Time: 7:00
TV: None (ESPN3)
Wofford is the proud, two-time defending SoCon champs, even if they return virtually no one from last year. The Terriers have rotated back and forth with wins and losses so far this year. They lost to Georgia, then beat Emory & Henry, then lost to Wisconsin, beat Bradley, lost to UMKC in overtime, then beat Prairie View. So far, they have had an interesting twist.
Davidson beat Guillford, then Richmond, before losing to Duke after leading at halftime, then beat Presbyterian and UNC-Wilmington.
Wofford is relying on Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing. Giltner is averaging 38.8 minutes per game, while Loesing is playing 39.5 minutes per game. That is a lot of minutes.
Giltner is averaging 14.3 points per game and is shooting 40.3% from the field. Loesing is averaging 11.7 points per game, and leads the team with 5.3 assists per game and with 1.8 steals per game. Lee Skinner leads the team in rebounds with 6.0 rebounds per game, and is second on the team with 2.5 assists per game. Giltner has made 12 out of 39 threes on the year, which is not a good percentage, but is the most makes of any player on the team.
The Terriers are 329th in the country in scoring and 310 in field goal percentage. They are great defensively, allowing a season high 69 points to Wisconsin.
Davidson will try to play solid defense. They have allowed more than 67 points only once, when they allowed 82 to Duke.
De'Mon Brooks is the Wildcats leading scorer. He is averaging 15.8 points per game, and 7.0 rebounds per game to lead the team. He is only playing 22.6 minutes per game, which is sixth on the team. Still, Brooks has established himself as one of the better players in the SoCon, even if he does not often get mentioned in that breath.
JP Kuhlman was the SoCon Player of the Week last week. He is averaging 14.2 points per game. Nik Cochran is averaging 10.4 points per game, with a team high 2.8 assists per game. Chris Czerapowicz is the teams second leading rebounder and has made more three pointers than anyone else on the team. Jake Cohen is tied for second in rebounding with 5.6 rebounds per game. He is also averaging 1.6 blocks per game to lead the team, along with 9.2 points per game.
Davidson is a team that does not appear to have a lot of superstars, but they have plenty of guys that are very talented.
This game looks to be a good old-fashioned defensive battle. Both teams should find scoring difficult. In the SoCon opener for both schools, Wofford should come ready to make a statement that they are ready to defend their crown. Davidson needs to make a similar statement that they are ready to win the SoCon. Beating the two time defending champs in their building would be a nice opening statement.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Can Wofford play off their home crowd with energy and help come up with the win for the Terriers?
--Will Davidson be able to score against the Terriers defense?
--Giltner and Loesing need to have tremendous efforts for the Terriers to win.
--Cohen needs to step up for the Wildcats. He is supposed to be their best player, and the numbers don't add up...yet.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Cohen will have his best game of the season.
--Neither team will get into the seventies in points.
--Loesing will show why he is the senior leadership for the Terriers.
--Davidson 63, Wofford 58. The Terriers will put up a fight all the way to the end, proving that they are going to be a tough out in SoCon play, but Davidson will come up with a way to get a big road win.
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