Scanning the SoCon- Week Two

Each week, twelve bloggers/message boarders (one representing each team) all will vote on a Game of the Week and Power Rankings. At least four will answer a series of questions on their team and around the SoCon. Don't forget to check back Monday through Friday to read Daily Dribbles from around the SoCon here on MocsMania. 

CONTRIBUTORS

 

Appalachian State- Yosef's Cabin T-Dog
Chattanooga- Mocs Mania- JohnMoc
College of Charleston- King Kresse CougarSurf11
Davidson- Davidson Cats Message Board David Sink
Elon- Elon Pendulum Student Newspaper- Zachary Horner
Furman- The UFFP Message Board- Hawg
Georgia Southern- GSU Fans Message Board half-n-half
Samford- Samford Bulldogs Message Board AP
The Citadel- The Sports Arsenal- Sandlapper Spike
UNC-Greensboro- UNCG Basketball Fan DashSpartan
Western Carolina- Purple & Gold Jerry Love
Wofford- Terrier Fans Message Board Cody Cooper

 

SCHEDULE

Sunday, November 11

Air Force at The Citadel (All Military Classic)

Mars Hill at Western Carolina

Monday, November 12

Tennessee Temple at Chattanooga

Winston Salem State at UNCG

Webber International at Wofford

Martin Methodist at Samford

Tuesday, November 13

Davidson at New Mexico (ESPN 24 Hour Tip Off Marathon)

High Point at Appalachian State

Bridgewater at Elon

Southern Wesleyan at Furman

Georgia Southern at Charlotte

Wednesday, November 14

Montreat at The Citadel

Thursday, November 15

St. John's at College of Charleston (Charleston Classic)

Samford at Louisville (Battle 4 Atlantis)

Chattanooga at Kansas (CBE Classic)

Western Carolina at Wichita State (Cancun Challenge)

 

Friday, November 16

TBA at College of Charleston (Charleston Classic)

Webber International at Georgia Southern

UNCG at East Carolina

Clemson at Furman

Wofford at Ball State

Appalachian State at Campbell

Saturday, November 17

Colgate at Elon (Maui Invitational)

Wofford at Ohio (Nation of Coaches Classic)

Union at The Citadel

Samford at Memphis (Battle 4 Atlantis)
Davidson at Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Western Carolina at Western Kentucky (Cancun Challenge)

POWER RANKINGS

1) Davidson (12) 144

2) College of Charleston 132

3) Elon 111
4) Wofford 101

5) Western Carolina 91
6) UNC-Greensboro 83
7) Appalachian State 66

8) Georgia Southern 53

9) The Citadel 48

10) Samford 41
11) Chattanooga 37
12) Furman 29

GAME OF THE WEEK

Davidson at New Mexico, Tuesday, 2:00 AM Eastern, ESPN (7)

Others receiving votes: St. John’s at College of Charleston (3), Clemson at Furman (1), Winston Salem State at UNCG (1)

QUESTIONS

1) Tell us about your team since the last time you wrote about them.

Appalachian State- ASU won their home opener 86-54 over NAIA Montreat on Friday. Montreat wasn't that good at all so we really didn't get a good sense of our team. Jay Canty looks to be the real deal. Without Mike Neal, the PG play of Chris Burgess is worrisome as he was turnover prone. Tab Hamilton hit six 3's to lead all scorers with 18. The Apps jumped out to a 23-5 lead to start the game so it was never in doubt.

College of Charleston- The defense is for real, the offense is coming around. There's been a real change in the team's personality under Wojcik. It's not just that the players are putting more effort into defense. Now we see the guys getting off the bench and cheering every time the shot clock runs out or the defense forces a turnover. The offense so far has been based around the 1-2 punch of Trent Wiedeman and Andrew Lawrence, and after that...the jury's still out. The transition game, the bench rotation and the balance between inside and perimeter play is still inconsistent. A lot of questions will be answered this week in the Charleston Classic.

UNCG- It was a disappointing opening night for UNCG. The Spartans spent the whole first half at High Point struggling to not turn the ball over. They came out of the locker room after halftime with zero energy and promptly fell down by 19. However, they showed plenty of fight and came almost all the way back before HPU made just enough plays to win. The lack of a big man really hurt UNCG as two Panther post players had their way with UNCG all night long. It will be interesting to see if they can figure out the kind of effort level they need to bring on a nightly basis to win. Right now UNCG is a work in progress.

Wofford- The game at Colorado went about as I expected. The Buffaloes did us in with their superior size and inside play. We jacked up too many long threes. But we hung in there and showed poise and confidence. Our youngsters did a lot of good things. The talent on our roster was evident. We will get better and compete well in the SoCon.

