BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell's March Madness run continues Sunday when the 3rd-seeded Camels (17-9) travel to top seed Winthrop (22-1) for a 12:00 p.m. tip on ESPN in the Hercules Tires Big South Championship final.
 
Sunday's winner will earn the Big South's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
 
Riding a school Division I era (since 1977-78) record 9-game win streak, Campbell has not lost since a 67-61 setback vs. Radford on Jan. 20.
 
Campbell advanced to Sunday's final after winning 78-60 Thursday at 2nd seed Radford.  Ricky Clemons scored a career-high 19 points (8-10 FG), while Joshua Lusane added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Camels, who led for the final 36:00.  CU shot 58.8% from the floor, out-rebounded Radford 28-23 and finished with a 34-18 edge on points in the paint.
 
Defending champion Winthrop continued its run to the Big South title game Thursday with an 82-61 victory over fifth-seeded Longwood. Charles Falden led the Eagles with 19 points, while Chandler Vaudrin added 16, plus 8 rebounds and 9 assists.  Winthrop finished with a 24-8 edge in points off turnovers and made six more free throws (19-24) than Longwood attempted (5-13).
 

• Campbell and Winthrop are meeting in the Big South final for the second time in five years.  Behind Chris Clemons, CU reached the 2017 title contest at Rock Hill before falling to the top-seeded Eagles 76-59.
• Campbell continues to lead the Big South and rank 8th in the nation in field goal percentage (.499).  Cedric Henderson, Jr. (.509) and Jordan Whitfield (.487) rank 1-2 among the league individual FG% leaders.  Henderson (15.3) and Whitfield (14.5) also stand 6-7 among Big South scoring leaders.
• The Camels are 6-6 in true road games this year and finished 4-4 on the road in league play. Winthrop is 10-1 at home - the only loss coming Jan. 29 vs. UNC Asheville (57-55).               
• In a contest where the final margin was the largest of the game for either team, Campbell rode a strong defensive effort and second-half shooting Monday in its 63-57 win over Gardner-Webb to advance in the Big South tournament. The Camels held Gardner-Webb to just 39 percent shooting in the final period, while connecting on 5-of-7 threes and all 8 free throws - including 6-of-6 one-and-ones - to reach the conference semifinals for the second time in three seasons.  Jordan Whitfield scored 18 points (7-7 FT), while Joshua Lusane added 11, plus 9 rebounds for CU, which outscored GWU 10-4 over the final 2:18. Ricky Clemons added 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals - including a key theft with 39.8 seconds to play and CU nursing a two-point lead.
• Winthrop defeated eighth seed High Point 83-54 Monday in the Big South quarterfinal round.  Adonis Arms came off the bench to score 15 points, while Chandler Vaudrin had a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.  Winthrop led by as many as 33 and held High Point to 30 percent shooting.
• The Eagles swept the season series from Campbell.  Winthrop held on for an 84-83 victory Jan. 30 at Rock Hill before claiming a 94-76 win one day later.  In the opener, Chandler Vaudrin scored 17 points and Winthrop made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Campbell 84-83. Jordan Whitfield led Campbell with 17 points; Jesús Carralero and Austin McCullough chipped in 16 each and Cedric Henderson, Jr. 12 for the Camels, who tied a school record that has stood for 43 years after five players fouled out.  Campbell shot 62 percent (31-50) from the floor and made 8-of-14 (.571) threes.  Winthrop made 12 more free throws (37-50) than the Camels attempted (13-25).
• On New Year's Eve, Chandler Vaudrin had a triple-double and Winthrop shot 59 percent from the floor in its 94-76 win.  Vaudrin finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.  Five other players scored in double digits for the Eagles led by D.J. Burns, Jr. and Adonis Arms with 15 apiece.  Chase Claxton added 14, Charles Falden 11 and Kyle Zunic 10. Jordan Whitfield led Campbell with 20 points, including 3-of-7 threes, Cedric Henderson, Jr. added 15, while Jesús Carralero and Austin McCullough contributed 12 each.
• Under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Kevin McGeehan, the Camels have won 89 games over the last five seasons, the most in a 5-year span in the program's Division I era (since '77-78).  Campbell's .654 winning percentage (17-9) is the highest a Camel squad since the 1993-94 team finished 20-9 (.690).

