd place next behind Winthrop.
Pick: UNC Asheville Bulldogs (+250)
