Happy Track-iversary (Blog-iversary?)

It's a few days early by the calendar, but not by the event: it's the three-year anniversary for Big South SHOUT!

See, I'm writing this (in first-person no less--feels more appropriate) from the press deck of the Clemson University Indoor Track & Field facility, just like we did the very first official post of SHOUT in 2008. That first post, "Taking a LEAP," hit February 29th, 2008...making the "leap" a forced pun on the launch of the blog and the calendar's Leap Day...and it used the same clip art photo seen below...

The wheel keeps turning...that was my first stint streaming from the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships--and I'm now on my fourth. Back then the event was a joint meet held along with the Southern Conference. Since then, the SoCon and Big South have gone back to staging separate events (although on consecutive days), which greatly simplifies the process--as many events as we see in a meet like this, imagine even more sessions and double the athletes. Separate events means a little more in rent for each league, but a less hectic process. And of course, I'll be handling the video streaming for it all on the Big South Network again this year.

It's also the fourth year for the CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships, where I was last week...sweltering (and streaming of course) in the oppressive humidity in the otherwise very nice Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia. Those four years have been on the move--Huntersville-NC, Athens-GA, Knoxville-TN, and back to Athens-GA. Those three-day meets can drag at times, but you can't deny the skills of the student-athletes who come out and give their all--some very impressive displays in the pool and the diving well. They come to compete from four different conferences, none of which have their own championship events: Big South, SoCon, MEAC, and the Atlantic Sun. Big South news of note from the CCSA: Gardner-Webb had an impressive dual finish, taking second for the men and third for the women (congrats), and Liberty's women finished 6th--which is an impressive performance for a first-year program, making the upper half of the field.

Anyway, it's all part of the annual gauntlet of championships and travel: swimming, track, men's basketball, women's basketball (and board meetings) in consecutive weeks, after which we can fully embrace the spring sports...which have already begun. Such a busy time, but it's all part of the wheel that turns in collegiate athletics every year.

So Happy Blog-iversary, SHOUT fans, here's a SHOUT-out to you!
Yours truly,
Mark Bryant
Big South Conference

Retail Therapy? Economic Stimulus? Sure, Why Not...

Okay, here's the deal: most often we use this space to discuss issues/perspectives/events across the Big South Conference...but every so often we verge into "shameless plug" territory. And that's pretty much where we're going today-----wait, give it a chance!!!!

The Big South Online Store went up last year at admittedly sort of an awkward time for us; namely, in the middle of the baseball tournament, our calendar's final athletic event. Not ideal, no, but it allowed us to kick the tires and run some things along before the games resumed.

Well, now we have run most of the way around the calendar and baseball season is near its beginning while basketball approaches its dramatic conclusion, not to mention the several other sports that are active out there right now in the Big South. So I feel it is a good time not only to say that the Big South Store has what fans are looking for, but has a greater variety of styles and items across the board than you'll find anywhere else.

Yeah, I know, sounds like classic marketing hyperbole, right?
Except it's the truth.
I will concede that for any given school you may be able to find some close options out there if you look hard enough, but not likely all in one place (Coastal is obviously one, since they use the same vendor, so the selection is an EXACT match), but only one place has such a tremendous array of goods to pick from for ALL Big South schools, as well as the Conference itself...and you can get there via BigSouthSports.com or BigSouthStore.com.

Need a Liberty Golf Bag?
...a VMI Parka?
...a Gardner-Webb Backpack?
...an Asheville Blanket?
...a Winthrop Cooler?
...a PC "Onesie"?
...a High Point Frame?
...a Coastal Camp Chair?
...a Radford Umbrella?
...a CSU Journal?
...or perhaps a Big South Stadium Chair?

Just examples, of course...and you can get any of those items for any of those schools, along with the classic assortment of t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, hats, magnets, decals, license plates, bags, pens, notebooks, golf accessories, desk items and various gift "stuff" that you're looking for.

Like I said, it's a pretty good place to shop...and right now there's even a special sale on magnets and decals, with 15% off, but only for another few days after this posting.

