Mocs Mania!

SoCon Tourney Challenge 2012

2012-02-25T23:04:00.002-05:00

Think you can pick the Southern Conference Tournament? Want to put your pride on the line against other SoCon fans and see if you are right? Been reading Scanning the SoCon all year and think you know way more than any of us about the SoCon?

There are no prizes- just merely pride on the line in this SoCon Tourney Challenge.

Pick every game in the tournament all the way through the bracket. For example, if you pick The Citadel to pick Western Carolina on Friday night, you should pick who you think will win the match-up between The Citadel and Wofford. Pick all eleven games in the tournament.

But there is a catch. Each team has points awarded based on seeding. If you pick The Citadel to win, you get six points if they actually do. If you pick Davidson to win, you get one point if they actually do. If you are unsure of the seed for each team, the list is below.

There are tiebreakers. The first tiebreaker is the total points in the title game, so be sure to include that in your picks. The next tiebreaker is that it starts with points won in each round starting in the championship game and working backwards to Friday's action.

You can post your picks in the comments section or send me an e-mail at MocsBasketball97@yahoo.com by midnight Thursday night. Be sure to include in the subject line "SoCon Tourney Challenge" so I don't accidentally delete it as spam mail.

I hope that a lot of people join. I'll publish updates to the standings at the end of each round for sure- I'd like to think that I would be able to post updates at the end of each session, but I don't want to commit to that.
If we have enough people, I'll try to post percentages of picks for each team on Thursday or Friday. We'll see.

Good luck to everyone. I look forward to the competition.

Points By Team
Davidson-1
UNC-Greensboro-1
Elon-2
Wofford-2
Georgia Southern-3
Western Carolina-3
College of Charleston-4
Samford-4
Appalachian State-5
Furman-5
Chattanooga-6
The Citadel-6

Mocs 86, Samford 78

2012-02-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 55.3%
Samford- 51.5%
Advantage- Mocs

TO%
Mocs- 17.9%
Samford- 15.2%
Advantage- Samford

OR%
Mocs- 31.4%
Samford- 27.5%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 59.7%
Samford- 24.2%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Mocs- 67.7%
Samford- 62.5%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 43.9%
Samford- 43.9%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Keegan Bell 38.4
2) Jahmal Burroughs 37.7
3) Z Mason 16.1
4) Ricky Taylor 15.0
5) Dontay Hampton 13.3
6) Omar Wattad 12.1
7) Drazen Zlovaric 10.7
8) Rico White 2.7
9t) Jared Bryant 0.0
9t) Drew Baker 0.0
9t) Martynas Bareika 0.0
9t) Trey Brown 0.0
9t) Lance Stokes 0.0

Per 40
1) Jahmal Burroughs 57.9
2) Keegan Bell 41.5
3) Z Mason 35.7
4) Dontay Hampton 25.2
5) Ricky Taylor 23.0
6) Omar Wattad 21.0
7) Drazen Zlovaric 14.7
8) Rico White 7.7
9t) Jared Bryant 0.0
9t) Drew Baker 0.0
9t) Martynas Bareika 0.0
9t) Trey Brown 0.0
9t) Lance Stokes 0.0

ANALYSIS

What a great night for the seniors!

The Mocs had four players in double digits. It was all four seniors for the Mocs. Keegan Bell had a dominant second half. Omar Wattad started off the game hot. Ricky Taylor had a solid finish, including a dagger three late in the game. Jahmal Burroughs did not miss a shot from the floor all night long.

Let's face it- this is the Mocs we've expected to see for so much of the season. Z Mason played well, Dontay Hampton and Rico White played well enough, Zlovaric was solid, and the four seniors were tremendous.

The Mocs played a solid game against a team that with a win would have gotten a bye. The Mocs were desperately wanting to get back into a positive frame of mind so that they could make a run at the SoCon Tournament. It is not impossible that the Mocs win a couple of games in Asheville. They will have to continue playing this way.

But for this night, it was a nice night to honor the seniors. It was a nice way for them to go out, and they deserved to go out that way. They were very good on this night. The fans applauded them, and they earned the applause. After the hot start, the Mocs trailed at the half and could have faded, but they did not. Keegan Bell looked like the Keegan Bell from before the slump started in mid-January, and the team, at least for this one night, looked like the team that was supposed to contend for the SoCon title.

Will it continue in Asheville? The Mocs, and their fans, can only hope.

GO MOCS!

Samford Preview: Senior Night

2012-02-25T00:30:00.000-05:00

The Mocs Senior Night is Saturday night. Jahmal Burroughs, Omar Wattad, Ricky Taylor, and Keegan Bell will all be playing their final home game.

Regardless of how bad the Mocs have played this year, the seniors have been a special part of this basketball program. Keegan Bell holds a Mocs record with the most assists in the history of the program. Ricky Taylor has scored over 1000 points. Wattad was an All SoCon performer last year. Burroughs has been an important effort player on each of the last two years.

I hope that everyone turns around and really applauds the seniors.This is a night to celebrate these seniors and put all the other stuff behind for this night. It's time to honor them. They have earned that.

This game is critical for the Bulldogs. A win by the Bulldogs earns them a bye in the SoCon Tournament.

The first time the Mocs and Bulldogs played, the Mocs were 3-2 in SoCon play. Samford was 0-4 in the SoCon at the time. Samford's win that day turned the tide on both team's season. Samford has gone 8-5 since then. The Mocs have gone 1-11 since then. What a monster turnaround by the two teams.

Drew Windler is the leading scorer on the Bulldogs. He is averaging 14.2 points per game. Windler really had a huge game against the Mocs in their first meeting. He is shooting 43% from three point range.

Freshman Raijon Kelly and Tyler Hood both have provided the Bulldogs with a huge lift heading into the SoCon Tournament. Hood is second on the team in scoring, while Kelly is second on the team in assists. Kelly has been a big key to the Bulldogs getting going this well.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

--Rebounding. The Mocs will need to rebound exceptionally well in order to win this game.
--Patience. The Mocs are an impatient team playing the Bulldogs, the team you have to be the most patient against in the whole SoCon.
--Emotions. It's Senior Night. Sometimes emotions run high on senior night. With the season the Mocs have had and the emotions that the seniors are likely to have, can they harness that in this game?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Mocs seniors will all have their moments on Saturday night.
--Windler will have his moments to, as will both freshman for the Bulldogs.
--The Mocs future will be on display too, as Jared Bryant will have a big game. (How's that for an out of nowhere prediction?)
--Mocs 65, Samford 61. The Mocs are going to be lead by their seniors, and Bryant and Z Mason are going to have good games (gut feeling). In the end, it will be a couple of big plays from Wattad, Bell, and Taylor that will put them over the top. Mocs come up with one final home win.

GO MOCS!

What It All Means- Saturday Edition

2012-02-24T23:53:00.000-05:00

Appalachian State at Western Carolina (2:00)

The loser of this game is guaranteed to get a five seed from the North. They will be forced to play College of Charleston on Friday morning at 11:30 AM. In other words, neither of these teams will want to lose this game. It will be a difficult game against the Cougars on Friday.

Appalachian State can still get the three seed if they win this game, and if either Samford or Elon lose their game.

Western Carolina can still get the bye if they win and if Elon and Samford both lose. Western Carolina will get the three seed if they win and either Samfor or Elon lose.

In other words, the winner is in a much better position come the SoCon Tournament.

College of Charleston at The Citadel (3:00, SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)

This is the game that means the least- and yet it some ways it means the most. The Cougars have locked up the the 4S and the Bulldogs have clinched the 6S. Neither can move from that position. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back games, and if they can win a third game, they will really be going into the tournament with a lot of confidence. The Cougars are hoping to keep on winning to continue building up their confidence as well and to get Anthony Stitt more and more acclimated to playing again. This is an intense rivalry, and is a televised game, so the stakes will be high for this one.

Davidson at Georgia Southern (7:00)

This game means very little to Davidson outside of momentum and potentially improving their seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are the 1S and there is no way around it.

Georgia Southern, on the other hand, has a ton on the line. The Eagles need to win to wrap up the bye in Asheville next week. The bye would also put them on the other side of the bracket from Davidson. A loss combined with a win by Wofford would knock them out of the bye and put them on the same side of the bracket as the Wildcats. A loss and a Wofford loss would still hurt them, because they would have the doubt of whether or not they could really beat Davidson in their minds. This is a very important game to Georgia Southern.

UNC-Greensboro at Elon (7:00)

The Spartans have clinched the number one seed in the North, despite losing back-to-back games. They need to win this game just to get back to winning. Suddenly, they are not one of the hottest teams in the league. A win would get them back on that track.

Elon needs a win to try to get the bye. They need a win combined with a Samford loss. A win along with a Samford win would put the Phoenix in the third seed, which would be big, because the third seed will play The Citadel who has been struggling most of the year. An Elon loss drops them all the way to the fourth seed, regardless of what any other team does.

Furman at Wofford (7:00)

The Paladins are playing to get to .500 in SoCon play. They blew their chance at any higher seed than that,but they are locked into the 5S.

Wofford is trying to win to get the bye. If the Terriers win, they can get the 2S if Georgia Southern loses as well. A Terriers loss or a Georgia Southern win would guarantee Wofford the 3S. This is a critical game for the Terriers. With the two top minutes men in the whole SoCon on the Terriers, and the fact that no team has ever won the SoCon Tournament with four wins in four days, the Terriers really need that bye.

Samford at Chattanooga (8:00)

Chattanooga needs a win in the worst way to try to get some sort of positive momentum heading into Asheville. Any sort of positive momentum would do.

The Bulldogs are still in the quest for the 2N. If they beat Chattanooga, they are guaranteed the bye and to be the 2N. If they lose, Appalachian State wins, and Elon loses, they will also get the 2N. If Elon wins and Samford loses, they will fall to 4N, behind Elon and the winner of Appalachian State and Western Carolina. Samford will also fall to 3N if Elon loses and Western Carolina wins.

SoCon Tournament Central 2012

2012-02-24T19:15:00.004-05:00

Links will be posted as the articles become available:

SoCon Tournament Challenge Entry
Bracket
SoCon Travel
Scanning the SoCon- Week Seventeen
SoCon Awards
If They Won The Tournament....Seed Edition
If They Won The Tournament....Storyline Edition
Day One Preview
Day One Review
Day Two Preview
Day Two Review
Semifinals Preview
Semifinals Review
Championship Preview
Championship Review
All SoCon Tournament Team

Double Dribbles- 2-24-12

2012-02-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

1) With Charleston's win on Thursday night over Georgia Southern and Davidson's win over Elon, now six of the twelve seeds have been clinched heading into Saturday's action. The 1N will belong to UNCG, and the 6N will belong to Chattanooga. The 1S will belong to Davidson, the 4S will belong to College of Charleston, the 5S will belong to Furman, and the 6S will be The Citadel. Georgia Southern and Wofford are battling it out for the 2S and 3S, while Samford and Elon can get anywhere from 2N to 4N, Western Carolina can get anywhere from 2N to 5N, and Appalachian State can get anywhere from 3N to 5N. Should make for a very interesting Saturday.

2) The team that is most dangerous with a bye that can still get it is Wofford. The Terriers could be the 2S if they beat Furman and Georgia Southern loses to Davidson. If they get that, suddenly the two time reigning champs will be on the opposite end of the bracket from Davidson, and would be able to play just three games in three days with their starting line-up that features Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing playing huge minutes. To be the champs, you gotta beat the champs. Wofford is incredibly dangerous if they get that bye.

Furman 65, Mocs 55

2012-02-23T22:42:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 36.1%
Furman- 46.2%
Advantage- Furman

TO%
Mocs- 17.2%
Furman- 18.7%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 25.0%
Furman- 36.1%
Advantage- Furman

FTRate
Mocs- 44.4%
Furman- 54.7%
Advantage- Furman

FT%
Mocs- 66.7%
Furman- 55.2%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 35.2%
Furman- 43.4%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Ricky Taylor 15.6
2) Jared Bryant 14.1
3) Rico White 10.5
4) Z Mason 9.8
5) Keegan Bell 9.0
6) Lance Stokes 5.7
7) Drazen Zlovaric 5.2
8) Jahmal Burroughs 5.1
9) Trey Brown 4.2
10) Omar Wattad 4.0
11) Dontay Hampton 2.2
12) Martynas Bareika 0.0

Per 40

1) Trey Brown 84.0
2) Jared Bryant 28.1
3) Ricky Taylor 25.9
4) Lance Stokes 25.1
5) Z Mason 24.5
6) Rico White 18.3
7) Drazen Zlovaric 17.3
8) Keegan Bell 14.4
9) Jahmal Burroughs 9.6
10) Omar Wattad 7.6
11) Dontay Hampton 3.5
12) Martynas Bareika 0.0

ANALYSIS

Another road game. Another road loss.

For lack of a better description (as discussed in the Furman Preview), I will call the Mocs "Road Pacificsts." It's the opposite of "Road Warriors" and since the Mocs failed to win on the road this year, they earned this title.

There are some strange things that jump off the scoresheet at me. One of those things is how little Bell played. He played just 25 minutes. He is normally up way over 30 in games. I think Coach Shulman is trying to get some of his starters a little bit of rest heading into the SoCon Tournament. With how much Bell has played this year, that may not be a bad idea.

The biggest thing in this game was the fouls. It was called both ways, but there were 40 fouls called in this one. Of those 40, there were 22 called in the first half. That doesn't necessarily mean that they were bad calls, just that with all the fouls called, the game really lacked rhythm. Also, both teams really struggled from three point range. The Mocs were 3 of 11 from long range in the first half and 2 of 8 in the second half. Furman was 0 for 10 in the first half and 5 of 13 in the second half. The improved second half shooting by Furman is why they were able to put the game away.

There were bright spots for the Mocs. Z Mason's return was welcome and he looked OK. Not as good as before the injury, but he was working off some rust. Also, Trey Brown played with a lot of energy in the closing two minutes. He scored once and collected two rebounds. He looks like he will be a decent contributor next year.

The big thing is going to be energy and shots falling in Asheville. The Mocs did not play with a ton of energy tonight. Of course, with nothing on the line, maybe they are just lacking energy. Maybe Saturday night on Senior Night, some emotions will get rolling and the Mocs will play with more energy and then that will carry over into Asheville. That's the only hope at this point.

I would be remiss to not point that the Mocs lost their twentieth game of the year on Thursday night. This is the first time this has happened in the D1 era for the Mocs.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Recap: Western Carolina 79, Samford 77

2012-02-23T22:14:00.000-05:00

I take back all my negative feelings on Western Carolina. They are definitely a contender for the bye in the North. That may or may not be a compliment, but the Catamounts are right in the picture, and deserve to be after beating Elon and Samford in back-to-back games.

Western Carolina jumped out to a double digits lead, but Samford faught and clawed back into the game. They showed plenty of heart and plenty of fight in getting back into it.

Western Carolina will get the bye if they beat Appalachian State on Saturday, Elon loses to UNCG, and Samford loses to Chattanooga. They will get it by virtue of eliminating Samford from the tie because both Elon and Western Carolina would have split with UNCG and Samford was swept by the Spartans. But Western Carolina swept Samford, and Elon was swept by them.

Samford on the other hand has one easy way to get the bye. That is to beat Chattanooga. If they beat Chattanooga, they absolutely get the bye. If they lose to Chattanooga, they absolutely do not get the bye. A loss to the Mocs and a win by Elon would push Samford all the way to the 4N. A loss to the Mocs and an Elon loss would push Samford down to the 3N, Western Carolina if they win. A win by Appy would give Samford back the 2N by virtue of their head-to-head performances.

The only way Elon gets the bye is with a win over UNCG and a Samford loss to Chattanooga.

Regardless the Appalachian State-Western Carolina loser will get College of Charleston in the first round in the first game of the SoCon Tournament and be 5N. Ouch. Big stakes in that one.

No matter what, though, both Samford and Western Carolina have proven to be scrappy, hard-fighting teams. Both teams will be tough in the SoCon Tournament. Both could really use the bye though. This is shaping up to be an interesting weekend in the SoCon North race.

Battle of North vs. South- 2-23-12

2012-02-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Games

Chattanooga (N) 55
Furman (S) 65

Elon (N) 45
Davidson (S) 66

at North
North- 12
South- 12

at South
North- 7
South- 19

ANALYSIS

It's hard to believe that at one point the North was hanging right in it with the South. In the last few weeks, the North has regressed, and the South has progressed rapidly. It's been an amazing shift to watch these two divisions go in complete opposite directions in the last few weeks. The South is clearly better. The tournament should feature South dominance.

Double Dribbles- 2-23-12

2012-02-23T05:00:00.017-05:00

1) Check out What It All Means for the meaning of each of the games on Thursday night. The two biggest games is Samford's trip to Western Carolina (which got the full treatment in our Monster Game of the Week) and Georgia Southern's trip to Charleston. This game is huge for the Eagles to go on and clinch the bye before Saturday's finale. Can the Eagles come up with the huge road win over the streaky Cougars? The Cougars have been playing really well in recent weeks, outside of the loss at UNCG. Should be a great game.

2) The Citadel has tripled their win total in their last two games. They had won one SoCon game heading into last Saturday's game at Chattanooga. Now they have three wins after their stunning upsets of Chattanooga and Appalachian State. Mike Groselle scored 18 points and had eight rebounds against the Mountaineers. Suddenly, the streaking Mountaineers have to question whether or not they are ready for Asheville, and the Bulldogs have to have confidence that they can win a couple of games in Asheville. That's a stunning turnaround for The Citadel. Now they will try to take out their archrival on Saturday when they take on College of Charleston.

Furman Preview: The Opposite of Road Warriors

2012-02-22T23:07:00.000-05:00

What's the opposite of a road warrior?

No, seriously. I don't know. A Road Pacifist?

Whatever it is, the Mocs are trying to avoid that label on Thursday night. Since the Mocs have not won a road game yet this year, they will be looking to avoid the bagel at Furman. Can they avoid being labelled the "Road Pacifist?" Mocs fans sure hope so.

The Paladins are a very good defensive team. That is their calling card. They struggle to score points. When there is a big situation in a game, they struggle to know who to turn to that can make the big shot.

Of course, the Mocs have had similar problems in recent weeks. They do not have an offensive player to turn to in time of trouble. That is the reason they have been struggling. They have really been struggling to make shots. They can't shoot the ball effectively recently. Ricky Taylor, Omar Wattad, and Keegan Bell have shot 11% from three point range recently. Ouch.

Brandon Sebirumbi has scored just thirteen points in the last two games, but he is the Paladins leading scorer at 10.8 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per game, and shoots nearly 52% from the floor.

Charlie Reddick is the Paladins best shooter. He is averaging 10.3 points per game, to go along with 4.7 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game. He shoots about 38% from three point range. He will have to be the one the Mocs focus on from long range to shut down the Paladins outside game.

Richard Brown leads the team in assists with three per game. He is also third on the team in scoring with 8.5 points per game. He also shoots nearly 85% from the free throw line. He did not play in five out of six games earlier this year. He has averaged 7.4 points per game in the five games since he has been playing regularly again. He scored 16 in his first outing, and in the last four, he has averaged just 5.3 points per game.

Bryson Barnes has also been playing well since his return. He is averaging 6.7 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. The senior has been an important contributor.

The Paladins, as we know, don't shoot the ball well. They also do not rebound particularly well. The Mocs still are a good rebounding team. This should be an interesting game.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. With Z Mason possibly back from injury, the Mocs desperately need to dominate on the boards against the Paladins.
--Zlovaric vs.Sebirumbi. The two are very similar players. Which player wins the head-to-head match-up may well dictate who wins the game. Zlovaric has not played well on the road several times.
--Senior shooting. Wattad, Taylor, and Bell have been struggling. Will they snap out of it?
--Furman 58, Mocs 55. The Mocs just aren't shooting well enough. Furman wouldn't be able to keep up with a good offensive team, generally speaking. But the Mocs aren't shooting well enough to be able to win this game. Zlovaric hasn't played well on the road. Can Z Mason make a difference? Can Rico White or Dontay Hampton come off the bench and provide a shooting spark? There is a chance to win this game, but it is unlikely given that the Mocs are on their way to being a "Road Pacifist." Unless someone else can come up with a better nickname.....

What It All Means- Thursday Edition

2012-02-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

Chattanooga at Furman (7:00)

Chattanooga is in bad need of a win- just to get a win. They have not won on the road all season. They will likely have Z Mason back on Thursday night, and this could help them inside. Can the Mocs start building confidence heading into the SoCon Tourney? There is no doubt this team has talent, but to have a chance in Asheville, they need to gain some confidence before then.

Furman has a shot at the 4S seed still. They need College of Charleston to lose twice and for the Paladins to win both their games. But it's a shot, and with the Cougars tipping off an hour later on Thursday night, Furman can put a touch of pressure on them with a very solid first half. If the Paladins lose, the Cougars will have clinched 4S and Furman will have clinched 5S.

Samford at Western Carolina (7:00)

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview

Samford is currently sitting in second in the North at the moment. A win over Western Carolina combined with an Elon loss to Davidson would clinch the second seed in the North for the Bulldogs. This is a huge night for the Bulldogs.

Western Carolina has a much clearer path to the number two seed after Appalachian State's loss on Wednesday night. If the Catamounts come up with the win, they will need a little bit of help on Saturday, but a win would give them a real shot at getting the bye out of the North. This game is absolutely massive to both teams.

Elon at Davidson (7:00)

Davidson has clinched the 1S. The Wildcats are really playing for momentum heading into the SoCon Tournament, but they are also playing for potential seeding in the NCAA Tournament. They could get as high as 12 or as low as a 15 depending on how poorly things go over the next couple of games. They really need to win to continue to keep their seed as high as possible.

Elon, on the other hand, is desperately trying to get the bye from the North. They are the only team that still has a shot at getting the 1N from UNCG. A loss by Elon would give the division to UNCG. A loss by Elon could also potentially give Samford the number two seed. A win by Elon would put them in great position to get the bye still. Two wins by Elon to wrap up the year would give them the number one overall seed from the North.

Georgia Southern at College of Charleston (8:00 ESPN3)

The Eagles can wrap up the 2S with a win over the Cougars on Thursday night. A loss would leave the door open for Wofford to get the bye. The Eagles just have to win one of their next two games against the Cougars or Davidson to get the bye, or they need Furman to beat Wofford on Saturday night. In other words, Georgia Southern really needs to get this one.

College of Charleston can wrap up the 4S with a win in one of their last two games against Georgia Southern or the suddenly streaking Citadel Bulldogs, or a Furman loss in either of their next two games against Chattanooga and Wofford. The Cougars can clinch that seed with a win. They really just would like to get that seed all wrapped up and put Davidson on the other side of the bracket from them.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview: Samford at Western Carolina

2012-02-22T22:01:00.001-05:00

Can the Catamounts win two games and get the bye from the North?

Thanks to Appalachian State's stunning loss to The Citadel on Wednesday night, things just got clearer for the Catamounts trip to the bye. All it takes is Elon losing twice to Davidson and UNCG, and Samford loses to Chattanooga, and Western Carolina wins out against Samford and Appalachian State, they will get the second bye spot.

Amazing.

This team was given up for dead before their February 16th game against The Citadel. They had lost nine out of ten SoCon games at that point. They won two last week against The Citadel and Elon, and suddenly, they right back in the thick of the bye race.

So goes the SoCon North.

Samford on the other hand has won eight of twelve to get to 8-8 in SoCon play. Raijon Kelly and Tyler Hood, the two freshman, have really picked up their play. They have turned this team into a legitmate presence in the SoCon. Drew Windler, the sophmore, leads the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. He scored just five against Davidson, but has scored in double digits in every other game since December 31 against Maryland. That is fifteen of the last sixteen games that Windler has been in double figures. He scored 20 against Western Carolina back in December when the Bulldogs lost to the Catamounts at home.

Windler is capable of stepping outside and shooting the three. He is also the team's third leading rebounder with 3.8 per game, behind Jeffrey Merritt and Will Cook. Merritt also leads the team in assists. Kelly is second on the team in assists, but has really been the leader of the team for the last several weeks. Hood has averaged five points per game in the last two games, but in the five games prior to that he was averaging 15.0 points per game.

The Catamounts have four guys averaging in double figures. Harouna Mutombo leads the way with 13.0 points per game. He has 5.9 rebounds per game. Trey Sumler is one of the most important players on the team. He is a solid three point shooter when playing well. He needs to be playing well in Asheville. Sumler averages 12.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Keaton Cole averages 11.9 points per game. Brandon Boggs is averaging 10.4 points per game.

Sumler is the most important player for the Catamounts. He can be a solid contributor, and be a key to the team. They like to play up-tempo, but are undersized and can not rebound a lot. The Bulldogs like to slow it down and they play a precision offense.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Can the Catamounts play it close on rebounding?
--Sumler. How will he perform in one of his final games at home?
--The freshman. Hood and Kelly have been playing so well for the Bulldogs. Can they keep it up?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--With so much on the line for the second bye spot, both teams will come out a little tight.
--Windler, Kelly, and Hood will all score double digits, and will approach 50 total points between them.
--Sumler and Mutombo will play well.
--Samford jumps out to an early lead, but Western fights back on their home floor.
--Samford 74, Western Carolina 71. The Bulldogs are playing well, and the Catamounts (outside of the Elon win last Saturday) have not been playing well. The Bulldogs are desperate for this win...and they can taste the second seed from the North. This will be a great game, and I'm looking forward to it.

Battle of North vs. South- 2-22-12

2012-02-22T21:15:00.000-05:00

Wednesday's Scores

Appalachian State (N) 51
The Citadel (S) 62

at North
North- 12
South- 12

at South
North- 5
South- 17

Overall
North- 17
South- 29

ANALYSIS

Wow. The Citadel has now pulled off back-to-back upsets of SoCon North teams. The North is so inconsistent and so weak at this point that it is hard to believe that any North team will win in the SoCon Tournament. It is equally hard to understand how we (or many people around the conference) thought that the North would be better than the South this year.

Double Dribbles- 2-22-12

2012-02-22T05:00:00.021-05:00

1) Wednesday features just one game- Appalachian State's trip to The Citadel is important to the Mountaineers chances of getting a bye. Check out What It All Means for full coverage of what the game means to both teams. Ike Butts and Omar Carter were back to starting on Saturday, and as this team seems to be starting to surge a bit, this game could prove critical to their confidence moving forward. The battles will continue to intensify on Thursday.

2) Kevin Giltner of Wofford was the SoCon Player of the Week for last week. He averaged 23 points and 6 rebounds in a win against Elon and a loss to Charleston Southern. While his running mate, Kevin Loesing, was the best player on the floor against UNCG on Tuesday night, the Spartans were without Trevis Simpson, as UNCG is trying to get him ready for the SoCon Tourney. But Giltner has been very good this year and is one of the pleasant surprises in the SoCon this year. As Wofford chases a bye that they could desperately use, they are attempting to win their third consecutive SoCon Tournament. Giltner is a big reason why.