 
CAMPBELL-WINTHROP NOTES

• Winthrop leads the Big South in scoring (79.5), margin (+12.1), assists (15.0), steals (7.8), turnover margin (+2.3), offensive rebounds (13.5) and rebound margin (+8.8). WU stands 11th nationally in rebound margin.
• Only No. 1 and unbeaten Gonzaga owns a higher winning percentage than the 22-1 Eagles (.957).
• The Eagles lead the all-time series with Campbell 23-21, but the Winthrop has won the last six meetings.  WU stands 14-8 all-time against the Camels in Rock Hill.
• The team that has led at half-time has won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the Camels and Eagles.
• Top-seeded Winthrop defeated Campbell 76-59 in the 2017 Big South Conference final at Rock Hill.  Last year, Winthrop downed Hampton 76-68 to claim the league tourney title.
• Red-shirt senior guard Chandler Vaudrin was named Big South player of the year after ranking among league leaders in scoring (12th, 12.3), rebounding (3rd, 7.0), assists (1st, 7.0), steals (10th, 1.3) and assist-turnover ratio (1st, 2.1). He leads the country in triple-doubles (3).
• Founded in 1886 to train young women to teach in the public schools, Winthrop became co-educational in 1974 and joined NCAA Division I as a Big South Conference charter member in 1984-85.
• The Eagles have won more than twice as many Big South tournament titles (12) as the next closest member (UNC Asheville with 5).
• Notable Winthrop alumni include actress Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day) and Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford.

 
BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

• Due to COVID-19 precautions, the entire 2021 Hercules Tires Big South Championship will be played on the campus of higher seeded teams from the first round through the Mar. 7 title game.
• Campbell owns a 16-17 record in Big South tourney play, 5-1 in the semifinal round and 1-4 in the finals.
• The Camels and Eagles have split four meetings in Big South tournament play with CU winning in the 1989 semis and 1994 quarters, while Winthrop won in the 2012 quarterfinal and 2017 title contest.
• Since returning to the Big South from the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2011-12, Campbell owns an 8-9 record in league championship tournament play.
• Campbell has reached the Big South final for the second time in five years.
• CU set program Big South tournament records during its semifinal win at Radford for highest FG% (.588), most assists (20), individual FG% (.800 by Ricky Clemons), and allowing fewest FG (19), rebounds (23) and defensive rebounds (12).
• CU shot 51.7% (15-29) from 3-point distance during its first two Big South tournament games.
• In CU's quarterfinal win over Gardner-Webb, CU set program records for fewest fouls (9) and fewest opponent free throw attempts (4) in a Big South tourney game.
• In 2019, for the first time in the program's Division I history, Campbell was the top seed in its conference tournament.  CU was last seeded in the top two in 1996 when it was the 2nd seed in the Atlantic Sun Championship.
• Campbell hosted the Big South Championship in 2019 for the second time in four seasons.
• CU hosted the Big South Conference men's basketball championship in 2016 for the first time in the league's history, which dates to the inaugural 1986 tournament.
• Sunday will mark Campbell's 6th appearance in the Big South Conference Tournament championship game (1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2017, 2021).
• The Camels won the 1992 tournament – defeating Charleston Southern 67-53 in the final at Anderson, S.C. – and earned the Big South's first automatic bid in men's basketball in 1992.
• In addition to his Big South tournament single-game tournament records for points (51), field goals (18) and three-pointers (8, tied) set in the 2017 quarterfinals against UNC Asheville, Chris Clemons also broke the Big South full tournament marks for total points (140), field goals (48) and three-point field goals (20).
• Campbell's run to the 2017 Big South final marked the 1st time since 2012 (VMI) that the 7th seed reached the Big South title game.
• The lowest seed to reach a Big South title game was Liberty, which won the 2013 crown as the 5th seed in the North Division (9th or 10th seed overall) over the South Division champ Charleston Southern 87-76.