Getty D.J. Burns Jr. and Winthrop take on Longwood for a spot in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
The top two teams in the Big South conference square off with an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament up for grabs when the top-seeded Longwood Lancers and second-seeded Winthrop Eagles meet in the Big South conference championship game on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The game (12 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on ESPN2. If you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of the Big South championship game online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN2 and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need the “Sports Plus” add-on for ACC Network, but both the main package and the add-on can be included with your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Longwood vs Winthrop live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Fubo credentials to log in and watch.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN2 and 45-plus other live TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange + Sports Extra” package, which comes with a free three-day trial:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Longwood vs Winthrop live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Sling credentials to log in and watch.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN2 is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Longwood vs Winthrop live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials (may still be listed as AT&T on the list of cable providers) to log in and watch.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN and 90+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch Longwood vs Winthrop live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Vidgo credentials to log in and watch.
Longwood vs Winthrop Preview
The Big South’s top two teams will play for the conference’s lone NCAA Tournament bid on Sunday when the Longwood Lancers take on the Winthrop Eagles in the conference championship game at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.
Longwood will be looking to put a bow on a magical season by stamping their first-ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a win on Sunday. Standing in their way will be the two-time reigning Big South tournament champion Winthrop, who is in quest of a 14th conference tournament title.
The Eagles had dominated the series coming into this season before the Lancers defeated them 92-88 on Jan. 29th. The win for Longwood snapped a five-game losing streak against Winthrop, who had beaten the Lancers 15 out of the last 17 times the two faced-off prior to this year.
Here’s a look at the breakdown for each team as they head into Sunday’s championship game matchup:
No. 1 Longwood Lancers (25-6, 17-1 Big South)
Longwood has lived on the edge in this year’s Big South tournament, winning their quarterfinal round game against North Carolina A&T in overtime, 79-65, and then rallying from a 16-point deficit on Saturday to beat USC-Upstate in the semifinals, 79-70.
“It’s something that we preach constantly it’s just to stay the course, continue to pour into the root, and just be ourselves,” said Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich after Saturday’s come-from-behind win. “They didn’t panic and they just kept on playing one possession at a time, and over the course of 40 minutes we were able to come out the victor. Just really proud of the guys. It takes toughness, not just physically but mentally, to stay locked in.”
Sophomore guard Justin Hill leads the Lancers in scoring at 14.4 points per game. Both he and senior guard Isaiah Wilkins were named Big South First Team honorees.
Longwood had the highest-scoring offense in the Big South Conference this season and ranks in the top-40 nationally in three-point shooting.
No. 2 Winthrop Eagles (23-8, 16-2 Big South)
Winthrop comes into Sunday’s game winners of 10-straight contests. Their road to the final included a 68-51 win over High Point in the quarterfinals and a 76-67 victory over Gardner-Webb in the semifinals on Saturday.
Leading the way for the Eagles this season has been redshirt junior forward D.J. Burns Jr., who was named the Big South Conference Player of the Year. Burns averages a team-high 15.1 points per game and connects on 62.7% of his field goals.
Winthrop won last year’s Big South tournament final over Campbell, 80-53. The Eagles entered the 2021 NCAA Tournament as a 12th seed and would ultimately fall to fifth-seeded Villanova in the first round.
Big South Conference Tournament Results
First Round (Wednesday, Mar. 2)
No. 9 North Carolina A&T 78, No. 8 Radford 71 (OT)
No. 12 Charleston Southern 79, No. 5 UNC Asheville 78
No. 7 High Point 84, No. 10 Hampton 77 (OT)
No. 6 Campbell 75, No. 11 Presbyterian College 72 (2OT)
Quarterfinals (Friday, Mar. 4)
No. 1 Longwood 79, No. 9 North Carolina A&T 65 (OT)
No 4 USC Upstate 72, No. 12 Charleston Southern 62
No. 2 Winthrop 68, No. 7 High Point 51
No. 3 Gardner-Webb 54, No. 6 Campbell 53
Semifinals (Saturday, Mar. 5)
No. 1 Longwood 79, No. 4 USC Upstate 70
No. 2 Winthrop 76, No. 3 Gardner-Webb 67