Battle of North vs. South- 2-21-12

2012-02-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

Tuesday's Score

Wofford (S) 68
UNC-Greensboro (N) 56

at North
North- 12
South- 12

at South
North- 5
South- 16

Overall
North- 17
South- 28

ANALYSIS

Wow. The South is really putting it to the North at this point. The fact is that the conference is pretty equal 2-11 in this conference. But the South is doing a better job at closing out games. That's just what they do. They will probably do the same thing in the tournament. This has been an impressive season for the South, and a disappointing one for the North.

What It All Means- Wednesday Edition

2012-02-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

Appalachian State at The Citadel (7:00)

The Mountaineers have an opportunity to get a bye in the North. They need to win out, and they need Elon to lose both and Samford to lose at least one, or for Elon to lose to UNCG and Samford to lose both for the Mountaineers to get a bye. It mostly depends on winning though. If the Mountaineers can win, they have a real shot.

With the way Isaac Butts has been playing lately, the Mountaineers are a threat in the SoCon Tournament. They really need to get a bye to really get into position to win the tournament. Winning this game means a lot to the Mountaineers chances.

For The Citadel, they have no shot at getting out of their 6S seed. But that doesn't matter. The Bulldogs won against Chattanooga on Saturday. They have been playing teams relatively close, and feature one of the best players in the SoCon in Mike Groselle. That makes them dangerous in a tournament setting. It would help the Bulldogs to continue to build their confidence by winning a game or two this week. A Bulldogs win in this one or on Saturday against Charleston would be a big boost to their confidence heading into Asheville.

Should be an interesting game. Winnning on the road is never easy in the SoCon. That makes this game more intriguing.

Double Dribbles- 2-21-12

2012-02-21T05:00:00.016-05:00

1) The Spartans and the Terriers face off in one of the more exciting games of the week on Tuesday. Check out "What It All Means" for more information on the importance of the game. I would just like to add to that how important this game is to the Spartans. The Spartans lost to Georgia Southern on Saturday, and need to prove that they are not just a product of the weak North. A win over a quality team like the Terriers would prove that they are for real. This game is a real prove it game for the Spartans.

2) A quick programming note. This week, all week long, we'll be running What It All Means each day that there is a game. Of course, there will be the usual preview of the Monster Game of the Week, which will be Samford-Western Carolina on Thursday. The preview will come late Wednesday night and the recap late Thursday night. Then Sunday, the normal Scanning the SoCon will be up, with a preview of the tournament in Asheville. Then each day next week will have a preview of the tournament. Monday will feature my SoCon Awards. Tuesday will have "If They Win The Tournament" what their NCAA seeds will be feature. Wednesday will have "If They Win The Tournament" what the main reason will be feature. Then beginning Thursday, each night we will have a preview of the next day's games, and recaps of the games that took place that day. Also, I'm planning to have a contest for the tournament for all the fans. Should be a lot of fun, and I hope that everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of the SoCon Tournament. I hope this can be your Home for SoCon Tournament Coverage.

Why It Matters- Tuesday Edition

2012-02-20T22:14:00.000-05:00

Wofford at UNC-Greensboro (7:00)

The Terriers and the Spartans will battle in Greensboro and the game will be available with video on UNCGSpartans.com. This is truly a big game and a great game.

If the Spartans win, they wrap up the number one seed from the North heading into Saturday's showdown at Elon. It also would guarantee that the Terriers will finish third in the South. This is the result that would most clarify the seeding throughout the SoCon.

If the Terriers win, then it puts pressure on Georgia Southern to win at College of Charleston heading into their Davidson game on Saturday. Wofford is down two games to the Eagles, but the Eagles have a very difficult schedule. If Wofford wins here, they would be the favorite at home against Furman on Saturday. If the Eagles lose to the Cougars, it would put pressure on them to beat Davidson on Saturday- never a positive thing to have to do. This is a huge game for the Terriers.

A Spartans loss would open the door for Elon- slightly. The Phoenix head to Davidson on Thursday, and that is probably not a position Elon needs to be in to win the division. But it does open the door. The Spartans can go out and slam the door with a win.

Should be one of the better games of the week. Can't wait for it. Remember to watch for free on UNCGSpartans.com (if you can stand the camera angles, and if not, then listen for free on there).

Double Dribbles- 2-20-12

2012-02-20T05:00:00.027-05:00

1) Heading into the final week, only three teams have their spot in the SoCon Tournament wrapped up. Davidson has the 1S wrapped up, while The Citadel has the 6S wrapped up and Chattanooga has the 6N wrapped up. That means that each game in the middle of the week will have some meaning to some team in the game. This week will be a ton of fun for the other nine teams in the SoCon. The best part of this week is that it all starts on Tuesday, as four days this week have SoCon games. For all the SoCon fans out there (and let's face it, if you're reading this, you're a SoCon fan), this week is almost as good as next week's SoCon Tournament.

2) UNCG's loss to Georgia Southern is damaging to the Spartans for a lot of reasons. The first thing is that the Spartans failed to clinch the North Division with the win. The second problem (and the bigger one) is that the Spartans loss has to hurt at least some of their confidence heading into the SoCon Tournament. The Eagles-Spartans game is a potential semifinal match-up. It would be a great match-up, but the Eagles will go in with all the confidence. That's the worst thing that happened to the Spartans.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Samford at Western Carolina

2012-02-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

This season has been full of surprises in the SoCon North. In the preseason, the top three teams were expected to be Chattanooga, Western Carolina, and Appalachian State. At this point, those are the bottom three teams in the division at this point. UNCG is just one win from winning the North. Elon was the big favorite heading into SoCon play after their early season play, but have come back to earth.

So as we head into the final week, four teams are in contention for the second bye spot. Elon, Samford, Appalachian State, and Western Carolina all hold out hope for a bye spot. The Catamounts need a lot of help to get there, but they still have a chance. Plus, they get to play Samford and Appalachian State this week, two teams ahead of them in the standings.

The Bulldogs are hoping to clinch a bye spot as well. They are the current number two seed from the North. A win over Western Carolina on Thursday night would eliminate Western Carolina from the race. Should be a very interesting week for all four schools. This Samford-Western Carolina is the biggest midweek game, and with all the possible scenarios, it's too tough to pick out just one game from Saturday. That's why this one gets top billing- even though Davidson-Georgia Southern is probably the better match-up, it means next to nothing.

Scanning the SoCon- Week Sixteen

2012-02-19T19:45:00.001-05:00

Before I get started this week, check MocsMania each day before the games, as I will be writing the importance of each game for each team. Some games obviously have more meaning than others, and I'll try to make sure that the importance of each game is emphasized. Should be an exciting week, with games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Also, be sure to check out SoConFans each day to see updated standings, and brackets.

DavidsonCats- Davidson fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro fan.

SCHEDULE

Tuesday
Wofford at UNC-Greensboro

Wednesday
Appalachian State at The Citadel

Thursday
Elon at Davidson
Samford at Western Carolina
Chattanooga at Furman
Georgia Southern at College of Charleston (ESPN3)

Saturday
Appalachian State at Western Carolina
College of Charleston at The Citadel (SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)
Davidson at Georgia Southern
UNC-Greensboro at Elon
Furman at Wofford
Samford at Chattanooga

POWER RANKINGS

1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Georgia Southern 43
3) UNC-Greensboro 41
4) Wofford 34
5) College of Charleston 31
6) Elon 29
7) Samford 25
8t) Appalachian State 18
8t) Furman 18
10) Western Carolina 13
11) Chattanooga 8
12) The Citadel 4

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- The Wildcats are now 20-7 on the season and 14-2 in conference games. They've secured the 1S seed. We had two home games this week. The first was a solid victory over Samford. The second was a loss to Wichita State. Cohen and Czerapowicz led the way for the Wildcats this week. Jake had 40 points and Chris had 31. Troubling for Wildcat fans this week was the limited play of De'Mon Brooks. He started out great against Samford, then had some problems with his back. He scored 8 points in his 8 minutes and didn't return. He played against Wichita State and scored 10, but didn't look like himself. The final week of the season has two big games. On Thursday, Matt Matheny and the Phoenix come to Davidson. The Wildcats play at GSU on Saturday. A split would win the division outright.

MocsMania- Hahahahahahhahahaha! Sorry- sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. The Mocs loss to Appalachian State was not particularly surprising, but the Mocs very disappointing home loss to The Citadel was not pleasant. There is hope for the younger guys coming up, but this group of seniors have been a disappointment this year. The biggest problem is that the Mocs are simply not making shots right now. The effort is still there. They get a lot of offensive rebounds, and have not been turning the ball over a ton, and they get to the free throw line. But they just aren't making shots. If the Mocs suddenly start making shots in Asheville, they're dangerous. But let's not be completely ridiculous. They haven't been making shots all year. Why would it start now?

TheSportsArsenal- After a disappointing loss at Western Carolina in which the Bulldogs were badly outrebounded (WCU had more offensive boards than The Citadel had total rebounds), the team responded with its first road victory of the season (in its last road game of the season, no less). The victim was Chattanooga, which limited Mike Groselle's offensive opportunities but failed to keep him off the boards (15 rebounds). The Bulldogs made 10 three-pointers (5 from Lawrence Miller) and survived two last-second shots from the Mocs. The Citadel completes the regular season with two home games, against Appalachian State and the College of Charleston. Now that the 11-game losing streak has been broken, perhaps the Bulldogs can pull off another upset prior to the league tournament.

UNCGBasketballFan- UNCG basketball this week has been all about Trevis Simpson. The rumors started circulating on Tuesday night. He was hurt. It was a broken foot and he was done for the year. The season is over. On Wednesday, it was better news. Turf toe and he was day to day. The team rallied and played one of its best games against Charleston. Even though UNCG had a rough second half and fell to the Eagles on Saturday night, Simpson's return was the bigger story for UNCG fans. They will need him back if they are going to make run in Asheville. This upcoming week is huge for the Spartans. UNCG can win the North Division outright and exorcise some bad demons that have been hanging over this program for a few years.

Which game are you most looking forward to this week that does not involve your team?

DavidsonCats- All of the Saturday games should be fun. Everyone plays their travel partner, which makes for some great rivalry games. CofC at Citadel, ASU at WCU, UNCG at Elon, Furman at Wofford all look like fun. But the really interesting game to me is Thursday's GSU at CofC game. I want to see what GSU does in that hostile environment. CofC should have Stitt back and will be getting tuned up for the tournament.

MocsMania- Samford has every opportunity to get the second bye from the North. They have the tiebreaker over Elon. They battle Western Carolina on Thursday night. A win over the Catamounts coupled with an Elon loss at Davidson and an Appalachian State loss at The Citadel or Western Carolina would give the Bulldogs the bye. A tie with Appalachian State would go against them. Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Elon, and Samford all still have a shot at the second bye from the North. Should make for a wild final week.

TheSportsArsenal- The big games this week are the ones with first-round tourney bye implications -- basically, the remaining games for Wofford, Georgia Southern, Samford, and Elon.

UNCGBasketballFan- Elon at Davidson. An Elon loss or UNCG win would clinch the North Division for the Spartans. I would like to see both this week.

Who is your pick for Coach of the Year?

DavidsonCats- A number of coaches have done really well this year. Mike Young, Charlton Young, Wes Miller, Jimmy Tillette, and Matt Matheny should all get some consideration. I'm going with Bob McKillop. I know that a lot of people picked Davidson to win the division. I thought the Wildcats were a year away and would finish 2nd in the division and behind several of the North teams. Instead, the Wildcats are way out in front in the computer rankings and locked up the 1S seed last week.

MocsMania- To me, there are just five candidates that deserve consideration. Elon's Matt Matheny, UNCG's Wes Miller, Samford's Jimmy Tillette, Georgia Southern's Charlton Young, and Wofford's Mike Young all deserve some recognition. To me there is only one other team that has achieved at their expected level, and that is Davidson, and I expected the Wildcats to lose about three SoCon games preseason. They're pretty close to that right now, so I don't feel like McKillop deserves it. Samford, UNCG, and Georgia Southern all experienced huge turnarounds in SoCon play from their out of conference performance. Elon has really fallen off in the last month. That leaves Mike Young from Wofford. I expected the Terriers to go about 7-11 in SoCon play and be no factor in the SoCon Tournament. As it is, the Terriers are a threat to win their third SoCon Tournament in three years. Young deserves real credit for that.

TheSportsArsenal- I am almost stupefied by UNCG's turnaround under Wes Miller. Interim coach as Coach of the Year? Why not? Bob McKillop is my second choice.

UNCGBasketballFan- I'm going to go with Wes Miller, but I think Mike Young of Wofford is equally deserving.

Who is your pick for Freshman of the Year?

DavidsonCats- Karl Cochran is the best freshman I've seen in the Southern this year.

MocsMania- Samford's Tyler Hood, and Elon's Austin Hamilton have proven their worth. I think next year, you'll see several of the freshman from Charleston (Adejhi Baru and Anthony Stitt) make big leaps, along with several Mocs players (Rico White and Jared Bryant should be very good next year). But the best freshman this year has been Wofford's Karl Cochran. He will probably be the key to the Terriers in Asheville. Not bad for a freshman.

TheSportsArsenal- I'll go with Wofford's Karl Cochran as Freshman of the Year. It's a tough call. I think you could make arguments for Tyler Hood and Austin Hamilton, too. I suspect Anthony Stitt would have won this award if he had not broken his hand midway through the season.

UNCGBasketballFan- In a less than impressive freshman class, I'll go with Wofford Karl Cochran.

Who is your pick for Player of the Year?

DavidsonCats- I don't think that there is a player who is head and shoulders above the others. When that happens, I think that POY should go to the best player on the best team. And there's the trouble. De'Mon Brooks or Jake Cohen? Both have had spectacular games. Both have disappeared. Both have battled foul trouble and injury. I'll go with Jake Cohen.

MocsMania- Personally, I think the five man All SoCon First Team is easy. Mike Groselle from The Citadel, Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks from Davidson, Trevis Simpson from UNCG, and Eric Ferguson from Georgia Southern. Groselle has not done enough to lift his team out of the cellar in my opinion. It may not be his fault, but it is what it is. That leaves the other four that I think all deserve serious consideration. It is a very tough choice, but I'm going with Simpson. No player has been better than him more consistently, in my opinion. During the last month of the year, he's been the best player by far, I believe. That gives him the edge, but I really can't complain about any of Brooks, Cohen, or Ferguson.

TheSportsArsenal- Jake Cohen was my preseason and midseason pick for Player of the Year. He's still my pick. It can be hard, at least statistically, to separate him from his teammate De'Mon Brooks. Part of my reasoning for selecting Cohen (as opposed to Brooks) is that in most of Davidson's losses, Cohen struggled, and as he struggled so did the team. I think that's an indication of his importance on that squad. The Wildcats were easily the SoCon's best team, and Cohen was their best player. There were other players with outstanding years in the league, of course -- my man Mike Groselle being at the top of that list. Ultimately, though, Cohen is my choice.

UNCGBasketballFan- I think there are three obvious choices for this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mike Groselle, Trevis Simpson or Jake Cohen win the award. Since this is just my opnion, I'll pick who I think is the best player of the group. That's Trevis Simpson.

The Citadel 48, Mocs 46

2012-02-18T23:18:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 34.9%
The Citadel- 57.5%
Advantage- The Citadel

TO%
Mocs- 15.0%
The Citadel- 31.8%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 34.2%
The Citadel- 27.3%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 30.2%
The Citadel- 10.0%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Mocs- 56.3%
The Citadel- 50.0%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 39.6%
The Citadel- 52.5%

PLAYER RATER

Overall

1) Jahmal Burroughs 20.9
2) Drazen Zlovaric 18.7
3) Dontay Hampton 16.6
4) Keegan Bell 11.1
5) Ricky Taylor 5.5
6) Lance Stokes 5.0
7) Jared Bryant 3.4
8) Rico White 0.6
9) Omar Wattad -6.1

Per 40

1) Dontay Hampton 31.6
2) Jahmal Burroughs 29.8
3) Drazen Zlovaric 26.6
4) Lance Stokes 18.2
5) Keegan Bell 13.0
6) Jared Bryant 11.3
7) Ricky Taylor 8.4
8) Rico White 1.6
9) Omar Wattad -9.7

ANALYSIS

Wow. That was painful. Very painful. The Mocs were struggling early, but took a one point lead into halftime when Dontay Hampton hit a falling away three at the buzzer. It was a dramatic shot that should have given the Mocs a huge momentum boost heading into the locker room. It didn't really. The Mocs came out and fell back behind pretty quickly. But the Mocs responded and took a seven point lead, 43-36 with just under six minutes left. The Mocs should have been able to put it away from there.

And, like has become the norm, this year, they could not put it away. It ended with Keegan Bell missing two threes, after the team had started the game 3 of 19 from three point range.

There is something interesting here. Look at the Four Factors section above. The Mocs turned the ball over at a significantly lower rate, they came up with a much higher rate of offensive rebounds, and they got to the free throw line more frequently. On top of that, they shot a better percentage from the free throw line (though they hardly were lighting it up). They probably shot too much from three point range considering they only made 3 of 21 from three point range. The Citadel shot over 50% of their shots from three point range. The Mocs really outplayed The Citadel in all facets, except for shooting.

This happened against Appalachian State too. The Mocs are playing an interesting brand of basketball. They are winning a lot of categories that they should be winning, but they aren't making shots at a high rate, and they are allowing their opponents to make too many shots. Will the Mocs ever start shooting better? At this point, maybe not.

Groselle scored eight points and collected 15 rebounds, so he had a good game, but not a great game. The Mocs certainly controlled him, at least scoring-wise. They held him to 3 of 3 shooting from the field. Lawrence Miller did score 15, which was the hot shooter of the night. But the Mocs defense on Groselle was very admirable.

This was painful, and assures the Mocs of the 6N seed. They will be playing in the last game on Friday night at the SoCon Tournament. For a team that started off thinking they were the favorite to win the North....ouch.

GO MOCS!

Battle of North vs. South- 2-18-12

2012-02-18T22:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Scores

Furman (S) 49
Samford (N) 55

The Citadel (S) 48
Chattanooga (N) 46

UNC-Greensboro (N) 69
Georgia Southern (S) 83

at North
North- 12
South- 11

at South
North- 5
South- 16

Overall
North- 17
South- 27

ANALYSIS
At one point on Saturday, UNCG and Chattanooga both were ahead in their games, and it looked like the score could get down to 25-19, which would have made it look interesting, even though the North still could not have won. In the end, both lost, and the South's lead is up to ten again. The Citadel has beaten two North teams this year...and those are their only SoCon wins. Of course, one of Davidson's two SoCon losses was to a North team.

BracketBusters Review

2012-02-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

Wichita State 91, Davidson 74- If this did not make the Wildcats fans nervous about the future, I don't know what game will. Sure, the Shockers are very good, so maybe it should not be a surprising result, and maybe the Wildcats should not be concerned. But the defensive effort at least raises some serious questions about where this team is, and where they are going. They are probably a year away, anyway, from being great. The Wildcats have beaten Kansas this year, so they are capable of better than this, but this result was nothing short of disappointing. The defense has to improve in two weeks to win the SoCon Tourney.

Appalachian State 76, Winthrop 64- Butts is back. He had 15 points and 15 rebounds. That is the second straight really good game for Butts. IF he continues to play like that, and IF he continues to be a threat in the SoCon Tournament, this Mountaineers team could be a major threat in two weeks. This win was nothing special. Winning against Winthrop should not earn endless praise, but the performance of Butts and the 15 point outburst by Carter makes the Mountaineers a very dangerous team. If they're going to play like they were capable of playing from the beginning, this is a very interesting team.

College of Charleston 80, Kent State 73- I give up on ever understanding the Cougars. Nori Johnson poured in 27 points, Antwaine Wiggins had 17, and Trent Wiedeman had 14. They only played seven men. This was the game I most expected the SoCon to lose on Saturday. But it didn't happen. For that reason, the Cougars, too, have established that they are a real threat to win the SoCon Tournament. They are not playing a deep enough bench to do it, but they are a dangerous team. The Flashes couldn't win a home BracketBusters game against an injured team. This could really hurt the Flashes seed in the NCAA Tournament if they win the MAC Tournament.

Charleston Southern 77, Wofford 59- Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing played 37 and 35 minutes, so they did not exactly get rested up. They combined for 34 points. They were the only players in double digits for the Terriers. Karl Cochran struggled. When he struggles, the Terriers are just not as good. They need Cochran badly to show up in two weeks at the SoCon Tournament. Wofford committed 18 turnovers to the Buccaneers eight. That was a major difference too.

The Citadel Preview: The Fighting Groselle's

2012-02-18T00:47:00.000-05:00

Mike Groselle is the second leading scorer in the SoCon with 16.9 points per game. Mike Groselle is the leading rebounder in the SoCon with 9.3 rebounds per game. Mike Groselle should be one of the most talked about players in the SoCon.

Unfortunately for him, he plays on The Citadel, a team that has just one SoCon win on the year, and just two D1 wins on the year. The Bulldogs have lost eleven straight, though they have not been getting killed. Against Western Carolina on Thursday, they lost by 17. Prior to that, the Bulldogs had not lost by more than 11 in seven games, when they lost to Davidson 80-51 on January 21. So the Bulldogs are playing teams close, but not able to close the deal.

Sound familiar?

The Bulldogs start with Groselle. He should certainly be on most people's All SoCon team, and will probably get some votes for the Player of the Year. He's the only player to score more than 8.3 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game. He is 6-8 and the tallest player. He is also the third leading player in assists on the team with 1.9 assists per game. He shoots 58.4% from the floor.

DeVontae Wright and Ashton Moore are both pretty good players. Moore is averaging 8.3 points per game and Wright is averaging 8.2 points per game and leads the team with 2.5 assists per game. Marshall Harris is tied with Wright for assists lead.

The Citadel was completely dominated on the boards by Western Carolina on Thursday night. They surrendered 28 offensive rebounds to the Catmounts, while they only got 27 total rebounds. Groselle scored 17 points, while Lawrence Miller scored 14. He scored four total points in the previous two games. But in the two games prior to that he had scored fifteen apiece. He had only three double digit games prior to that. In other words, Miller is hot right now. He can be a major help to Groselle.

The Mocs Drazen Zlovaric should be an interesting match-up for Groselle. He is going to have a tough time guarding Groselle one on one. So, this might be a perfect game to use the "Fire" defense that so many Moc fans loathe. The only other option is to let Groselle get his points, and stop everyone else. Not sure which one is the better choice.

Where will the Mocs be mentally? After benching all five starters for the last fifteen minutes of the game against Appalachian State and watching the Mocs have some success, what happens now? Surely, Omar Wattad, Keegan Bell, Ricky Taylor, and Jahmal Burroughs along with Zlovaric will get more minutes. But Dontay Hampton and Rico White played so well against the Mountaineers, they have earned a lot more playing time. Jared Bryant continued to show why he can be a solid contributor. Finally, will Z Mason be back? He was supposed to play Wednesday, but did not. He should be back for this one. Hampton also had some breathing issues after the Appalachian State game, but is rumored to be fine and will play on Saturday night.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Western Carolina dominated the boards on The Citadel. The Mocs (with Burroughs, Zlovaric, Bryant, and Mason all playing) did the same thing to the Catamounts earlier this year. That means the Mocs should completely dominate the boards on these Bulldogs if those guys are healthy. If the Mocs do that, they should be able to win.
--Controlling Groselle or shutting down everyone else? I'm not sure what the proper strategy is in this situation. I guarantee that Fire will implemented in this game, because other than Ike Butts when he is playing well and Jake Cohen, there is no one else in the SoCon that deserves this treatment more than Groselle, and they may deserve less because of the quality of their surrounding talent. Could Groselle be shut down? Possibly, but will someone else (such as Miller) catch fire? If so, the Mocs could get burned by Fire again.
--Zlovaric on offense. If he can make Groselle work on the defensive end, that would be good for the Mocs. It would possibly wear him out a bit on that end of the floor. Groselle has not had to guard too many guys as offensively active as Zlovaric this year.
--Mental state of both teams. How will these two teams respond to what may have been their worst performances of the year in their last games (to teams not named Davidson)? Which team comes in ready to play? Does the Mocs benching their starters for the last fifteen minutes change their attitude? Does the Bulldogs playing in Cullowhee on Thursday and then turning around and coming to Chattanooga on Saturday?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Mocs will dominate the boards.
--Groselle will score 20 points.
--There will be at least one other Bulldog in double digits.
--The Mocs starters will respond well and play hard.
--Mocs 76, The Citadel 69. The Mocs will play hard. Assuming they do that, they will win this game. They should win this game. Burroughs, Zlovaric, and Bryant need to have huge games, and if they do, the Mocs will win.

GO MOCS!

BracketBusters Saturday

2012-02-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

Finally. It's one of my favorite Saturdays of the year. BracketBusters Saturday is here at last. I really look forward to watching the BracketBusters every year. I can't wait to watch these games. The SoCon will be participating in these four games- three of them will take place off of television, which means they won't be as visible as I wish they were.

Without further ado, let's break down each of the four SoCon BracketBuster games. Hope you enjoy this- I'll be doing very similar things for each day of the SoCon Tournament in two weeks.

Wichita State at Davidson (12:00 ESPN2)

The Story: What a run by Wichita State! After a 2-2 start, they have gone 21-2. One of those losses was a home loss to Creighton and one was a triple overtime loss at Drake. Last week, the Shockers went to Creighton, and pounded the Blue Jays by 21. This team is probably going to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they don't win the MVC Tournament. Davidson, on the other hand, has been great all year, but the losses to Samford and College of Charleston in their last seven games has probably ended any chance the Wildcats had of an at-large bid. They will officially be gone if they lose to the Shockers, but a win would keep their very thin hopes alive, since they would have beaten Kansas and Wichita State.

The Breakdown: The Shockers are 19th in the country in scoring. Garrett Stutz, Joe Ragland, and Toure' Murry average between twelve and 14.3 points per game. Stutz shoots 58% from the floor, while Ragland shoots 55%. Stutz also collects eight rebounds per game. Ragland is 6-0, but Stutz is 7-0 tall, making him a terrible match-up for the Wildcats. Davidson is 15th in the country in scoring. Jake Cohen plays tough inside, but Stutz will be maybe his most difficult match-up all year. The Wildcats did a good job with Kansas' Thomas Robinson, so they should be able to handle the Shockers. Frank Ben-Eze may also see significant minutes, as his 6-11 body could provide a definite presence in the middle of the floor. He can change games defensively.

