Scanning the SoCon- Week Fourteen

Sorry for being a day late. The Super Bowl pushed some our contributors off until today. So thanks for sticking with us.

DavidsonCats- Davidson fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro fan.

SCHEDULE

Monday
Appalachian State at Elon
Wofford at Davidson
Furman at Georgia Southern

Thursday
Wofford at Georgia Southern
Elon at Chattanooga
Appalachian State at Furman
Davidson at The Citadel
UNC-Greensboro at Samford
Western Carolina at College of Charleston (ESPN3)

Saturday
Wofford at Appalachian State
Davidson at College of Charleston (SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)
Western Carolina at Furman
Elon at Samford
UNC-Greensboro at Chattanooga
Georgia Southern at The Citadel

POWER RANKINGS

1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Wofford 44
3) Elon 37
4) Georgia Southern 35
5) UNC-Greensboro 33
6) Samford 23
7) Furman 22
8) College of Charleston 21
9) Appalachian State 20
10) Western Carolina 16
11) Chattanooga 9
12) The Citadel 4

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- The Wildcats had a very successful week with wins over Furman and Chattanooga. The team is now 11-1 and the Terriers and Eagles are both 8-4. The Wildcats are getting close to locking up the 1S. We've had some players miss practices because of injury, but the team is continuing to get excellent contributions from the bench. Chris Czerapowicz shot really well today and scored 21 points with 7 3-point plays (6 long shots and a traditional 3-pt play). This next week has three tough games for the 'Cats-- Wofford at home on Monday and then the Thursday/Saturday trip to the Lowcountry. 2-1 this week would probably guarantee a bye for the 'Cats.

MocsMania- The Mocs lost two more games this week. They are in a tailspin and now have their longest losing streak of the D1 era at seven games. Could they possibly get it going ever? If they are ever going to get it going again this year, it probably has to start working at some point this week when they host Elon and UNCG. They will play a big role in the SoCon North title chase this week. A couple of wins might even get them out of the cellar. They could get into third or fourth in the North by the end of the year if they start winning. They just need to start winning again. It hasn't happened yet.

TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel continues searching for a second league victory. The Bulldogs were competitive on the road in two games this past week, but ultimately couldn't put together 40 minutes of sustained good play to get a win. Mike Groselle was in foul trouble for a good portion of the game against Elon, which didn't help. That game may have been a missed opportunity for The Citadel. The Bulldogs get two chances to pick up a win at home this week. I don't like their chances against Davidson. The Bulldogs lost in double-OT at Georgia Southern, so the game on Saturday against the Eagles could be interesting.

UNCGBasketballFan- Well the thing about winning streaks is that they must eventually end. The Spartan's streak was stopped at 7. UNCG made relatively easy work of the Citadel on Thursday night to close up a 5 game homestand. However, Saturday afternoon's game in Greenville looked at lot similar to earlier SoCon road games. UNCG didn't shoot particularly well and wasn't as intense on the defensive end for all 40 minutes. As a result they fell to 2-4 on the road in league games. That's not a great sign for a team that finishes with 4 of it's last 6 games on the road. Trevis Simpson and Derrell Armstrong are still putting up tremendous numbers. This week, though, they got a lot of help for senior center Aloysius Henry. With UNCG and Elon taking the Chattanooga-Birmingham road swing this next weekend, the North Dision race should get a lot clearer, or muddier.

Which game are you most looking forward to this week that does not involve your team?

DavidsonCats- Easy. The Wofford at GSU game on Thursday. Getting a bye is crucial. This game should be a brawl.

MocsMania- I can't wait for Wofford to take a trip to Georgia Southern on Thursday night. The winner will be in the best shape for the two seed out of the South. We all know how important the bye is in the SoCon Tournament. One of these teams will be in good shape on Friday morning, and one will be chasing the other one. Which one is which? Can't wait to find out.

TheSportsArsenal- UNCG-Samford on Thursday is a big SoCon North game and probably a must-win for homestanding Samford if it entertains hopes of a first-round conference tourney bye. When the season began, Davidson-College of Charleston on Saturday was supposed to be a key game in the league; the Cougars need a big win to jump-start the post-Cremins era.

UNCGBasketballFan- Elon @ Samford. Coming from a fan of the third team in this 3-way North Division battle, I'm interested to see some UNCG seperate from at least one of these teams. Also, Samford has beat up on the South Division. Now it's time to see if they can beat a North Division team.

Which city would you like to host the SoCon Tournament? Why?

