SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Wofford at College of Charleston

This should be fun.

The Terriers and the Cougars battle on ESPNU Thursday night, and the match-up should be tremendous and could go a long way to figuring out who wins the SoCon South, and finishes with the best record in the SoCon, thus clinching an NIT bid even they do not win the SoCon Tournament. Both teams have just two conference losses, and Chattanooga is the only other team with two conference losses.

This is also a match-up of the top two players in the SoCon. The Cougars Andrew Goudelock and the Terriers Noah Dahlman are the two top players in the the conference. Dahlman is averaging 20.6 points per game, while Goudelock averages 23.5. These two obviously will not match-up personally- Dahlman plays down low, and Goudelock plays out around the three point line. But these two players are very good and will be a lot of fun to watch.

Cameron Rundles and Jamar Diggs both score in double figures for the Terriers, while Jeremy Simmons and Donavan Monroe are the other double figure scorers for the Cougars.

Charleston is 41st in the country in scoring, while 26th in field goal percentage. But they are not a good rebounding team at all. Wofford is 67th in scoring and 41st in field goal percentage, while in the Top 50 in assists. The Terriers are not a particularly good rebounding team either.

Tim Johnson, who averages 8.5 rebounds per game, is the top rebounding player in the conference. He is a great rebounder. Simmons will have to do a good job to try to contain Johnson's rebounding ability.

In their last meeting on January 8, Charleston won 77-73. Dahlman and Diggs had 25 and 23. Goudelock had 18, while Monroe and Simmons had 13 each. Charleston outrebounded the Terriers by five. They also shot over 50 percent from the floor. The Cougars committed ten turnovers, while the Terriers committed just eight.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. Will Johnson rebound well? Will Simmons step up to the challenge and rebound well.
--Energy levels. Both teams only go seven deep consistently. Which team will have the most energy at the end of the game to pull out a close one?
--Shooting. Goudelock is a great shooter. Can the Terriers contain him in his home arena?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Goudelock will lead all scorers this time around.
--Dahlman will certainly get his points.
--Rebounding will be tightly contested- but neither team will get a lot of rebounds, as the shooting percentages will be very high.
--College of Charleston 74, Wofford 67. These are two teams that are very similar, but Wofford plays a touch better defense, and is better in the middle than the Cougars, who are better from the outside. But the Cougars have been very good in Charleston this year. They won't lose at home. But they may not be able to beat them again in Chattanooga. Should be a tremendous game.