The Pick: This is a toss-up game since it is at Davidson. The Wildcats have been itching to get a shot at another very good team at home since their home loss to Vanderbilt in December. The Wildcats will be playing in front of a fired up crowd, and they have been brilliant at home in SoCon play. That being said, both teams will score in bunches. Big bunches. That seems like a dangerous match-up for Davidson. If Wichita State gets into the 80s, it is a bad sign. If the Wildcats can hold them into the low 70s, they have a real shot. This seems fairly obvious to any basketball fan, but here's the deal- I fully expect the Wildcats to score in the 80s. So it all comes down to their defense. Wichita State 85, Davidson 82.

Winthrop at Appalachian State (2:00)

The Story: The Eagles are fifth in the Big South. Appalachian State is fourth in the North of the SoCon. On paper, this game lacks sizzle, as these teams both have only eleven wins. But on the whole, this game is still very evenly matched. The Eagles beat Coastal Carolina (2nd in the Big South) and lost in OT to UNC-Asheville (1st in the Big South). They head to UNCA next Saturday in their final regular season game. They are trying to get hot for momentum heading into the Big South Tournament. Appalachian State has been struggling too, but have now won two out of three with the lone loss to Wofford by two. The Mountaineers, too, have a chance to build momentum as they go into the SoCon Tourney.

The Breakdown: Winthrop relies heavily on two scorers. Andre Jones (16.2 PPG) and Reggie Middleton (12.2 PPG) have combined for 29 points per game of the teams 64 point per game average. They also both play at least 32 minutes per game. They also are both under 6-2. Isaac Butts was a stud for the Mountaineers against Chattanooga on Wednesday night, coming up with 16 rebounds. That was his best game since his suspension. Omar Carter, the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year, has been anything but a stud during the season. He leads the team in scoring, but is not currently starting and is really struggling.

The Pick: The Mountaineers have not been playing great, but have started to show some signs in recent games of snapping out of their funk. They should be able to play good enough defense to contain two players like Jones and Middleton. Even if they score, the rest of the Eagles will struggle. The Mountaineers win at home. Appalachian State 74, Winthrop 69.

College of Charleston at Kent State (6:00)

The Story: Kent State is 19-6 and have won seven straight and are second in the MAC. The Cougars have as much talent as any team in the SoCon, but with injuries, they have struggled at times. Their win over Davidson last Saturday igniting hope in the Cougars fan base. The loss to UNCG on Wednesday put a damper on some of the excitement. A win over the Flashes would help the Cougars confidence in the SoCon Tournament a lot.

The Breakdown: Kent State relies on Justin Greene, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, and is shooting over 50% from the floor. He is averaging 13.7 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game, plus nearly a block per game. The Flashes shoot nearly 37% from three point range. Five Flashes score over 9.1 points per game. The Cougars rely heavily on Antwaine Wiggins, who averages 16.3 points per game. He is also the second leading rebounder on the team. Trent Wiedeman should be able to do a good job on Greene. That will be a compelling match-up.

The Pick: If the Cougars were fully healthy, they would be able to win a game like this. As it is, going on the road against a team that could easily find themselves in the NCAA Tournament by winning the MAC Tournament is not a good match-up. The Flashes have been playing great, and the Cougars (who just were beaten up by UNCG on Wednesday night) have not been. Kent State 78, College of Charleston 67.

Wofford at Charleston Southern (7:00)

The Story: Both teams are reasonably hot following three game losing streaks. Both have won back-to-back games following those losing streaks. Both teams are considered dark horses in their conference tournaments. The Buccaneers have had one of their better seasons, and would love nothing more than to beat the team that has been to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. This ought to be a fun BracketBusters game.

The Breakdown: The Buccaneers are 24th in the nation in scoring offense. They have four guys scoring in double digits. Kelvin Martin leads the way with his 58% shooting. Martin is also averaging 8.8 rebounds per game. The other three double digits scorers are Saah Nimley, Arlon Harper, and Mathiany Muo. This is a high octane offense. Wofford relies heavily on Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing lead the SoCon in minutes played, and average 15.3 points per game and 14.5 points per game, respectively. Karl Cochran, the freshman, is the third leading scorer for the Terriers. When he's hot shooting, he totally changes the dynamic of the team. The Terriers rely on defense, and the Buccaneers are not a big team, so Martin's play may not be a huge problem to defend for Wofford. Should be very interesting to see how Martin plays against the Terriers defense.

The Pick: Can the Terriers go on the road and come up with a win? Honestly, I think it comes down to how much the Terriers want this game. The only thing that really matters to both teams is winning their conference tournaments at this point. Giltner and Loesing play a ton of minutes normally. Do they play about 30 minutes instead of about 38 minutes in this game? If they both do that to conserve some their energy and avoid possible injury, Wofford won't be able to win. If they do play their full complement of minutes, I believe they are the better team- barely. On the road, this is a toss-up. In a sign of faith that the Terriers play like they want to win bad, I'll take them. Wofford 74, Charleston Southern 72.

Double Dribbles-2-17-12

2012-02-17T05:00:00.012-05:00

1) Western Carolina's 17 point win over The Citadel gives the Catamounts the inside edge for the fifth seed for the North. They are now one game up on the Mocs and own the tiebreaker over the Mocs. They head to Elon on Saturday, before hosting Samford and Appalachian State. If Western Carolina comes up with a sweep, they have a real shot at the 3N seed still. But they have to sweep. I don't find that likely. But there's no telling. The Catamounts could still land anywhere from 3N to 6N. We'll just have to wait and see.

2) Just a programming note. Tonight night there will be smaller previews on each of the four BracketBuster games. Should be tremendous. It will be an exciting set of games on Saturday afternoon and night, and there will be previews of all four up here tomorrow so that SoCon fans around the WORLD can know what to expect. The BracketBusters should be a very exciting day of college basketball. I can't wait for it.

Keegan Bell: Remembering the Shot

2012-02-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

On January 14, 2010, the Mocs were battling The Citadel in Chattanooga. The Mocs were leading 49-42 when the Bulldogs scored with 6:52 remaining in the game.With 1:01 left, the Bulldogs completed the comeback when Cameron Wells made a layup to take a 54-53 lead.

With three seconds left, Sam Watson came up with a block on Wells and grabbed the ball. The Mocs called a timeout and set up a play. That play lead to Keegan Bell pulling up from three and draining it. The Mocs won 56-54.

Bell ended with eleven points, tied for the team high with Ricky Taylor.

After that game, the Mocs were 11-6 and 3-1 in the SoCon. After that, the Mocs went 4-12. The Mocs have gone 30-46 since that day, a 39.5% winning percentage.

On a day that featured sophomores Taylor and Bell being the leading scorers with eleven points, and a day that Bell hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer, who knew that would be the high point for the Mocs?

Regardless, that shot has lingered as a bright spot for Mocs fans as they have remembered Keegan Bell's career, much the way we are likely to remember Dontay Hampton's lay-up against Appalachian State for the win this year.

I honestly think Keegan Bell has established himself as one of the all-time greats at Chattanooga. I don't know how you can doubt this. Sure- the Mocs have not won as much as they have with previous players. That being said, Bell is the all-time leader in assists. At a school like Chattanooga, for a guy to be the all-time leader in assists has to establish him as one of the all-time greats. Is he in the Top Five? Top Ten? Top 25? I don't know. But we will be talking about Bell years from now, because of the record he holds. He has a great assist-to-turnover ratio. He is a truly special player and deserves all the accolades he has received.

I know people don't want to give him credit because of the winning percentage the Mocs have on his watch. But that's a little unfair to him. He has been a great point guard, if not a great shooter. Plus he has "the moment" with that shot against The Citadel two years ago. There's no way we won't be talking about him in the years to come. That establishes him as one of the all-time-greats.

GO MOCS!

Battle of North vs. South- 2-16-12

2012-02-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Thursdays Game

The Citadel (S) 53
Western Carolina (N) 70

at North
North- 11
South- 10

at South
North- 5
South- 15

Overall
North- 16
South- 25

ANALYSIS

Western Carolina's win over The Citadel was good for the North, but doesn't mean that they can come back. They still can't. But the North still has two more games The Citadel (Chattanooga on Saturday, Appalachian State on Wednesday). That could help them make up two more games on the South. Then again, the Bulldogs could come up with their second SoCon win of the year against one of them just as easily. We'll have to wait and see.

Double Dribbles- 2-16-12

2012-02-16T05:00:00.019-05:00

1) Trevis Simpson has some sort of foot injury- apparently a broken toe according to post game comments by Coach Wes Miller. Regardless, the Spartans Player of the Year candidate is not in the lineup for the time being. The Spartans still were able to beat the Cougars by 15, who do not really have the excuse of injuries in this one since Simpson was out. That being said, the Spartans need to get Simpson back as soon as possible or else they will not be considered one of the favorites in the SoCon Tournament. With a bye locked up, the Spartans are certainly one of the big favorites right now. If they get the 1N locked up, and get Simpson back, I don't think any team will really want to play this team in Asheville.

2) Western Carolina hosts The Citadel tonight in another match-up of North vs. South. The South has clinched the regular season battle, but the Bulldogs have just one win on the year in SoCon play. They have clinched the 6S, but would love to come up with a couple of wins before the tournament. The Catamounts are trying to avoid the 6N, as they sit just a half game up on Chattanooga. In fact, they are just 2.5 games behind Samford for the 3N and have a real shot to catch them if they can come up with a win on Thursday night. It's a big night for the Catamounts.

Appalachian State 79, Mocs 70

2012-02-15T22:58:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 37.7%
Appalachian State- 52.5%
Advantage- Appalachian State

TO%
Mocs- 13.7%
Appalachian State- 16.8%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 44.9%
Appalachian State- 38.5%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 33.3%
Appalachian State- 45.8%
Advantage- Appalachian State

FT%
Mocs- 78.3%
Appalachian State- 63.0%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 36.2%
Appalachian State- 35.6%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Dontay Hampton 30.3
2) Drazen Zlovaric 24.4
3) Jared Bryant 17.5
4) Rico White 17.1
5) Drew Baker 9.1
6) Omar Wattad 6.0
7) Martynas Bareika 5.2
8) Jahmal Burroughs 5.1
9) Lance Stokes 2.4
10) Keegan Bell 0.5
11) Ricky Taylor -1.4

Per 40
1) Drazen Zlovaric 48.8
2) Dontay Hampton 41.7
3) Jared Bryant 34.9
4) Drew Baker 32.9
5) Rico White 26.3
6) Lance Stokes 13.7
7) Martynas Bareika 13.0
8) Omar Wattad 12.6
9) Jahmal Burroughs 11.9
10) Keegan Bell 1.0
11) Ricky Taylor -4.0

ANALYSIS

What a strange game for the Mocs. It was a blowout 22 point game early in the second half for the Mocs. They were getting manhandled.

Coach Shulman pulled the starters and began playing a six man rotation consisting of Jared Bryant, Drew Baker, Lance Stokes, Rico White, Dontay Hampton, and Martynas Bareika. I was fine with this for a while. Then with about ten minutes left, I started to wonder when the starters would be back.

They weren't.

They never came back. The lineup in the game did not have the firepower to complete a comeback of that magnitude, though they laid it all on the line. They cut the final lead to nine, which was how close the game was during much of the last few minutes.

I am confused as to why Drazen Zlovaric was not allowed back into the game late in the game. It was clear that the weakness in the lineup was Baker and Stokes (and I love Stokes as much as anyone, but he did not have his best game). Even if you wanted to leave Stokes in the game, Bareika could have come out. So how would a lineup with Bryant and Zlovaric combined with Hampton and White and either Stokes or Bareika have done? I'm very curious. I think that lineup may have been able to complete a comeback because Zlovaric would have been another major inside presence. I think things could have gotten interesting with that lineup.

So what does this team have left? They've continued to respond well. They kept their heads up in this one, even when down 22. The loss was terrible and pretty much guarantee that the Mocs will get either fifth or sixth in the North.

That being said, the future looks fairly bright. The Mocs played well when they had the players in that will be around next year. There is some hope that the future will go well for the Mocs, and quite possibly better than anticipated.

Things are bleak right now though. The Mocs are not good at the moment, and hope is running dry on this season. Saturday night presents a very winnable game, as do the last two games next week. The Mocs need to get on a winning streak to have a shot in Asheville. It doesn't look good, despite the fact that so many of the stats look good- including TO% and OR%. The real problem was the shooting tonight, to go along with the hot shooting of Appalachian State. Isaac Butts came up with 16 rebounds and played 23 minutes- clearly his best game since returning from suspension. Omar Carter only scored six points. Mike Neal poured in a career high 23 points.

Things have to get better, right?

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Recap: UNCG 78, College of Charleston 63

2012-02-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

No Trevis Simpson? No problem for the Spartans.

There began to be a rumor circulating around the internet last night, that seemed to be refuted, that the Spartans would be without Simpson tonight and possibly for the rest of the year. In the end, Simpson did not play. He was in a boot. This surely would spell doom for the Spartans, right? Against a motivated and hot College of Charleston?

Not so fast. Derrell Armstrong poured home 30 points, Aloysius Henry scored 22, and Kyle Randall put in 12. Those three by themselves outscored the entire Charleston lineup. The Cougars now find themselves up just one half game on Furman in the South standings, and down two full games on Wofford. The Spartans on the other hand are up now by two full games on Elon for the North lead.

It's hard to believe that UNCG can keep on winning like that if Simpson is out for a while. But the fact is that the Spartans are in excellent shape for winning the division at this point. With the win and the Samford loss, they clinch no worse than a bye in the SoCon Tournament, which is critical, because no team has ever won the tournament without a bye. Any combination of two wins and Elon losses will get the Spartans the division title.

Battle of North vs. South- 2-15-12

2012-02-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

Wednesday's Scores

Samford (N) 54
Davidson (S) 81

Elon (N) 59
Wofford (S) 72

College of Charleston (S) 63
UNC-Greensboro (N) 78

at North
North- 10
South- 10

at South
North- 5
South- 15

Overall
North- 15
South- 25

ANALYSIS

The South put away the battle with Davidson's demolition of Samford and Wofford's win over Elon. UNCG was able to keep it from being a clean sweep for the South today, and Western Carolina will be favored to beat The Citadel tomorrow in Cullowhee. But it's too little too late for the North, who has lost the regular season battle. Of course, if the North has s solid finish they can catch the South in the SoCon Tournament, but that is highly unlikely. If things went perfectly for the North, they would only be able to go 6-0 against the South in the SoCon Tournament. Not only are the odds largely in favor of the South being the more likely division to go 6-0, but the odds of the North getting it to 26-22 (which is what it would have to be for the North to overtake the South in the tournament) are pretty slim as well. There are three games on Saturday, two where the North is the home team, so the North could make up some ground between Thursday and Saturday, but it is all just semantics now.

Double Dribbles- 2-15-12

2012-02-15T05:00:00.019-05:00

1) Trevis Simpson has been named the SoCon Player of the Week. The UNCG star certainly deserves it. Over the last six games, he has not scored less than 23 in a game, and has averaged nearly 26 a year, while the Spartans have gone 5-1 in that span. The sophmore scored 25 against Samford and 28 against Chattanooga last week in leading the Spartans on a perfect road trip. You want to talk SoCon Player of the Year? This week's Scanning the SoCon will ask everyone who they are voting for for Player of the Year. I expect the names that come up to be Davidson's De'Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen, Georgia Southern's Eric Ferguson, Wofford's Brad Loesing, College of Charleston's Antwaine Wiggins, The Citadel's Mike Grosselle, and Simpson. I'd be surprised if anyone else gets even a mention. I'd be surprised if Simpson wasn't towards the top of the list.

2) Of the top five in the league in minutes played, two play for Wofford and two play for Charleston. Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing lead the league in minutes per game for the Terriers. Andrew Lawrence is third in the league, while Antwaine Wiggins is fifth for the Cougars. Both of these teams are in line to play four games in four days at the moment in the SoCon Tournament. Both are very good and very dangerous, but may not be quite deep enough to really be a threat to win four games in four days. That will be something to watch if either team is in the semifinals.

Appalachian State Preview: Still No Road Win....

2012-02-14T23:13:00.000-05:00

John Denver sang, "Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong."

Oh, how the Mocs wish that every road game could be like a home game.

The Mocs have not won on the road yet this year. Yes, they have put up some spirited fights on the road, but they have not won any of them.

Will this finally be the game where they snap out of it?

It's going to be a strange game. Ike Butts was suspended the first time the Mountaineers played the Mocs. Omar Wattad was out for the Mocs with an injury. That was Ricky Taylor's first game with a wrist injury that now seems to be doing much better. Dontay Hampton hit the game winning shot, and he is unlikely to play after taking a hard hit to the head against UNCG. Z Mason will be back for his first game in quite a while.

So, with all the moving parts, the first match-up can almost be thrown out the window for comparisons sake.

All that being said, the Mocs have been reeling, winning just three of eleven since their last meeting. The Mountaineers have won just four of eleven since that night in Chattanooga.

The Mountaineers are a strange team. Omar Carter and Ike Butts, popularly considered the Mountaineers two best players, do not start anymore. Carter has not scored in double digits since January 28. In the five games since then, he has averaged 5.2 points per game...and the Mountaineers have gone 1-4, with their lone win coming in the game he scored the most points during that stretch (eight against Furman). He played just 17 minutes in the two point loss to Wofford. That was not due to foul trouble either (he had no fouls). That's right- the preseason SoCon Player of the Year now is really struggling. He is still the team's leading scorer on the year with 12.1 points per game, but he has not been himself.

Since Butts came back from his suspension, he has averaged 6.6 points per game as the Mountaineers have gone 3-7. He's played over 17 minutes just three times since returning, after only playing seventeen minutes or fewer just once before the suspension. He also is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game, during that stretch, which is good, until you realize that most of that has been done in a handful of games. He has had one or two rebounds in four games since returning.

So who is playing well? Andre Williamson has scored ten points in each of the last two games, but had not scored in double digits for the four games prior to that. Mike Neal has scored 15 and 18 in the last two games, but he has only scored in double digits in three other SoCon games this year. Jamaal Trice is averaging in double figures, but has not scored in double figures in five games. Nathan Healy is averaging 11.0 points per game in the last five games. Tab Hamilton scored 22 against the Mocs in their last meeting, but in his last eleven games has not scored in double digits in eight of them. His high point output since that night is 11. His high point production other than the Mocs game for the year was when he scored 12 against Samford the Thursday before the Mocs game.

In other words, there are plenty of dangerous scorers, but none that are consistently playing well. Andrew Williamson is second in the SoCon in field goal percentage at 58.8% and fifth in rebounding at 7.0 per game. The Mountaineers are being outrebounded in conference games by just one per game.

Can the Mocs come up with the road win? Possibly. They will need to play solid defense, and hope that Burroughs and Mason are able to play at full force. The Mocs need to hit shots. They have not been hitting shots lately, particularly in key situations. This is huge game for the Mocs. Two wins this week would put the Mocs in fourth place and keep them within striking distance of Samford for the 3N.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. The Mocs are a better rebounding team than the Mountaineers. Can Butts and Williamson make a difference on the boards? Or will the return of Mason and Burroughs give the Mocs the edge inside with Drazen Zlovaric?
--Who cares less? Appalachian State looked completely disinterested in their blowout loss to Elon a week and a half ago. Since then, they have played much better. The Mocs have not shown any signs of quitting yet. If the Mocs still have an interest in playing, they can win this game. If Appalachian State comes out like they did against Elon, the Mocs could win by a lot. If they play like they are capable, it will be a tough hard fought game.
--Mason. How much impact does he have on a game?
--Wattad. When he was out against Appy, the Mocs did not have a huge scorer. Taylor played well, and Keegan Bell made a huge three. Can Wattad make a difference?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Carter and Butts will play their best games in a while, combining for over 20 points.
--Mason will make a big difference inside, providing the Mocs some much needed presence in the paint.
--Wattad will make several big shots.
--Hamilton will not score 22 this time around.
--The game will be a low scoring war to the finish. Neither team will quit.
--Appalachian State 68, Mocs 67. The Mocs will have every opportunity to win at the end, but the Mountaineers will pull it out in the end. There is a sense that the Mocs are going to win a road game and pull off a road upset, but I'm not sure if they have it. I have a feeling that they can, but I can't pull my itchy trigger finger on it. Carter makes a big shot late to give the Mountaineers the win.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview: College of Charleston at UNCG

2012-02-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

The Spartans snapped their eleven game losing streak in Charleston when they beat the Cougars 73-66 back on January 12. Since that time, UNCG has lost precisely one time. That was right in the middle of the Cougars going 4-9 in a thirteen game stretch, but the first loss that was truly perplexing of the bunch.

Now the Cougars have won three in a row, or (if you want to dip into the previously mentioned thirteen game stretch) four out of five, with the lone loss coming in double overtime at Elon. The Cougars find themselves just one game out of third in the South, and just one game up on Furman for fifth. So the Cougars need to keep on winning to put pressure on the Terriers and to maybe put some distance between themselves and Furman.

UNCG is up by one game on Elon for first place in the SoCon North, and up two games on Samford. With this game, a trip to Georgia Southern, a home game against Wofford, and a trip to Elon to finish off the year, nothing is guaranteed for these Spartans. They need to come up with wins to guarantee a bye, and try to put pressure on Elon to keep pace with them for first in the North.

The Spartans have had three of the last four Players of the Week. Derrell Armstrong has won two in a row a couple of weeks ago. He is averaging nearly twelve points per game. Armstrong is still coming off the bench. Trevis Simpson is the reigning Player of the Week. He leads the league with 18.1 points per game. He is fourth on the team in rebounding, averaging four per game. Armstrong is second on the team in rebounding with 4.4 per game. David Williams leads the team in rebounding with 5.2.

One of the more interesting Spartans is Drew Parker. He leads the league in three point shooting, making 51.4% from behind the arc. He only averages 5.1 points per game, so he is not a big scorer, but he is a dynamic shooter. He made three huge three pointers against Chattanooga on Saturday night, scoring nine points.

Another intriguing player is Aloysius Henry, who scored 10.5 points per game in the last four games. Henry has been playing much better, after a stretch where he really struggled. He is one of the Spartans most important players, in my opinion. If he continues playing well, he adds a whole extra dimension to the Spartans lineup. He is big, and a challenge for SoCon teams to handle at 6-10, 230 pounds.

Charleston is also a very dangerous team, despite all the injuries. In Saturday's upset of Davidson in Charleston, the Cougars played just eight players. One of those (Trevonte Dixon) played just three minutes. Andrew Lawrence, Trent Wiedeman, and Adejhi Baru are all battling injuries but playing through it.

Antwaine Wiggins played 39 minutes. He is still prone to taking ill-advised shots, but he scored 25 against Davidson, and leads the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game. Adejhi Baru, the super freshman, has been coming on, but he is still severely foul prone. He is averaging 8.3 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. He has come one strong recently, and seems to be developing, but all his fouls are reason for concern. He's picked up four or more fouls in ten of 26 games this year.

Wiedeman is averaging 11.4 points per game, while getting 8.4 rebounds per game. He is second in the league in rebounding, behind just The Citadel's Mike Grosselle. Andrew Lawrence is averaging 13.5 points per game along with the team high (and second in the SoCon) 5.5 assists per game. Lawrence is what makes this team go, and his injury has to be a bit of a concern.

Here's a surprising stat for you- the Cougars lead the conference in field goal percentage defense. How many people do you think realize that around the SoCon? They are only 11th in the conference in shooting. They score plenty of points (third in the conference), but really win with solid defense that can lead to a lot points.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Foul trouble. Charleston is not deep, especially with all the injuries. They survived foul trouble against Davidson. Can they survive foul trouble on the road against the Spartans?
--Rebounding. The Spartans are the fourth best rebounding team in the league in rebounding, while the Cougars rank last in the SoCon in that. If the Cougars can keep that battle close, they will stay close in the game.
--Henry. He has been playing well lately for the Spartans. Can he keep it up? If he does, the Spartans are that much tougher to beat.
--Baru. He has been coming on strong. Can he stay out of foul trouble, stay on the floor, and continue to develop into the dominating force that he is capable of being?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Simpson will score over 23 points yet again.
--Wiggins will score over 20 as well.
--Lawrence will not play as well as he could, because the injury will still be bugging him.
--UNCG 75, College of Charleston 70. The Spartans are playing so well right now. The Cougars are too. But the Spartans are at home and need this one even more than the Cougars. Should be a tremendous game that comes right down to the wire, with the Spartans pulling out the close win.

SoCon Fans is Back!

2012-02-14T20:21:00.000-05:00

For those that do not know, there is a wonderful website called SoConFans. It is the home of the "If It Ended Today" bracket.

The person who runs it (a Mocs fan) has been in retirement for the last year and a half. By retirement, I mean that he was not updating the website. He has now started to run it again. I invite all of you to head over and check it out. Every SoCon Fan should do it. Check back often, because no one updates the bracket as quickly as SoConFans does....

Click here to go straight there.

Double Dribbles-2-14-12

2012-02-14T05:00:00.029-05:00

1) Elon's trip to Wofford is captivating. The Phoenix are in bad need of a win. They have fallen a game behind UNCG in the race for the number one overall seed in the North, which would be huge. They are the number two seed at this point. A loss could put them in danger of losing the bye altogether. Wofford is the current number three seed. They can get to the number two seed still, but could also fall to the number five seed if everything went wrong. So both teams need a win. Who can win in Spartanburg? Wofford is the favorite, but it's a huge game and no one can know where it is going for sure.

2) That balances the Cougars trip to visit UNCG. These two games will go a long way to determining the one and two seeds in the North along with the three and four seeds in the South. This is going to be a huge game for the Spartans. It will get the full focus on the blog tomorrow. The Spartans won in Charleston earlier in the year. Can UNCG possibly win again and really help themselves in getting a bye? Sure. Could the Cougars possibly win again and really help themselves in getting a higher seed in the South race.

TV Deal? ESPN3? Hmmm....

2012-02-13T22:41:00.000-05:00

What do we think of ESPN3?

ESPN3 is going to be available in nearly every household soon. The SoCon is thinking about going to get most of their games on ESPN3, so where does this leave the conference?

I think this is perfect for the SoCon. The conference is not in a position to hope for getting a bunch of television deals with many stations.

ESPN3 is growing. The SoCon is the most televised network already on ESPN3. If they can absolutely get most of their games on ESPN3, I think that's worth it. Sure, the internet is not the likely thing to scan through looking for games. But can you imagine if the SoCon had virtually every home conference game televised? A world where you could watch them play any game on archive whenever you wanted?

