SoCon Thursday Review

UNCG 68, Georgia Southern 56

Stat of the Game: 31, 24, 52. That's the shooting percentages for the Eagles. They shot 31% from the floor, 24% from three and 52% from the free throw line. If the Spartans are going to play defense like that, they are going to win a lot of games. If the Eagles are going to play offense like that, they are going to lose a lot of games.

Player of the Game: Tyrone Outlaw. Outlaw scored 17 points and made 5 of 6 from three point line. RJ White contributed 8 points and twelve rebounds. That's two big producers off the bench. Outlaw knocked down a couple of huge shots down the stretch and that was the big difference in this one.

What It All Means: The Spartans are now all alone in the sixth spot, two and a half games out of the final bye spot. The way they played today, the Spartans have got to feel good. That was a solid defensive performance for UNCG. The Spartans made big shots. All of this one the road. The Spartans need to come home and get a win over Western Carolina. A loss would just about end their chances. Really big game on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles may have shot any chances they had of getting a bye. They are now out by three and a half games. They are tied with Appalachian State and a half game back of Samford. This was a disappointing performance at home. When the Eagles shoot well, they can beat anyone in the SoCon. When they don't shoot well, they can lose to anyone in the SoCon. Davidson should look out on Saturday, despite this performance.

Appalachian State 74, Samford 68

Stat of the Game: Mountaineers OR% 33, Bulldogs 17. The Mountaineers collected 39 rebounds to the Bulldogs 28. They got 11 offensive rebounds compared to the Bulldogs 6.  That was one of the biggest reasons the Mountaineers were able to pull off the slight upset.

Player of the Game: Tommy Spagnolo. He continues top be a dominant performer for the Mountaineers. He scored 20 points and collected ten rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. He shot 9 of 14 from the floor. He had three blocks. He has been a revelation in recent weeks. He is truly special.

What It All Means: For Samford, they are in major trouble for getting a bye. They are now just one half game ahead of Appalachian State. They are four losses behind the last bye. That means the bye race is virtually over for the Bulldogs. They continue to struggle with their consistency. There is almost no excuse for Tim Williams to come up with only two rebounds, the fewest of anyone in the starting lineup. He played 38 minutes. This was a disappointing performance. The Mountaineers are now 4-7 and still in big trouble for the bye. But if they could somehow sneak into the six or seven seed with Jay Canty coming back from injury and Spagnolo playing so well, that would give them a shot in the SoCon Tournament. They are now just one game out of the sixth spot. Canty is supposed to be back in time for the tournament. This team may be a dangerous team with how they are playing right now and adding a player like Canty back into the system.