The Big South Conference thanks and salutes its partners at Advanced-Online with a big SHOUT-out for making an Online Store we could all be proud of--and we know it's just going to keep getting better!

So that's it, folks. I'm unplugging the plug for now. We'll get back into the hoops talk and ramping up baseball season, etc., soon enough...but until then, go get the stuff to dress the part for your role as a Big South fan. Cool? Cool. Till next time, that's SHOUT -- out.

Tier System?

Under the current format of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Men's Basketball Championship, used for the past few seasons, there wind up being three races at once in the Conference standings, and this year is no different.

At the top, it's obviously been a two-horse race all season, although one of those thoroughbreds is clearly up a length now. Coastal Carolina and Liberty have been the top of the heap throughout league play, with the Chanticleers sporting the edge and the Flames managing to keep pace right behind. Well, last night CCU held off a late LU charge to complete the season sweep of the challenger, thereby giving the Chants a two-game lead in the standings plus a tiebreaker edge over the Flames, with just six Conference games remaining in the regular season. With the Coastal win streak now at 19 games, it's a legitimate time to ask if the run has an end, and where it will fall.

Surely it could go down as soon as Saturday, with VMI running and gunning at CCU. Fail to keep up with the pace or fail to hit your shots when you have the chance, and you're in trouble against the Keydets. That said, VMI has continued its habits of scoring 90 and giving up 100--defense is largely a non-factor in those high velocity contests. But one should note the Chants haven't lost at home this season to anyone. Down the schedule, we see at PC, at Winthrop (now THAT could be interesting, given the grudge match between those rivals), vs. GWU, vs. NC Central, vs. Asheville, at CSU, and then the tournament. If Coastal CAN keep this momentum running, they could be as strong as 28-2 riding a 26 game streak when March arrives and CCU hosts championship play. Surely any team can win any night, and all this could be moot in short order, but the speculation is intriguing. If, and I mean IF, Coastal runs the table, one would have to favor them to win three home games for the Conference Championship--and then what happens in terms of NCAA seeding? The record and the win streak would be wildly impressive, the RPI given a generally weaker out-of-conference schedule would not.

In any case, that's putting a number of carts before their respective horses, no doubt about it.

After all, let's look at Liberty--they've beaten all Big South comers save one...LU has lost only two Conference games, both to Coastal Carolina. You have to like THEIR chances to advance in the tourney, possibly to a final against CCU. Can the same team win the head-to-head match-up three times in one season? It has happened, but it's a tall order. The Flames' faithful know they have a beautiful chance to play spoiler in much the same way that Coastal's much-hated rival Winthrop did one year ago, knocking off the regular season champs on their own floor.

So the captivating race and rivalry at the top is one drama playing itself out in front of us...and with FOUR teams hosting first round games, the next race then comes into play. If you can't be numero uno, you really, really want to be in the top four. As of this writing, with Coastal at 12-0 and Liberty at 10-2, those teams pretty well have one and two locked down--because the next squads are at least three games behind second place!

The middle group could be considered as large as five teams fighting for two positions: Asheville and Charleston Southern have the lead of the moment, each with 7-5 records, followed by Winthrop, lurking on the perimeter at 6-6, and you can't yet count out VMI and HPU, holders of 5-7 marks, just two games off of the pace for hosting a game. There will still be plenty of shake-ups going on within that quintet for the remaining weeks of the season.

Okay, so two teams currently in the top tier, FIVE teams in the middle tier, leaving three currently in the bottom tier, yes? Now if you consider that those first two groups we discussed include seven teams, that takes up every slot but one in the tourney field, still set at eight. Of the three teams remaining, PC has the unfortunate distinction of being ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA division transition rules. The Blue Hose have been forced to be content with the role of spoiler from day one--they can't play for seeds, tournaments, or championships. So that leaves us with two teams scrapping for one spot: Gardner-Webb and Radford. It seems so hard in this light to think that Radford was the Big South Champion the season before last, falling to UNC in the NCAA's, but the Highlanders have not enjoyed much high ground this season. In fact, both RU and GWU have staggered out to 2-10 Conference records. The "winner" in this contest will have the distinction of (almost certainly) making a trip to Conway to meet Coastal Carolina...some reward...but still, "that's why they play the games," right? It's not as if the team left out gets a better draft pick--you might as well be pushing for greatness. Win the right games at the right times and big things happen--the beauty of the college hoops Cinderella stories.