I know, I know. Most people aren't as obsessed with SoCon basketball as I am. I love watching all the games that I can find. It's something I really enjoy and try to do as much of as possible. The SoCon may be able to get in early on ESPN3 and get a decent deal before this really takes off.

This is the most forward thinking thing I have seen come out of the SoCon in a while. This looks like a decent idea. We'll have to see where things go from here.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 2-13-12

2012-02-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

1) Call it Revenge Wednesday. Samford stunned Davidson in Alabama to hand the Wildcats their first SoCon loss. Now, the Bulldogs really need to get a win to keep pace in the North, but Davidson wants to avenge their first league loss. College of Charleston was beaten at home by UNCG, as the Spartans got their first SoCon win, and the Cougars were exposed as a team that was maybe not quite as good as we thought. Now, the Cougars, fresh off an upset of Davidson, heads to Greensboro to take on the Spartans in a key game. Appalachian State lost at Chattanooga on a last second Dontay Hampton shot. Can the Mountaineers get revenge in Boone, or will the Mocs come up with their first road win of the year? Yep- Revenge Wednesday sounds about right.

2) Georgia Southern is tough to figure. The Eagles hammered Wofford and have been playing well, but have taken three overtimes to take out The Citadel in their two match-ups this year. The Bulldogs keep on challenging the Eagles, who seem to show their immaturity when they take on The Citadel. The Eagles desperately need to avoid a first round game, so that they will be more well rested than their quarterfinal opponent, and it may actually help them to play teams that people think the Eagles will lose to. That seems to benefit them to play in a game that people expect them to struggle in.

UNC-Greensboro 77, Mocs 76

2012-02-12T23:47:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 40.6%
UNCG- 51.7%
Advantage- UNCG

TO%
Mocs- 20.1%
UNCG- 18.8%
Advantage- UNCG

OR%
Mocs- 37.2%
UNCG- 22.9%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 46.9%
UNCG- 33.3%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Mocs- 80.0%
UNCG- 75.0%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 35.9%
UNCG- 41.7%

PLAYER RATER
Overall
1) Drazen Zlovaric 34.6
2) Omar Wattad 22.4
3) Jahmal Burroughs 20.4
4) Ricky Taylor 19.5
5) Keegan Bell 12.1
6) Rico White 11.7
7) Dontay Hampton 2.6
8) Martynas Bareika 2.0
9) Jared Bryant 0.5
10) Drew Baker 0.0
11) Lance Stokes -0.4

Per 40
1) Drazen Zlovaric 44.7
2) Rico White 42.4
3) Omar Wattad 29.8
4) Jahmal Burroughs 27.2
5) Ricky Taylor 25.2
6) Dontay Hampton 20.8
7) Martynas Bareika 16.0
8) Keegan Bell 12.7
9) Jared Bryant 2.2
10) Drew Baker 0.0
11) Lance Stokes -2.0

ANALYSIS

The Mocs lost another one point game. Another heartbreaker. Another soul wrenching loss. How long can this go on?

Apparently for the whole season- at least for now. UNCG shot the ball very well from three point range. Truthfully, Trevis Simpson was the most impressive player I had seen all year. He scored 28 points in 26 minutes. He made fifty percent of his three pointers. Simpson was great- the rest of the team was good, but anything but great.

The Mocs did rebound extraordinarily well. They outrebounded UNCG by eight in this one. Burroughs had another great game. He kept the ball alive on rebounds, he fought for loose balls, and he scored ten points and had twelve rebounds. It was another great game for Burroughs. He really is a difference maker.

It's just that the difference maker wasn't enough tonight. They couldn't come up with the big stop. He couldn't come up with the offensive score in the final minute to put it away.

Dontay Hampton went down with an injury. It appeared to me to be a concussion and that he willl be out for a while. That is not good news for the Mocs, who continue to get pounded by injuries. Hampton is a solid contributor. The Mocs could use him healthy in the SoCon Tournament.

An important note here is that Zlovaric is one of he best players in the SoCon. He should be among the Top Five players in the SoCon next year. He is a dominant force. He should be this good every single night. As he continues to blossom, he needs to be a force in the SoCon Tournament.

The Mocs desperately need to get going. I don't know how the Mocs keep on not winning at the end, but they do it. They hopefully will start finidng the wins.

GO MOCS!

Scanning the SoCon- Week Fifteen

2012-02-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

DavidsonCats- Davidson fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro fan.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday
Samford at Davidson
College of Charleston at UNC-Greensboro
Elon at Wofford
Chattanooga at Appalachian State

Thursday
The Citadel at Western Carolina

Saturday
Western Carolina at Elon (SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)
Furman at Samford
The Citadel at Chattanooga
UNC-Greensboro at Georgia Southern
Wichita State at Davidson (ESPN2) (BracketBusters)
Winthrop at Appalachian State (BracketBusters)
College of Charleston at Kent State (BracketBusters)
Wofford at Charleston Southern (BracketBusters)

POWER RANKINGS
1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Georgia Southern 43
3) UNC-Greensboro 38
4) Wofford 36
5) Elon 34
6) College of Charleston 27
7) Samford 26
8) Furman 17
9) Appalachian State 15
10) Chattanooga 13
11) Western Carolina 12
12) The Citadel 4

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- This was another very successful week for the Wildcats. Got the huge home win over Wofford, jumped to a 30-8 lead at The Citadel, lost a tough one at CofC. The Wildcats are now 13-2 and have secured a bye. Brooks and Czerapowicz led the scoring for the Wildcats this week. The team gets a nice rest before the big game against Samford on Wednesday. We then step outside of conference play to host a superb Wichita State team on Saturday. After that, it is Elon, GSU and the tournament.

MocsMania- The Mocs win over Elon to break the losing streak at seven games was very good for the Mocs. Then came Saturday, and a return to so many of the things that went wrong during the losing streak- not coming up with the clutch basket, not coming up with the clutch defensive stop, not getting the loose balls at the right time, etc. The one point home loss, after blowing a double digit early lead, then coming back from a double digit second half deficit and taking a four point lead into the closing minutes really hurts. The team is close. But close isn't enough right now. A home against The Citadel awaits next Saturday. A road game at Appalachian State would be a great time for the Mocs to break their season long road losing streak.

TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel lost two more games this week, to Davidson and Georgia Southern. The loss to Davidson wasn't as horrific as the earlier meeting, thanks to a decent second-half performance. For the second time this season, the Bulldogs lost in overtime to the Eagles, not helped by the typically sketchy officiating on a SoCon Saturday and a flurry of second-half turnovers. The team is getting better, I suppose. It is still not winning games, however.

UNCGBasketballFan- UNCG won a pair of HUGE road games this weekend. I was very worried that the team could go winless on the trip and they did the exact opposite. Again, the team did it by the narrowest of margins (2 points at Samford, 1 points at UTC). I was very impressed with UNCG being able to withstand the "ambush game" at Chattanooga. The Mocs had a big crowd and made it one of their marque games. Plus, they punched the Spartans in the mouth hard at the start. However, G regrouped and responded several times to get the win. Trevis Simpson has been on an absolute tear. He is really making a hard push for SoCon POY. The next 3 Spartan games are going to be very interesting. G plays the middle of the South Division. They need to continue to win in order to make the season finale at Elon important.

Which game are you looking most forward to that does not involve your team?

DavidsonCats- Many of the games are interesting this week. A Mocs team that can't win on the road against a struggling Mountaineer team looks fun. CofC at UNCG looks good. I guess I'll go with UNCG at GSU on the 18th.

MocsMania- College of Charleston's trip to UNCG is the game I picked for this week. The Cougars are battling for third in the South, and the Spartans are fighting for first. Plus it's a great revenge game. Sounds like a great game to me.

TheSportsArsenal-Davidson gets a home game against Wichita State, but UNCG-Georgia Southern is more important in terms of teams fighting for conference tourney byes.

UNCGBasketballFan- Samford at Davidson will be interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Davidson wants revenge for the loss in Birmingham. Second, Davidson just lost in Charleston. Third, a Samford loss would put UNCG another step closer to picking up one of the North Division byes.

What do you think of playing a BracketBuster game right in the middle of the conference schedule? What about the idea of mid-majors beating up one another, and possibly keeping them out of NCAA bids at this point in the season? In other words, what are your thoughts on BracketBusters?

DavidsonCats- I love the Bracket Buster event. Through it, Davidson has gotten games with Winthrop, Presbyterian, Butler, and Wichita State. It is nice to have that guaranteed return game in the following season.

MocsMania- Personally, I love BracketBusters. People complain and say that it can knock teams out. It can. I don't really like that. But that being said, the SoCon needs help scheduling out of conference games. This provides two games a year (considering the return trip the following year). So, the SoCon needs to schedule the first set of conference games on Wednesday, and then make every team play in the BracketBuster on the Saturday, and not schedule any more conference games until the following Wednesday. This way, teams do not have a disadvantage of playing Thursday-Saturday-Monday/Tuesday potentially flying back and forth across the country. Do it the right way, I think every SoCon team should be forced to play in the BracketBuster. I love watching the BracketBusters as much as any day of college basketball all season long.

TheSportsArsenal- I'm not a fan of BracketBusters, and I am glad that my school is not a participant. The only value I see in it is if your school gets a game on TV. This year it works out for Davidson in that respect. However, very few teams get that lucky TV game. What BracketBusters seems to have done lately, in my opinion, is hurt teams that were hopeful of potential at-large bids, which is basically the opposite of what was originally intended. Another problem, of course, is it results in a home-or-away game for the next season that often isn't in a school's best interests. The start-and-stop aspect to the league season for participating teams isn't such a good thing, either.

UNCGBasketballFan- It's kind of hard to really buy into the idea that losing one of these games will "bust" a team out of the tournament. It does seem like a great idea to get a border line team a chance for a signature win (see: Murray State). Every year only 2 or 3 mid-major teams have a legit shot at an at-large bid. So, this series is more about giving mid-major programs national TV time. That's never a bad thing, regardless of what time of the year it's played.

How do you think the SoCon will perform this year in the BracketBusters?

DavidsonCats- I'd love to see the Southern get a split this year. 1-3 looks more likely. I'm really hoping that we'll win the two games against the Big South teams.

MocsMania- I believe that a split would be good for the SoCon. Wofford could beat Charleston Southern, Appalachian State (if engaged) should beat Winthrop, and it would not surprise me in the least if Davidson beats Wichita State. College of Charleston could beat Kent State if they keep on playing like they have recently. I'd say Appy wins, and Davidson wins, and either Wofford or CofC wins for 3-1, which would shock virtually everyone.

UNCGBasketballFan- This is a pretty tough draw for the participating SoCon schools. I think all 4 are "toss up" games at best. If the SoCon can get a split, I think it'll be a good performance.

What role do you believe that blogs and message boards play in a basketball program? What role should they play? Is their role too big or too small?

DavidsonCats- The best thing that the Davidson board has done is to keep distant fans tied in to the program. Passionate fans need a central place to follow the action, celebrate the successes, and vent about the failures. The boards provide this central place. Some people (coaches, players, administrators) should avoid the boards. We are fan sites.

MocsMania- Oh, the million dollar question. I do believe that there is plenty of negativity on message boards, and that is OK. They are for honest discussion. Coaches and players should do everything they can to avoid the message boards, because they serve no good purpose for them. I think their roles have become too big in many cases, because many of the questions that get asked of the coaches and players are driven by the blogs and message boards.

TheSportsArsenal- I know there are people who say that recruits read message boards, etc., and that negative posts can impact recruiting, and I suppose the case could be made that blogs have an effect as well. I'm a bit dubious about all that, at least with regards to schools in the SoCon. There really aren't that many fans on those forums. At any rate, it seems to me that these days players/recruits are more likely to be directly engaged via twitter than message board or blog posts. Blogs really shouldn't play any role in how a basketball program operates -- with the exception of my blog, of course. Alas, I do not believe the denizens of the hoops program hang on every word I type. For shame, for shame.

UNCGBasketballFan- I could probably write a book on this subject. Obviously, UNCG fans have had some first hand experiences with this exact question this year. I think that there is always a line that the message board/blogger fans flirt with between being critical and just being mean. These players are just kids that have a lot on their plate and we (me included) forget that sometimes. However, I think these sites all serve a great purpose. They allow fans to meet and interact regardless of the university/fanbase size. So, in that respect, I think these sites should be embraced by the school for the impact they have on the program and the "buzz" they can generate.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: College of Charleston at UNC-Greensboro

2012-02-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

This week, the North race needs to start taking center stage- and it does. The problem is that Elon and UNCG have tough games this week and all of them are huge games. So which one should I pick?

Well, I eliminated Elon-WCU right off the bat because it was the least compelling of the four by far. Then I eliminated Georgia Southern-UNCG because it is on Saturday, and I am planning some special BracketBusters coverage for Saturday, and didn't want the extra game on there. So that left Elon's trip to Wofford and UNCG hosting CofC. Both games are big to both teams. CofC can catch Wofford for third with a win and a Wofford loss.

But the North division is in the Spartans hands. If they beat the Cougars while Wofford wins at home, they would be up by two full games on Elon, and Wofford would be up two games plus the tiebreaker on the Cougars, thus clinching no worse than the number three seed. If the Cougars win and Elon wins, the Phoenix would own the tiebreaker currently over UNCG and be tied, while the Cougars would move into a tie with the Terriers. It's actually a double-fisted set of big games. I went with the game where the North team was the home team. Should be a huge set of games.

Battle of North vs South- 2-11-12

2012-02-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Scores

Wofford (S) 66
Appalachian State (N) 64

Western Carolina (N) 66
Furman (S) 80

at North
North- 9
South- 10

at South
North- 5
South- 13

Overall
North- 14
South- 23

ANALYSIS

The South is two tantalizing wins away from clinching the battle for this year. They can clinch in the midweek games. On Wednesday, Samford heads to Davidson in a revenge game for the Wildcats. Charleston heads to hot UNCG, in a revenge game for the Cougars. Elon heads to Wofford. If for some reason the South does not win two out of those three (and they will be favored in at least two of them), then the South could clinch when The Citadel goes to Western Carolina on Thursday night. Saturday would present three more chances for the South. There would be one the following Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and two more on Thursday. That will wrap up the battle. The North faces a major uphill battle here, and is likely to lose several more. This race is going to go pretty clearly to the South. Of course, the battle starts all over in the SoCon Tournament with a special postseason battle, that gets added on to the year totals. So things can still change, but the North has been a disappointment this year.

UNCG Preview: And We're Back in the Game....Barely

2012-02-10T22:33:00.000-05:00

I remember a movie from my college days, that I watched quite frequently. Some of the crowd may remember it. It was called 10 Things I Hate About You. It starred several people who later became famous for other movies, including Julia Stiles, the late Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. At one moment in the movie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character thinks that he has lost his chance at the girl he's after. Just she then kisses him and then runs off. He watches after her, in stunned silence, and then smiles and says, "And I'm back in the game!"

That's a little how I felt on Thursday night. (Opposite the teen hormones involved in the movie, of course.) The first thing I said when the game was over was, "And we're back in the game!" The Mocs are back in the race for third (and as someone pointed out on the Mocs message board today, technically even the second spot in the North). Can they get back to winning consistently? Are they really back in the game?

I would maintain yes- the Mocs are back in the game...barely. What better time for a blackout? The Mocs won their blackout game at home against Furman a year ago. The Mocs are looking for a similar result this time around at home against another team that is tied for first in the North against the Spartans. Can UNC-Greensboro come into McKenzie and pull off the win?

Yes. The Spartans can absolutely come in and win over the Mocs. They have won eight out of nine games, and are entertaining thoughts of advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

Back on January 19, Derrell Armstrong was just another player. Since that night, he has not been held to fewer than the 13 points he scored against Samford on Thursday night and had won two SoCon Player of the Week Awards. He's averaging 22.4 points per game over those last seven games, during which time the Spartans are 6-1. He's also averaging 6.8 rebounds per game during that time, along with three assists per game. He's shooting 47.7% from the floor. He's still not starting for the Spartans, but he is playing plenty of minutes. However, he has averaged 3.7 fouls per game during that same stretch.

It's probably no coincidence that Trevis Simpson has exploded as well during that stretch. He scored just five against the Mocs on January 19 and fouled out. In SoCon play, that is his lowest total by far- his next lowest point output is 12 against Western Carolina in December. In the six games since the Spartans last game against the Mocs, Simpson has averaged 23.5 points per game. He has scored no less than 23 in his last five games. Simpson has a chance to win SoCon Player of the Year. He has been that good. He is averaging 17.7 points per game. He's been brilliant.

The question for the Spartans is who else is going to score. Aloysius Henry has scored 11 points per game in the last three games and has averaged 6.7 rebounds per game in that time.

But when you look at season stats, seven players average between 4.8 points and 6.6 points per game. In other words, there may be no one player that lights it up consistently, but there are plenty of guys to be afraid of on this roster. Henry, Korey Van Dussen, Kyle Randall, David Williams, Nick Paulos, Aaron Brackett, and Drew Parker are those seven players. Which one of those is likely to go off on Saturday night and provide that third scorer that the Spartans need?

The Spartans like to play fast and frenetic. They play a little out of control. It serves them well, though it makes games real ugly to watch. The Mocs can fall into that rather easily. They like to play that pace. They are better served if they do not- particularly in this game. However, the odds seem to be that they will play that style of a game in this one, since that seems to be the style they most prefer to play, even if it is not the one most suited for them.

Z Mason is highly unlikely to play in this one. Jahmal Burroughs is back. We'll have to wait and see if he can play at the same level that he did on Thursday night in back-to-back games. Being without Mason changes the complexion of this game. The Mocs will not have the same advantage in the paint that they had the first time around. Drazen Zlovaric played well on Thursday night, and will need to continue that.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. The Mocs will struggle to have the edge on the glass in this one. They really just need to keep it respectable. The big thing will be giving up offensive rebounds in big moments- something that has plagued the Mocs all year long. If they can keep the Spartans off the offensive glass in critical moments, the Mocs can win.
--Hot shooting. Ricky Taylor and Omar Wattad were hot on Thursday night. They need to be hot again against the Spartans.
--Shutting down the third scorer. Look- it certainly true that Simpson and Armstrong can beat the Mocs between just the two of them scoring. But the Mocs best chance is to not let some one else go off for 20 points, while both of them score around 20. The better chance is to let them both go off for aound 25-30, and shut down everyone else.
--Keegan. Bell played well on Thursday, even though the stats didn't really show it. Can he show up and play as a floor leader? Can he score when and if he needs to?
--Zlovaric and Burroughs. Those two played well on Thursday night, especially Burroughs making all the little plays. Those two will have their work cut out for them on Saturday night. They need to step up.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Simpson will score around 30 points, while Armstrong will score about 20.
--Wattad and Taylor will score plenty as well.
--Burroughs will play at the same level of energy (even if the stat sheet doesn't show it) as he did on Thursday.
--Henry will be an X Factor- one way or the other.
--Mocs 77, UNC-Greensboro 76. Very tough one, but the Mocs pull it out. The Mocs will make just enough plays down the stretch, like they were doing back in early January when they were still healthy. Should be an absolutely tremendous game, and will put the Mocs back in place for a real shot at third in the North.

Check out UNCGBasketballFan for the preview by the Spartan fan. He always does a great job with his previews and with his blog in general. Worth checking out.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 2-10-12

2012-02-10T05:00:00.012-05:00

1) Elon and UNCG remain in a tight battle for the North division title. The good news for Elon on a night they lost to the Mocs? UNCG beat Samford, which keeps them up two games on the third place Bulldogs before the Phoenix head down there on Saturday night. UNCG heads to Chattanooga to take on the Mocs on Saturday. This Southern Swing for Elon and UNCG was going to be huge- we knew that. But UNCG's road win at Samford coupled with Elon's loss to Chattanooga makes Saturday's games even bigger.

2) Is there a more interesting game Saturday than Wofford's trip to Appalachian State? The Mountaineers looked like they had quit on Monday night, but won at Furman on Thursday. Now they are just a half game out of third, and two and a half out of the bye. Wofford has lost three straight games and the Terriers are down two games for the bye as well, while up by just one game on College of Charleston for third. Which team shows up ready to play on Saturday night? Sure, Charleston hosting Davidson will get more headlines, and those two North battles are gigantic, but this game is absolutely positively intriguing to everyone around the SoCon.

Mocs 83, Elon 75

2012-02-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 58.2%
Elon- 50.8%
Advantage- Mocs

TO%
Mocs- 13.7%
Elon- 15.2%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 35.3%
Elon- 37.5%
Advantage- Elon

FTRate
Mocs- 29.5%
Elon- 16.4%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Mocs- 66.7%
Elon- 63.6%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 39.3%
Elon- 44.8%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Omar Wattad 37.5
2) Ricky Taylor 31.8
3) Jahmal Burroughs 25.7
4) Drazen Zlovaric 24.8
5) Dontay Hampton 13.0
6) Rico White 9.9
7) Keegan Bell 6.1
8) Jared Bryant 1.4
9) Drew Baker 1.0
10) Lance Stokes -0.3

Per 40
1) Omar Wattad 55.6
2) Ricky Taylor 43.8
3) Jahmal Burroughs 42.8
4) Rico White 33.0
5) Drazen Zlovaric 30.1
6) Dontay Hampton 28.9
7) Drew Baker 10.0
8) Jared Bryant 8.0
9) Keegan Bell 7.2
10) Lance Stokes -1.0

ANALYSIS

What a nice win for the Mocs on Thursday night! It is such a relief to finally be celebrating a win again instead of yet another loss. There is plenty to talk about in this game, like how Ricky Taylor finally looked like himself again, or how Omar Wattad made a bunch of big shots, or how Jahmal Burroughs returned from injury and provided all the little plays that help win basketball games.

You could even talk about how unselfish Keegan Bell played, taking just one shot, but being in control of the game throughout and contributing as a coach on the floor without the stats coming his way.

But the question that everyone is wondering is if this is some kind of "turn the corner" game for the Mocs. The answer is, we just don't know. The Mocs certainly need to keep on winning. But let's look at some of the positives from this.

Omar Wattad looked like himself. His back did not appear to be bothering him tonight like it has for much of the year. Ricky Taylor's wrist finally looked back to normal, as he was clutch and knocked down several big shots. Jahmal Burroughs was back from his injury and playing the way that he had played before the injury. That leaves just Z Mason still out with injury. If Mason comes back, is there reason to think that this team, now that it is getting healthy, is actually a threat to win a bunch of games?

I'd say that there is reason to believe that. Let's not get completely carried away here. The Mocs still need to win games. They need to carry this slight kick start to momentum over to Saturday night against UNCG. They then need to take it to the road against Appalachian State and at home against The Citadel, and at Furman, and then finally at home against Samford. If the Mocs, by some minor miracle based on the way the previous weeks have gone, comes up with four wins in their final five games, could they get a three or four seed out of the North? It's still out there. They are down just two games on third in the North, and one and a half on fourth, with games against both Samford and Appalachian State ahead. There is still opportunity- they just need to keep on winning.

For tonight, this one win is enough. Getting hot the rest of the way could really help the Mocs in their quest to do some damage in the SoCon Tournament. With the team getting healthy and the contribution from those healthy players, that does not seem as far fetched as it did just yesterday.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Recap- Georgia Southern 63, Wofford 49

2012-02-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

Willie Powers stole the show as the Eagles were able to take the huge two game lead in the battle for the bye in the South.

Powers scored 14, had seven rebounds, and six assists. Ferguson added 15 points and eleven rebounds. Ben Drayton III scored 13, while Jelani Hewitt scored just eight.

This was an important game for Georgia Southern. They won tonight with some solid defense. The Terriers shot a mere 40% from the floor and made just 3 of 16 (18.8%) from three point range. Kevin Giltner was held to just seven points.

This showed a new side of Georgia Southern- one that has been coming out slowly. The defense was very good tonight. Slowing down the Terriers was huge. They were not dominant on offense tonight, though they did play well enough on the offensive end.

The Eagles now have a two game lead in the division. With their last four games, they can still blow this lead. They go to The Citadel on Saturday night, then host UNCG, before heading to College of Charleston, and hosting Davidson. Their schedule could easily produce two or three losses. They could lose this lead. But with the way they are playing right now, they look good. Can the Terriers turn their slump around and start winning again to put some pressure on them?

Battle of North vs. South- 2-9-12

2012-02-09T22:26:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Scores

Appalachian State (N) 79
Furman (S) 69

Western Carolina (N) 58
College of Charleston (S) 62

at North
North- 9
South- 9

at South
North- 5
South- 12

Overall
North- 14
South- 21

ANALYSIS

The South is still in dominating position in this battle. They need to just win four of the remaining thirteen games between the two divisions to come up with the overall victory. The North, though, was not expected to really be competitive in either contest tonight. But Appalachian State came up with the win, and Western was in the game with Charleston all night. It was nearly a great night for the North that could have changed things a bit in the battle. In the end, it was just a slightly above average night for the North. The South still is in dominating position.

Double Dribbles- 2-9-12

2012-02-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

1) The Battle for the North could be decided this weekend in a lot of ways. Both UNCG and Elon go to Samford and Chattanooga this weekend. The Mocs don't matter in this race, but the other three teams all matter. If Samford pulls off a sweep they can make real waves in the race, and jump into first. If any of those three teams gets swept this weekend, they could be in real trouble in the bye race for the North. This is a very interesting weekend in the North. Can't wait for the UNCG-Samford and Elon-Samford match-ups this weekend.

2) What about the race for third in the South? It's been popular opinion in recent weeks that either Georgia Southern or Wofford would get the second and third seeds in the South. What about if Wofford loses tonight? Furman hosts Appalachian State and Charleston hosts Western Carolina. With the way Appy and WCU have been performing, both home teams should win. That would put both the Paladins and the Cougars one game behind Wofford. Those results might change. But if the Terriers lose, and CofC and Furman win, this race gets really really interesting for the third seed in the South. Of course, the odds of all those results happening? Since I just said it in this little blurb- next to zero.

Elon Preview: Rising From Our Own Ashes?

2012-02-08T23:20:00.000-05:00

In mythology, a phoenix lives for nearly 500 to 1000 years. At the end, they build themselves a nest, light the nest and themselves on fire, and then are reborn as a young phoenix.

The Mocs are trying to rise from their own ashes on Thursday night.

This season had promise as little as three and a half weeks ago when the Mocs sat at 9-9, 3-2 in SoCon play. They seemed to have turned a corner. Seven losses later, the season is on the brink. The Mocs have a final chance before the SoCon Tournament in Asheville to redeem this season. It is this homestand against Elon and UNCG, the current top two teams in the North.

