March 19, 2026
When heading to the conference tournament High Point had one goal in mind. That goal was to walk out as conference champions and be awarded an automatic bid to the “Big Dance.” For the Panthers this dream became a reality as the team made the tournament for the second consecutive season, doing so in head coach Flynn Clayman’s first year after the departure of Alan Huss.
The Panthers finished the season with a 30-4 overall record (15-1 in conference play) which was good enough to earn them the title of regular season champions and the No. 1 seed heading into the conference tournament. The Panthers ended the season red hot, winning 14 straight games while also finishing in the top 100 in KenPom rankings (a ranking that focuses on how strong a team truly is based on stats from that season).
The Big South Tournament was held at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee. In the first round they defeated Gardner-Webb 81-59 on March 6, then they followed that up with a 75-71 win over UNC Asheville on March 7 which placed them in the championship game. On March 8, they faced off against Winthrop in their third matchup of the season. With both teams splitting the season series at one apiece, it was High Point that was crowned conference champions after a 91-76 victory.
This year’s squad was anchored by their big three that consisted of senior forward Terry Anderson, senior guard Rob Martin, and senior forward Cam’Ron Fletcher. The trio combined for an average of 44 points per game. One thing that separates this group from others in the tournament is their pace of play. Head coach Flynn Clayman likes to play a high speed brand of basketball, which is a big reason why this team averaged 90 points per game.
The Panthers travel to Portland, Oregon for a date with the No. 5 seed Wisconsin Badgers this Thursday at 1:50 p.m. Wisconsin enters the game following a strong 24-10 season, including a 14-6 record in the Big Ten. One of the most intriguing headlines coming into this game is the matchup between Anderson and Badgers senior guard Nick Boyd. Anderson put together an amazing season, earning Big South Player of the Year and Big South Tournament MVP. Boyd on the other hand is coming off a career night in the Big Ten semifinals where he scored a career high 38 points.
Making the tournament is a huge step in the right direction for this program. If you told this team five years ago that they were in the dance for two straight seasons, it would have seemed unlikely. Last year the team lost to Purdue 74-62 in the round of 64 to cap off a historic season.
For the Panthers, they are hoping to carry their momentum into the tournament with an opportunity to make a run deep on the national stage.