SoCon Saturday Previews

A daily preview of each SoCon game.

Saturday Thought

While Wofford makes their final run at a SoCon championship at Davidson, Western Carolina and Elon will be looking to gain ground on either Davidson in the SoCon Championship race or on Wofford in the race for second and third seed. In the mean time, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State will be looking to play their way into the sixth seed. In the mean time, Furman makes one final push at getting out of the ten seed when they host the Mountaineers.

The Citadel at Western Carolina

Ashton Moore from long range! This guy could be a challenge to the Catamounts. That being said, Western Carolina dominated the Bulldogs in Charleston, despite the fact that the Catamounts were not playing well at that point. Tom Tankelwicz was the leading scorer with 15, but he is playing worse right now. This could be an interesting game, but it is hard to imagine Trey Sumler and Brandon Boggs being slowed down. The Bulldogs want Matt Van Scyoc to score 25 points like he did in the first game. If he and Moore go off, who knows? But the Catamounts are too much to handle for the winless Bulldogs. Catamouts 81, Bulldogs 68.

Elon at Georgia Southern

Can this game match the first match up between the two teams? Elon won on a last second three pointer the first time around. This time should be interesting. The Phoenix need Lucas Troutman to go off. The Eagles do not have the inside presence to compete with him. Troutman was out the first time with the flu. Ryley Beaumont had a nice game for the Phoenix. The Eagles Jelani Hewitt and Tre Bussey need to keep on scoring. The Phoenix were ice cold from long range in that first meeting...until that final shot. The Eagles are ready to pull off the significant upset over the Phoenix in this one. Troutman will do everything he can to prevent it, but the Eagles shock the SoCon world on Saturday. Eagles 66, Phoenix 63.

Appalachian State at Furman

This one seems to be tremendously interesting. This is two teams who I think pose some upset risk in Asheville and are looking to win some games down the stretch and build momentum. A healthy Jay Canty and Tommy Spagnolo provide a real danger to any SoCon team. The question remains- how healthy is Canty? No one is sure. The Paladins are beginning to get better in the paint behind Kendrec Ferrara. Stephen Croone is going to be a very difficult player for any Mountaineer to handle. How are they going to slow down his driving ability? I'm not sure. Furman will pull off the home win and create a little intrigue in the race for eighth and ninth. Paladins 76, Mountaineers 75.

Wofford at Davidson

This is the SoCon Monster Game of the Week. This game will be tremendously interesting. Yes, Davidson won in Spartanburg earlier this year. But this is a different Terrier team. Karl Cochran and Spencer Collins are playing so well right now. Lee Skinner will have to do a tremendous job against DeMon Brooks. That is where the major battle is for the Terriers. The Wildcats have been playing really well on the offensive end but struggling on the defensive side. How will they handle the Terriers guard play?  This is a deeply interesting game. This is a game that the Terriers could win and really create intrigue in Asheville. Brian Sullivan has come on strong, though. He and Brooks will play more than well enough to eek out a win. Wildcats 79, Terriers 72.