In the sixteen games through the Phoenix trip to Charleston on January 14, Jack Isenbarger had played in fourteen games and scored in double digits seven times, averaging nine points per game. In the seven games since, he has scored in double digits seven more times, and averaged 21.4 points per game, all while scoring over 20 four times. He won SoCon Player of the Week last week, which ironically contained his worst outing during that stretch- an eleven point effort against Appalachian State on Monday night. He also scored 25 against The Citadel and 34 against Charleston. Isenbarger is also second on the team with 2.4 assists per game.

Freshman point guard Austin Hamilton has also done very good. He is averaging 3.2 assists per game. He was ill last weekend, and did not play in any of the last three games. He is expected to play on Thursday night. He is also scoring 10.8 points per game.

Lucas Troutman is the best inside presence for the Phoenix. He is second on the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game, and leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 rebounds per game. He is shooting 52% from the field for the year.

Troutman, Hamilton, Isenbarger, and Ryley Beaumont scored 75 points against the Mocs in the first meeting. The rest of the Phoenix scored just thirteen points. Beaumont scored 15 of those. That means that the big three that have been mentioned scored 60 of the 88 points.

The Mocs outrebounded the Phoenix the first time they met, and shot decently. It was just that they allowed Elon to shoot too well from the field. Omar Wattad scored 25, and Z Mason scored 18, while Ricky Taylor put home 17.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Mocs got to get rebounds to be able to win.
--Health. Z Mason? Jahmal Burroughs? Will either one of these two be able to play on Thursday? Who knows at this point? The Mocs desperately need these guys back. If Austin Hamilton is not fully healthy, then the Phoenix could have a hard time as well.
--Isenbarger hot. Can he maintain his current hot streak in Chattanooga?
--Mocs Defense. Do the Mocs play defense at home? They have done a good job during the season so far playing well at home on defense.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Mocs will struggle badly on the boards again.
--Troutman has a big night this time around, and Isenbarger will too.
--Keegan Bell will ignite the offense.
--Ricky Taylor will continue his current struggles.
--Mocs 68, Elon 67. Wow. This is tough. I have no idea what happens here. This is going to be a brutally close game. Will the Mocs quit on this one? Maybe. You just don't know. This will be a huge game and will come right down to the wire.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview- Wofford at Georgia Southern

2012-02-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

It is an absolutely huge match-up in Statesboro. One of the biggest that the Eagles have played at home in a while. They have five out of six and are now up by one game over Wofford in the battle for second place in the SoCon South Division. A win over Wofford on Thursday would thrust them ahead by two games.

Eric Ferguson is averaging 15.4 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game so far this year. He's been tremendous, and is some people's choice for SoCon Player of the Year. He is shooting nearly 57% from the floor.

But the thing about these Eagles is that they are so well balanced. Charlton Young has been doing a good job recruiting and bringing talent into the program. The program has plenty of athletes- they sometimes just get out of control. They are getting more and more consistent.

Ben Drayton III, Jelani Hewitt, and Willie Powers are all in double figures in scoring. Powers has 5.6 assists per game. Powers is also second on the team in rebounding with 4.1 rebounds per game.

The Eagles are a tremendously gifted team, and have been very good at home. The lone loss during their previous six games has been at Samford. They are 8-1 at home on the year, with eight straight wins, and 6-0 in SoCon play.

Wofford had won six straight games before losing back to back games to Samford and Davidson. The Terriers rely heavily on Brad Loesing and Kevin Giltner, who play over 37 minutes per game apiece. Giltner averages 15.2 points per game. Loesing averages 14.6 points per game. Karl Cochran is a freshman who is averaging 11.5 points per game. Lee Skinner leads team with six rebounds per game and Drew Crowell is averaging 5.1 rebounds per game.

Loesing and his 5.5 assists per game. Both Loesing and Giltner could get All SoCon honors and Cochran could win Freshman of the Year. The Terriers have been tremendous this year.

The Terriers hammered Georgia Southern earlier this year. He scored 18 points with seven rebounds. Giltner scored 23. Loesing had 16 points and nine assists. Cochran scored in double figures with ten points. They also won on the glass, and only turned the ball over eight times.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Leadership from Loesing. He's such a solid leader, and to stop this two game slide the Terriers need Loesing to show up on the road as the team leader and do some things early to prove to his teammates that they can win.
--Ferguson. He's been brilliant, and he was the only Eagle to score over 7 in their last meeting with Wofford, when he scored 26. Can Skinner and Crowell hold him in check?
--Rebounding. Teams that rebound tend to win.
--Home court. Georgia Southern has been so good at home. Can they turn a 25 point road loss into a win?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Ferguson will score over 20 again.
--Powers, Drayton, and Hewitt will chip in more this time around.
--Loesing and Giltner will make some big plays.
--No one else will make an impact, including Cochran.
--Georgia Southern 78, Wofford 73. The Eagles are playing well at home and are on a roll. Wofford is not on a roll right now. The Eagles will come up with the big home win and put two games between them and Terriers for the second bye spot from the South.

Double Dribbles- 2-8-12

2012-02-08T05:00:00.022-05:00

1) Jack Isenbarger of Elon won the SoCon Player of the Week. He scored 23.3 points per game, and collected 4.7 rebounds per game, and 5.6 assists per game in the three games last week. He scored 34 against The Citadel, with 25 against Charleston. He is shooting 56% from the line. Early in the year, he suffered from a shoulder injury. Now, he's come back. Can Isenbarger carry the Phoenix all the way to a SoCon Tournament title? I think he can. Isenbarger getting hot makes the Phoenix a very touhg out for any team from here on out.

2) The best road team in the league is clearly Davidson, who is 7-4 on the road this year. The next best road team is Wofford. They are 5-7 on the road in overall play. The third best winning percentage on the road belongs to Furman at 5-8. That was the most surprising of the teams at the top of this list. The Paladins have been surprisingly good on the road. Sometimes this is a good omen for doing well in the tourney. Furman and their solid defense may be one of the darkhorses in Asheville.

Close But No Cigar

2012-02-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

The Mocs have been close, but no cigar this year.

So close and yet so far away.

Any sort of cliches you want to use to describe the Mocs are applicable here. The Mocs are desperate to get back on the winning track.

The good news- they've got every opportunity to do just that. This week, the Mocs play two home games against Elon and UNC-Greensboro. If the Mocs can come up with a couple of wins, they can get right back into the SoCon race- at least get back into the race for third or fourth. Appalachian State is fading fast and looks a little like they may have quit. Western Carolina is struggling- less than the Mocs, but still struggling. Could the Mocs pass both teams? Sure they could, if they can start winning. Could they catch Samford? Only if the Bulldogs don't pull off the sweep against UNCG and Elon. If the Bulldogs pull off that sweep and the Mocs pull off the sweep, they will be back in the race with UNCG for third. They'll be far behind, but not completely out of the race for third with UNCG or Elon.

It's time to start turning these close losses into wins. With home games against Elon, UNCG, The Citadel, and Samford and road games at Appalachian State and Furman left, there is no team left on the schedule that the Mocs can't beat if they play well. It's time to start playing well. If the Mocs win five out of six, I have every confidence that they can get to the four seed and possibly even the third seed.

This is the week that really tells us where the Mocs state of mind is. I've been saying it every week, and every week they keep on losing tough close games (other than Davidson). If the Mocs are still mentally in this thing, they can get back into it. Huge week for the Mocs.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles-2-7-12

2012-02-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

1) Wow. How much is Appalachian State struggling? Get ready for this, because it will blow your mind. Ike Butts and Omar Carter combined for seven points against Elon on Monday night. Yes, the Omar Carter that averaged over 16 points per game last year and was the preseason SoCon Player of the Year this year. Butts was the reason people were high on the Mountaineers this year, because they thought his return would put them over the top combined with Carter. Now, neither are starting and they combined for seven points in a 23 point loss to Elon. For the Phoenix, they have probably turned into the favorite in the North, but their road trip against Samford and Chattanooga will go a long way to determining whether they can hold up that end of the deal or not.

2) Georgia Southern and Wofford are in a race for second and third that got a lot more interesting on Monday night. With the Eagles win over Furman, the Paladins are now three games behind Georgia Southern for second and two games behind Wofford for third. That means that the Eagles and Terriers are the only two with a real shot at getting the second bye from the South. If Wofford wins on Thursday, they will move into a tie with Georgia Southern, and will own the tiebreaker. If Georgia Southern wins, they will be up two games on Wofford with just five games to play. Thursday's game is massive.

Scanning the SoCon- Week Fourteen

2012-02-06T21:39:00.001-05:00

Sorry for being a day late. The Super Bowl pushed some our contributors off until today. So thanks for sticking with us.

DavidsonCats- Davidson fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro fan.

SCHEDULE

Monday
Appalachian State at Elon
Wofford at Davidson
Furman at Georgia Southern

Thursday
Wofford at Georgia Southern
Elon at Chattanooga
Appalachian State at Furman
Davidson at The Citadel
UNC-Greensboro at Samford
Western Carolina at College of Charleston (ESPN3)

Saturday
Wofford at Appalachian State
Davidson at College of Charleston (SoCon Sports Network/ESPN3)
Western Carolina at Furman
Elon at Samford
UNC-Greensboro at Chattanooga
Georgia Southern at The Citadel

POWER RANKINGS

1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Wofford 44
3) Elon 37
4) Georgia Southern 35
5) UNC-Greensboro 33
6) Samford 23
7) Furman 22
8) College of Charleston 21
9) Appalachian State 20
10) Western Carolina 16
11) Chattanooga 9
12) The Citadel 4

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- The Wildcats had a very successful week with wins over Furman and Chattanooga. The team is now 11-1 and the Terriers and Eagles are both 8-4. The Wildcats are getting close to locking up the 1S. We've had some players miss practices because of injury, but the team is continuing to get excellent contributions from the bench. Chris Czerapowicz shot really well today and scored 21 points with 7 3-point plays (6 long shots and a traditional 3-pt play). This next week has three tough games for the 'Cats-- Wofford at home on Monday and then the Thursday/Saturday trip to the Lowcountry. 2-1 this week would probably guarantee a bye for the 'Cats.

MocsMania- The Mocs lost two more games this week. They are in a tailspin and now have their longest losing streak of the D1 era at seven games. Could they possibly get it going ever? If they are ever going to get it going again this year, it probably has to start working at some point this week when they host Elon and UNCG. They will play a big role in the SoCon North title chase this week. A couple of wins might even get them out of the cellar. They could get into third or fourth in the North by the end of the year if they start winning. They just need to start winning again. It hasn't happened yet.

TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel continues searching for a second league victory. The Bulldogs were competitive on the road in two games this past week, but ultimately couldn't put together 40 minutes of sustained good play to get a win. Mike Groselle was in foul trouble for a good portion of the game against Elon, which didn't help. That game may have been a missed opportunity for The Citadel. The Bulldogs get two chances to pick up a win at home this week. I don't like their chances against Davidson. The Bulldogs lost in double-OT at Georgia Southern, so the game on Saturday against the Eagles could be interesting.

UNCGBasketballFan- Well the thing about winning streaks is that they must eventually end. The Spartan's streak was stopped at 7. UNCG made relatively easy work of the Citadel on Thursday night to close up a 5 game homestand. However, Saturday afternoon's game in Greenville looked at lot similar to earlier SoCon road games. UNCG didn't shoot particularly well and wasn't as intense on the defensive end for all 40 minutes. As a result they fell to 2-4 on the road in league games. That's not a great sign for a team that finishes with 4 of it's last 6 games on the road. Trevis Simpson and Derrell Armstrong are still putting up tremendous numbers. This week, though, they got a lot of help for senior center Aloysius Henry. With UNCG and Elon taking the Chattanooga-Birmingham road swing this next weekend, the North Dision race should get a lot clearer, or muddier.

Which game are you most looking forward to this week that does not involve your team?

DavidsonCats- Easy. The Wofford at GSU game on Thursday. Getting a bye is crucial. This game should be a brawl.

MocsMania- I can't wait for Wofford to take a trip to Georgia Southern on Thursday night. The winner will be in the best shape for the two seed out of the South. We all know how important the bye is in the SoCon Tournament. One of these teams will be in good shape on Friday morning, and one will be chasing the other one. Which one is which? Can't wait to find out.

TheSportsArsenal- UNCG-Samford on Thursday is a big SoCon North game and probably a must-win for homestanding Samford if it entertains hopes of a first-round conference tourney bye. When the season began, Davidson-College of Charleston on Saturday was supposed to be a key game in the league; the Cougars need a big win to jump-start the post-Cremins era.

UNCGBasketballFan- Elon @ Samford. Coming from a fan of the third team in this 3-way North Division battle, I'm interested to see some UNCG seperate from at least one of these teams. Also, Samford has beat up on the South Division. Now it's time to see if they can beat a North Division team.

Which city would you like to host the SoCon Tournament? Why?

DavidsonCats- Asheville. It is the only city where the residents of the city really cared that the Southern had come to town. It'll take several years to rebuild some of the goodwill that we had there. Asheville is full of great restaurants, cool shopping, and a beautiful setting. And it isn't anyone's home city.

MocsMania- I am no fan of having a city hosting the tournament that is also the home city of one of its teams. That means no Chattanooga and no Charleston. That's a clear disadvantage to everyone else in the SoCon in the tournament. That also takes out Greensboro. I'd be OK with Charlotte, I suppose. So, clearly my top choice is Asheville. I think the city is a fairly nice middle ground. The city embraces the SoCon, or seems to. It looks like a good match- hope it works out.

TheSportsArsenal- I am fine with Asheville being a more-or-less permanent host city. It is convenient for most of the league. Also, no one will get a "home court" edge. I definitely do not like the league playing conference tournaments on one school's home court (a la Chattanooga). I hope we've seen the last of that.

UNCGBasketballFan- I'm very excited to see how things go in Asheville this season. It's one of the few locations I can get my wife to visit on her birthday weekend. However choosing form the previous host cities, I really liked Charlotte. Bojangles Arena was underwhelming, but I liked the location being central to the rest of the league. I must admit that I never was able to make it the Chattanooga. So, I could only compare Charleston, Charlotte and Greenville. I do wish the conference would take a hard look at Winston-Salem, most b/c I live in here.

Which team do you consider the biggest positive suprise in the conference this year? Why?

DavidsonCats- That's a tough one. I thought Wofford and Samford would both be dreadful this year. Wofford is tied for 2nd in the South and Samford is 3rd in the North. Both are playing some very good basketball. Excellent coaching for both. I guess I'll give the nod to Samford after their great road win today.

MocsMania- Wofford, Samford, and Elon all have been very surprising to me. Elon has been the least surprising. I expected them to be allright, but not better than at best third in the North. They are contending for first strongly. Wofford has won back-to-back division titles, but I picked them to finish a distant fourth this year. They are in solid position to finish second or third. But they still could finish fourth without too much of a fall off from here on out. That makes the clear favorite of the positive surprise to be Samford. They were clearly expected to be the worst team in the North, and maybe the worst team in the whole conference this year. They are now one solid week from getting into first place in the North.

TheSportsArsenal- The biggest positive surprise...not sure. UNCG is doing about what I thought it would do, albeit after a coaching change. Wofford is better than expected, but not overwhelmingly so.

UNCGBasketballFan- The Samfrord Bulldogs looked like the weakest team in the SoCon on paper. However, in the last few weeks, they have caught fire. In a North Division that seems to have teams take turns coming alive and then falling back down, Samford appears to be the current team on the rise. It'll be interesting to see where they end up finishing.

Which team do you consider the biggest disappointment in the conference this year? Why?

DavidsonCats- This one isn't hard. The Sporting News does my favorite preseason mag. This year they picked Omar Wattad and Keegan Bell on the 5-man All-Southern Team and said "The biggest challenge for Chattanooga is whether the Mocs can handle prosperity." Through injuries, controversy, drama, and a hot seat under the coach, the Mocs are winless on the road and all alone in 6th place in the North. They get a shot at the top two teams in the North this week and could win both games, but for now they have to be the biggest disappointment.

MocsMania- Of course, anybody with half of their eyesight could say the Mocs. They have been awful compared to what was expected of them. Their actual stats don't bear out that they've been that bad, but their won-loss record is downright awful. Just so I'm not jumping on my own team TOO hard, I'll throw out College of Charleston, Appalachian State, and Western Carolina as other disappointing teams. The Mountaineers just don't look right, even if their won-loss record hasn't been terrible. The Catamounts have been very disappointing. I thought they would be much better. The Cougars record doesn't completely surprise me, and when you throw in all the injuries and the coaching turmoil, it's hard to say that they have been that disappointing. But yes, the Mocs have been far more disappointing than any of these teams.

TheSportsArsenal- UTC is easily the biggest disappointment in the league. The Mocs were favored to win the SoCon North, and could conceivably finish last.

UNCGBasketballFan- Chattanooga was supposed to be one of the strongest teams in a North Division that was going to be competitive. Not seeing them in first palce isn't a tremendous shock. However, seeing them in last place is a shock. I'm not sure if it's coaching or chemistry, but something is definitely off in the scenic city. Unfortunately for John Shulman, the countdown on his time at UTC may have already started.

Double Dribbles-2-6-12

2012-02-06T05:00:00.019-05:00

1) Georgia Southern and Wofford are fighting it out for the number two seed out of the South. Both have games on Monday night that will be huge. Wofford visits Davidson in what is clearly their toughest remaining battle. Georgia Southern hosts Furman. If Furman upsets the Eagles, and Davidson beats Wofford, the Paladins can close the gap down to just one game for a bye out of the South. What a huge day Monday will be. On Thursday night, Wofford visits Georgia Southern. This is huge four days for the South Division bye race behind Davidson. Massive couple of games tomorrow.

2) Samford's shocking upset of Wofford gave them wins over Davidson and Wofford in a span of eight days. Who saw that coming? Shocking. The Bulldogs suddenly are 6-6 in SoCon play and are in third all by themselves in the North, just one game behind UNCG for second, and one and a half behind Elon for first. They host both teams this weekend, as does Chattanooga. In other words, if Samford wins two games this weekend, they could be in first place by the end of the night Saturday night. Huh? Really? Unbelievable. The North race has been turned absolutely on its head. UNCG and Samford were given up for dead heading into January, and now both have risen to the top. Can they stay there? This is a big week for both teams.

Scanning the SoCon Tomorrow

2012-02-05T23:52:00.001-05:00

Scanning the SoCon should be up tomorrow! Sorry for the delay.

Hope every enjoyed Super Bowl XLVI!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week- Wofford at Georgia Southern

2012-02-05T23:47:00.000-05:00

Huge week for the second bye in the South race. Wofford and Georgia Southern are the two big favorites to get that spot at this point.

When they battle on Thursday night in Statesboro, second place will be on the line for these two teams. Wofford won by 25 points earlier this year at home. Can the Eagles get the home court advantage and make it work to their benefit in this game? Two wins (on Monday against Furman and Thursday against Georgia Southern) will go a long way to giving the Eagles the number two seed, which they desperately need to have a real shot in the tourney. Wofford also could use a bye, since no team that has ever won four games in four days. Huge game for these two teams on Thursday night.

Davidson 88, Mocs 61

2012-02-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 44.2%
Davidson- 61.4%
Advantage- Davidson

TO%
Mocs- 16.9%
Davidson- 18.4%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 22.9%
Davidson- 42.4%
Advantage- Davidson

FTRate
Mocs- 40.4%
Davidson- 10.6%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Mocs- 71.4%
Davidson- 100.0%
Advantage- Davidson

3PtRate
Mocs- 25.0%
Davidson- 60.6%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Drazen Zlovaric 22.5
2) Dontay Hampton 17.0
3) Omar Wattad 12.7
4) Ricky Taylor 9.8
5) Rico White 8.8
6) Drew Baker 7.8
7) Lance Stokes 6.3
8) Keegan Bell 4.9
9) Jared Bryant 4.5
10t) Martynas Bareika 0.0
10t) Trey Brown 0.9

Per 40
1) Drazen Zlovaric 31.0
2) Dontay Hampton 30.9
3) Drew Baker 28.2
4) Omar Wattad 20.2
5) Rico White 19.4
6) Jared Bryant 16.4
7) Lance Stokes 14.7
8) Ricky Taylor 14.5
9) Keegan Bell 5.4
10t) Martynas Bareika 0.0
10t) Trey Brown 0.0

ANALYSIS

This was certainly the worst overall performance by the Mocs this year. They lost by 27, more than they lost at Kentucky or at Indiana. This speaks very well for Davidson. They are a legitimate team that could go far if they get to the NCAA Tournament.

All that being said, the Mocs turned the ball over less than Davidson and also did a better job of getting to the free throw line. The Wildcats shot an exceptional number of three pointers, but they made a solid portion of them. They also collected fourteen offensive rebounds. It's important to note when discussing rebounding that the Mocs are still without Jahmal Burroughs and Z Mason. If they can get those guys back, that will make a huge difference in the rebounding category.

The good news for the Mocs was that Zlovaric played pretty well. That was good to see him show some signs of life. Keegan Bell again struggled as did Ricky Taylor. Is this team ever going to get everybody going at the same time? Can they get people healthy?

This is clearly a broken team. But a few wins, a few guys returning from injury, and who knows? This team has enough talent to do plenty of damage in Asheville. This game ended about how it should have been expected to- in a Davidson blowout. The Mocs two home games against UNCG and Elon next week will determine where this team goes from here. It would be really useful if Mason and Burroughs could be back by then.

GO MOCS!

Battle of North vs. South- 2-4-12

2012-02-04T23:02:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Scores

Chattanooga (N) 61
Davidson (S) 88

College of Charleston (S) 74
Appalachian State (N) 62

Georgia Southern (S) 68
Western Carolina (N) 65

Samford (N) 66
Wofford (S) 61
OT

UNC-Greensboro (N) 85
Furman (S) 93

The Citadel (S) 66
Elon (N) 71

at North
North- 9
South- 9

at South
North- 4
South- 11

Overall
North- 13
South- 20

ANALYSIS

It was another strange night in the SoCon. On Thursday, I said that the North had one sure win. They got that. I said the the South had two sure wins- they only got one of those. The three toss-up games? All of those went to the South. The South now holds a commanding edge and is unlikely to blow it, but is really interesting that Samford has beaten Davidson and Wofford in the last eight days and has proven that they belong among the league's elite right now. This would have been an unheard of statement even three weeks ago. The South has this thing all but wrapped up, which is a bit of a surprise that they wrapped it up this early.

Davidson Preview: Reality Bites

2012-02-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

Davison beat Chattanooga by one the last time around. That was in Chattanooga in a controversial finish. Well, it was kind of controversial, except that virtually everyone agrees that the foul called with under a second left on the Mocs was indeed a foul. Refs have swallowed their whistles in that circumstance before, but maybe the karma from the Marshall game last year caught up to the Mocs. That was all well and good.

The losses by the Mocs to Georgia Southern and Western Carolina since then undid any good that was done that night. The Mocs have another shot at Davidson on the road on Saturday afternoon, but reality is that the Wildcats are the best team in the SoCon and have been nearly untouchable at home. They have beaten their five SoCon opponents by an average of 22.2 points per game. Not exactly the type of place the Mocs should expect to break their road losing streak.

The Mocs have played at Indiana and at Kentucky on the year, so they should not be intimidated. They played both early in the year when they were not playing as well as they are now, though they may have had more confidence then than they do now, strangely. The Mocs also lost both those games by 25.

Since the Mocs just played Davidson eight days ago (nine days on Saturday), it is hard to provide real analysis that should be earth shattering. The biggest difference in this game and the previous one is the Jahmal Burroughs and Z Mason, who scored a combined two points, and played a combined 28 minutes, are unlikely to play on Saturday afternoon. Burroughs was injured in the first match-up with Davidson, when he pulled a hamstring, and Mason showed real signs of his knee injury in the first one. So maybe their loss won't be as serious as it seems at first glance.

The biggest question is how the Mocs defense will respond. They have played so poorly on the road because of their defensive struggles on the road. Davidson's offense is one of the best in the country. They average 78.5 points per game and are 18th in the country in scoring. They were held to 64 in their one point win in Chattanooga.

The good news for the Mocs is that Keegan Bell is starting to play better. The bad news is that Ricky Taylor is really struggling at the moment, and Drazen Zlovaric has been struggling on the road.

An interesting stat regarding Davidson is that Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks are the two leading scorers, scoring 13.9 points per game and 15.4, respectively. Yet, the play just 24 minutes per game and 22.8 minutes per game. The two leading minutes players for the Wildcats are JP Kuhlman with 31.8 minutes per game and Nik Cochran with 28.1 minutes per game. That has been a surprising stat to me throughout the year as I have watched the stats develop. While Cohen and Brooks are the leading scorers and sometimes the best players, it seems like Kuhlman and Cochran are the glue. That is shown by their minutes, but it also looks like it is true when the Wildcats play.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Davidson is a good rebounding team. The Mocs can't rebound as well without Burroughs and Mason. The Mocs just need to keep this close to have any shot at keeping this one close.
--Taylor and Zlovaric. They've been struggling so much. If they get hot, the Mocs can stick around in this one.
--Cohen and Brooks. The Mocs did a great job in their first game against them. Can the Wildcats come up with a way to get them active in the offense?
--Home court. Davidson has been great at home. Chattanooga has been awful on the road. Can the Mocs overcome that? Can the Wildcats play like they have at Belk Arena?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Bell will continue his improved play from recent games.
--Zlovaric will continue his poor play from recent road contests.
--Davidson will dominate the glass.
--Davidson 87, Mocs 71. This will be the Wildcats closest home game in SoCon play yet. That doesn't mean that the Mocs will be able to win this one. Davidson just plays too well at home and the Mocs just play too poorly on the road to pull it off. That being said, the Mocs have been playing games close enough that Davidson will not totally blow them out. The real measuring stick for the Mocs will be next week's two home games against UNCG and Elon.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 2-3-12

2012-02-03T05:00:00.009-05:00

1) Samford's comeback and survive game on the road at Appalachian State had to catch the eye of SoCon fans on Thursday night. Suddenly, the Bulldogs are 5-6 and tied with Appalachian State for third in the North. They are just 1.5 games behind Elon for a bye in the North race. This from a team that was left for dead not that long ago. The Bulldogs have fought and scrapped and made themselves at least an interesting team in the SoCon North. Tyler Hood scored eighteen points for Samford, while Omar Carter and Ike Butts are still coming off the bench for Appalachian State. Those two provided just eleven combined points. Can Samford get a bye? Maybe so. Things are certainly getting interesting in Alabama.

2) Larry Hunter collected win number 100 at Western Carolina in the Catamounts Thursday night win over the Mocs. It is another solid milestone for Hunter, who already won his 600th game of his career this year. The Catamounts have been struggling and there have been a few mutters from WCU fans that they may need to start looking a different direction in coaching. But this milestone shows what he has accomplished in Cullowhee. He has a losing record his career there, but they continue to be a well coached team. Congratulations to Coach Hunter!