2) Davidson is playing at 2:00 AM Eastern time this week. Would you want your team to play a game at that time? Would there be any time you don't want your team to play?

Appalachian State- Absolutely I would love my team to take part in the 24-hour tipoff marathon. It peaks interest for the fans and is something special for the players. If ASU was hosting one of these games, I would go to a game at any hour.

Chattanooga- I love the idea of playing in the middle of the night. It seems like a lot of fun. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it through the night (work in the morning and all), but I am planning on staying up as late as I can to catch the Davidson game this Tuesday morning. I think it is nice promotion for the school to play one time of year in the middle of the night.

College of Charleston- Last year the Cougars played at 8am as part of the same 24 Hour Tip-Off Marathon. Since it's inception in 2009, the 24 hours of college basketball has become a sort of cult favorite of the twitterverse and blogosphere. There's something oddly rewarding about challenging your friends to stay awake through a 4am Central Michigan/Hawaii game for the love of NCAA hoops. I think it's a lot of fun.

Furman- No. Nothing should start later than 9:00 Eastern time.

UNCG- I think it's a great idea. It gives your school some interesting exposure and at the mid major level, any national TV time is a good thing. I would prefer my team to not play first thing in the morning, mostly because I'm not a morning person. Some loud profanities would definitely be flying at the refs.

Wofford- No, I wouldn't want to play at any time that makes it hard for the average fan to attend or follow the game. I think all games should start between noon and 8 PM.

3) Elon, Chattanooga, Wofford, Samford, and Western Carolina are all participating in tournaments this week where the championship bracket is already determined, and the SoCon team is not in that bracket. What is your opinion on these tournaments that have pre-determined final teams?

Appalachian State- From an economic standpoint, it makes sense. The “Championship Round” teams have the biggest fanbases and the average TV fan would rather watch two Goliaths play than two Davids. It's college basketball economics at its most exploitative, but it is what it is. If teams continue to play in these events and accept their role of being in the consolation round, they will continue to happen.

Chattanooga- I don’t particularly like them because I think that if the Mocs (by some unbelievable miracle) were able to upset Kansas, they should be able to advance to the championship bracket. I do like that the Mocs are getting three home games against like teams in three days because of this tournament starting next week. But I just think it’s a little ridiculous that the Mocs can’t win the championship bracket even if they beat Kansas. But they aren’t going away.

College of Charleston- I think it's unfortunate. March Madness is everyone's favorite postseason because every team has an equal shot at going the distance and reaching the promised land. I get the need to bring in a television audience by insuring the blue bloods make the finals but at least give us SoCon schools an opportunity to travel to some exotic locale.

Furman- I’m against it. If it is a tournament, there is one winner. Otherwise, it is just two or three games, not a tournament.

UNCG- I'm okay with the whole thing. It's designed so they can sell tickets to these huge NBA arenas and the big names are the draw. Also, it gives some of these smaller teams a chance to play in a bracket with teams that give them better match ups.

Wofford- I don't like these type tournaments much. Every team in a tourney should have a fair chance to get to its championship bracket by winning. But these tournaments are set up with eyes mainly on making the most money that they can, so they won't change them.

4) Which team or personal performance surprised you the most in the first two days of action from around the SoCon?

Appalachian State- Probably Georgia Southern getting run out of the gym by Valparaiso. GSU looked to be a team that would contend for second place in the conference pre-season and still might, but it was surprising to see them get dismantled so thoroughly. Honorable mention goes to Furman getting run of their own gym by Columbia, whom the Paladins beat last year up north.

Chattanooga- Very disappointed in Furman’s performance on the whole. I thought Furman would be able to hang with Columbia and maybe even beat them. In the end, they were dominated at home. That was the most surprising result to me from the SoCon on this first weekend.

College of Charleston- Mike Groselle. He's still the man at Citadel and he performed like a guy sick of being in the shadow of the league's other big men. Groselle was all opposing teams had to zone in on when facing the Citadel last year and with 21 points and 15 rebounds against VMI he looks to have taken another step in his development.

UNCG- I was most surprised by the Georgia Southern game against Valparaiso. It's not that Valparaiso beat the Eagles, but it’s the way and score that they beat them. I honestly expect to see Charlton Young's team take a big step forward this season. However, it's just one game and no need to draw too many conclusions. But this score definitely stood out.

Wofford- Wofford freshman guard Spencer Collins pleasantly surprised me with an excellent college debut at Colorado in which he scored 16 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. This guy looks like a player!