Exposing Weaknesses

Each team entering the SoCon Tournament has a weakness that can be exposed. It will be critical for each team to take advantage of their opponents weaknesses.

So let's take a moment and discuss what I believe to be each team's most glaring weakness as the first round games quickly approach.

Appalachian State- The Mountaineers have never really figured out how to deal with full court pressure this year. Mike Neal at point guard has not been great because he is not a pure point guard. An opponent will have to expose the Mountaineers inability to deal with pressure and also expose their lack of a point guard.

Chattanooga- The Mocs horrendous three point defense has been a problem for years. This could be a major problem in any setting. The team that beats the Mocs will more than likely be shooting the ball well from three point range. Early in the game, it should be clear if the Mocs are going to have a problem with this.

College of Charleston- Call me when the Cougars figure out how to play offensively against a zone defense. They simply have not figured it out yet. They turn the ball over. They take bad shots. They lose. The best way for someone to play the Cougars would be to play a zone and take their chances. We'll see how that goes.

Davidson- The Wildcats are not the deepest team in the SoCon, especially if Clint Mann is not available to play. I'm not sure if Mann is capable of playing or not. If he can not play, and Brooks or Cohen gets into foul trouble, this team has some problems at that point. Playing three games in three days, the Wildcats could have trouble at some point with fatigue. Of course, any team could.

Elon- The health of Lucas Troutman is a major concern. Of course, he played 27 and 29 minutes in his last two games, so he appears to be back to himself. But can Troutman play three games in three days at a high level? On top of that, how will the Phoenix deal with the pressure of being a real favorite in this tournament? They have never had to deal with that before. The fans truly expect to get to the NCAA Tournament. We'll have to see how they respond to those expectations in crunch time of a close game.

Furman- The Paladins have almost no bodies left to put on the floor. They need warm bodies. That can't happen. They have to figure out a way to get guys putting productive minutes on the floor. The Paladins need to try to get productive minutes and not get tired. Tough task indeed.

Georgia Southern- Take. Good. Shots. The Eagles offense seems to bog down way too often in games. The Eagles need to take good shots and knock them down or else they will lose early. Of course, that sounds obvious, but the Eagles have real problems knocking down shots sometimes. They need to take good shots over these games, or else they will be gone quickly.

Samford- The Bulldogs have struggled rebounding at times despite Tim Williams. That is their most obvious failure point. If the Bulldogs can not come up with a way to rebound on a night in, night out basis in this tournament, they will find themselves going home sooner than they are hoping to. Rebounding is the team's biggest weakness.

The Citadel- The Bulldogs have a real problem turning over the baksetball. Somehow, they need to protect the ball better. It is more likely that The Citadel will go out when they do not protect the basketball well.

UNCG- The Spartans have no inside game to speak of. They simply do not have an inside presence. If Trevis Simpson and Derrell Armstrong get going from outside, the Spartans can be dangerous, but they can still be exposed inside the paint. The team that takes UNCG out will likely be able to dominate in the post.

Western Carolina- Trey Sumler has been up and down for most of his three years now. There are games that he just doesn't show up. Without the leadership of Harouna Mutombo that was so important last year in the SoCon Tournament, Sumler needs to step up his leadership. He needs to show up in every game and play great games. If he does not, the Catamounts could go out in any game.

Wofford- When your best player shoots under 40% from the floor, that spells trouble for your shooting. The Terriers can really struggle shooting the ball. If the Terriers are not making shots, they will have to play near flawless defense. They will need to make shots on a semi-consistent basis in this tournament if they hope to hang around.