Western Carolina 82, Mocs 76

2012-02-02T22:49:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 46.3%
Western Carolina- 51.5%
Advantage- Western Carolina

TO%
Mocs- 24.5%
Western Carolina- 15.5%
Advantage- Western Carolina

OR%
Mocs- 36.4%
Western Carolina- 38.6%
Advantage-Western Carolina

FTRate
Mocs- 64.8%
Western Carolina- 33.9%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Mocs- 74.3%
Western Carolina- 68.2%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Mocs- 51.9%
Western Carolina- 63.1%

PLAYER RATER
Overall
1) Keegan Bell 23.7
2) Lance Stokes 20.6
3) Omar Wattad 20.4
4) Jared Bryant 19.7
5) Dontay Hampton 16.5
6) Rico White 13.0
7) Ricky Taylor 4.1
8) Drazen Zlovaric 1.7
9) Martynas Bareika 1.2
10) Drew Baker -2.3

Per 40
1) Lance Stokes 45.7
2) Rico White 40.0
3) Jared Bryant 34.2
4) Dontay Hampton 31.4
5) Keegan Bell 25.0
6) Omar Wattad 24.0
7) Martynas Bareika 12.0
8) Ricky Taylor 7.8
9) Drazen Zlovaric 6.2
10) Drew Baker -5.4

ANALYSIS

Western Carolina used a dominant first 35 minutes of the game to hold off the Mocs on Thursday night. They were up 16 with just over five minutes left before the Mocs sliced the lead to four with about two minutes left and again with just over half a minute left.

Without Jahmal Burroughs or Z Mason again, the Mocs had to use a patchwork lineup again. Jared Bryant again showed that there is plenty to be very enthusiastic about in the coming years. Lance Stokes also played his best game as a Moc. He looked into the game on the defensive end, and consistently showed his athleticism and his offensive ability on that end of the floor. That being said, Drazen Zlovaric looked like a shell of himself. I wonder if there is an injury, because, regardless of how poor he was playing, there really is no reason to only play him eleven minutes in a game where there were this many injured bigs.

The biggest problem was Tawaski King. He was dominant on the boards, coming up with 14 including seven on the offensive end. The Mocs dominated the boards against Western Carolina in Chattanooga. I warned that if this was a close battle on the boards, that would be a very bad sign for the Mocs chances to win. Sure enough, the difference was one rebound in favor of the Mocs, and they were dominated for much of the night.

The thing that kept the Mocs in the game at all was that Western fell in love with the three when Keaton Cole and Brandon Boggs were hitting them in the first half. They wound up shooting well over 60% of their shots from three point range, and were not hitting them in the second half. This let the Mocs hang around and gave them the ability to make a run at the end to get into the game.

Ricky Taylor was held without a field goal. He is really struggling right now. Ironically, it looks like Keegan Bell has officially come out of his slump. He played a very good game on Thursday night.

Dontay Hampton and Rico White continued to show that they are going to be a solid duo next year when playing time opens up.

There is hope for next year. White, Hampton, Bryant, Mason, Zlovaric, and Stokes have all shown very good bright moments throughout this season. With Farrad Cobb coming in, he should be able to contribute immediately. Put those seven in a rotation and see what happens. I don't think the Mocs would be great, but they would be a contender in the SoCon.

As for the remainder of this year, things are starting to look bleak. The good news is that the team does not look completely broken yet. They fought back tonight when it would have been easy to give in. I was worried that the team's spirit would be broken. The first 35 minutes of this game did nothing to make me feel like they had not had their spirit broken. But the last five minutes, the Mocs fought back and showed a little spirit. Maybe they aren't broken. But at this point, just getting out of last in the North is going to be a major challenge. They are behind the Catamounts by one game, and the Mocs play Davidson on the road on Saturday night. Not a good place to be.

GO MOCS!

Battle of North vs. South- 2-2-12

2012-02-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Scores

College of Charleston (S) 98
Elon (N) 99
2 OT

The Citadel (S) 71
UNC-Greensboro (N) 82

at North
North- 8
South- 7

at South
North- 3
South- 9

Overall
North- 11
South- 16

ANALYSIS

In a very strange twist, Elon never trailed College of Charleston until the second overtime, and even lead by seven in the second overtime, only to see the Cougars have a chance to win it as time ran out. The Cougars fought tooth and nail to get the win, but couldn't get it done. In the end, Elon and UNCG both took home games for the North, cutting into the lead that the South has.

Technically, on Saturday the North has a chance to regain the lead, as there are six match-ups between the North and the South that day. But in two games, the North team will be a heavy underdog, as Chattanooga goes to Davidson and Samford goes to Wofford. In three others, it is at best a toss up as Charleston visits Appalachian State, Georgia Southern goes to Western Carolina, and UNCG heads to Furman. The only game that looks to be solidly in the North's favor is Elon will be hosting The Citadel. Should be a very interesting Saturday afternoon as the North tries to make things a little bit closer with the South in this battle, and the South tries to expand their lead.

Double Dribbles- 2-2-12

2012-02-02T05:00:00.019-05:00

1) Furman finds themselves tied with Charleston for fourth in the South after a loss to Davidson on Wednesday night. Will the Cougars be able to pass them with a win over Elon on Thursday night? Should be interesting. Can the Paladins get back on track Saturday afternoon on the SoCon Saturday game at home against UNC-Greensboro? That is one of the must win games for the Spartans and the Paladins are in a similar situation. That game is shaping up as huge.

2) Samford goes to Wofford on Saturday and Appalachian State hosts College of Charleston. Both of these teams have tough games (and important games) on Saturday. Somehow, that makes the Samford-Appy game on Thursday night even bigger. The Bullldogs need a win to pull into a tie with Appalachian State. The Mountaineers beat Samford in January when Samford was struggling. Now, the Bulldogs are playing well and this would be a huge win for either one of these two teams. Appalachian State could move into second in the North with a win. Another big game between these two teams on Thursday night.

Western Carolina Preview: Any Life Left?

2012-02-01T23:23:00.000-05:00

The Catamounts and Mocs are tied for fifth (or last) in the SoCon North race. Both teams are in the middle of long losing streaks. Only one can emerge from this game with some sense of hope.

The Mocs suffered a "dagger" or "stake to the heart" last Saturday night against Georgia Southern. Is there any life left in the Mocs at this point? Do they have anything left to put into the season?

They Catamounts have lost six straight games to D1 teams, and 8 of 9 against D1 competition. Can they get their act back together in time for this game?

So which team has anything left in the tank? Which team has life left in them? Which team is going to show up and get out of the cellar?

In the last six games, Trey Sumler has averaged 17.7 points per game, scoring 18 three times, 22 once, 17 once, and 13 in their most recent game. The problem is that during that time, Sumler has turned the ball over four times per game with just 3.3 assists per game. He is also avearaging 4.5 rebounds per game and two steals per game.

Harouna Mutombo is averaging 12.7 points per game for the year along with 5.8 rebounds per game. Mutombo is averaging just 10.2 points per game in the last ten games when the Catamounts have won just two games. If the 17 point performance against Davidson is taken out, Mutombo is scoring just 8.3 points per game in that nine game stretch.

Keaton Cole is averaging 11.3 points per game and Brandon Boggs is scoring 10.2 points per game. Tawaski King is second on the team in rebounding with 4.8 rebounds per game. The problem for the Catamounts is that they just don't rebound the ball well. They are not big on the inside. The Mocs totally dominated the boards in their first match-up. It also was the last game before Keegan Bell's slump started. He had eight points and twelve assists.

Omar Wattad is still battling through his back injury, while Ricky Taylor is struggling with his wrist. Jahmal Burroughs will almost certainly not play with his pulled hamstring. Z Mason has a hurt knee, and has a 50/50 chance of playing on Thursday night.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Will Z Mason be able to play? If not, then the Mocs will become noticeably smaller. Drazen Zlovaric can certainly have a big game on the inside. He will need to.
--Bell. Can Keegan Bell keep the momentum going from the Georgia Southern game and stay hot.
--Sumler. He's scoring. But for a point guard, to be turning the ball over more than he is getting assists is not good. He has to play much better.
--King vs. Zlovaric. If Mason does not go, then the battle inside will be Mutombo and King vs. Zlovaric and Bryant/Stokes/Baker. That's not exactly a dream for the Mocs. If the Mocs dominate the boards again, they will be able to win. If the rebounding battle tightens up substantially, Western Carolina will be in a great position.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Sumler will continue to score, but also will continue to turn the ball over.
--The rebounding battle will go to the Mocs, but not by anywhere near the same total as in their first match-up in Chattanooga.
--Zlovaric will have a big game. Bryant will also continue to shine.
--Western Carolina 74, Mocs 69. The Mocs defense has been worse on the road and they still have not won a road game all year. Can they win this one on the road? Absolutely. This game is winnable. The Mocs really need this one bad, too. But it's just too hard to imagine winning a road game with their current state of mind and the psyche of the team.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Recap- Davidson 71, Furman 53

2012-02-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

Davidson still did not shoot the ball particularly well, shooting just over 40% from the field and 16.7% from three point range. So how did they win the game?

The Wildcats shot twelve threes out their 57 shots. They figured out that they should not shoot the three when they are not falling. It took them a couple of games, but they finally figured out how to get shots inside, even if they are not hitting threes.

Furman only shot 34% from the field. Charlie Reddick was the only Paladin to score in double figures, with thirteen points. Brandon Sebirumbi scored eight points, and was the second leading scorer. That's not good. Sebirumbi also collected eight rebounds.

De'Mon Brooks poured in nineteen points and Jake Cohen collected eight rebounds as well.

Furman is not a great offensive team. It showed up again in this one. The Paladins simply do not have the ability to score enough points to be able to win a bunch of games in the SoCon Tournament. They have great defensive ability, which is nice, but without the offensive punch, they just can't be expected to win.

Davidson, on the other hand, has righted the ship from their loss to Samford. They will take on Chattanooga Saturday night at home. Davidson has a two game lead on Wofford for the division lead. That's huge at this point. A win next week against Wofford would virtually put the division away, since they already beat the Terriers once. Davidson looked much better, but they need to keep on rolling when they come home. Davidson is on the very fringe of the bubble discussion. This performance certainly kept them there.

Double Dribbles- 2-1-12

2012-02-01T05:00:00.025-05:00

1) Derrell Armstrong won his second consecutive SoCon Player of the Week for the UNCG Spartans. He poured home 50 points in their two wins. He averaged 25 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. He continues to have magnificent games. Armstrong 40 points in the second half and overtime against Appalachian State and Western Carolina. If the Spartans are going to continue on their current hot streak, Armstrong will have to continue playing up to his present level of play.

2) College of Charleston's trip to Elon should be really interesting on Thursday. Could the Cougars win a road game at Elon? The Cougars have gotten back onto the right track with their performance at Samford on Monday night. Can they turn around and come up with another road win over the Phoenix on Thursday night? This is critical for both teams. If Elon wants to get a bye, they need to keep on winning. If the Cougars want to get out of fifth in the South, they need to start winning consistently again. This should be a really interesting and fun game. It's the biggest and best game of Thursday night.

February in Preview: Building Momentum...From Nothing

2012-01-31T22:21:00.000-05:00

The Mocs have no momentum. They actually have the opposite of momentum. They have deceleration. They are way off right now, having lost a bunch of really close games in recent weeks.

But with the month comes a new chance at gaining momentum- a new chance to win. The Mocs were not good in January, at least in the win-loss column. But they have an opportunity to turn some of those losses into wins in February. And if they do, they could still move up in their seeding and get in position to make a big run in the SoCon Tournament in Asheville in March.

Toughest Game: at Davidson, February 4. The Mocs provided a serious challenge to Davidson in Chattanooga last Thursday. But the Wildcats are the far superior team. They are 9-1 in SoCon play, while the Mocs are 3-7. Davidson has been nearly impossible to beat at home in recent years, as the Wildcats have been tough for any SoCon team to beat. Chattanooga will have an almost impossible time trying to go into Davidson and come up with the win.

Easiest Game: The Citadel, February 18. It is certainly true that the Mocs could lose to anyone on their schedule at this point. But the safest win for the Mocs has to be considered a home game against a 1-9 team. The Bulldogs feature Mike Grosselle, who just might be the most under-appreciated player in the SoCon. Grosselle should legitimately be an All-SoCon player. Hopefully he gets there. He has earned. Voters may go another way because of his playing on a poor team, but he is as deserving as any player in the SoCon. Still, the Mocs have to be considered the heavy favorite in this one since it is a home game. They haven't made anything easy this year though.

Most Important Game: at Western Carolina, February 2. With the current losing streak the Mocs are on, and with the way the last three games have ended, it would be easy for the Mocs to pack it in. Are they going to pack it in? Was Saturday's last second three pointer by Georgia Southern the "dagger to the heart" like Drazen Zlovaric and John Shulman called it? Will they be able to fight back? If they are able to fight back, they will show it in this game. Cullowhee is never an easy place to win in the SoCon, but the Catamounts played Monday and were beaten by 26 by Wofford on the road. They have lost eight of nine to D1 teams. The Mocs beat Western by 16 in Chattanooga. If the Mocs show heart and come up with a win on Thursday night, they may well be able to right the ship for the rest of the year. If they lose against the Catamounts on Thursday night and don't show the effort that has been the hallmark of this team, then the Mocs may well be in trouble in every game the rest of the year.

Predicted Record: 3-5. I'm going to beg the Mocs to prove me wrong here. I'm calling for a home win over either Elon or UNCG, and home wins over The Citadel and Samford. Since the Mocs have not won a road game yet, I'm not picking them to beat Western Carolina, Davidson, Appalachian State, or Furman. I'm also picking them to lose one home game to either Elon or UNCG. The thing is, the Mocs are good enough to go 7-1 if everything breaks right here. If things break wrong, a winless month or a 1-7 month could happen as well. Huge couple of weeks here.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview- Davidson at Furman

2012-01-31T21:41:00.000-05:00

Could it be?

Is it possible?

Is there really any chance at all that Wofford catches Davidson in the South Division race?

Davidson, presumed to be the South Division champ for the last several weeks, suddenly has a loss to Samford. Then Wofford beat College of Charleston and Georgia Southern. Suddenly, the Wildcats are up just one and a half games on the Terriers. A loss to Furman would push the lead down to just one game.

That's not to say that this game is meaningless to Furman. After all, since the Paladins pulled off the shocker over College of Charleston last Thursday, they suddenly find themselves just two games out of the bye in the South. A win would put them right in the race for the bye, and certainly put them in contention for the third seed against Georgia Southern. College of Charleston is hot on their tail too- just one half game back. So this game is critical to the Paladins seeding opportunities in the coming weeks as well.

Furman has won four out of five, losing just at home to Wofford by seven during that stretch. They have a very good defensive team. In January SoCon play, just once have they allowed more than 66 points. The Paladins defense is what keeps them in games.

The reason that I have been down on the Paladins in recent weeks is that they don't really have an offensive star. When they are in a deep rut, they have no one to really turn to for that critical basket. That makes them a team that could go into a deep dry spell and be beaten. They are capable of winning games with the strength of their defense, though.

For example, the Paladins had three players in double figures against The Citadel in their win over the Bulldogs over the weekend. Colin Reddick scored 12, Charlie Reddick scored 11, and Brandon Sebirumbi scored 10. Bobby Austin scored 9, Bryson Barnes 8, and Jordan Lloyd 7. In other words, they were a very balanced group, but there is no stand out player.

Sebirumbi leads the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and rebounds with 5.3 boards per contest. He is shooting about 53% from the floor. Charlie Reddick is the second leading scorer with 10.1 points per game, and second in rebounding with 4.9. He is also the leading three point shooter at 39.4% from behind the arc. He also leads the team in steals with 1.1 per game. Bobby Austin averages 1.7 assists per game.

On the other hand, Davidson is a tremendous offensive team. De'Mon Brooks is averaging 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Jake Cohen is averaging 14.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Nik Cochran averages 11.8 points and 3.3 assists per game. Tom Droney averages 2.7 assists per game.

Davidson is a very good offensive team. Brooks and Cohen both are very good shooters. But, over the last two games against Chattanooga and Samford, the Wildcats have seen their post players double teamed. They have been daring the Wildcats to shoot from long range, and they have not been successful doing it. So, Brooks and Cohen either need to come up with a way to score out of the double team, or against the zone, or the shooters need to start hitting shots. Can they hit shots on the road?

Davidson shot nearly 53% from the floor in their 86-65 win over Furman back in December. Cohen and JP Kuhlman scored 16 points. Brooks and Cochran scored 15 points. Chriz Czerapowicz scored 13 points. They also won the battle of the boards. Sebirumbi was held scoreless in twelve minutes. Bryant Irwin scored 21 points, which was the most points he has scored all year in a game. He has been up and down throughout the season, having scored 14 against College of Charleston in 29 minutes, before scoring two against The Citadel in twelve minutes.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Davidson is the better rebounding team and needs to have a good night on the boards against the Paladins.
--Figuring it out. Davidson needs to figure out how to score with Brooks and Cohen being a heavy point of emphasis for the defense.
--Sebirumbi. He was held scoreless against Davidson the first time around. That's not a way for the Paladins to win. He needs to have a solid game to offset Brooks and Cohen.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Paladins will be much more competitive than they were against Davidson in December.
--Cohen and Brooks will play significantly better than they have the last two games.
--Sebirumbi will get into double digits this time.
--Davidson 69, Furman 62. The Wildcats are the better team and are hungry for the win after the deflating loss to Samford. But the Paladins home court and defense are good enough to keep this game close. The problem is that they don't have the offensive firepower to get this done at this point. Wildcats win a close one.

January in Review: Agonizingly Close

2012-01-31T20:33:00.000-05:00

The Mocs just completed a 3-6 month, but never has there been a 3-6 month where the Mocs were closer to going undefeated.

The Mocs were within single digits, and not out of any game with five minutes left. The 13 point loss to Tennessee was probably their worst performance overall, but the trip to Samford was a close second. Yes, the Bulldogs have played better as of late, and were up just two late in the game, but the Bulldogs pulled away for an eleven point win.

The Mocs lost their last three game to Elon, Davidson, and Georgia Southern (who are a combined 21-8 in SoCon play) by a total of five points in gut wrenching fashion. They just could not come up with the clutch win in any of those three very tight games. The Mocs did beat Appalachian State and Wofford by a combined five points earlier, and the win over the Mountaineers was a come back miracle, but against the Terriers, the Mocs had been in the lead most of the game.

The loss to UNC-Greensboro is hardly embarrassing at this point, with how the Spartans have played. The Mocs were down just two points late in the game, but could not complete the comeback.

The month was also full of injuries. Omar Wattad is suffering through his back injury. Ricky Taylor has a beat up wrist. Z Mason has an injured knee. Jahmal Burroughs has a pulled hamstring. That is four of the top six players that are battling legitimate injuries at this point. Has there ever been a team this beat up before March? It's hard to imagine.

That's not a cop out either. Or an excuse. It is merely stating facts. The Mocs have had a ton of injuries. They seem to be a little snake bitten right now. If everyone gets reasonably healthy and the bounces bounce their way, they could still make a run in Asheville. But they need to start turning things around now to put themselves in position to make that run.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 1-31-12

2012-01-31T05:00:00.034-05:00

1) The BracketBusters are set. On the weekend of February 17th and 18th, four SoCon teams will participate in the annual event. Davidson hosts Wichita State in a televised game that will be a big one for the SoCon and the Wildcats. Appalachian State hosts Winthrop. Wofford plays at Charleston Southern. College of Charleston goes to Kent State. Whew. Winthrop is 9-14, and 6-6 in the Big South. Charleston Southern is 14-7, 8-3 in the Big South. Kent State is 14-6, 4-3 in the MAC. Wichita State is 18-4, 9-2 in the MVC. The Shockers may be able to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Appalachian State will be favored, but I'm not sure if any other team from the SoCon will be. A 2-2 or 3-1 mark would be wildly successful for the SoCon in this event.

2) So is Wofford that hot? Or is Western Carolina that cold? Maybe some of both. Wofford has won six straight since losing in Chattanooga, and has won eight of ten overall. Western Carolina has lost eight of nine against D-1 teams. The lone win in that stretch for the Catamounts was over Wofford at home. But Wofford certainly got their revenge on Monday night. Their dominating 82-56 win shows that Wofford is certainly hot on the tail of Davidson for the South title and that the back-to-back champs will not go quietly this year, like so many thought they would. Western Carolina on the other hand has two more huge games this week. They battle Georgia Southern and also Chattanooga this week. If they can't win either of those games, they will have a very difficult time getting out of the cellar in the North this year. Amazing for a team so many people expected to contend for the North title.

Battle of North vs. South- 1-30-12

2012-01-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

Monday's Scores

College of Charleston (S) 68
Samford (N) 52

Western Carolina (N) 56
Wofford (S) 82

at North
North- 6
South- 7

at South
North- 3
South- 9

Overall
North- 9
South- 16

ANALYSIS

Charleston's win was unexpected and exciting. It also provides a huge chance for the South to beat the North handily. Charleston's trip to Elon and The Citadel's trip to UNC-Greensboro on Thursday mark two more games in this battle. On Saturday, there are six more match-ups between North and South. If the South were to sweep all eight, they would have no worse than a tie clinched for the battle. Hard to believe that on Saturday when Samford won, this was looking like it might get really interesting, but the Mocs loss to Georgia Southern and these two have turned it upside down. It's looking more and more like the South is going to win.

Through the Heart

2012-01-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

"A dagger through the heart."

"A stake through the heart."

The first quote is from Drazen Zlovaric. The second is from John Shulman.

There is one thing this team has done tremendously well all year long, and that is play with heart. The Mocs have not done a lot well, especially during this five game losing streak, but they have played with a lot of heart throughout the whole year, including in this losing strreak. This team has fought back from double digit deficits and hung around in games that they have had no business hanging around in given how they have played.

Last year's Mocs team would have been blown out several times this year. But this team has heart and does not give up.

And that may be the most disturbing thing about the quotes from Zlovaric and Shulman. Was that really what Saturday's game was? Was it the kill shot to the heart of this team? If it was, that is really dangerous. This team may suddenly find themselves getting blown out. Will they be able to win any games the rest of the year if they start playing with a little less effort or a little less heart?

The short answer is no. So the real question is if the Mocs can bounce back. This is the moment that the Mocs must bounce back. They are battling Western Carolina in a winnable but tough game on Thursday night. Can they win the Thursday game?

Honestly, winning and losing is not what I am looking for on Thursday. It's the effort. It's the heart. That's what I'm looking for. If they can play with effort and heart, I won't worry as much about winning or losing.

But another close loss may be the kill shot to the heart.

So, maybe I will worry about winning and losing. After all, let's face it, I always worry about winning and losing.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 1-30-12

2012-01-30T05:00:00.023-05:00

1) A game that would have gotten little attention last Wednesday suddenly looks really interesting. Tonight, Charleston travels to Samford. The Cougars are in bad shape for a bye in the South. They are without Bobby Cremins on the sideline for at least the remainder of the season. On the other hand, Samford is suddenly right in the thick of the bye race in the North. They are 4-5, just one game behind Elon for the bye in the North and one and a half games back of UNCG for first in the North. Who would have guessed that Samford would be more in the race for a bye than Charleston just last Wednesday? The Bulldogs upset of Davidson on Saturday was huge. A win over the Cougars on Monday? That would serve notice that Samford was in the race to stay.

2) There's a ton to talk about on this Monday, but with two Monday games, the Western Carolina trip to Wofford has to get mentioned. Can the Catamounts trip up the Terriers? That would be their second win over Wofford this year. They won just that game in their last eight against D1 opposition. Western Carolina is in desperate need of a win to get back into the bye race in the North. Wofford, on the other hand, can close the gap to just 1.5 games on Davidson for the South division lead and push their lead to one full game over Georgia Southern for the bye. This is a huge week for Western Carolina, who plays Wofford, Georgia Southern, and Chattanooga this week. A 2-1 or 3-0 week would get them back into the division race. A disastrous 0-3 week would get them in real trouble and possibly push them towards last in the division to stay. Big week for the Catamounts.

Scanning the SoCon- Week Thirteen

2012-01-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

DavidsonCats- Davidson Wildcats fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga Mocs fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel Bulldogs fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro Spartans fan.

SCHEDULE

Monday, January 30
Western Carolina at Wofford
College of Charleston at Samford

Wednesday, February 1
Davidson at Furman

Thursday, February 2
Chattanooga at Western Carolina (ESPN3)
The Citadel at UNC-Greensboro
College of Charleston at Elon
Samford at Appalachian State

Saturday, February 4
Georgia Southern at Western Carolina
Samford at Wofford
College of Charleston at Appalachian State
UNC-Greensboro at Furman (SoCon Network/ESPN3)
Chattanooga at Davidson
The Citadel at Elon

POWER RANKINGS
1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Wofford 44
3) UNC-Greensboro 36
4) Georgia Southern 35
5) Elon 34
6) Appalachian State 29
7) Furman 21
8t) College of Charleston 18
8t) Western Carolina 18
10) Samford 15
11) Chattanooga 10
12) The Citadel 4

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- The Wildcats are now 15-5 overall and 9-1 in the conference after splitting the road trip to Chattanooga and Samford. Clint Mann returned to the rotation this week. Jake was less effective in these two games, but Nik, JP, De'Mon, and Chris Czerapowicz all had solid road trips. The Wildcats have a tough road game coming up on Wednesday against Furman and then have a very important home stand against Chattanooga and Wofford.

MocsMania- The Mocs lost two heartbreakers this week, allowing four combined points in the final one and a half combined seconds in their two games this week. They both were losses, by a combined total of four points. In other words, they played Georgia Southern and Davidson to a dead even tie for the first 39 minutes and 59 seconds of both games, and got outscored 4-0 in the final second, which means the Mocs lose both games. The Mocs may well be the second best team in the SoCon, but after three losses by a combined five points, the Mocs have nothing to show for it. They could be a major surprise in the SoCon Tournament, but they have to gain some confidence before then. It does not look good.

TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel lost three more games this week, although the Bulldogs were competitive in all three and arguably unlucky not to win at Georgia Southern, losing in double-OT, with a noticeable disparity in free throw attempts. Competitive is nice, but The Citadel needs to start winning. Despite the team's record, Mike Groselle has continued to put together what has to be an All-SoCon season. I am concerned the SoCon media that votes on such honors may not see fit to honor a player on a team with a poor record, but in Groselle's case that would be an enormous travesty.

