BracketBuster Saturday Preview

The SoCon has six BracketBuster games on Saturday. Let's briefly look at each one:

Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina, 2:00- Eastern Kentucky has an RPI of 250 and Western Carolina has an RPI of 181. However, the Catamouns are the fifth place team in the OVC. They are 8-3 in their last eleven games. The Colonels move at a slow pace and don't rebound well. The Catamounts have moved up a lot since this game was announced, while Eastern Kentucky has only moved up some. Both have a shot at the NCAA- but the Colonels are the underdog here.

Vermont at College of Charleston, 5:00 ESPNU- Vermont has an RPI of 71 and College of Charleston has an RPI of 77. The Catamounts have won ten straight games. They also play just one game after this one, against the second best team in the America East conference that they already lost to on the road. They also tend to slow the game down, but are a good shooting team and a good rebounding team. They lost by 16 at Connecticut earlier this year. Charleston is the favorite- but this ought to be a good game.

Appalachian State at High Point, 7:00- High Point's RPI is 252 while Appalachian State's RPI is 209. The Panthers have not been a great home team, with a 7-4 home record. There is a two point win over an awful Radford team in the bunch. Nick Barbour is averaging 17.3 points per game, and has been very good. Appalachian State is probably the favorite, but going on the road in this one will not make this one easy by any means.

Ball State at Wofford, 7:00- Ball State's RPI is 184 while Wofford's RPI is 154. After the Cardinals won seven straight games, they have now lost six of their last eight. They are only a half game behind Western Michigan in the West Division of the MAC. If they win the division, they will get one of the top two seeds in the MAC Tournament. Wofford is the better team and is playing better right now and is at home.

Davidson at Presbyterian, 7:30- Presbyterian's RPI is 188 and Davidson's is 166. The Blue Hose have won two straight games, including a thirteen point home win over a pretty good Charleston Southern team. They are not bad, but they are clearly not as good as Davidson. They beat Auburn and Wake Forest, and only lost to Kansas State by nine and Missouri by 15. Could Presbyterian win? Absolutely. But they are not the favorite, particularly with how well the Wildcats have been playing.

Predicted Record: 4-1- though I'm not quite sure where the loss comes from. The SoCon has the favorite in each of these contests. If I had to pick one loss, it would probably be Appalachian State losing at High Point. They played a tough, emotionally draining game on Thursday night, and now have to go on the road. Sounds like a possible loss to me.