SoCon This Week

So, what happened in the SoCon this past week? A lot more than you may think, given that it was the first weekend.

North

Appalachian State- The Mountaineers beat UNC-Wilmington, 69-58 on Friday and then lost 62-58 at East Tennessee State. There were a lot of good things from Appy State agains the Bucs, but nobody was able to score, really. Sims scored 14, but six of those were from the free throw line. Brand provided some senior leadership. The Mountaineers were playing less than 24 hours after their opening win, so their loss may be attributed to that. We'll have to wait and see what develops for a team picked to finish second in the North.

Chattanooga- Obviously, we've talked a lot about the Mocs on here. They went 1-0, with a 107-62 win over Virginia Intermont.

Elon- Elon beat Lipscomb 91-86 on Saturday night. The Phoenix shot 59 percent for the game. This is a total break from the way the Phoenix have played in the past, where it has been all about the defense. Bonney and Spradlin each scored 24 points. If they can score like that, Elon may be a contender in the division after all.

Samford- The Bulldogs went 0-3, but all of them were by three points or less in the Hispanic Funds Classic. The losses were to Kent State, Wisconsin-Grenn Bay, and UAB. None of those are bad losses, and since they were all so close, not a lot of negatives should be taken from this. The biggest negative is that there has to be a question about the Bulldogs mental toughness and ability to win close games.

UNC-Greensboro- Stywall shot well in the second half, but the Spartans got pounded by Duke. Very little to see here. Nothing to see here. There is no surprise, so we know very little about the Spartans that we didn't know before.

Western Carolina- The North Division favorites struggled to put away St. Catherine, before pulling away for a 65-41 win. They shot 50 percent in the second half to go from seven points up at halftime to the final margin. They shot just under 42 percent for the game. They will really need to be more consistent if they are going to fufill expectations.

South

College of Charleston- Goudelock scored 19 but it was not enough for the Cougars, the preseason favorite to win the SoCon. Their 70-59 loss to Coastal Carolina was extraordinarily disappointing. They Cougars have some distractions right now (injuries and suspensions), but still were expected to win this game. How will they respond?

Davidson- The Wildcats lost to Butler 73-62, but seemed to prove that they were not going to fall off as much as some people thought heading into the season. After all, Butler is a Top Ten team, and the Wildcats lead with under ten minutes left. Allison played tremendously well for the Wildcats.

Furman- The Paladins won 88-49 over Lees-McRae. Miller and Dehm each made five three pointers. If the Paladins shoot like that they could be this year's The Citadel, coming out of nowhere and just maturing a year to become a contender in the SoCon. The Paladins will need to show this against a real team, first though.

Georgia Southern- The Eagles dominated Reinhardt in similar fashion to the way the Mocs beat up on Virginia Intermont. The Eagles may be slightly better than first anticipated, but we need to wait and see before declaring that.

The Citadel- Joe Wolfinger lead the way in scoring, which is very important for the Bulldogs if they are going to be succcessful this year, as the Bulldogs rolled over Kenyon College, 64-45. The game was a little closer than this blog might want it to be, since the Bulldogs are the preseason favorite to win the tournament here.

Wofford- The Terriers 3 point loss to Pittsburgh was a nice performance for Wofford. They had a 13 point lead with 16 minutes left. The Terriers blew the lead from there, but that's fine. Sure, Pitt isn't as good as last year's Elite Eight team, but the Terriers, behind Dahlman, proved that they are as good as advertised. They will be a serious contender in the SoCon.

This Week's Schedule

Monday
Georgia Southern at South Carolina 7:00 SportSouth
Elon vs. UNC-Charlotte (in Durham) 9:30

Tuesday
East Tennessee State at Chattanooga 7:00
Presbyterian at Furman 7:00
Winthrop at College of Charleston 7:00
Lees-McRae at Appalachian State 7:00
Wofford at Georgia 7:00
UNC-Greensboro at Virginia Tech 7:00
Charleston Southern at The Citadel 7:00
Elon vs. TBA (in Durham) TBA

Wednesday
Georgia Southern at Florida 7:00 Fox Sports Florida
Western Carolina at Texas 9:00 ESPNU

Thursday
USF vs. Davidson (in Charleston) 7:00
Lees-McRae at Wofford 7:00

Friday
The Citadel vs. Eastern Michigan (in Springfield) 6:30
Appalachian State at Arkansas 7:00
Clemson at Appalachian State 7:00 Fox Sports South
Farleigh Dickinson at Elon 7:00
Samford at Texas A&M 8:00
Davidson vs. TBA (in Charleston) TBA

Saturday
Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State 5:30
Dartmouth at Furman 7:00
The Citadel at Missouri State 9:00

Sunday
Chattanooga at Richmond 5:00
The Citadel at Maryland-Eastern Shore 6:30
Wofford at Bradley 7:00
Davidson vs. TBA (in Charleston) TBA

GO MOCS!