UNCGBasketballFan- UNCG is currently enjoying its biggest resurgence since Kyle Hines donned his cap and gown. The Spartans have really perfected the art of winning very ugly, but exciting games. While G has lacked a killer instinct in closing games out the past few weeks, they have shown a knack for still finding a way to win the games. The past weekend UNCG had to go to overtime to beat App State and Western Carolina. Both games saw the visitors come storming back to force overtime only to have UNCG come out aggressive in the extra period and play with confidence. Trevis Simpson and Derrell Armstrong are leading the scoring parade, with Armstrong coming off the bench exclusively. This week will see UNCG to have to play its first road game in almost 3 weeks. They will have to continue to win there to stay in contention for a tournament bye.

What game are you most looking forward to this week that does not involve your team?

DavidsonCats- Thursday's Chattanooga at Western game has my attention. Chattanooga's next opponent after WCU is Davidson, and I'd like to see Chattanooga get their first road win of the season before arriving at Belk.

MocsMania- I'll go with Davidson's trip to Furman. Can the Paladins get into the bye race? Will the Wildcats give up some ground on their race to winning first in the South? Will the Wildcats offense soar? Or will the Paladins defense dominate? Should be a quality game.

TheSportsArsenal- Most of the games this week are cross-division games. None truly stand out. Western Carolina has three games this week, two of which are against Wofford and Georgia Southern, and thus may play the most impactful schedule in terms of the standings.

UNCGBasketballFan- Davidson at Furman. I'm interested to see how the Wildcats respond to a tough loss. Samford really couldn't miss on Saturday and the Wildcats still found a way to crawl back into the game. Can they get over the disappointment and bring the intensity on a quick turnaround?

Who do you think is the best sixth man in the league?

DavidsonCats- There are several players who have primarily come off the bench this year, but have started a few games. Guys like Jack Isenbarger and Derrell Armstrong. My top sixth man would be Chris Czerapowicz. He hasn't started any games and has been Davidson's best scorer off the bench. Through 20 games, he's scored 183 points and grabbed 88 rebounds. 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds. He's getting better rapidly.

MocsMania- I'd love to be a homer here and pick Z Mason, who I think will be a force in the SoCon starting next year, and already has proven to be one of the Mocs better players. But in the end, you really can't go wrong with UNCG's Derrell Armstrong at this point. He is one of the main reasons that the Spartans have started winning. I know he hasn't played that well all year, but at his current level of play, there really is no going wrong picking him.

TheSportsArsenal- Right now I would slightly favor Derrell Armstrong of UNCG as the league's top sixth man.

UNCGBasketballFan- Well, it's kind of hard to decide who is really coming off of the bench for some teams. This week I watched Omar Carter (ASU) and Harouna Mutombo (WCU) not start for their teams. However, I'm going to be biased and say that right now, UNCG's Derrell Armstong is the best pure bench player. He's scored 23 or more points his part 4 games is one of the leading catalysts to UNCG quick climb up the standings.

At the halfway point of the conference season, which four teams do you expect to earn byes for the SoCon Tournament?

DavidsonCats- Davidson, Wofford, Elon and ASU.

MocsMania- Whew. In the South, I'll take the obvious choice (Davidson) and go with Wofford for the second seed. I'm not convinced the Terriers are as good as their record indicates, but I'd be surprised if any other team from the South has what it takes to make a run at the second seed. Charleston has the talent, but without Cremins, and already trailing the Terriers by three games and the tiebreaker, it's hard to envision them catching the Terriers. The Paladins and Eagles are too inconsistent. In the North- I have no idea. Chattanooga is the most talented team in the division I believe, but they are too far out of it to get a bye at this point, I think. Western Carolina appears too flawed to me (and are struggling right now). Samford is just not good enough, even though they are hot right now. That leaves Appalachian State, UNCG, and Elon. UNCG is the team I like the most of those three, so I'll go with them for one bye. I'm less than convinced that Elon can keep on playing at their current level, and I am also less than convinced that Appy has what it takes to get a bye. They just don't seem to play well together at times. I'll take Appy, but feel more than a little apprehensive when I do it.

TheSportsArsenal- The four byes will go to Davidson, Wofford (since the CofC is now in freefall), and...oh, boy, the north. Might as well throw darts while blindfolded. I suppose picking UNCG to get a bye would be trendy. I'm not quite so sure about the Spartans, at least not yet, but I guess I'll go with Elon and UNCG.

UNCGBasketballFan- I still think UNCG has a tougher 2nd half schedule than most teams. So, in the North I'll go with Elon and App State. In the South, I think Wofford just looks like the stronger of the "rest of the pack". So I'll pick them to get a bye, along with Davidson.

With Bobby Cremins announcement of a leave of absence and possible retirement, share some thoughts on Cremins career.

DavidsonCats- I hope that Cremins returns to the bench at CofC. He's been fantastic for the conference.

MocsMania- Cremins has been great for the Southern Conference. He has brought national attention to the conference that used to get it only when a team pulled an upset in the NCAA Tournament or was a popular pick to pull an upset in the NCAA Tournament. Not saying that people follow the SoCon now- but Cremins brought more national attention to it. That was great. All in all, he has been a great coach for many years. He deserves all the respect he has received. He is a fine man and I hope that he makes a full recovery.

TheSportsArsenal- Bobby Cremins did a great job of building the Georgia Tech program (after a solid stint at Appalachian State). Nobody can ever question Cremins' ability as a recruiter, and his teams were often very entertaining as well, which in a major metro area like Atlanta is important. As the head coach of South Carolina, Cremins had a short but memorable run...I think his tenure at the CofC is a mixed bag, to be honest. He was a great comeback hire for that school after the Gregg Marshall debacle (which was the CofC's problem, not Marshall's), but I think most CofC supporters anticipated regular trips to the NCAA tournament, and Cremins went 0-fer in that category despite bringing in very good talent.

UNCGBasketballFan- How amazing is it for a guy to be credited for resurrecting a program with the status of Charleston after already having a court at an ACC school named after you? If Cremins actually retires, you've got to be impressed with the shap he left that program in for the next coach. I do wish him the best and hope that he gets well soon from whatever is ailing him.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week- Davidson at Furman

2012-01-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

The Paladins are 5-5 in SoCon play and are making a sudden push at one of the first round byes in the South. If they are going to get there, they need to keep on winning.

Davidson is 9-1 in the South, and up two games on Wofford for the division lead. They are still in great position to have the best record in the conference. Of course, that wiggle room can shrink substantially with a loss to the Paladins on Wedneday night.

This game will certainly help shape exactly where teams are going to fall in the South race. This should be a very interesting match-up between Davidson's high flying offense and the Paladins top notch defense. Will Davidson lose their second straight? Or will Furman find a way to keep on winning?

Battle of North vs. South- 1-28-12

2012-01-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Scores

Davidson (S) 74
Samford (N) 77

Georgia Southern (S) 75
Chattanooga (N) 72

at North
North- 6
South- 6

at South
North- 3
South- 8

Overall
North- 9
South- 14

ANALYSIS

The North had a real chance to gain ground today until the Mocs blew a 16 point lead to Georgia Southern, including a three pointer at the buzzer.

Davidson was stunned at Samford. That was almost impossible to predict that it was coming. The Bulldogs win gave some real hope to the North in gaining ground today. In the end, it wasn't enough, because the Mocs could not hold up their end of the bargain.

Georgia Southern 75, Mocs 72

2012-01-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 51.7%
Georgia Southern- 50.8%
Advantage- Mocs

TO%
Mocs- 23.9%
Georgia Southern- 18.3%
Advantage- Georgia Southern

OR%
Mocs- 32.4%
Georgia Southern- 23.7%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 25.4%
Georgia Southern- 30.0%
Advantage- Georgia Southern

FT%
Mocs- 73.3%
Georgia Southern- 77.8%
Advantage- Georgia Southern

3PtRate
Mocs- 37.3%
Georgia Southern- 40.0%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Drazen Zlovaric 31.0
2) Keegan Bell 24.8
3) Omar Wattad 16.9
4) Dontay Hampton 12.0
5) Rico White 11.8
6) Ricky Taylor 9.5
7) Jared Bryant 7.7
8) Drew Baker 7.5
9) Lance Stokes 6.4

Per 40
1) Jared Bryant 43.7
2) Drazen Zlovaric 37.6
3) Rico White 36.3
4) Keegan Bell 34.2
5) Dontay Hampton 23.9
6) Drew Baker 21.4
7) Omar Wattad 19.9
8) Lance Stokes 18.1
9) Ricky Taylor 11.5

ANALYSIS

And the hits just keep on coming. This was one of the most painful losses of the year...in a year with plenty of very painful ones.

The Mocs played without Jahmal Burroughs and Z Mason. Is that what contributed to this loss? They could not play either of their best fours. Yes, Lance Stokes was still available and he played adequately. But Stokes is more like a three than a four, in my opinion. Drew Baker played fine, but he is not a scholarship athlete. That put a giant hole in the Mocs lineup.

All that being said, there is no excuse for blowing a sixteen point lead in the final ten minutes. The Mocs lost focus, they lost intensity, and they lost the game. They were up two with a minute left, and gave up five unanswered points. This is unacceptable.

The problem the Mocs have this year is losing close games. In their last three games, the Mocs have lost by a combined total of five points. Three of those were on the last second three pointer in this one. There is still plenty of time for a miracle turnaround this year, but it is looking less and less likely by the game. With a week of road games against Western Carolina and Davidson on the horizon, the Mocs are going to struggle to get going now.

Drazen Zlovaric continued to play very well. He had another double-double. Ricky Taylor played well at the end, but scored just 9, while Omar Wattad scored just 5. That's the two leading scorers coming up with 14 combined points. Keegan Bell seemed to snap out of his slump, though he scored just three points in the second half.

I still firmly believe that the Mocs can go far in the SoCon Tournament. They have to get this turned around, though. I'm not really sure that they can win the tournament without a bye, and it is really difficult to find a path to the bye at this point. There was still a chance heading into today. After today, it's hard to find that path.

GO MOCS!

Cremins Leave of Absence: A Cougars Response

2012-01-28T00:15:00.000-05:00

Bobby Cremins has taken a leave of absence from Charleston, as reported earlier. I thought that sending some questions to a Cougars blogger would be a good way to get some insight into the situation there.

Hopefully, this answers some of the questions and provides some insight into the situation. Hope you enjoy it.

Here's a link to his blog- KingKresse.

What is your best memory of the Cremins era at College of Charleston?

There are a lot of memories that come to mind when reminiscing about Coach Cremins. He was truly ingrained into the CofC community. The guy lived just off campus and it was not uncommon to run into him walking his dogs or doing some shopping downtown. But when it comes to the most salient of memories there was one that stood out above the others for me personally. In December of 2008 (the first season that Carolina First/TD Arena was open), Cremins was going for his 500th career victory against Coastal Carolina. With the Cougars up at halftime, a couple friends and I knew we had to do something to commemorate the occasion. We ducked out of the arena, ran to CVS and bought some poster board and magic markers. We made a large digit on each poster, 5-0-0. When the final buzzer sounded we proudly displayed our work for Cremins and the TV cameras. While walking to the locker room with the team, Bobby came up to each of us and shook our hands. He thanked us for coming to the game and spending 10 bucks on supplies. No mention of his milestone. Just a moment that really gave me a glimpse into his character and one I still remember vividly.

Do you think that the recent struggles had anything to do with Cremins taking his leave of absence now? Did Cremins health problems lead to some of the recent struggles?

I think the recent struggles of the team are at least partially attributable to Bobby's exhaustion. Last year he had a senior-laden squad that could effectively coach themselves. Bobby never even had to stand up from the bench. This year he had to rebuild with a largely inexperienced roster. Add to that the drama with Baru's eligibility earlier this year and the key injuries to Willis Hall and Anthony Stitt and you can imagine the undo stress on a 64 year old. Looking back at his last few post-game press conferences, you can see that Bobby looks just beaten down.

Mark Byington has been named the interim head coach. Most people around the SoCon don't know much about Byington, except that he was on Tom Herrion's staff. What is your initial reaction to Byington being in this position?

I believe I speak for many Cougar fans when I say we want all remnants of the Herrion era to be forgotten and pushed as far from CofC as possible. Byington is still here and has been Cremins' right hand man since 06-07. For the most part he has quietly remained under the radar. He's active on the recruiting front (showing kids campus, facilities etc) and is in charge of developing the guards and wing players. I don't know what to expect from him as the leader of this team. Byington's coaching style is much different than Cremins. Very much an X's and O's kind of guy while Bobby mostly lets his players do their thing. Does he have what it takes to command the respect and attention that a 30-year vet like Cremins does? Will he hold players accountable? We shall see.

If this is the end of the Cremins era in Charleston, do you think Mark Byington will be named the permanent head coach?

The remainder of the season is going to be an extended tryout for Mark Byington. Based just on the endorsements he has received from John Kresse and Coach Cremins, it seems to be his job to lose. I think we as a program need to explore all of our options before we name him the heir apparent. If the team responds well to Coach B and turns things around, he'll have a leg up as the incumbent. Should things stay the way they are, there are probably a few other coaches who would make their case for the job.

If Cremins leaves, how do you see that impacting the program on the whole? Recruiting, scheduling, talent development, etc.

No doubt there will be at least some impact on all of those activities. Scheduling UNC, Louisville, Clemson; that doesn't happen without Cremins and his connections. Off the top of my head I can think of 3-4 players on the roster right now who wouldn't be here without Bobby. Andrew Lawrence and James Carlton are both sons of players Bobby recruited at Appalachian State. Trent Wiedeman's mom was a star on the Georgia Tech women's team and Trent grew up idolizing and rooting for Bobby. Adjehi can be added to the mix simply because he instantly fell in love with Coach's demeanor and personality. Coach Cremins was a fantastic recruiter and his coaching legacy afforded the Cougars a lot of scheduling benefits. But he also helped restore the entire program from a very moribund state. Hopefully that still bears some weight when it comes to exposure and recruiting.

Assuming Cremins leaves, and Byington is not the answer, are there any names that jump out at you as potential replacements?

The NCAA coaching landscape is so vast that it's hard to think of a handful of names that could be considered candidates should our coaching search come to that. Athletic Director Joe Hull needs to earn his keep this spring because this should be one position in the mid-majors that draws considerable attention. Brand new arena and training facilities, no football so basketball is the main priority, access to nearby recruits in Atlanta and Charlotte and best of all: a young, talented squad that can be molded into a contender. I'd like to see us go after a Greg Marshall-type of guy (who previously coached the Cougars for a few hours). Someone with a history of developing teams and one who is still young enough to take a hands-on approach with players. Anyone resembling the antithesis of Tom Herrion would also be a reasonable candidate.

The Cougars have been struggling lately (not as much as some SoCon teams, but in a surprising way given where they were less than a month ago). With this coaching change, do you think this team can rebound and make a run at a bye out of the South and go far in the SoCon Tournament?

There's this phenomenon that seems to happen in sports when a coach is removed. Players seem to rally and play with a rejuvenated energy. Sometimes the feeling lasts, often times it does not. Bobby Cremins left such a large footprint on this program that I would expect the players, at home in TD Arena, to really come out inspired against Wofford. Win or lose we'll probably see more energy from the Cougs Saturday night. The trick for Byington and his job security will be to keep the momentum going into March.

Georgia Southern Preview: Do or Die

2012-01-27T23:59:00.000-05:00

Two teams that lost by a combined total of three points on Thursday night battle in an absolutely critical game to both teams on Saturday night.

The Mocs need a win to get back in the good graces of the win column. They need to find a way to get out of the cellar in the North. They have to win games, particularly home games, at this point. This is an absolute must win game for the Mocs.

Georgia Southern, on the other hand, is down by half game a game in the race for the bye in the South. The Eagles are up by a game and a half on Charleston and Furman. The outcome of the Charleston-Wofford game earlier in the day will have a huge impact on GSU. If the Cougars win, the Eagles can move into second with a win. If the Terriers win, the Eagles can move up by two and a half games on the Cougars with a win.

Georgia Southern is one of the most athletic teams in the SoCon. That is not necessarily a great thing. They sometimes play out of control. They come up with sixteen turnovers a game. They are also one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They are fun to watch when they are clicking offensively, though.

Against the Mocs earlier this year, Jelani Hewitt and Ben Drayton III scored 20 points each. Willie Powers scored just ten, but came up with six assists. Drayton had six assists as well. Hewitt had three steals. Eric Ferguson had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. They shot nearly 52% from the floor, and Hewitt shot 6 of 8 from three point range, as the Eagles made 48% from three point range. They also won the battle of the boards. Georgia Southern pulled away to a 16 point lead, and the Mocs battled back to make it a game in the final minutes, before falling by eight.

Ferguson is the leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game to go along with seven rebounds per game. He is shooting 57% from the floor. Drayton averages 11.5 points per game with 3.3 assists per game. Powers averages 10.9 points per game with 5.3 assists per game. Hewitt rounds out the four double digit scorers with 10.1 points per game and leads the team with 40.4% shooting from three point range. He has made 40 threes on the year.

As a team, the Eagles are shooting 46.7% from the field and 34.6% from three point range. The Mocs defense has been much better at home than it has been on the road. In SoCon games, the Mocs have given up 84.2 points per game on the road, while giving up 59.3 points per game at home. The Mocs are allowing 25 points per game less at home than on the road. That is truly an amazing stat.

In SoCon games, Georgia Southern has scored 71.4 points per game at home and just 63 points per game on the road. The Eagles are a much better team at home than on the road. The Mocs are a much better team at home than on the road. What happens when those two worlds collide?

Keegan Bell and Omar Wattad have been in a bit of a slump lately. Bell, in particular, has been struggling lately. He made a couple of huge shots at the end of the game against Davidson, and has been a clutch shooter despite his slump. Ricky Taylor has been slumping a bit too, even though he has scored decently. His injured wrist has been hurting his production. Drazen Zlovaric also has been scoring in double figures. He has been solid. Z Mason has been hampered by injury, even though he had been playing well before the Davidson game.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Mocs have to outrebound Georgia Southern. They got beat on the boards in their first match-up. That can't happen again.
--Home court advantage. Georgia Southern has been playing poorly on the road. The Mocs have been playing great at home. Can Georgia Southern reverse those trends?
--Controlling Powers. Contrary to what the stats say, Powers gets this team going. The Mocs need to keep him in check to keep the rest of the team under control.
--Zlovaric and Bryant. Pound the ball into Zlovaric and Bryant. They need to be a dominant forces.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Ferguson will get his points.
--Bell will continue to be poor shooting, while he will do a good job distributing.
--Jared Bryant will have another stellar game.
--Zlovaric will be good, but not fantastic.
--Mocs 73, Georgia Southern 62. The Mocs are good at home and are in a must win. Georgia Southern is poor on the road and it is not quite as critical that they win. That seems to add up to a Mocs win, in one of their more complete performances in a win this year.

GO MOCS!

Cremins Taking Leave of Absence

2012-01-27T21:49:00.000-05:00

Bobby Cremins is taking a leave of absence from his head coaching position at College of Charleston. Mark Byington has taken over as interim coach for the suddenly struggling Cougars.

Byington is a leftover from the Tom Herrion era. That's never a positive thing to bring up to Cougars fans. However, to this point, it appears that Cougar fans are trying to stay positive and unite behind the team.

But let's take a moment and talk about Cremins. He said that his leave of absence is due to health concerns. Is it serious? I certainly hope not. Cremins is a good guy and a good coach who I wish nothing but the best to.

Let's suppose for a moment that Cremins is gone. I think Cremins' leaving is huge to Charleston. Can they find someone to replace him? It's hard to know at this point. Will Byington be able to replace him? He could. But he's got big shoes to fill and the pressure will be immense for him. I'm not sure if he will be successful or not. Cremins leaves a giant hole. Sure, everyone likes to think they'd be able to hire some big name coach to come in and take over. (EVERY school thinks this- it doesn't matter what school you are.) But in the SoCon, it is really hit or miss.

So we'll all be playing it by ear for now. It's a sad day for the SoCon, losing their biggest name. But all in all, it is a very interesting time.

I'm trying to contact someone from CofC to answer a few questions for us (in the Dement/UNCG vein). Not sure if it's going to work out yet or not. I'll keep you posted.

Rankings- 1-27-12

2012-01-27T21:20:00.000-05:00

RPI

1) Davidson 49
2) College of Charleston 119
3) Wofford 179
4) Elon 205
5) Furman 231
6) Western Carolina 236
7) Appalachian State 250
8) UNC-Greensboro 251
9) Georgia Southern 269
10) Chattanooga 287
11) Samford 311
12) The Citadel 330

SoCon Rank: 23

Sagarin

1) Davidson 59
2) College of Charleston 130
3) Wofford 184
4) Appalachian State 236
5) Furman 237
6) Chattanooga 240
7) Western Carolina 244
8) Georgia Southern 259
9) Elon 263
10) UNC-Greensboro 291
11) Samford 294
12) The Citadel 332

SoCon Rank: 25

Pomeroy

1) Davidson 71
2) College of Charleston 151
3) Wofford 179
4) Chattanooga 218
5) Furman 224
6) Appalachian State 232
7) Elon 260
8) Western Carolina 265
9) Georgia Southern 270
10) UNC-Greensboro 280
11) Samford 283
12) The Citadel 328

ANALYSIS
Davidson has never been further ahead in these rankings. They are a dominant force at this point. I am truly not sure that if they lost all the rest of their games if they would fall out of first in these rankings. That is how far ahead they seem to be at this point.

The problem is that they are losing steam they more they play in the SoCon. The good news for them in their quest to get an at large bid is that they have a 40 in OOC RPI. Their overall RPI is falling a bit, but their OOC RPI is going to remain strong- if not get stronger. They also have a virtual road win over Kansas. Their case is compelling, but really only if they go unbeaten in SoCon play to the at least the semifinals.

Furman is a team on the rise right now after their road win over College of Charleston last night. Could they still be a darkhorse to get a bye? It's almost too late, but maybe not quite yet.

Double Dribbles- 1-27-12

2012-01-27T05:00:00.029-05:00

1) Wow. What a night! Four road teams won on Thursday night, and Samford won by two at home and UNCG won in overtime. So it could not have been a more thrilling night of basketball in the SoCon. The most stunning result had to be Charleston's loss at home to Furman, a team they hammered in Greenville by 23 just under three weeks ago. Could it really be that the Cougars are going to finish fifth in the South? This team that about a month ago I was saying could earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament? Look- I've been high on the Cougars all year, but there is no doubt that this has been a stunning turn of events. How about Furman? They are playing well, and should not be ignored, though. They probably can not finish higher than fourth. They will have a tough time staying ahead of Charleston, though.

2) Elon has turned the corner. After losing seven of eight games, the Phoenix have now won two straight, beating Chattanooga and on Thursday winning at Western Carolina. Beating the Catamounts was huge. The 71-63 win kept the Phoenix in first place in the North, and suddenly created some separation. Suddenly, they are up 1.5 games on Appalachian State, 2 games on Western Carolina and Samford and 2.5 games on Chattanooga. The Phoenix are still up just one half game on UNCG, but are looking better and better for a bye at the halfway point of the conference schedule.

Davidson 64, Mocs 63

2012-01-26T23:54:00.000-05:00

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Mocs- 45.2%
Davidson- 48.2%
Advantage- Davidson

TO%
Mocs- 15.6%
Davidson- 19.9%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Mocs- 20.0%
Davidson- 18.4%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Mocs- 22.6%
Davidson- 28.1%
Advantage- Davidson

FT%
Mocs- 50.0%
Davidson- 56.3%
Advantage- Davidson

3PtRate
Mocs-32.3%
Davidson- 63.2%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1) Jared Bryant 23.9
2) Ricky Taylor 20.9
3) Dontay Hampton 16.7
4) Drazen Zlovaric 15.4
5) Keegan Bell 13.9
6) Omar Wattad 12.8
7) Rico White 5.2
8) Z Mason 2.4
9) Jahmal Burroughs 0.7
10) Lance Stokes 0.0

Per 40
1) Jared Bryant 53.1
2) Ricky Taylor 31.0
3) Dontay Hampton 29.0
4) Drazen Zlovaric 28.0
5) Rico White 18.9
6) Omar Wattad 16.0
7) Keegan Bell 14.6
8) Z Mason 6.4
9) Jahmal Burroughs 2.2
10) Lance Stokes 0.0

ANALYSIS

So close. Yet so far away. That's how this game feels.

The Mocs horrific finish and the tremendous Davidson win leave a bitter taste in the Mocs mouth. The Mocs foul with less than a second left after the dramatic tying three really hurts.

All of that being said, the Mocs proved a lot tonight. They played Davidson even on the boards, something that I was not sure was possible heading into the game. Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks (the two best scorers on the Wildcats) combined to score 15 points. A team that averaged scoring 80 points per game heading into the game scored just 64. The Mocs held Davidson to just 38.6% shooting from the floor. They forced Davidson into a remarkable 36 threes out of their 57 shots. The Mocs only turned the ball over eleven times, and forced fourteen turnovers.

They hung in the game when Z Mason scored just two points, and Omar Wattad and Keegan Bell combined to shoot 6 of 19, or 31.6%.

In other words, this does not feel like a fluke. This felt like a game that the Mocs were playing their game. They answered every run with a run. They played great defense. They hung tough when they could have folded.

I know- after tonight, the Mocs are sitting in last place in the North. They have now lost four straight. If they don't start winning on the road, they will struggle to get anywhere close to a bye in the North.

But, if this team does not quit and keeps on fighting (remember they have not been blown out yet if you take Indiana and Kentucky out of the equation), they can eventually do some good things. I believe that if this team can earn a bye that they might just be the second best team in the SoCon (behind Davidson, of course).

I would be remiss to not mention that Jared Bryant had a great game. He continues to show tremendous promise. I really like the front line with Mason, Zlovaric, and Bryant next year. That will be a very tough front line. There is hope for the future still.

All in all, heart breaking loss. But it's one that reveals so much promise. The Mocs need to build on this and win Saturday night against Georgia Southern.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Recap- UNCG 77, Appalachian State 73 (OT)

2012-01-26T23:02:00.000-05:00

I was wrong. Sorry everyone. My analysis was wrong.

I predicted at the end of my preview that the winner of this game would be leading the North division at the end of the night and that winner would be UNCG.

So I was right about the Spartans, but the Elon upset of Western Carolina on the road made it so that the Spartans are not in first. They'll have to settle for second all by themselves.

I think the Spartans will take it.

Derrell Armstrong continued his red hot play. He scored 27 points- which means he lowered his average over the last three games to 27.7 points per game. He also collected eight rebounds. He did turn the ball over six times. Trevis Simpson scored 24 points, and was a dominant force.

The interesting player in this game was Taylor Hoffer. He scored ten points for the Spartans and collected ten rebounds, including five huge offensive rebounds.

