SoCon Monday Review

Davidson 83, The Citadel 76

Stat of the Game: Davidson 11 of 21 from three point range. The Wildcats are such an efficient offensive team. When they are knocking down shots, they are incredibly difficult to beat. With the Bulldogs only knocking down 5 of 12 (four of those by Asthon Moore, who scored 35 points), the Wildcats made six more threes, and that was a huge difference.

Player of the Game: Brian Sullivan. Sullivan scored 15 points on 4 of 9 shooting from three point range. He collected four rebounds and had three assists. Yes, DeMon Brooks scored more points, but Brooks was only 2 of 8 from the floor. Brooks made a phenomenal 17 of 20 from the free throw line. That is an interesting strategy by the Bulldogs. Is that a possible strategy? Put Brooks on the line make him make free throws and see if some of the other Wildcats can knock down shots. I guess that could work. But with the way Davidson played tonight, it's not really a possibility. That is largely because of how Sullivan was shooting from outside.

What It All Means: Davidson now needs to win two of their final three to clinch the number one seed in the SoCon Tournament. But there continue to be warning signs about this team. The Bulldogs, one of the worst offenses in the SoCon, shot 50% from the floor, got to the free throw line 30 times and committed just eight turnovers. There is concern about the defense, make no mistake. I'm really curious how they do defensively against Wofford, an offense that has been pretty hot. But it is a home game for the Wildcats, where they've played better defensively. Again, the offense is so efficient and is so good that they cover up a lot of the defensive warts of this team. It may be enough to win a championship in the SoCon. But it puts them in position to possibly be upset by any team in Asheville, unlike years past, regardless of their SoCon record. The Bulldogs still do not have a SoCon win and time is running out for them. They go to Western Carolina on Saturday. Then they host Samford and Georgia Southern. Maybe they sneak out one of those. Maybe not. Ashton Moore showed some real promise tonight and we all know that there are some other pieces on this team that are OK. They can be dangerous in Asheville to keep their opener close. It's hard to envision them coming up with a win though.