2026 Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics
Format
Traditional bracket
Site
After spending March 2024 in High Point’s sparkling new Qubein Center, the Big South Tournament is set for a second consecutive trip to Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, home of the Southern Conference’s ETSU Buccaneers. Note that despite being in the Big South footprint, the league doesn’t currently have a member in the state.
Participants
All nine Big South members will participate.
Schedule
Downloadable PDF Bracket
TV/Streaming Info
ESPN+ ($) will stream all games before the championship.
First Round (Wed. 3/4)
Gm. 1: (9) Gardner-Webb (3-28, 1-15)
vs. (8) USC Upstate (13-18, 5-11), 7:30 Home split: Bulldogs 67-65 on 1/23 and Spartans 71-61 on 2/28.
Quarterfinals (Fri. 3/6)
Gm. 2: Gm. 1 winner vs. (1) High Point (27-4, 15-1), 12
Gm. 3: (7) Charleston Southern (15-16, 6-10) vs. (2) Winthrop (21-10, 13-3), 2:30*
Home split: Eagles 81-77 on 1/7 and Pirates 86-84 on 2/26.
Gm. 4: (5) Longwood (16-15, 8-8) vs. (4) UNC Asheville (14-16, 8-8), 6
The Bulldogs swept: 72-61 (home) on 1/7 and 79-74 (away) on 2/12.
Gm. 5: (6) Presbyterian (14-17, 7-9) vs. (3) Radford (16-15, 9-7), 8:30*
The Highlanders swept: 80-61 (home) on 1/7 and 93-84 (2OT) (away) on 1/31.
Semifinals (Sat. 3/7)
Gm. 6: Gm. 2 winner vs. Gm. 4 winner, 12
Gm. 7: Gm. 3 winner vs. Gm. 5 winner, 2:30*
Championship (Sun. 3/8)
Gm. 8: Semifinal winners, 12 (ESPN2)
Mayhem Potential
Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter in 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.
Up until 2020, the top two seeds hadn’t seen sustained success in the Big South Tournament, Winthrop’s victories in 2020 and 2021, Longwood’s breakthrough in 2022, and UNCA’s 2023 win changed that up. While the Lancers interrupted that run by winning as a 5 seed in 2024, High Point’s inaugural conference title and NCAA bid gave the 1 seed a fourth title in five seasons.
- 1 seed (6): 2012, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
- 2 seed (3): 2014 (1 South), 2018, 2020
- 3 seed (2): 2011, 2015
- 4 seed (2): 2016, 2019
- 5 seed (1): 2024
- 9 seed (1): 2013 (5 North)
NCAA Seeding Record In The 68-Team Era
Years with an NCAA win are in bold.
- 12 seed (1): 2021
- 13 seed (2); 2017, 2025
- 14 seed (1); 2022
- 15 seed (2): 2016, 2023
- 16 seed (8): 2011 (First Four), 2012, 2013 (First Four), 2014, 2015, 2018 (First Four), 2019, 2024
High Point is just about to crack the NET Top 75. The Panthers are ranked 76th, 53 spots ahead of Winthrop, the second-ranked Big South team. Then, there’s a steep drop-off to the third-ranked squad, Charleston Southern, one of three league members ranked between 240 and 250. So, High Point would likely better last year’s seed by a line with a conference tournament title. The Eagles would likely be a 14 seed with a conference title, while any other potential is likely to be a 16 (a 15 if things break right elsewhere).
Last NCAA Tournament Appearances
High Point: 2025 (13 seed, 1st Round)
Longwood: 2024 (16 seed, 1st Round)
UNC Asheville: 2023 (15 seed, 1st Round)
Winthrop: 2021 (12 seed, 1st Round)—2020 Big South Tournament Champion
Gardner-Webb: 2019 (16 seed, 1st Round)
Radford: 2018 (16 seed, 1st Round)
Charleston Southern: 1997 (15 seed, 1st Round)
While seven of the Big South’s nine members have now reached the Division I Men’s NCAA Tournament, Presbyterian and USC Upstate still have not done so.