Make sense? So as you're watching the MBB standings in the Big South, remember the three races at stake: the top one, top four, and top eight positions. If you keep those in mind, you'll start seeing more intrigue, more on the line than before--trust me.

And finally, a huge SHOUT-out of support for our fans and friends facing the worst of the winter storms. Most of our region here is under merely cold rain, but beyond the borders of the Big South there are plenty of folks struggling with astonishing amounts of ice and snow--we send you our wishes for your safety and comfort through these difficult days!

Enjoy the upcoming games, everybody---------SHOUT, out.

Talkin' Baseball (?)...and Plenty More

Okay Big South peeps, this weekend still seems simple enough on its face: Conference match-ups for men's and women's basketball take center stage, right? Sure, but it's not that simple any more, certainly not beyond this weekend anyway.

Here's the deal--Saturday has a full line-up of men's hoops, with five games tipping off throughout the day, plus a quartet of women's games also hitting the court. But January is coming to a close and February is coming in fast, so those games get the most buzz right now, but it's just the tip of an athletics iceberg that will culminate with a parade of championships in the spring.

Put another way, the tennis teams are facing off against out-of-conference foes right now, while the golf teams are rolling out their tournaments, and, most notably, the indoor track and field squads are making lots of noise in various meets around the region. How much noise? Good enough for the men to make the USTFCCCA (it's the governing body, don't worry about the alphabet soup, just go with it) top ten for ALL conferences in the country! The Big South ranked eighth, coming in behind only the six large power/BCS leagues, plus the Mountain West Conference.

Is that all, you ask? Well, noooo...although not under the "Big South Sports" umbrella, don't forget about the wrestling competition happening out there right now for some schools (VMI, Liberty, and GWU all wrestle...catch the VMI-Citadel competition streaming tonight on the Big South Network). Then there's the swimming and diving, which has been growing, with Liberty joining GWU, VMI, and Radford in the pool. All have been actively competing and await the CCSA Championships in February, featuring the swimming schools from four regional conferences that do not have enough participants to stage their own individual championship meets.

And then there's this...baseball and softball practice. Seriously, the ball-and-bat sports will hit their respective diamonds soon, and there's a sizable and eager fan base waiting for play to begin. The preseason polls were released this last week, and it probably does not shock anyone following the sports to see that Coastal Carolina had the nod for tops in baseball and Radford the same for softball. In fact, both are getting a little national attention as well.

For baseball, Coastal not only won the top spot in the coaches' vote, but did so unanimously! The Chants will start the season ranked 24th nationally, and will be watched closely to see how they follow last year's Super Regional finish. For softball, Radford will not begin ranked, but the Highlanders have votes in the national preseason polls, so they are not far off the radar.

Interestingly enough, Liberty lurks just behind the leaders in both sports in the preseason count. The Flames matched CCU baseball's unanimous first-place prediction by collecting a unanimous set of second-place votes. It seems clear that the Big South's baseball skippers agree that the 2011 season begins where the 2010 season left off: with Coastal ruling the roost but Liberty burning it up right behind. It wasn't unanimous for softball, but it was nearly as decisive, as the softball coaches made the Radford-Liberty duo a clear one-two.

For those already wanting to get their hands on for spring streaming packages on the Big South Network (presented by State Farm), good news: those packages will be available starting February 1st at BigSouthSports.com. Individual games will be available for order soon after that.


Okay, okay, let's get back to the whole HOOPS thing!

Opposite poles? Matter and anti-matter? Call it what you like, but the still blistering-hot Coastal Carolina Chanticleers play at ice-cold Radford Saturday. It's the upset of the year within the Conference if the 1-9 Highlanders stop the 10-0 Chants and their 17-game win streak, "but that's why they play the games"...

