Before I get started this week, check MocsMania each day before the games, as I will be writing the importance of each game for each team. Some games obviously have more meaning than others, and I'll try to make sure that the importance of each game is emphasized. Should be an exciting week, with games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Also, be sure to check out SoConFans each day to see updated standings, and brackets.
DavidsonCats- Davidson fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro fan.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday
Wofford at UNC-Greensboro
Wednesday
Appalachian State at The Citadel
Thursday
Elon at Davidson
Samford at Western Carolina
Chattanooga at Furman
Georgia Southern at College of Charleston (ESPN3)
Saturday
Appalachian State at Western Carolina
College of Charleston at The Citadel (SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)
Davidson at Georgia Southern
UNC-Greensboro at Elon
Furman at Wofford
Samford at Chattanooga
POWER RANKINGS
1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Georgia Southern 43
3) UNC-Greensboro 41
4) Wofford 34
5) College of Charleston 31
6) Elon 29
7) Samford 25
8t) Appalachian State 18
8t) Furman 18
10) Western Carolina 13
11) Chattanooga 8
12) The Citadel 4
QUESTIONS
Sum up your team.
DavidsonCats- The Wildcats are now 20-7 on the season and 14-2 in conference games. They've secured the 1S seed. We had two home games this week. The first was a solid victory over Samford. The second was a loss to Wichita State. Cohen and Czerapowicz led the way for the Wildcats this week. Jake had 40 points and Chris had 31. Troubling for Wildcat fans this week was the limited play of De'Mon Brooks. He started out great against Samford, then had some problems with his back. He scored 8 points in his 8 minutes and didn't return. He played against Wichita State and scored 10, but didn't look like himself. The final week of the season has two big games. On Thursday, Matt Matheny and the Phoenix come to Davidson. The Wildcats play at GSU on Saturday. A split would win the division outright.
MocsMania- Hahahahahahhahahaha! Sorry- sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. The Mocs loss to Appalachian State was not particularly surprising, but the Mocs very disappointing home loss to The Citadel was not pleasant. There is hope for the younger guys coming up, but this group of seniors have been a disappointment this year. The biggest problem is that the Mocs are simply not making shots right now. The effort is still there. They get a lot of offensive rebounds, and have not been turning the ball over a ton, and they get to the free throw line. But they just aren't making shots. If the Mocs suddenly start making shots in Asheville, they're dangerous. But let's not be completely ridiculous. They haven't been making shots all year. Why would it start now?
TheSportsArsenal- After a disappointing loss at Western Carolina in which the Bulldogs were badly outrebounded (WCU had more offensive boards than The Citadel had total rebounds), the team responded with its first road victory of the season (in its last road game of the season, no less). The victim was Chattanooga, which limited Mike Groselle's offensive opportunities but failed to keep him off the boards (15 rebounds). The Bulldogs made 10 three-pointers (5 from Lawrence Miller) and survived two last-second shots from the Mocs. The Citadel completes the regular season with two home games, against Appalachian State and the College of Charleston. Now that the 11-game losing streak has been broken, perhaps the Bulldogs can pull off another upset prior to the league tournament.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNCG basketball this week has been all about Trevis Simpson. The rumors started circulating on Tuesday night. He was hurt. It was a broken foot and he was done for the year. The season is over. On Wednesday, it was better news. Turf toe and he was day to day. The team rallied and played one of its best games against Charleston. Even though UNCG had a rough second half and fell to the Eagles on Saturday night, Simpson's return was the bigger story for UNCG fans. They will need him back if they are going to make run in Asheville. This upcoming week is huge for the Spartans. UNCG can win the North Division outright and exorcise some bad demons that have been hanging over this program for a few years.
Which game are you most looking forward to this week that does not involve your team?
DavidsonCats- All of the Saturday games should be fun. Everyone plays their travel partner, which makes for some great rivalry games. CofC at Citadel, ASU at WCU, UNCG at Elon, Furman at Wofford all look like fun. But the really interesting game to me is Thursday's GSU at CofC game. I want to see what GSU does in that hostile environment. CofC should have Stitt back and will be getting tuned up for the tournament.
MocsMania- Samford has every opportunity to get the second bye from the North. They have the tiebreaker over Elon. They battle Western Carolina on Thursday night. A win over the Catamounts coupled with an Elon loss at Davidson and an Appalachian State loss at The Citadel or Western Carolina would give the Bulldogs the bye. A tie with Appalachian State would go against them. Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Elon, and Samford all still have a shot at the second bye from the North. Should make for a wild final week.
