Seedings Announced for 2023 Hercules Tires Women's Basketball Championship
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. The top six teams earned byes into the quarterfinals.
BRACKET
Regular-season champion
Gardner-Webb (18-0) completed the first 18-0 Big South season in league history -- men’s or women’s -- and is the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament for the first time since 2010 and second time overall. GWU has secured the Big South’s automatic bid to the WNIT should the Runnin’ Bulldogs not win the tournament.
High Point (13-5) is the No. 2 seed, followed by
Campbell (10-8) at No. 3.
Radford and
Presbyterian College tied for fourth-place at 9-9, and since the teams split the season series, the Highlanders’ victory over second-place High Point gave Radford the No. 4 seed, with the Blue Hose landing at No. 5. Defending Tournament Champion
Longwood (8-10) secured the sixth and final first round bye as the No. 6 seed.
USC Upstate and
UNC Asheville tied for seventh-place at 7-11, and since the teams split the season series, the Spartans’ 2-2 record vs. fourth-place Radford/Presbyterian gave Upstate the No. 7 seed, with the Bulldogs (1-3) landing at No. 8.
Winthrop (6-12) is the No. 9 seed, with
Charleston Southern (3-15) at No. 10. The four squads will open the tournament in the first round on Wednesday, March 1. No. 8 UNC Asheville will face No. 9 seed Winthrop at 12:00pm, followed by No. 7 USC Upstate vs. No. 10 Charleston Southern at 2:00pm.
The winners of Wednesday’s first round contests will advance to the Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2. No. 1 Gardner-Webb will play the winner of UNC Asheville/Winthrop at 11:30am, followed by No. 4 Radford vs. No. 5 Presbyterian at 2:00pm. No. 2 High Point meets the winner of USC Upstate/Charleston Southern at 6:00pm, with No. 3 Campbell vs. No. 6 Longwood concluding quarterfinal day at 8:00pm in a rematch of last year’s Championship Final. The semifinals will be Saturday, March 4 at 6:00pm and 8:00pm, with the Championship game on Sunday, March 5 scheduled for 6:00pm.
The 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Women’s Basketball Championship will be televised on ESPN+ Wednesday-through-Saturday, while Sunday’s Championship game will air live on ESPNU for the second consecutive year. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN Radio 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 – Wednesday, March 1 – ESPN+
Game 1: (8) UNC Asheville vs. (9) Winthrop, 12:00pm
Game 2: (7) USC Upstate vs. (10) Charleston Southern, 2:00pm
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 2 – ESPN+
Game 3: (1) Gardner-Webb vs. 8/9 winner, 11:30am (Education Day)
Game 4: (4) Radford vs. (5) Presbyterian, 2:00pm
Game 5: (2) High Point vs. 7/10 Winner, 6:00pm
Game 6: (3) Campbell vs. (6) Longwood, 8:00pm
Semifinals - Saturday, March 4 – ESPN+
Game 7: Semifinals – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6:00pm
Game 8: Semifinals – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8:00pm
Championship - Sunday, March 5 – ESPNU
Game 9: Championship – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6:00pm