Big South Power Rankings: Bucs Running the Ship

1. Charleston Southern (16-10,11-3): The Buccaneers grabbed at least a share of the South Division title by thumping Presbyterian and VMI. Star guard Saah Nimley sat out both the VMI game and the Buc's Bracketbuster loss at Rider. Nimley should be back for Charleston Southern's showdown with Gardner-Webb on Wednesday though.

Last Week: W 72-54 vs Presbyterian, W 92-69 vs VMI, L 62-54 at Rider
This Week: 2/27 @ Gardner-Webb, 3/2 vs Coastal Carolina

2. Gardner-Webb (18-11,9-5): The Bulldogs have won five in a row and had the conference's biggest Bracketbusters win when they took down Charleston on the road Saturday. GWU now gets a shot a division leading Charleston Southern, which should act as a good gauge for Chris Holtmann's squad going into the conference tournament.

Last Week: W 65-52 vs Winthrop, W 55-52 at Charleston
This Week: 2/27 vs Charleston Southern, 3/2 vs Presbyterian

3. High Point (16-11,11-3): High Point got derailed a bit with a Bracketbuster loss to Morgan State at home, but the Panthers have won seven in a row in conference and have a firm grip on the North Division. HPU will get to close the season at home as they cruise to Myrtle Beach.

Last Week: W 78-67 at VMI, L 75-68 vs Morgan State
This Week: 2/27 vs Radford, 3/2 vs Campbell

4. Coastal Carolina (13-13,8-6): The second seed in the South Division is still up for grabs and the Chanticleers stepped closer to getting it with a big win over UNC Asheville this past week. Anthony Raffa is now averaging 19 points per game and if the Chants are going to close out the season strong then they'll continue to need production from the sharpshooting guard.

Last Week: W 65-64 vs UNC Asheville, L 80-70 at Western Carolina.
This Week: 2/27 vs Winthrop, 3/2 at Charleston Southern

5. UNC Asheville (15-14,9-5): Eddie Biedenbach's squad is in free-fall losing four straight. The Bulldogs woes seem to stem on offense, where they are averaging just 66 points per game over that stretch. Luckily, Presbyterian comes to town to get the Bulldogs back on track. UNC-A still can grab the two seed and a bye with a solid last week in the regular season.

Last Week: L 65-64 at Coastal Carolina, L 71-69 vs Jacksonville State
This Week: 2/27 vs Presbyterian, 3/2 at Winthrop

6. Campbell (12-17,7-7): Trey Freeman continues to put the Camels on his back with a 21 point performance in a win over Radford. Campbell seems to have gotten things back on track just in time to lock up the two seed in the North Division. They'll need to take down a scrappy Longwood team with a road trip to High Point looming.

Last Week: W 72-66 at Radford, L 69-63 vs Savannah State
This Week: 2/27 vs Longwood, 3/2 at High Point

7. Winthrop (12-15, 5-9): Pat Kelsey's squad was one of the few successful ones in Bracketbusters. The Eagles took down Southeastern Louisiana in a game that could build some confidence heading into the conference tournament.

Last Week: L 65-52 at Gardner-Webb, W 66-52 vs Southeastern Louisiana
This Week: 2/27 at Coastal Carolina, 3/2 vs UNC Asheville

8. Radford (12-17,6-8): Mike Jones has a young and deep squad, but a this point it could be better to tighten up his rotation. The Highlanders have now lost three straight and six out of their last eight. Despite their recent struggles, the Highs can get back to .500 in conference play and grab the two seed with a successful week and a little help.

Last Week: L 72-66 vs Campbell, L 65-57 (OT) at Siena
This Week: 2/27 at High Point, 3/2 vs Liberty

9. Liberty (10-19,5-9): It was an up and down week for the Flames. Liberty lost a 102-101 thriller against rival Longwood despite an admiral comeback. Dale Layer's squad rebounded with a Bracketbuster win over Austin Peay.

The Flames don't really have a shot at the North Division bye, but with two in-state opponents this week Liberty could build some much-needed confidence.

Last Week: L 102-101 at Longwood, W 79-73 vs Austin Peay
This Week: 2/27 vs VMI, 3/2 at Radford

10. VMI Keydets (11-16,6-8): We mentioned last week how VMI's conference record was a bit of a false positive. Duggar Baucom's squad is in the tank with two double-digit losses in conference last week and a 38 point beat-down against Marist. The Keydets need to get their act together with two games against in-state rivals this week.

Last Week: L 78-67 vs High Point, L 92-67 at Charleston Southern, L 112-74 at Marist
This Week: 2/27 at Liberty, 3/2 vs Longwood

11. Presbyterian (8-21,4-10): The Blue Hose continues to be a tough out this time a year and could play spoiler the rest of the way. PC did get a solid win over The Citadel in Bracketbusters.

Last Week: L 72-54 at Charleston Southern, W 68-64 vs The Citadel
This Week: 2/27 at UNC Asheville, 3/2 at Gardner-Webb

12. Longwood (6-23,3-11): The Lancers looked like they were going to turn the corner after big wins over Radford and Liberty, but late game woes once again came into play in a Bracketbusters loss at UT-Martin. Mike Gillian is very much on the hot seat and may need a road win this week to save his job. Tristan Carey might be the guy to get another win, as he's scored 94 points in the last three games.

Last Week: W 102-101 vs Liberty, L 89-79 at UT-Martin
This Week: 2/27 at Campbell, 3/2 at VMI