Big South Power Rankings: Telling Week Ahead

Week 2 of Big South action is in the books and only two teams are left undefeated while one team is still searching for their first win.

1. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (13-3, 2-0, LW 1): Longwood had Coastal Carolina on the ropes a bit on Wednesday but the Chanticleers pulled away in the final minute for a 76-70 victory. They then followed that up by dismantling Liberty on the road. The Chants have a spread out week as they visit Campbell on Monday, in a game that will be on ESPN3, before a Saturday clash with Gardner-Webb.

2. UNC Asheville Bulldogs (7-7, 3-0, LW 2): It was a pretty easy week in Asheville as the Bulldogs only had one game and that was against Liberty in a 71-54 win. Things heat up this week with Winthrop coming to visit before a stretch where the Bulldogs will play four of five on the road. It'll be interesting to see where UNCA is when we turn the page to February.

3. Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (11-6, 3-1, LW 7): After losing to Asheville, Tyrell Nelson, Jerome Hill, and Tyler Strange slipped back into domination mode taking down Radford by three and Winthrop by one. Nothing came easy for the Bulldogs last week and now they'll a very tough week with High Point at home and a trip to Coastal Carolina.

4. High Point Panthers (12-4, 3-1, LW 3): High Point took care of business in a bit of a soft stretch at home but will have a big road trip Wednesday to Boiling Springs to take on Gardner-Webb. John Brown versus Jerome Hill and Tyrell Nelson may be a must watch on Wednesday night.

5. Winthrop Eagles (7-8, 2-2, LW 4): This team just has to be mentally exhausted. After playing in two overtime games last week, the Eagles split this week in two one point affairs. There will be no time to breath as they head to Asheville this Wednesday before hosting Radford on Saturday.

6. Charleston Southern Buccaneers (8-7, 2-2, LW 5): The Bucs won their two games in the Buc Dome against Campbell and a short-handed Longwood squad but got dominated by High Point on the road. This team could climb to 4-2 after this week with match ups against Liberty and Presbyterian.

7. Longwood Lancers (5-12, 1-3 LW 6): Longwood finally finished up a brutal opening stretch and will be rewarded with home games against Presbyterian and Liberty this week. The Lancers challenged Coastal on Wednesday with Shaquille Johnson battling illness, but fell apart at Charleston Southern when Lotanna Nwogbo went out with an thumb injury. If Longwood wants to get back to .500 in conference play then they'll need the big man to get healthy.

8. Radford Highlanders (10-7, 1-3, LW 8): Presbyterian at home was the cure that Mike Jones needed to get his Highlanders their first conference win after dropping to Gardner-Webb in yet another overtime affair. Javonte Green and company are still going to have to claw their way back into the conference mix with a pair of road games at Campbell and Winthrop this week.

9. Campbell Fighting Camels (7-9, 1-2, LW 9): Campbell will play catch up this week with three games on their slate starting with Coastal Carolina on Monday night. The good news is that all three games are at home for the Camels. If this team is going to be a factory in the Big South then they'll need to show it at home this week against Coastal, Radford, and Asheville.

10. Presbyterian Blue Hose (5-12, 1-3, LW 10): The Blue Hose really battled Winthrop hard this week but came up just a point short. They then got beat down at Radford and will stay in the Commonwealth for a Wednesday match up at Longwood. Keep an eye out on the Hose because they could be a factor night in and night out if they play as hard as they did against the Eagles.

11. Liberty Flames (6-11, 0-4): Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the Flames, starting guard Joe Retic breaks his foot and now Liberty embarks on a stretch of three of the next four games away from the Vines Center. The Flames will head to Charleston on Wednesday before making the short trip to Willett Hall at Longwood where Libery is 0-13 all-time.