Scanning the SoCon- Week Three

Each week, four fans from around the league will be participating in this feature, answering questions about their team and other teams around the SoCon.

DavidsonCats- A Davidson fan.
MocsMania- A Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- A UNCG fan.

SCHEDULE

Sunday, November 20

UNCG vs. TBA (Maui Invitational)

Western Carolina at Iowa State (ESPN3) (South Padre Invitational)

Loyola-Chicago at Furman

Monday, November 21

Warren Wilson College at Chattanooga

Florida Christian College at The Citadel

Presbyterian at Davidson

Tuesday, November 22

East Carolina at Appalachian State

Elon at Princeton

Wofford at Bradley (Chicago Invitational)

Western Carolina at Northern Iowa (South Padre Invitational)

Wednesday, November 23

Georgia Southern at South Florida (ESPN3)

Thursday, November 24

Central Florida vs. College of Charleston (Versus) (Battle 4 Atlantis)

Friday, November 25

College of Charleston vs. TBA (Battle 4 Atlantis)

UMKC vs. Wofford (Chicago Invitational)

Northern Colorado vs. Western Carolina (South Padre Invitational)

Savannah State at Chattanooga (Hoosier Invitational)

Elon at North Carolina State

Furman at Clemson (ESPN3)

Saturday, November 26

College of Charleston vs. TBA (Battle 4 Atlantis)

Wofford vs. TBA (Chicago Invitational)

Western Carolina vs. TBA (South Padre Invitational)

Milligan at Appalachian State

Davidson at UNC-Wilmington

The Citadel at High Point

Samford at UT-Arlington

POWER RANKINGS
1. Davidson 47.5 (3.5)
2. College of Charleston 44.5 (.5)
3. Appalachian State 36
4. Western Carolina 35
5. Elon 34
6. Chattanooga 26
7. Wofford 21
8. UNC-Greensboro 19
9t. Furman 17
9t. Georgia Southern 17
11. The Citadel 11
12. Samford 4

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- I saw Davidson's win over Richmond. Davidson's frontcourt players are much better than Richmond's and dominated the game. I didn't see the Duke game, but Wildcat fans found a lot to be encouraged about after that game. The Wildcats had a halftime lead and were still up with 17 minutes to play. The Wildcats were not good enough to keep Duke from making a strong run. Duke built a large lead, Davidson regained some of it, and the final was 82-69. Nobody likes to lose, but there were definitely positives in this game. Chris Czerapowicz led Davidson in scoring and continues to rebound well. De'Mon Brooks had 12 points and 6 rebounds and continues to cause matchup problems for our opponents. Brooks could be a dominant player if he can avoid foul trouble. Davidson has two interesting games this week. We get Presbyterian on Monday and UNCW on Saturday. The Blue Hose won at ranked Cincinnati on Saturday. The Saturday coaching matchup is always interesting.

MocsMania- The Mocs had a rough week. A very rough week. They started by losing at Indiana. After keeping it close for the first 16 minutes, the Mocs committed too many turnovers and couldn't throw a ball into the ocean from two feet away. Against Butler, the Mocs again could not make a big shot, but hung in the game until the very end. Then, against Kennesaw State in the home opener, the Mocs laid a major egg. They still could not get any shots to fall. The Mocs have three more home games over the next eight days, and they desperately need to win all three just to get some positive momentum going. Honestly, if the shots start falling, this team will be a different looking team, but they are showing the same frustrating inconsistency that they have shown in recent years. I was hoping with a senior-laden team that we would see less of that, but it's just not happening yet. It's still early, but I have the Mocs ranked ninth in my power rankings right now. That's the lowest of anyone voting. That tells you how disappointed I am in the Mocs right now.

TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel's young players learned about high-major defending this week in a game against Clemson. It was a tough night for the Bulldogs, which was not unexpected. Mike Groselle continues to play well; he had 16 points (7-13 FG) and 11 rebounds against the Tigers. The Citadel plays non-D1 Florida Christian early in the week before travelling to High Point on Saturday. That latter game will be a good road test for the Bulldogs. HPU is 1-2 but narrowly lost at Purdue.

UNCGBasketballFan-  UNCG is just struggling to put the ball in the basket right now. Trevis Simpson is really struggling and he's the main scorer on the team. It's been a roller coaster week for the Spartans. Georgetown thoroughly thumped them on Monday. Their press was just tough and caused a lot of havoc. On Thursday, UNC-Pembroke was pesky for a half but G beat them more handily then the score sounds. The Saturday game at MTSU was close into the second half until the Spartans ran into that same ol' scoring wall. G gets a bad Towson team in the consolation game and then a full week off. Hopefully, the guys can get a win and then some rest.

 

What game, other than the ones your team is playing in, are you most looking forward to this week?

DavidsonCats- I want to see CofC in the Battle 4 Atlantis. I expect them to beat UCF. If so, they get the UMass/Florida State winner. A win there would get them a shot at UConn (or Utah, Harvard, or UNCA if something shocking happens.)

 

MocsMania- It is tough to pick out one game this week. I guess I'll go with Georgia Southern's trip to South Florida on Wednesday night. The Bulls are one of the weaker Big East teams, but a Big East team nonetheless. The Eagles may not be the best team in the SoCon, but they could add a major conference scalp here if they play up to their vast potential. They are going to be an inconsistent team it looks like. But their potential is very high, and they could pull of an upset against a Big East team- which would be awfully sweet for a SoCon team on the day before Thanksgiving.

