Anthony Raffa was rated as the top player in the Big South and 16th best low-major player, but his Coastal Carolina team was one of four teams to see its season end Tuesday with an opening round loss in the Big South Conference (follow tournament here). The season also ended for Radford and Presbyterian, and most surprised UNC-Asheville, the 3-seed in the South who gave Syracuse a run in the opening round last year in the NCAA but was shocked by the Northern 6-seed Longwood 87-72. The top eight conference players and teams are listed below.
Winthrop, Campbell and Liberty also advanced along with Longwood to play the top four seeds (Charleston Southern, VMI, Gardner-Webb and High Point) on Thursday. The championship will be decided in Conway, S.C. on Saturday. Only the champion will go to the NCAA tournament. www.kenpom.com rates Charleston Southern at the best team in the conference, but only the 171st best in the country.
| Conf Rnk | Low-Maj Rnk | Elite 8 Players/Teams | Big South | Ht | LM Val Add |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Raffa, Anthony | Coastal Carolina | 6-01 | 9.53 |
| 2 | 25 | Atkinson, Jeremy | NC Asheville | 6-04 | 8.92 |
| 3 | 44 | Harper, Arlon | Charleston Southern | 6-01 | 7.9 |
| 4 | 69 | Brown, John | High Point | 6-07 | 7.09 |
| 5 | 70 | Green, Javonte | Radford | 6-04 | 7.07 |
| 6 | 71 | Okoye, Stan | Virginia Military Inst | 6-06 | 7.07 |
| 7 | 92 | Nimley, Saah | Charleston Southern | 5-08 | 6.58 |
| 8 | 96 | Hartley, Kevin | Gardner Webb | 6-06 | 6.52 |
| 1 | 171 | Team Rank | Charleston Southern | ||
| 2 | 180 | Team Rank | Gardner Webb | ||
| 3 | 189 | Team Rank | NC Asheville | ||
| 4 | 210 | Team Rank | Coastal Carolina | ||
| 5 | 212 | Team Rank | High Point | ||
| 6 | 268 | Team Rank | Winthrop | ||
| 7 | 282 | Team Rank | Liberty | ||
| 8 | 284 | Team Rank | Virginia Military Inst |
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