SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview: Samford at Western Carolina

Can the Catamounts win two games and get the bye from the North?

Thanks to Appalachian State's stunning loss to The Citadel on Wednesday night, things just got clearer for the Catamounts trip to the bye. All it takes is Elon losing twice to Davidson and UNCG, and Samford loses to Chattanooga, and Western Carolina wins out against Samford and Appalachian State, they will get the second bye spot.

Amazing.

This team was given up for dead before their February 16th game against The Citadel. They had lost nine out of ten SoCon games at that point. They won two last week against The Citadel and Elon, and suddenly, they right back in the thick of the bye race.

So goes the SoCon North.

Samford on the other hand has won eight of twelve to get to 8-8 in SoCon play. Raijon Kelly and Tyler Hood, the two freshman, have really picked up their play. They have turned this team into a legitmate presence in the SoCon. Drew Windler, the sophmore, leads the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. He scored just five against Davidson, but has scored in double digits in every other game since December 31 against Maryland. That is fifteen of the last sixteen games that Windler has been in double figures. He scored 20 against Western Carolina back in December when the Bulldogs lost to the Catamounts at home.

Windler is capable of stepping outside and shooting the three. He is also the team's third leading rebounder with 3.8 per game, behind Jeffrey Merritt and Will Cook. Merritt also leads the team in assists. Kelly is second on the team in assists, but has really been the leader of the team for the last several weeks. Hood has averaged five points per game in the last two games, but in the five games prior to that he was averaging 15.0 points per game.

The Catamounts have four guys averaging in double figures. Harouna Mutombo leads the way with 13.0 points per game. He has 5.9 rebounds per game. Trey Sumler is one of the most important players on the team. He is a solid three point shooter when playing well. He needs to be playing well in Asheville. Sumler averages 12.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Keaton Cole averages 11.9 points per game. Brandon Boggs is averaging 10.4 points per game.

Sumler is the most important player for the Catamounts. He can be a solid contributor, and be a key to the team. They like to play up-tempo, but are undersized and can not rebound a lot. The Bulldogs like to slow it down and they play a precision offense.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Can the Catamounts play it close on rebounding?
--Sumler. How will he perform in one of his final games at home?
--The freshman. Hood and Kelly have been playing so well for the Bulldogs. Can they keep it up?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--With so much on the line for the second bye spot, both teams will come out a little tight.
--Windler, Kelly, and Hood will all score double digits, and will approach 50 total points between them.
--Sumler and Mutombo will play well.
--Samford jumps out to an early lead, but Western fights back on their home floor.
--Samford 74, Western Carolina 71. The Bulldogs are playing well, and the Catamounts (outside of the Elon win last Saturday) have not been playing well. The Bulldogs are desperate for this win...and they can taste the second seed from the North. This will be a great game, and I'm looking forward to it.