As amazing as the Coastal run has been (and it has been stellar), don't overlook the fact that the Liberty Flames have paced CCU every step of the way. The only loss for the 9-1 Flames was to Coastal Carolina, and it will be very interesting to see if that's still the case when these teams meet again: February 3rd in Conway. First, LU will have to dispatch a pesky GWU squad that has shown some resilience after a huge losing skid.

Other games for the men this weekend: Asheville at VMI -- two contenders trying to sort out the seeds behind the leaders, CSU at HPU -- Panthers trying to salvage a rougher season than expected vs. Buccaneers in that contender mix, and Winthrop at PC -- Eagles fighting for position and Blue Hose trying to play perpetual spoiler.

On the women's side, there are four Saturday games and four Monday games, but for the fans of recent Big South history and rivalry, there's only one game to watch for: Liberty at Gardner-Webb, Monday night (1/31, 7pm, on Big South Network). The Flames and Bulldogs are two of the three teams (along with RU) in a tight race for first, but that's just a bonus in what has become one of those rapidly intensifying rivalries...which tends to happen when you battle for the title a couple times, yeah? Conference competition at its best.

By the way, speaking of championships, did you know the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Basketball Championships have their own official Facebook page now? It's true. You now have a perfect companion to the Big South Facebook page (covering all Conference news) with the "Advance Championship" page, updating the races in the standings and the pursuit of records, plus the promotions, contests, events, and fans of Big South basketball. Go now and "like" both pages if you haven't already!

While I'm shilling, go follow us on Twitter, please...

For my final shameless plug, don't forget to browse through items at the Big South Online Store. If you haven't tried it yet, you will be surprised by the variety and quality of items available for you to order for your favorite school or for the Big South Conference. It's the best across-the-board merchandise for the Big South membership that you'll find anywhere--and right now (through the weekend), they're running a 15% discount special on personalized team basketball jerseys...go--what are you waiting for? After all, I'm done.

Have a good weekend, everybody...SHOUT--out.

Ice, Ice, Baby...Musings on the Week

First came the snow--hey, how nice, it's snowing...but then the ice, and more and more ice, all over the snow, and all freezing into a rink-like glaze over the world. That's how some stretches of Big South territory started this past work week...certainly that's how things got going (or not going) here at the home office in Charlotte, and in nearby Rock Hill (Winthrop) and Boiling Springs (GWU). Asheville of course got even more snow--and then another batch of snow. And so it went, as the early 2011 winter storm that paralyzed Atlanta for a week did its work across our region as well. The women's games scheduled for Monday wound up being played on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, as different schools addressed their area and travel needs in the most appropriate ways they could find.

So the weather stole its share of headlines, but there have certainly been stories from the sports side of the ledger as well. Let's run through some notes...

--Coastal Carolina narrowly beat Liberty last Saturday in the battle of men's basketball unbeatens, and since they each followed up by winning on Thursday, it remains a clear pair of teams at the top: the 6-0 Chanticleers and the 6-1 Flames. Again, watch for that rematch February 3rd in Conway.

--While those two duke it out for the important first seed and the right to host throughout the tournament, remember that the top four teams all host first round games, because that race (presumably for spots three and four, based on Coastal/Liberty so far) will also be a good one. After Thursday's games, SIX teams fit in the range from 4-2 (CSU) to 2-4 (PC/HPU), with marks of 3-3 (WU/ASHE) and 3-4 (VMI) for the teams in the middle. That's a pretty big pack of contenders for just two probable positions...should be fun.

--Those with attention to detail will note two teams didn't make the cut in the previous two items. Well, Radford and Gardner-Webb have both fallen to 1-5 records in the Big South, and it's going to take something big to turn these ships around now, because they have been running hard in the wrong direction. But here's the catch: since PC can't play in the postseason due to the NCAA terms of transition to DI, only one of these teams will be eliminated from the Conference Championship event. As one camper said to another, "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you." In other words, if one of these teams can slow that descent, they'll get their shot...mind you, that's likely on the road at the top seed, but beggars cannot be choosers in this situation.