TheSportsArsenal- Hard to say what specific games I might watch, given the number of different tournaments. I'll probably have an eye on the CofC's results at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

UNCGBasketballFan- The App State-ECU game in Charlotte will be interesting. So far ECU has lost at Campbell and then managed to beat a couple of non-D1's (a huge staple of their schedule every year). App is kind of one of those "pack" teams from the north that could easily win the division. Plus, UNCG gets to play both of these teams in the next few weeks. So, this game will give me an idea about both of those squads.

If you could choose to attend one holiday tournament with your team, which one would it be and why?

DavidsonCats- I guess the Hawaii tournaments are the most attractive, but they aren't possibilities for me. Even the Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Virgin Islands events are awfully expensive for most fans. I'd like to see Davidson in the Disney event. 

MocsMania- I'd like to go to a nice venue with fairly winnable games. To me, looking at the fields this year, that would be the Puerto Rico Tip Off Classic. There's obviously good competition out there (Alabama, Colorado, Maryland, Wichita State, Purdue, Temple, Iona, and Western Michigan), but the Mocs could conceivably compete with any one of those teams. (I know- they just lost to Kennesaw State....which one of those teams could they possibly beat? And, on the other hand, I should have confidence that we could compete with a team like Duke out in Maui, but I just don't believe it right now.) Plus, Puerto Rico would be a nice destination trip. That's why I pick that one. At least for today. All the other ones are pretty nice.

TheSportsArsenal- If I didn't have to pay for the flight/hotel, I would go to Maui.

UNCGBasketballFan- Maui (the real one, not this mainland crap that G is playing at Middle Tennessee State). The reason is simple ... it's in Maui.

College of Charleston played at 8 AM this past Tuesday on ESPN. What do you think of playing a week day game at 6, 8, or 10 AM?

DavidsonCats- I love the ESPN 24-hr marathon event. I saw lots of empty seats in the arenas. Those games are tough for home attendance, but you get the national spotlight since no other games are going off in those early time slots.

 

MocsMania- The 24 hour marathon is one of my favorite ideas that ESPN has come up with. It was a very smart idea. If they did not play any games until they did the 24 hour event, and then had the Michigan State-North Carolina game on the aircraft carrier at the beginning of the 24 hour event, and continued it just the way they do, it would be perfect. The season needs a better kick off, and the 24 hour event is perfect. I would absolutely love it if the Mocs could play at 6 or 8. Not as much of a fan of the 10 AM tip, as that is a time that a lot fewer eyeballs are on it. But people watch the 6 AM or 8 AM games as they get ready for work and see teams they may not see any other time during the year.

TheSportsArsenal- I would like to see The Citadel play during the marathon, especially if it could host. The 6 am game might be a natural fit for The Citadel. Most cadets are up by that time anyway. The full corps of cadets at McAlister Field House for an early start time on ESPN would be something to see.

UNCGBasketballFan- Honestly, I thought it was a great way to get TV exposure. Rider and Drexel played at 6 AM and the place was absolutely packed. Sure, it's odd. But you are getting to play on ESPN in front of a national audience. What's that saying about any PR?

Elon's win over South Carolina is being called the biggest in school history. No one was particularly high on Elon in their preseason rankings. Where do you see the Phoenix going from here? Are they the favorite to win the North? Do you still think they are likely to finish in the bottom half of the North?

DavidsonCats-  How good is Elon? Here's what I said in the first installment of Scanning the SoCon-- "Which team do you think has the best chance to be the biggest surprise this year? Why?

DavidsonCats: I’ll go with Elon. The coaches picked them 5^th in the North. I think they are better than that. They get Josh Bonney back this year and have brought in a nice freshman class. Last year’s freshmen were playing well at the end of the season. They took a European trip this year. When Coach Matheny’s Davidson teams went to Europe, they followed it up with very successful seasons. I think Elon will be better than 5^th in the North and will be a tough out in March."

 

I'll stick with that. I don't expect them to win the North. Probably 2nd or 3rd, especially if they get Jack Isenbarger back and then stay fairly healthy. They have superb coaching and are building a strong program. Now they just need a better venue.

 

MocsMania- I have Elon as the North favorite right now. They played well against UMass in the opener, leading at halftime. Then they turned around and beat a South Carolina team that had beaten Western by 25 a few days earlier. The Phoenix will be a tough out for anyone this year, and they are proving that they deserve a lot of credit in the North. I've been very underwhelmed by every team from the North so far outside of Elon. So the Phoenix can certainly win the division, which makes them a serious threat to win the SoCon Tournament.

TheSportsArsenal- Elon could finish in the upper echelon of the north, but I don't know that I would read too much into the Phoenix beating a bad South Carolina team. On the other hand, that same bunch of Gamecocks beat WCU by 25, so Elon definitely should get some credit for that win.

UNCGBasketballFan- The north is all over the place. I thought UTC was the favorite until losing at home to Kennesaw. I thought G could be competitive, but they are struggling. App has some worts too. Western looks like the current best team there now, but Elon certainly has a shot. Beating any power conference team is a very good win. I think you have to weigh this win against getting blown out by UMass too, though.