CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) — The seedings and pairings for next week’s Hercules Tires Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C., have been determined following the conclusion of the conference’s regular-season schedule this evening. Seedings were determined by a Conference-developed Ranking Index Formula (RIF) with league winning percentage weighted at 75 percent and the percent of conference games played at 25 percent to address any partial team schedules not played to due COVID pauses or no contests. The top four teams earned byes into the quarterfinals.
Campbell and Longwood finished as regular-season co-champions at 15-3 (.875 RIF), and the Camels secured the No. 1 seed with its season sweep of the No. 2-seeded Lancers. It is Campbell’s second regular-season title in three seasons, while Longwood’s share of the crown is its first since becoming Big South members in 2012-13. USC Upstate (14-4, .833 RIF) locked in the No. 3 seed — the Spartans’ highest finish and seeding in their four seasons as Big South members. Gardner-Webb and High Point tied for fourth in the standings at 13-5 (.792 RIF), and the Runnin’ Bulldogs claimed the No. 4 seed with its season sweep of the Panthers.
High Point will open its Big South title defense as the No. 5 seed, while North Carolina A&T (11-7, .708 RIF) is the No. 6 seed. Hampton (8-9, .589 RIF) is the No. 7 seed, followed by Presbyterian (6-12, .500 RIF) at No. 8 and Winthrop (4-14, .417 RIF) at No. 9. Radford and UNC Asheville tied for 10th at 3-15 (.375 RIF), and as the teams split the season series, the Highlanders’ victory over Winthrop was the tiebreaker that gave Radford the No. 10 seed. Following the 11th-seeded Asheville Bulldogs is Charleston Southern (2-15, .324 RIF) at No. 12.
First round action begins Tuesday, March 1 at 12:00 pm with No. 8 Presbyterian vs. No. 9 Winthrop, followed by No. 5 High Point vs. No. 12 Charleston Southern at 2:00 pm. No. 7 Hampton meets No. 10 Radford at 6:00 pm, with No. 6 North Carolina A&T vs. No. 11 UNC Asheville concluding the day at 8:00 pm. The winners of each first round contest advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal round, which begin at 12:00 pm with No. 1 Campbell facing the winner of Presbyterian/Winthrop, followed by No. 4 Gardner-Webb playing the winner of High Point/Charleston Southern at 2:00 pm. The 6:00 pm game will feature No. 2 Longwood vs. the winner of Hampton/Radford, with No. 3 USC Upstate against the winner of North Carolina A&T/UNC Asheville at 8:00 pm. The semifinals will be Saturday, March 5 at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, with the Championship game on Sunday, March 6 scheduled for 8:30 pm.
The 2022 Hercules Tires Big South Women’s Basketball Championship will be televised on ESPN+ Tuesday-through-Saturday, while Sunday’s Championship game will air live on ESPNU — the first national TV broadcast of the Big South women’s final. The game will also be broadcast on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 in Charlotte. The Big South’s Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Conference Championship schedule is below, and tickets are available at www.BigSouthSports.com/CLTChamps.
First Round — Tuesday, March 1 — ESPN+
Game 1: (8) Presbyterian vs. (9) Winthrop, 12:00pm
Game 2: (5) High Point vs. (12) Charleston Southern, 2:00pm
Game 3: (7) Hampton vs. (10) Radford, 6:00pm
Game 4: (6) North Carolina A&T vs. (11) UNC Asheville, 8:00pm
Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 3 — ESPN+
Game 5: (1) Campbell vs. 8/9 winner, 12:00pm
Game 6: (4) Gardner-Webb vs. 5/12 winner, 2:00pm
Game 7: (2) Longwood vs. 7/10 Winner, 6:00pm
Game 8: (3) USC Upstate vs. 6/11 Winner, 8:00pm
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 — ESPN+
Game 9: Semifinals — Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6:00pm
Game 10: Semifinals — Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:00pm
Championship – Sunday, March 6 — ESPNU
Game 11: Championship — Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 8:30pm