--On the women's side, we have a chance at an early treat on Monday, but that will still depend on how things turn out Saturday. Two teams survived to 3-0 starts: Liberty and Radford. They are slated to meet on Monday the 17th, but you have to play one game at a time...RU faces Winthrop before that collision, while Liberty does not have a Big South game in the way (instead playing at Longwood this evening).

--Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb is just one game back of that undefeated duo, and will certainly contend, just as the Runnin' Bulldogs have done so well the last two seasons. Behind those top three teams, the WBB standings are as bunched up as they are in MBB, with four teams at 1-1 or 1-2 (WU/PC 1-1, HPU/CSU 1-2). Two teams still seek Conference win number one: CCU at 0-2 and Asheville at 0-3.

I enjoyed taking part in the Big South's first basketball game to be available exclusively on ESPN3.com last night. Liberty won by six at High Point, and I had the good fortune to be on play-by-play (I'm Mark Bryant, for those who don't know the name behind SHOUT), along with Nate Ross as analyst. Nate has been a frequent broadcast partner in both football and basketball, and it's a pleasure working with him--particularly when we get good material to work with, as we did at the Millis Center. Sure, it was really low scoring for a while, and Liberty led most of the way, but the HPU comeback and the excitement of the late second half made for a good payback after the sluggish start. Fun stuff.

Gotta roll on to other things now, but I hope this post has helped update you on the early layout of the Conference races and put the upcoming games in context. Should be a great weekend--get out to a game if you can, or catch the live video streams on the Big South Network if you can't attend in person. Enjoy! SHOUT...out.

Here We Go!

Okay, people, it's 2011, so grab your hoverboards and head on over to catch some hoops.
What?
Sorry, my mistake...we get the hoverboards in 2015...use your jetpacks instead.
Hmm?
Never mind then, I thought this was the future...Happy New Year!

So instead, let's deal with the present, and it's a pretty good one for Big South basketball observers, with Conference play in full swing and plenty of good games out there. It's not perfect, at least not for most teams, but few things are, so let's give a look to life in men's basketball across the Big South right now (we have enough of a barometer to read tendencies on the men's side, but the women have only played one Conference game so far, so we'll save that talk for another day).

I mentioned the word "perfect", and that aptly describes the undefeated starts for Liberty (5-0) and Coastal Carolina (4-0). How timely, then, that these two teams collide Saturday evening! The overall Coastal win streak has climbed to an impressive eleven games and a total record of 12-2 this season. For the Chants, Desmond Holloway has scored at least 13 points in every game this season, the only player in the Big South to have double-digit points every time his team has taken the floor. There's a pretty good amount of talent and depth happening for Coach Cliff Ellis in Conway, and CCU has earned the attention increasingly pointed that way.

Meanwhile, Coach Dale Layer has Liberty exceeding expectations at this point, and anxious to keep his Flames red hot. Solid defense and teamwork have gone along with strong performances at home and on neutral floors (9-1), although the road record could use a little work (2-5). Clutch play from junior guard Jesse Sanders helped last week--now we'll see if he will have the right shot at the right time with the Chants in the building.

Those two teams are the unquestioned top two--and although general appearances make Coastal seem the stronger squad and likely to keep on rolling, it would not be surprising to see Liberty eke out a win in Lynchburg. Whether they do that or not, the Flames had better be prepared for a furious challenge when they meet again in Conway in February!

After the top two, the standings and relative power rankings actually get kind of murky for a while...

Perennial contender Winthrop? Lurking, of course, and always a threat come the tournament, but the Eagles just lost badly on the home floor to Asheville on the heels of a weak offensive showing against PC (that nonetheless netted a victory thanks to Coach Randy Peele's "grind it out" approach to the game). Still, this is a team that knows when to peak, and the answer is not January.

And what about that aforementioned PC squad? Pulling down road wins against Auburn and Wake Forest in the same week remains quite the feat, but what have you done lately, Blue Hose? Up and down performances have brought PC to 2-2 in the Big South and 8-8 overall: they're treading water in another year of waiting for full Division I status. No, they won't be a problem for anyone in the tourney because they can't go, but with the mix of talent and experience they do have, the Blue Hose could be a heckuva spoiler for someone along the way.

