UNC Asheville’s men’s basketball has been in play for months now and with the season coming to an end, the end goal is still in sight for the team.
The Big South Basketball Conference Tournament in Johnson City, Tennessee kicks off Mar. 6, and a champion will be crowned on March 8.
The Bulldogs earned the #4 seed in the tournament for the 2nd time since 2019 and will play Longwood University in the Quarterfinals this Friday. The winner will go on to play the winner of #1 High Point vs #9 Gardner Webb in the semifinal game which is on Saturday.
All lot is at stake for the Bulldogs in this conference tournament as the winner will secure a spot in the NCAA Division One Men’s Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness!
“You have to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament,” said Dean Lafferty, one of the managers of the team. “The next weekend is literally the whole season on the line.”
I had the chance to speak with Lafferty, who had a lot of insight going into the tournament as he works closely with the team.
“This season has been rocky, we have had our ups and downs but managed to get a #4 seed which is really impressive in our conference, since it’s a tough conference,” Lafferty said. “A lot of schools would kill to have what we have this year, so I would consider it a successful season.”
Lafferty gave his thoughts on what the team needs to focus on going into the weekend.
“We just need to play as a unit, we need to play our brand of basketball, because when we do, there are very few teams in the country that are better than us.”
Lafferty also had some insight into how the environment of The Justice Center has prepared them for the tournament. The Bulldogs have recently practiced here a few times a week due to the SoCon Wrestling tournament being held in Kimmel Arena, where they play and usually practice.
“Practicing in The Justice Center can be very intense as the walls are super close, so there is less room. The sound also echos in Justice so it gets really hard to communicate. It’s really an advantage because 5 people can sound like 500.”
“It also can get very hot in Justice, which makes practicing there very intense.”
“Ultimately I think this helps prepare the Bulldogs for the Big South Tournament because our league is a gauntlet, it’s filled with great teams, and so being able to practice in these conditions really sets you up for just how hard and physical the games can be in our conference.”
Lafferty shares a great point about how practicing in conditions similar to the ones at the tournament will be a great advantage!
The Bulldogs are chasing a conference tournament championship and with the season on the line, they are prepared for whatever they will face this weekend!
All games will be streamed on ESPN+
Link to Tournament Bracket: https://bigsouthsports.com/documents/2025/11/11//2026_Men_s_Basketball_Championship_Bracket.pdf
