SoCon Tournament Picks

FIRST ROUND

Davidson and UNC-Greensboro is a very good match-up. The Wildcats are the better team, obviously. But Trevis Simpson and Brandon Evans are capable of carrying the Spartans nearly single-handedly. But the Wildcats are more balanced and will find a way to win this one by four points.

Appalachian State and Georgia Southern is not as good of a game. But the Eagles are not very good. They are capable of beating the Mountaineers. But they need everything to break just right. Donald Sims and Omar Carter will not let the Mountaineers go down this early. And that is good for the SoCon Tournament. Appalachian State by thirteen.

Furman is clearly the superior team to Samford, but something just tells me that the Paladins are done. They have not played well in recent weeks, and losing the bye was really bad for this team. This team's confidence appears shaken. Amu Saaka is good, but he can't carry the Paladins any further unless they start playing better. Samford in the upset by seven.

Elon and The Citadel features Chris Long against Cameron Wells. This should be a fun game, even if the two teams are not all that good. The Bulldogs have been playing some downright bad basketball lately, other than one half against Western Carolina that produced the stunning upset of the Catamounts. Elon wins this one by twelve.

SECOND ROUND

Western Carolina and Davidson should be a tremendous game. The Catamounts and the Wildcats are the two hottest teams in the league. Davidson will play well early since they will have some of the early jitters out of the way, but in the end, the Catamounts are too good. Trey Sumler hits a big late three and produces the win for Western Carolina by two.

Sims and Carter will have to go off for the Mountaineers to have a chance against Wofford. The Terriers are playing great right now. They will show up and play well from start to finish. Sims could go off for 40 plus points and pull the upset, but barring that, the Terriers will win behind Noah Dahlman's big game inside. Wofford by nine.

The Mocs will tip off against Samford in a rematch of a game that went to overtime just last weekend. The Bulldogs run a really unusual offensive attack. The Mocs will play well, but it will be a close game down to the end, just like the Mocs-Samford game will always be. Mocs win by six.

Elon will battle College of Charleston in the nightcap. The Phoenix have a chance in this one if the Cougars do not come to play at a top level. Andrew Goudelock is a great player, and he won't let the Cougars lose. It will be fairly close. College of Charleston by ten.

SEMIFINALS

Wofford does not have the depth to match Western Carolina. The Terriers are the slightly better team, and both teams are red hot. This should be a great game. In fact, the winner of this game is the team I think will win the title. I'm taking Sumler, Gordon, and Williams, even though Dahlman has another brilliant showing. Western Carolina by one.

College of Charleston will be playing Chattanooga for the second time this year. Goudelock will go off, and this time the Cougars will play a more complete defensive game. They do not have a lot of depth, but they will be ready for revenge in this game. The Cougars will win by nine over the Mocs.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Western Carolina and College of Charleston will battle in a classic final. The Cougars lack depth, and the Catamounts have the defensive prowess to shut down College of Charleston. Goudelock is a great player, but the Cougars just won't have enough and will come up short in the tournament yet again. Western Carolina by five.

GO MOCS!