So you like lots of points? Then it's time to look at VMI, because once again, the Keydets are scorching scoreboards...on both sides. Yes, a familiar problem--score 87, but give up 109. That's what happened when Coastal came to town. Some teams will go with the flow and others will be swept under, but the familiar pattern of "score a lot, give up more" continues in Lexington. The Keydets have a dangerous team when the shots are falling, and one that often makes for entertaining games, but it is uncertain when everything will come together for that elusive title run for Coach Duggar Baucom.

Speaking of living and dying by your shooting percentages, it's time to talk about Charleston Southern. When senior guard Jamarco Warren and company have the threes raining in from all over the floor, watch out; but when the shots aren't falling, life gets tough for the Buccaneers. So, like VMI, they're a tough out on any given night, but the right defense against them might just make all the difference, just by impacting shot selection and opportunity.

It's finally time to touch on High Point. The Panthers have not found any sort of rhythm this season, nor has Big South Preseason Player of the Year Nick Barbour. Losing the last two Conference games on the road and the last four overall have not helped matters for HPU. This is a team needing a win and needing it soon...surely the Panthers are anxious for Saturday's game at winless Radford.

Beaten Bulldogs? UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb have had injury struggles dominate their storylines so far this season. For Asheville, it's been a roller coaster that could still see the team contend with enough healthy bodies...but for Gardner-Webb, once leading scorer Jon Moore (out indefinitely) went down, things went south. GWU has now lost seven straight.

Finally, let's touch on Radford...here's a team that finished 2008-09 as Big South Champion in the NCAA Tournament, opened 2009-10 as a Conference favorite by many, ended last season with a relatively disappointing finish, and has skidded this year to an 0-4 start in Big South games, holding last place in many team stat categories. It's just not pretty for the Highlanders right now.

So there you have it, the quick rundown of what's out there right now for Big South men's basketball. The beauty of it all, of course, is that things can change so fast in this Conference, so what holds this week may not resemble what we're looking at next week, or next month...fun, isn't it?

Lineup for Saturday, January 8th:
CSU at VMI, 1pm
CCU at Liberty, 6pm
GWU at Winthrop, 7pm
HPU at Radford, 7pm
Asheville at PC, 7:30pm.

CATCH THE GAMES ON THE BIG SOUTH NETWORK!

That's enough for me...have a great weekend--get out to one of the games if you can, or watch on the Big South Network, OR catch updates from BigSouthSports.com or our Twitter or Facebook pages! SHOUT--out.

Presents & Presence

I'm going to get today's entry started with a shameless plug, then get into the hoops and such after that...here goes:

TEN DAYS until Christmas--and you still have time to get Big South gear from our online store. Visit BigSouthStore.com (or link from BigSouthSports.com) for more details. Yes, that would mean expedited shipping, but it can be done...if you're not feeling as time-sensitive, don't worry about Christmas delivery, just start thinking about Conference play for basketball rolling out as we bid 2010 farewell and work our way into 2011. You'll want to look the part, so take advantage of the basketball jersey sale happening now at BigSouthStore.com through January 2nd.

I know I'm shilling here, but trust me--you're not going to find all this stuff for all these schools and the Big South Conference in one place anywhere else. This store, done in partnership with Advanced-Online, is the best selection the Big South has anywhere--or has ever had, for that matter, so pay a visit and pick up what you need for gifts, for games, for good times ahead. Enjoy!

Okay, okay, enough of that. Hopefully you sat through my little commercial and didn't just zap past it--I'm telling you, it's worth a look. Anyway....

We salute some of the Big South alums doing big things recently in the professional ranks:
-- Mike Tolbert (Coastal Carolina) of the Chargers, scoring TDs, blasting past people, and making himself more indispensable to San Diego every week.
-- Rashad Jennings (Liberty) of the Jaguars, taking one long distance for a score last week and getting more carries in the Jacksonville mix with superstar Maurice Jones-Drew.
-- Reggie Williams (VMI) of the Warriors, who has gone from last year's D-League call-up to this year's important role player and starter as needed for Golden State.
-- Dustin Johnson (Coastal) of the PGA, who has had an incredible year altogether, but just last week added a win in the Shark Shootout, paired with Ian Poulter in the scramble tournament.

