The SoCon has been up and down this year, and now only four teams (College of Charleston, Furman, Wofford, and Chattanooga) sit above .500 in conference play. One team (Western Carolina) is sitting at .500 and seven teams are below .500.
Six teams are halfway through the conference season, while the remaining six all have played eight of their eighteen conference games.
So this is as good of a time as any to evaluate where every time stands in the conference race. Some teams have a real chance to improve their standing over the last half of the season. Some could go in the tank.
Let's start though by looking at players.
BEST PLAYERS
These players could single handedly carry their teams all the way to the tournament title.
Cameron Wells, The Citadel- A great player that is one of the top players in the conference. If he gets going on the first weekend in March, the Bulldogs will be tough to beat.
Amu Saaka, Furman- This big man is a dominant force, and can will the Paladins to victory on his shoulders.
Noah Dahlman, Wofford- Another big man that totally dominates a game. He has carried the Terriers to a tournament title before- and he could do it again.
Donald Sims, Appalachian State- If he gets hot- look out! All it takes is one weekend in March, no matter how bad the Mountaineers are struggling right now.He can certainly shoot them a long way.
Andrew Goudelock, College of Charleston- The Cougars are a force no matter what, but when he is hitting, the only way to beat the Cougars is to out shoot them. And that is very tough to do. Much easier to beat them the way Morehead State did- by hoping they are missing shots.
Omar Wattad, Chattanooga- Yes, he has struggled since being named the SoCon Player of the Week. But when he is on, he is almost unstoppable. He can take over a game as well as any shooter in the SoCon, and he can carry the Mocs all the way to the title.
THE TEAMS
Let's look at the upcoming home-road splits for each team:
NORTH
Appalachian State- Home 6, Road 3
Chattanooga- Home 5, Road 4
Elon- Home 4, Road 5
Samford- Home 6, Road 4
UNC-Greensboro- Home 3, Road 7
Western Carolina- Home 6, Road 4
SOUTH
College of Charleston- Home 4, Road 6
Davidson- Home 6, Road 4
Furman- Home 4, Road 5
Georgia Southern- Home 6, Road 4
The Citadel- Home 4, Road 5
Wofford- Home 3, Road 6
BREAKING IT DOWN
NORTH
Chattanooga is up by a wide margin and is 5-0 against the North. They have to go on the road, though, to play Western Carolina and Appalachian State, along with Samford. There is still plenty of time to blow this lead. The Mocs schedule shapes up decently, but not perfectly.
Western Carolina has six home games, and Appalachian State does too. These two teams both have a chance to make a run, but it needs to start this week when they battle Wofford and Furman. If both teams get swept, they could find themselves hopelessly out of winning the division, while also finding themselves in potential trouble in getting the bye. Appy gets five straight home games to end the year, and that is when they could make their big run.
Elon and UNC-Greensboro are the two most dangerous teams in the division right now. Most people have written them off, but they have road trips to Samford and Chattanooga this week. they are both playing very well right now. If either sweeps this week, while WCU and Appy are getting swept, they will become one of the favorites to get the bye, and possibly even sneak away with the division. It's too bad for UNCG- they are playing so much better, but have only three conference home games left. Very tough stretch coming up.
Samford is tough to play and tough to guard. They could be a tough out in the tournament, but they right now look like a team that is destined to finish sixth in the division.
SOUTH
College of Charleston has been tremendous. They get both Wofford and Furman at home down the stretch, and have already beaten both once. That is why they are the clear cut favorite to win the division even though they play more road games than home games the rest of the way, including trips to Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Davidson, and The Citadel.
Furman is in second and gets Wofford at home later in the year, having already beaten the Terriers (once- on Monday night). They also have one more home game than Wofford the rest of the year. Furman and Wofford get to play Appalachian State and Western Carolina this weekend home and road. This should be an interesting weekend...and an important one in sorting out these two in the standings.
The Citadel and Davidson are interesting. Davidson has more talent- The Citadel has the better individual player in Cameron Wells. Davidson plays a great system. The Wildcats beat the Bulldogs earlier this year and get them at home on Wednesday night. That is a key game for fourth in the division. Davidson also has six home games down the stretch, compared to just four for The Citadel.
Georgia Southern is not good. Likely, they will win a conference game. They have six home games down the stretch. But they are not good. In fact, they are awful.
PREDICTED STANDINGS
North
1) Chattanooga
2) Appalachian State
3) Western Carolina
4) Elon
5) UNC-Greensboro
6) Samford
Breakdown: The Mocs have too big of a lead to overcome. Appalachian State has the most home games and easiest schedule and will pass everyone else eventually. Western Carolina has more home games than Elon, and a slightly easier schedule. UNC-Greensboro has the fewest remaining home games, which is unfortunate because the Spartans probably could get to the second place and the bye in the North. Samford is clearly the worst team in this bunch at the moment.
South
1) College of Charleston
2) Furman
3) Wofford
4) Davidson
5) The Citadel
6) Georgia Southern
Breakdown- College of Charleston won't lose at home to Wofford or Furman, and that will make it almost impossible for either team to catch the Cougars. Furman will beat the Terriers at home to give them the edge over Wofford in the South. Davidson will beat The Citadel giving them the all important tiebreaker over the Bulldogs- which will probably come into play. Georgia Southern is the worst team in the whole conference- by far.
GO MOCS!
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