TheSportsArsenal- The big games this week are the ones with first-round tourney bye implications -- basically, the remaining games for Wofford, Georgia Southern, Samford, and Elon.
UNCGBasketballFan- Elon at Davidson. An Elon loss or UNCG win would clinch the North Division for the Spartans. I would like to see both this week.
Who is your pick for Coach of the Year?
DavidsonCats- A number of coaches have done really well this year. Mike Young, Charlton Young, Wes Miller, Jimmy Tillette, and Matt Matheny should all get some consideration. I'm going with Bob McKillop. I know that a lot of people picked Davidson to win the division. I thought the Wildcats were a year away and would finish 2nd in the division and behind several of the North teams. Instead, the Wildcats are way out in front in the computer rankings and locked up the 1S seed last week.
MocsMania- To me, there are just five candidates that deserve consideration. Elon's Matt Matheny, UNCG's Wes Miller, Samford's Jimmy Tillette, Georgia Southern's Charlton Young, and Wofford's Mike Young all deserve some recognition. To me there is only one other team that has achieved at their expected level, and that is Davidson, and I expected the Wildcats to lose about three SoCon games preseason. They're pretty close to that right now, so I don't feel like McKillop deserves it. Samford, UNCG, and Georgia Southern all experienced huge turnarounds in SoCon play from their out of conference performance. Elon has really fallen off in the last month. That leaves Mike Young from Wofford. I expected the Terriers to go about 7-11 in SoCon play and be no factor in the SoCon Tournament. As it is, the Terriers are a threat to win their third SoCon Tournament in three years. Young deserves real credit for that.
TheSportsArsenal- I am almost stupefied by UNCG's turnaround under Wes Miller. Interim coach as Coach of the Year? Why not? Bob McKillop is my second choice.
UNCGBasketballFan- I'm going to go with Wes Miller, but I think Mike Young of Wofford is equally deserving.
Who is your pick for Freshman of the Year?
DavidsonCats- Karl Cochran is the best freshman I've seen in the Southern this year.
MocsMania- Samford's Tyler Hood, and Elon's Austin Hamilton have proven their worth. I think next year, you'll see several of the freshman from Charleston (Adejhi Baru and Anthony Stitt) make big leaps, along with several Mocs players (Rico White and Jared Bryant should be very good next year). But the best freshman this year has been Wofford's Karl Cochran. He will probably be the key to the Terriers in Asheville. Not bad for a freshman.
TheSportsArsenal- I'll go with Wofford's Karl Cochran as Freshman of the Year. It's a tough call. I think you could make arguments for Tyler Hood and Austin Hamilton, too. I suspect Anthony Stitt would have won this award if he had not broken his hand midway through the season.
UNCGBasketballFan- In a less than impressive freshman class, I'll go with Wofford Karl Cochran.
Who is your pick for Player of the Year?
DavidsonCats- I don't think that there is a player who is head and shoulders above the others. When that happens, I think that POY should go to the best player on the best team. And there's the trouble. De'Mon Brooks or Jake Cohen? Both have had spectacular games. Both have disappeared. Both have battled foul trouble and injury. I'll go with Jake Cohen.
MocsMania- Personally, I think the five man All SoCon First Team is easy. Mike Groselle from The Citadel, Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks from Davidson, Trevis Simpson from UNCG, and Eric Ferguson from Georgia Southern. Groselle has not done enough to lift his team out of the cellar in my opinion. It may not be his fault, but it is what it is. That leaves the other four that I think all deserve serious consideration. It is a very tough choice, but I'm going with Simpson. No player has been better than him more consistently, in my opinion. During the last month of the year, he's been the best player by far, I believe. That gives him the edge, but I really can't complain about any of Brooks, Cohen, or Ferguson.
TheSportsArsenal- Jake Cohen was my preseason and midseason pick for Player of the Year. He's still my pick. It can be hard, at least statistically, to separate him from his teammate De'Mon Brooks. Part of my reasoning for selecting Cohen (as opposed to Brooks) is that in most of Davidson's losses, Cohen struggled, and as he struggled so did the team. I think that's an indication of his importance on that squad. The Wildcats were easily the SoCon's best team, and Cohen was their best player. There were other players with outstanding years in the league, of course -- my man Mike Groselle being at the top of that list. Ultimately, though, Cohen is my choice.
UNCGBasketballFan- I think there are three obvious choices for this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike Groselle, Trevis Simpson or Jake Cohen win the award. Since this is just my opnion, I'll pick who I think is the best player of the group. That's Trevis Simpson.
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