Speaking of big-time success, how about Coastal Carolina getting a big overtime win against LSU in Baton Rouge? Yes, it's true, and the Big South can now claim a pair of SEC wins (Asheville-Auburn, Coastal-LSU), along with one in the ACC (Winthrop-Wake) this year. Fairly impressive, and hopefully something the Conference can build on for RPI purposes going forward. Meanwhile, where does USA Today get off referring to "tiny Coastal Carolina" in its write-up? Small, sure--all our schools would be compared to Louisiana State--but that word choice makes it sound a bit like a one-room schoolhouse, doesn't it? I would say all of our schools deserve a little better than that, but I'm at the Conference office, so it may be natural to get defensive on points of that type.

Okay, enough selling, enough ranting--I'm moving on...until next time: SHOUT -- out.

Hoops Time...& a Fall-Out Review

Ah, yes, let's tip this thing off for real today.
But, you say, "The season started weeks ago."
True.
Yet it's so hard to gauge what should be learned from a combination of road games against superior opposition and home games against weaker opponents. Sure, it's not ALL that, but it's generally the case that Big South teams spend a lot of time in November going out to major conference foes and bringing in lower level squads. The results are predictable, but not absolute: on the men's side, Asheville started out by beating Auburn and Winthrop knocked off Wake Forest, while on the women's side, there were some disappointing losses to very small visiting schools...let's not bother with those details, too depressing.

So why get excited now?
Because tonight (Thursday) there are four Big South Conference games for the men, with another five coming on Saturday. If you're wondering about the math, that's two games for eight members this week, with two teams only getting one game (CCU & CSU).

Yes, Conference games.
The unquestionable peer-to-peer measuring stick, when we'll be able to get a clearer picture of what we might expect down the road. Obviously the league schedule does not begin in earnest until we're ready to bid farewell to 2010 and swing into 2011, but the games of early December will count just as much, so they'd better be ready for them!

Here's the schedule:
Dec. 2nd...
Gardner-Webb at High Point,
PC at Liberty,
UNC Asheville at Radford,
Winthrop at VMI...I do like this one in particular--the "grind it out" defense of Winthrop and the "run and gun" offense of VMI--you figure something's gotta give...

Dec. 4th...
PC at VMI,
CSU at Coastal,
GWU at Radford,
Asheville at HPU,
Winthrop at Liberty.

From there, it's a couple light weeks to get through the month and the holidays, but get fired up again for New Year's Eve and the roller coaster ride that follows, with the full regular slate of Big South Conference games--and that applies to the women in January as well.

For those who live for the hoops side of things, this is the start of--as the song says--"the most wonderful time of the year."

If you're looking for more on the early part of the men's season, you can find our check-in with "Rush the Court" here.


RECAP TIME
Yes, so SHOUT has been quiet recently, but let's fix that and get caught up with a quick review of what the fall sports brought us this season...

Cross Country -- championship-wise, it was another sweep of the Men's & Women's Championships by the Liberty Flames. No one was surprised to see Liberty's Sam Chelanga run away with the individual title again for the Big South...just as you couldn't be too surprised to see Chelanga cross the line as the individual National Champion--a back-to-back winner of the NCAA title! Our congratulations and appreciation for Sam's accomplishments truly runneth over...he is simply the best. Factor in Josh McDougal's win in the event a few years ago and the Flames have produced three of the last four Men's Cross Country National Champions!

Women's Soccer -- would you believe a FIVE-way tie for the regular season title? Yeah, seriously. So tiebreakers sorted out the seeding among a pool of virtual equals, and when the dust settled, the High Point Panthers had made it as back-to-back Big South Champions (the highlight of which was the golden goal bicycle kick in the final by Jillie Johnston). HPU then fell to Maryland in the NCAA First Round.

