The Charleston Southern Buccaneers and the High Point Panthers meet Wednesday in Big South Tournament college basketball action from Bojangles’ Coliseum. Charleston Southern finished the regular season at 9-20 overall. The Buccaneers beat Presbyterian in their last outing. As for High Point, they’re 14-16 after a loss to Winthrop on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
Charleston Southern hit an 8-14 run through their first 22 games this year. In the seven outings since then the Buccaneers lost to High Point, USC Upstate, Radford, Campbell, Winthrop and UNC Asheville before a win over Presbyterian.
In the Presbyterian matchup on Saturday, the Buccaneers posted a 45-27 edge in the first half. Charleston Southern hit a 40-32 run from there and won it 85-59. Tahlik Chavez led the team on 19 points with four assists.
High Point Panthers
Over on the High Point side, they hit a 10-12 run in their first 22 outings. The Panthers are 4-4 in the last eight with wins over Charleston Southern, Presbyterian, USC Upstate and Radford. The losses came to UNC Asheville, Campbell, Longwood and Winthrop.
In the Winthrop game on Saturday, the Panthers trailed 39-34 going into the second half. High Point was outscored 45-44 from there and lost 84-78. Zach Austin doubled up with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with High Point. You could make a case either way, though. The Panthers didn’t play their best versus a comparable Winthrop team in their last outing, but they still scored well. High Point is 3-1 in their last four games, scoring 69 or more points in each of those matchups. The Panthers lost the road matchup between these teams 106-69 back on January 11. High Point bounced back with an 81-73 win on February 4 at Quebin Center, though. If the Panthers can get off to a good start here I think they’ll be okay cover/win-wise, but I’m not touching it.