DavidsonCats- Asheville. It is the only city where the residents of the city really cared that the Southern had come to town. It'll take several years to rebuild some of the goodwill that we had there. Asheville is full of great restaurants, cool shopping, and a beautiful setting. And it isn't anyone's home city.

MocsMania- I am no fan of having a city hosting the tournament that is also the home city of one of its teams. That means no Chattanooga and no Charleston. That's a clear disadvantage to everyone else in the SoCon in the tournament. That also takes out Greensboro. I'd be OK with Charlotte, I suppose. So, clearly my top choice is Asheville. I think the city is a fairly nice middle ground. The city embraces the SoCon, or seems to. It looks like a good match- hope it works out.

TheSportsArsenal- I am fine with Asheville being a more-or-less permanent host city. It is convenient for most of the league. Also, no one will get a "home court" edge. I definitely do not like the league playing conference tournaments on one school's home court (a la Chattanooga). I hope we've seen the last of that.

UNCGBasketballFan- I'm very excited to see how things go in Asheville this season. It's one of the few locations I can get my wife to visit on her birthday weekend. However choosing form the previous host cities, I really liked Charlotte. Bojangles Arena was underwhelming, but I liked the location being central to the rest of the league. I must admit that I never was able to make it the Chattanooga. So, I could only compare Charleston, Charlotte and Greenville. I do wish the conference would take a hard look at Winston-Salem, most b/c I live in here.

Which team do you consider the biggest positive suprise in the conference this year? Why?

DavidsonCats- That's a tough one. I thought Wofford and Samford would both be dreadful this year. Wofford is tied for 2nd in the South and Samford is 3rd in the North. Both are playing some very good basketball. Excellent coaching for both. I guess I'll give the nod to Samford after their great road win today.

MocsMania- Wofford, Samford, and Elon all have been very surprising to me. Elon has been the least surprising. I expected them to be allright, but not better than at best third in the North. They are contending for first strongly. Wofford has won back-to-back division titles, but I picked them to finish a distant fourth this year. They are in solid position to finish second or third. But they still could finish fourth without too much of a fall off from here on out. That makes the clear favorite of the positive surprise to be Samford. They were clearly expected to be the worst team in the North, and maybe the worst team in the whole conference this year. They are now one solid week from getting into first place in the North.

TheSportsArsenal- The biggest positive surprise...not sure. UNCG is doing about what I thought it would do, albeit after a coaching change. Wofford is better than expected, but not overwhelmingly so.

UNCGBasketballFan- The Samfrord Bulldogs looked like the weakest team in the SoCon on paper. However, in the last few weeks, they have caught fire. In a North Division that seems to have teams take turns coming alive and then falling back down, Samford appears to be the current team on the rise. It'll be interesting to see where they end up finishing.

Which team do you consider the biggest disappointment in the conference this year? Why?

DavidsonCats- This one isn't hard. The Sporting News does my favorite preseason mag. This year they picked Omar Wattad and Keegan Bell on the 5-man All-Southern Team and said "The biggest challenge for Chattanooga is whether the Mocs can handle prosperity." Through injuries, controversy, drama, and a hot seat under the coach, the Mocs are winless on the road and all alone in 6th place in the North. They get a shot at the top two teams in the North this week and could win both games, but for now they have to be the biggest disappointment.

MocsMania- Of course, anybody with half of their eyesight could say the Mocs. They have been awful compared to what was expected of them. Their actual stats don't bear out that they've been that bad, but their won-loss record is downright awful. Just so I'm not jumping on my own team TOO hard, I'll throw out College of Charleston, Appalachian State, and Western Carolina as other disappointing teams. The Mountaineers just don't look right, even if their won-loss record hasn't been terrible. The Catamounts have been very disappointing. I thought they would be much better. The Cougars record doesn't completely surprise me, and when you throw in all the injuries and the coaching turmoil, it's hard to say that they have been that disappointing. But yes, the Mocs have  been far more disappointing than any of these teams.

TheSportsArsenal-  UTC is easily the biggest disappointment in the league. The Mocs were favored to win the SoCon North, and could conceivably finish last.

UNCGBasketballFan- Chattanooga was supposed to be one of the strongest teams in a North Division that was going to be competitive. Not seeing them in first palce isn't a tremendous shock. However, seeing them in last place is a shock. I'm not sure if it's coaching or chemistry, but something is definitely off in the scenic city. Unfortunately for John Shulman, the countdown on his time at UTC may have already started.