Men's Soccer -- speaking of High Point, the men's squad for the Panthers roared through the year with a fast, high-scoring attack, going undefeated against Conference foes all the way to the Championship's final game...and that's when they got tripped up: Coastal Carolina took the title, downing HPU 3-1. Coastal then lost at Duke in the NCAA First Round.

Volleyball -- another tight battle through the season played its way into the Big South Championship, and the tournament had its own plot twists--this time favoring the Panthers in the final. High Point stunned top seed Liberty by rapidly sweeping the Flames in the final match. LU may have been exhausted from a five-setter over host Winthrop the night before, but whatever the reason, HPU is the survivor...and the final chapter there has not yet been written, as the Panthers play at Duke (them again?) on Friday to start NCAA play.

Football -- we've mentioned tiebreakers and twists from other sports, but football definitely had its share and then some. With the Big South's first-ever Automatic Qualification entry to the NCAA FCS Playoffs on the line, the whole year came down to the last two games on the last day of the regular season. Stony Brook and Liberty dominated Big South play out of the gate and lasted as undefeated most of the way...but Coastal Carolina found itself mid-season and started an amazing push. The Chants lost to SBU early, seemingly part of the tailor-made set-up for a clash between the Seawolves and the Flames in the end, but everything changed when Coastal Carolina upset Liberty later in the year.

Suddenly a very real possibility existed for a three-way tie at the top among those schools...all would share the regular season title, but who would get the AQ? If Liberty beat Stony Brook, the head-to-head match-ups would only lead in a circle (A beat B beat C beat A, etc.), so no winner...and comparing records against the remaining teams would also not matter, as they all beat everyone else...meaning that the tiebreaker would come down to fewest points allowed in Big South games, a test of relative defensive strength.

So to the final week we go, SBU seemingly holding all the cards--win and in, no ties to break...and even if they lost, they had a cushion of about 40 points in the tiebreaker. Get ready for the playoffs? The answer was a two-part resounding NO. First Coastal obliterated Charleston Southern 70-3 (interestingly enough, only the "3" matters, as it was irrelevant how many points Coastal scored on CSU...the whole point of the defensive tiebreaker was to attempt to avoid running up the score...tiny bit of irony there, as you'll see). In doing that, the Chants actually knocked Liberty out of the running for the AQ just as the Flames began their own game. How? Because LU entered the day four points behind CCU in the tiebreaker and CCU only surrendered three! Unless the Flames figured out how to put SBU in negative numbers, Liberty was already done. For Coastal, the issue became one of hoping for two more things: Liberty winning, and doing so with 42 or more points on the board. And again, all SBU needed was the win--making everything else immaterial. So what happened? Of course, the wild scenario played out--in a game breaking a number of offensive records (both for Liberty and the Big South), the Flames defeated Stony Brook 54-28 -- pandemonium!

Summing up: three teams shared the Big South Conference Football Championship, but when the tiebreakers sorted out the one team receiving the automatic bid, that went to Coastal Carolina. From there, the good news was that CCU got to host the opening game...the bad news was that the Chants fell 17-10 to Western Illinois (who will play next at App. State). Also unfortunate was that Liberty once again was denied an at-large bid to the playoffs. The Flames can claim all or part of four straight Big South titles now, but regrettably no trips to the postseason for all that success.

Okay, so those are the soap operas of the fall, wrapped up for you in one wordy package.
If you hadn't guessed by the mentions above, the fall Sasser Cup leader (standings for all sports) is High Point. HPU has never won the Sasser Cup, but the fall was certainly a good start. Liberty and Coastal (who have each won multiple Sasser Cups over the years) sit in second and third, so watch out, Panthers. That same 1-2-3 order held at the top of the rankings for the men's, women's, and overall standings.

OKAY, time now to ramp up your hoops attention, if you have not done so already.

Enjoy the games, and remember this thought: Thanksgiving should not be the only time for giving thanks, and Christmas should not be the only time for peace on earth and goodwill. Make the most of your holidays, everyone--may they be happy and safe for all. And Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating this week (it came early this year)!

That's all (that's plenty) for today...SHOUT--out!!!