The Mountaineers did not start Ike Butts or Omar Carter again. Butts scored eight points but came up with just one rebound. I really have no idea what's going on with him. Carter on the other hand, scored 19 points and had seven rebounds. They turned the ball over twenty times.

The Mountaineers are considered one of the major favorites in the North. They are clearly struggling to find themselves right now. Carter and Butts don't look right. Obviously, they aren't right, which is why they continue to not start.

The Spartans on the other hand may just be the favorite in the North at this point. Can they carry this momentum over to Saturday? They have failed to do that the last two weekends. Yes, they came up with two wins, but nailbiters over The Citadel and Samford are not what the Spartans have in mind. They will need to play a solid game at home against Western Carolina on Saturday to continue their five game winning streak and stay right in the hunt in the North.

Battle of North vs. South- 1-26-12

2012-01-26T22:50:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Scores

Davidson (S) 64
Chattanooga (N) 63

Georgia Southern (S) 55
Samford (N) 57

at North
North- 5
South- 5

at South
North- 3
South- 8

Overall
North- 8
South- 13

ANALYSIS

Georgia Southern had two chances in the closing seconds to take the lead at Samford, and come up short both times. Chattanooga had a chance to send the game to overtime against Davidson, and came up short. The South was expected to win both games on Thursday night, and they split 1-1. The North is now just 5-5 at home, while the South leads on their home floor 8-3. They lead the overall 13-8, which sounds fairly dominant.

But let's talk real quick about Davidson. Two of the three teams to play Davidson close have come from the North (Appalachian State and Chattanooga, Wofford being the other). In fact, Davidson is 4-0 against the North, while the rest of the South is 9-8 against the North. In other words, with Davidson out of the equation, the North and the South are very similar divisions. Davidson still has four more games left against the North. There are 27 games left between the North and South overall. Should be an interesting finish to the season in this battle.

More Davidson and Georgia Southern against Chattanooga and Samford on the road on Saturday.

Double Dribbles- 1-26-12

2012-01-26T05:00:00.020-05:00

1) UNCG and Appalachian State have a huge week, but an equally huge week belongs to Georgia Southern. The Eagles are looking to get the bye from the South. To pull that off, they need to start winning some road games. This week they go to Samford and Chattanooga, the fifth and sixth place teams in the North. The Eagles need to come up with at least one win this weekend. Can they beat the Bulldogs or the Mocs? That remains to be seen. But there has not been a bigger weekend for the Eagles in recent memory. It's opportunity time.

2) What about Wofford and Charleston? Those two teams have big weekends too. Thursday is not quite as huge. Wofford's trip to The Citadel should not be impossible for the Terriers, and the Cougars SHOULD handle Furman on Thursday night. Wofford heads to Charleston on Saturday. In the battle for second place in the South, that will be a huge game. With a win, the Terriers will have swept the Cougars, and have a huge leg up in the race for second in the South. The Cougars basically have to sweep this weekend, which is something they have not done in the last three weeks of conference play.

Davidson Preview: Unbeaten and Unstoppable?

2012-01-25T23:51:00.000-05:00

Davidson is unbeaten in SoCon play. They are 8-0. However, they are just 5-17 against the Mocs in McKenzie Arena. Can the Mocs possibly do the unthinkable and pull off the stunner against Davidson?

There is nothing in the Mocs recent play to suggest that it is possible. After all, Keegan Bell is really struggling. He looks afraid to shoot, and he also has been struggling with his assists-to-turnover ratio (until Elon at least). Bell needs to snap out of it for the Mocs to have a chance.

They have allowed over 81 points in three straight road defeats to Samford, UNCG, and Elon. Now they take on the best offense in the SoCon in Davidson, who average 80 points per game.

The Mocs have lost three straight, and really did not look good in the process. Sure, they were in all three games until the closing minutes, but they did not perform as well as they are capable of performing in any of them. Sure, the Mocs are unbeaten at home in SoCon play, but there is little reason to think that they are suddenly going to be able to turn it around and beat Davidson.

Is there?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Jake Cohen has turned into one of the leading candidates for the SoCon Player of the Year. He is the team's second leading scorer, but has won Player of the Week three times, and could have easily won it last week. He is averaging 14.9 points per game, and 6.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51.8% from the floor and nearly 88% from the free throw line. He is also making 39.6% from three point range. Cohen is the team's leading rebounder. He also has 1.3 assists per game.

De'Mon Brooks is surprisingly underrated. Most people around the conference do not talk about him nearly enough it seems like. Brooks is averaging 15.5 points per game, the team high. and 6.1 rebounds per game, the second most on the team. He is shooting 52.2% from the field.

Nik Cochran also scores in double figures. He scores 11.8 points per game, and leads the team in assists with 3.0 assists per game. He also averages 2.1 turnovers per game. He shoots a very solid 41.9% from three point range.

Tom Droney is the better ball handler. He averages 2.9 assists per game and 1.4 turnovers per game. He is not a scorer, but is a starter. In SoCon play, he had 19 assists and six turnovers. That comes to an average of 2.4 assists per game and 0.8 turnovers per game in conference play. He hasn't scored in double digits against a D-1 opponent this year, so he is not a scoring threat. He also had eight rebounds against The Citadel last Saturday.

Davidson and Chattanooga are two of the better rebounding teams in the SoCon. The battle between those two in the paint should be very intense. The Mocs have been great at playing defense, particularly at home. But the Wildcats are one of the top offensive teams in the country. They are very efficient offensively.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. Two great rebounding teams. Which one comes out on top in this situation?
--The Z Men. Z Mason and Drazen Zlovaric need to have massively huge games if the Mocs are going to have a chance. Mason has been developing some consistency. Zlovaric struggled on the road trip, but has been great at home. They will need both to step up in a big way.
--Bell. He has to get going and not be afraid to shoot.
--Cohen. Can the Mocs slow down Cohen, who has been red hot over the last three weeks?
--Staying in the game. Davidson has been dominant against SoCon competition, especially lately. They have won their three road games by an average of 12 points (aided significantly by their 29 point win over UNCG). They have won their five home games by an average of 22.2, with none closer than Charleston, who lost by 18. The Mocs need to keep it close and put a little pressure on the Wildcats. The Wildcats need to capitalize on the current state of mind the Mocs have to be in after three straight losses and leave no doubt early.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Cohen will have a huge game.
--Cochran will make quite a few three pointers that will leave the Mocs in some real trouble.
--Mason will score in double figures again.
--Ricky Taylor and Omar Wattad will make some big threes as well.
--Davidson 87, Mocs 76. The Mocs just aren't good enough right now to be able to win this game. Wattad and Taylor will keep the Mocs in the game, but Bell will continue to struggle. Until Bell gets right, the Mocs won't be right. Cochran will make too many big shots and Cohen and Brooks will do enough to keep the Mocs at bay the whole night.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview- Appalachian State at UNC-Greensboro

2012-01-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

Wow. Just a few weeks ago, no one could have seen this match-up coming as a huge game. But here it is- and it just about could not get any bigger.

The Spartans and Mountaineers are both 4-4 in SoCon play. They sit one half game behind Elon and one half game ahead of Western Carolina. Those two face off on Thurday night as well in Cullowhee. In other words, the winner of this game could certainly find themselves in first place in the North by the end of the night. The loser could find themselves in fourth.

Since Ike Butts came back, he has been wildly inconsistent. He has played 52 minutes. Against Davidson in his return, he played 21 minutes, and scored 10 points and had nine rebounds. Against Wofford, he played seventeen minutes, scored zero points with just two rebounds. He only took one shot. Then against Western Carolina over the weekend, he scored eleven points and had four rebounds in fourteen minutes. So which Ike Butts shows up against the Spartans?

Omar Carter has been equally inconsistent. The preseason SoCon Player of the Year has scored in single digits four times in the last ten games- two of those against SoCon foes (Furman and Wofford). Carter has to play better for the Mountaineers to reach their full potential.

Tab Hamilton went off for 22 against the Mocs, but has not even made it to double digits since then.

The Mountaineers had major problems turning the ball over early in the year, but have gotten much better at protecting the ball recently. They turned it over just 14 times against Western Carolina and six times against Wofford. They have not gotten much better at shooting free throws. They are a poor free throw shooting team. They did make 30 of 36 against Western Carolina.

Omar Carter and Ike Butts did not start against Western Carolina. Butts has not started since his return. Carter? Who knows? He still played 30 minutes against the Catamounts.

The Spartans have suddenly won four straight games against College of Charleston, The Citadel, Chattanooga, and Samford. Derrell Armstrong is the reigning SoCon Player of the Week. He averaged 28 points per game last week, scoring 29 and 27. Can he remain that hot? Can he keep on producing at that high of a level? If he can, then the Spartans become a very dangerous team against anyone left on their schedule. If he can not, they will rely heavily on their other scorers.

Who are the Spartans other scorers? That begins and ends with Trevis Simpson. He is underrated and should be considered a darkhorse for SoCon Player of the Year. Can he continue to produce at such a high level? He scored just 20 points total over the weekend that Armstrong was going off. But he has proven that he is capable of putting up huge numbers time and again. I expect him to get back to his scoring ways in this game.

The Spartans have really picked up the pace since Wes Miller took over. They like to play fast and frenetic. They have been much more effective since he took over and are playing with a world of confidence.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Home court advantage? Look- the Coliseum has not been a source of a big home court advantage to UNCG over the last several years. The Spartans have really promoted this game- let's see if the fans turn out to get behind them here.
--Rebounding. The teams are very similar in their rebounding statistics. Which team outrebounds the other and wins the subtle edge?
--Butts. He can be as dominant as any player in the SoCon when he is motivated. He has not been truly motivated in a while. Can he be motivated in this one?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Simpson and Armstrong will combine for 35 points.
--Butts will not play well.
--Carter will play well. He will score 20 points.
--UNCG 77, Appalachian State 71. The Spartans have played much better on Thursdays than on the weekend the last two weekends, even though they have won all four games. The Spartans show up well on another Thursday, the crowd is in full force for them, and the Spartans come up with the thrilling W- and take over first place in the North, if only for a while. (Yes- that was also a prediction that Elon would lose to Western Carolina. Call it a bonus pick.)

Rankings-1-25-12

2012-01-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

RPI

Cannot access Live-RPI at the moment. Will upate once I can access the website again.

Sagarin

1) Davidson 60
2) College of Charleston 129
3) Wofford 186
4) Appalachian State 235
5) Furman 236
6) Chattanooga 238
7) Western Carolina 243
8) Georgia Southern 258
9) Elon 267
10) UNC-Greensboro 293
11) Samford 294
12) The Citadel 332

SoCon Rank: 25

Pomeroy

1) Davidson 64
2) College of Charleston 138
3) Wofford 173
4) Chattanooga 220
5) Appalachian State 226
6) Furman 240
7) Western Carolina 251
8) Georgia Southern 264
9) Elon 272
10) UNC-Greensboro 284
11) Samford 289
12) The Citadel 332

ANALYSIS

Davidson's lead has grow substantially over everyone else in the league. They are a borderline NCAA Tournament team at this point, even if they don't win the SoCon Tournament. College of Charleston and Wofford are the second and third best teams- though the Cougars recent struggles have really put a damper on them. UNCG is still being held back by their early season losses- seems they have the most room to grow.

Double Dribbles- 1-25-12

2012-01-25T05:00:00.015-05:00

1) Thursday will be a huge day in the SoCon North. UNCG hosts Appalachian State in a game that will get a lot of coverage tomorrow night. The Spartans and the Mountaineers are tied for second in the North at 4-4. The winner could find themselves in first place if Western Carolina beats Elon in Cullowhee. Elon is in first place in the North at 4-3, while the Catamounts are a game back at 3-4. A win by Western would pull them into a tie with Elon for second, with the winner of the Appalachian State-UNCG game moving into first. A win by Elon would create some separation between them and Western Carolina and the Appalachian State-UNCG loser. This is a huge night for these four North teams.

2) UNCG's Derrell Armstrong won the SoCon Player of the Week. Jake Cohen was great and deserving, but it is really hard to argue with Armstrong, who scored 29 against Chattanooga and 27 against Samford. He also averaged five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Armstrong had a tremendous week and was probably the most deserving winner yet this year. It's unfortunate because there truly were two players who deserved it this week. Davidson's Cohen absolutely earned it as well and would have won it any other week. Of course, he had won it back-to-back weeks prior to this one. Excellent choice in Armstrong.

Consistency Missing

2012-01-24T21:44:00.000-05:00

There is one constant for the Mocs right now. Only one consistent thing.

The fact that the Mocs are not consistent is the one constant this team has.

The Mocs have struggled to put together any sort of real winning streak this year. After Christmas, things were looking up. But, all it took was one road trip for things to go south again.

So, now, the old bugaboo is rearing it's ugly head for the Mocs. The consistency factor. At some point, the Mocs have to learn consistency if they want to be able to win in the SoCon. If they plan to win the SoCon Tournament and get to the NCAA Tournament, they have to put together at least three games in three days (if not four games in four days with the way things are going).

Obviously, it all starts against Davidson and Georgia Southern this week. The Mocs need to win at home. But the following week includes trips to Western Carolina and Davidson. Those are the games that matter at this point.

Beating Davidson is a tough task. Beating Georgia Southern will not be easy either. The Mocs desperately need to find some consistency especially on the road. When will it come? Maybe not until 2012-13. At this point what am I betting on?

I don't bet.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 1-24-12

2012-01-24T05:00:00.027-05:00

1) Great Thursday set of games. College of Charleston hosts Furman. The Paladins are 3-5 in SoCon play and have already lost to the Cougars. But that was before the massive number of injuries that have hit the Cougars. Stitt is out for several more weeks, and Baru may or may not play. How does a team that is not deep handle two injuries of this magnitude? Not overly well so far for the Cougars, who lost to Davidson and Georgia Southern last weekend. But Furman still does not have any real offensive firepower. A Furman win suddenly pushes them into a tie with the Cougars. This is an absolutely critical game for what is one of the favorites to win the SoCon title. The Cougars must win this game.

2) Mike Groselle scored 20 for The Citadel, but it wasn't quite enough as Georgia Southern beat the Bulldogs by six in double overtime. Willie Powers scored 19, and Ben Drayton III scored 18. The Eagles shot just 14 threes, but shot 31 free throws. The Eagles did not guard the Bulldogs well, but were able to come up with the win. This was a big win for the Eagles. This was their third games in five days, which is always a challenge for any team. But we may be seeing why getting a bye is critical for the Eagles. The Bulldogs were only playing their second game during that stretch and were the fresher team. The Eagles did not perform well with that extra game. If they are going to be trying to win four games in four days, it is going to be almost impossible for the Eagles. Getting a bye would be absolutely critcial for the Eagles- maybe more so than most teams. (Side historical note- no team has ever won four games in four days in the SoCon tournament, so therefore it is obvious that it is important. Just saying it may be especially critical for the Eagles.)

Ricky Taylor- Unappreciated Consistency

2012-01-23T18:57:00.000-05:00

Ricky Taylor just keeps on doing the things he has always done. He's scored well over 1000 points now, and just never seems to have truly bad game.

He also never seems to have a blow up game.

For example, last year against UNCG he scored over 40.

This year, though, has been anything but. He scored three in the loss to Indiana and thee games later scored two in a win over Savannah State. In the sixteen games since then (and the three games between those two), he has scored between 9 and 21 every game. The one non-double digit game was against Samford. The only game over 20 was against Hiwassee.

That is the definition of consistency. Everyone wonders what is going to happen with Keegan Bell and Omar Wattad on a nightly basis. No one has to wonder what will happen when Taylor steps on the floor. He will score some, he won't turn the ball over a lot, he'll get a few rebounds and come up with a few assists every night and play good defense. That's what he does.

This team is really struggling overall right now and is desperately looking to come up with a win of any kind. Taylor is the one that comes out and consistently provides production to the team. He's not flashy. I forget about him too many times. Yet, he's the team's leading scorer. The Mocs need Taylor to keep on putting consistent performances together and hope the rest comes together. That's how this team will win big in the end.

GO MOCS!

Double Dribbles- 1-23-12

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

1) Relatively unusual event on this Monday night. The Citadel travels to Georgia Southern for a SoCon game. The Bulldogs were awful in their 29 point loss to Davidson on Saturday evening. But they get a shot at redemption against a slightly inconsistent Georgia Southern team. The Eagles have to be able to come down off the mountain after beating College of Charleston on Saturday night. The Eagles win put them up a game on the Cougars, and put the Cougars in fourth place in the South division. Can the Eagles come down off of that high and beat a team they should beat in the Bulldogs? That's the intrigue involved in this one.

2) The North is still just as crazy after the weekend's action. Elon leads the North at 4-3, while Appalachian State and UNC-Greensboro are 4-4. Western Carolina is 3-4, one game out of the lead, but in fourth place in the division. Chattanooga is 3-5, with Samford at 2-5 in SoCon play. Who will win this bizarre division? Personally, I think the Spartans current run is showing that they have a real shot at a bye in the North. Elon has done nothing to inspire confidence- even in their one point win over the Mocs. The Mocs haven't won on the road, so it's almost impossible to get excited about them. Western Carolina is flawed with their lack of an inside game against the likes of the Mocs Drazen Zlovaric and the Mountaineers Isaac Butts. Could Samford make a run? Unlikely, but their one point loss at Greensboro shows that they may not be as far off as some think.

Scanning the SoCon- Week Twelve

2012-01-22T22:29:00.000-05:00

DavidsonCats- Davidson Wildcats fan.
MocsMania- Chattanooga Mocs fan.
TheSportsArsenal- Citadel Bulldogs fan.
UNCGBasketballFan- UNC-Greensboro Spartans fan.

SCHEDULE

Monday, January 23
The Citadel at Georgia Southern

Thursday, January 26
Elon at Western Carolina
Davidson at Chattanooga
Appalachian State at UNC-Greensboro
Wofford at The Citadel
Georgia Southern at Samford (ESPN3)
Furman at College of Charleston (ESPN3)

Saturday, January 28
Elon at Appalachian State
Western Carolina at UNC-Greensboro
Wofford at College of Charleston (ESPN3)
Davidson at Samford
Georgia Southern at Chattanooga
Furman at The Citadel

POWER RANKINGS

1) Davidson 48 (4)
2) Wofford 41
3) College of Charleston 37
4) Appalachian State 33
5t) Elon 29
5t) Georgia Southern 29
7) Western Carolina 28
8t) Chattanooga 18
8t) UNC-Greensboro 18
10) Furman 16
11) Samford 8
12) The Citadel 5

QUESTIONS

Sum up your team.

DavidsonCats- Clint Mann missed this week's games. Frank Ben-Eze responded to the opportunity by thrilling the crowd with his performance. Prior to the CofC game, he'd had 2 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in his senior season. He had 6, 5, and 5 against the Cougars and followed it up with 3, 3, and 2 against The Citadel. Davidson trailed CofC 2-0 and never trailed The Citadel. I don't think I've ever seen a 30-2 lead. It is hard to believe that The Citadel destroyed Davidson last year at our place. They were up 46-24 at halftime and the Wildcats were simply not competitive. There are many reasons why Davidson is playing such better ball this year. The most obvious one right now is the play of Jake Cohen. In his first 2 seasons, Jake had 6 games where he scored 20+ points. He went for 22 and 26 against Richmond and Wofford earlier this year to bring the total to 8 games. And now he's done it 5 games in a row, totaling 125 points and collecting 2 (probably 3) Player of the Week awards.
MocsMania- The Mocs are bumbling on the road. They just can't win on the road right now. Keegan Bell is really struggling and seems to have lost total confidence in his shot at this point. He played much better against Elon. The defense that had been keeping them in games suddenly betrayed the Mocs on the road, allowing 83.3 points per game in their three game road trip. Things are getting really interesting in Chattanooga. This week Davidson and Georgia Southern come calling- two of the better teams in the league. If the Mocs go 2-0, then a lot can be forgiven. If they go 1-1, then most can be forgiven. At 0-2, the Mocs will be in full tailspin mode.

TheSportsArsenal- The Citadel's only game of the week (it plays Georgia Southern on Monday night) was a terrible 80-51 loss at Davidson in which nothing went right (or in the basket) for the first 15 minutes of the contest. Next week the Bulldogs will play three games. After the Monday game at GSU, The Citadel will host Wofford and Furman. Someone besides Mike Groselle is going to have to provide some offense for the Bulldogs, and the team as a unit must improve defensively, for The Citadel to have a chance in any of those games. Having said that, as poorly as the Bulldogs played on Saturday (and so far this season), I wouldn't be surprised if The Citadel wins at least once this week. No team other than Davidson (and perhaps Wofford) has been consistent enough to avoid an upset loss in league play.

UNCGBasketballFan- The Spartans have made a dramatic turn around from a team that seemed to have no idea how to close a game out to one that takes advantage of every opportunity to win. The even stranger part is that it has only taken two weeks. This week, UNCG seemed on cruise control versus the free falling UTC Mocs and then managed to win while looking awful against Samford. Both wins came at home, a place UNCG hasn't really played well over the last three seasons. This week UNCG won on the strength of it's bench players. Derrell Armstrong had an outstanding weekend. After a 29 point, 5 rebounds, 4 assist night against Chattanooga, Armstrong followed up 27 points and 5 rebounds against Samford. Up next is a Thursday-Saturday rematch with App State and WCU. It'll take more wins to keep UNCG in the race for a North Division bye.

Which game are you most looking forward to that does not involve your team?

DavidsonCats- I want to know who is going to win the North. I think ASU is the best team in that division, so I'm eager to see how they do at UNCG and against Elon.

MocsMania- I'm going with Thursday's battle between Appalachian State and UNCG. The winner of this game will have a leg up on at least a bye from the North, and possibly on the whole North division. Both teams are 4-4 in SoCon play. The winner jumps out in front. I think this should be a great game, and it will tell us a lot about both teams, who are trying to make runs at the North division title.

UNCGBasketballFan- I'm going to go a little off the grid with this one, but I'm interested in seeing the outcome of Ga Southern playing at Chattanooga. Their first meeting was a bit of head scratcher when the favored Mocs were upset. But this game with be played at the Roundhouse, a place where UTC has played well. The Mocs will need to win this one if they really are trying to position themselves for a bye from the North.

Which team will be the first to beat Davidson in SoCon play, or will they go undefeated heading into the SoCon Tournament?

DavidsonCats- The folks at rpiforecast figure that the Wildcats will most likely lose 1 or 2 conference games. Starting the year, I thought the Wildcats would lose around 6 conference games. I keep adjusting that as the team continues to improve. The Wildcats are 8-0 but have only played 3 road games. I expect to win the home games. If the Wildcats win the home games and split the road games, that would win the division. The scariest remaining games to me are at Chattanooga, at CofC, and at GSU. The Wildcats need to win the remaining games in January to get the best possible Bracket Buster game. I apologize for dancing all around the question, but I'm not willing to pick against Davidson in any one particular game and I'm certainly not interested in predicting an undefeated conference regular season.

MocsMania- I think Davidson loses one SoCon game before the tournament- but just one. It could be this Thursday at Chattanooga, or it could be at Georgia Southern on February 25 in the regular season finale. But, most likely, it will be at College of Charleston on February 11. The Cougars have quite possibly the best talent in the league, and the Wildcats could certainly struggle in a game that will be critical to the Cougars chances of getting a bye out of the South.

TheSportsArsenal- Davidson should be favored in every game it plays in the league going forward. Having said that, while I don't feel confident in picking any particular team to beat the Wildcats (including the CofC in Charleston), I don't think Davidson runs the table, simply because the odds are against it. There are too many games left, and thus too many chances for the Wildcats to have a bad night.

UNCGBasketballFan- I think they're going undefeated. That team just has too many weapons and runs it's system very well. If there's a trip up game for them, I'd expect Charleston to give them their best shot when they play them in the return game there. However, I don't see them losing that game either.

Which team on the rise has the best chance to earn a bye in the North- Samford or UNCG?

DavidsonCats- I guess UNCG has a better chance than Samford, but I don't think it is a very good chance. I still expect them to both play on March 2.

MocsMania- I would be pretty surprised if Samford would be able to continue their recent hot play and actually earn a bye in the SoCon North. They could do it, but it would surprise me. UNCG would not particularly surprise me. Preseason, I expected the Spartans to contend for a bye in the North, and possibly even get one. Their early season play convinced me that I was wrong about them. But in the last two weeks, they have gone 4-0. I think with their new found confidence, and the lack of even one (much less two) dominant teams in the North, I think the Spartans may have to even be considered a favorite to get one of the two byes from the North.

TheSportsArsenal- I would say that I don't favor either Samford or UNCG to get a bye, but in the North I suppose anything's possible. If I had to pick one I would take UNCG because I think its remaining schedule gives it a slight advantage.

UNCGBasketballFan- With a now 2 game lead on Samford (in the win column) I think UNCG has a better chance to earn a bye. However, I think if the Spartans are really going to get a bye, it's gonna require them to win at least 3 of their 5 in division games left on their schedule (WCU, ASU at home & SU, Elon, UTC on the road).

Which arena is the toughest for a visiting team to play in?

DavidsonCats- Belk Arena at Davidson. And it is going to get harder. Fan support and enthusiasm are building. Some of the newer fans were spoiled by the Curry years and are slow to appreciate how good the 2011-12 Wildcats are. We were just 12-6 at home against conference opponents in the last two seasons, but we're 5-0 so far this year. And we've won 15 of the last 16 games at Belk overall. Historically, the hardest place to win in the Southern is the Roundhouse. The Wildcats were winless there for many years and are just 6-17 there against the Mocs. And we all remember how bad the Wildcats are there in the Southern Conference tournament. It has been our house of horrors.

MocsMania- Yes, McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga is not easy, and Belk Arena at Davidson is a tough place to play. TD Belk Arena at College of Charleston is not an easy place to win either. But the two that stand out to me for whatever reason are Western Carolina's Ramsey Center, where they almost never seem to lose, even if they are just a decent team, and Alumni Gym at Elon. The Phoenix gym is very small and really seems to create problems for opposing teams when they go in there. Again, that team doesn't always have the most talent, but it is a really tricky place to play.

TheSportsArsenal- For the Socon, the toughest arena to play in is the home arena of the best team in a given season. I don't believe the league has a real "oh, nobody can win there" place.

UNCGBasketballFan- I'm going to go with Wofford's Ben Johnson Arena. That place is tiny by high school standards and just has a very strange feel to it. I've only seen one game there and I repeatedly asked my traveling companion if that court was regulation size b/c it just looked small. I'm assuming that if it was even close to full for a gmae there that it would be very intimidating.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week- Appalachian State at UNC-Greensboro

2012-01-22T19:37:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for a monster comeback? With the Spartans suddenly finding themselves right in the thick of the North division race, the Mountaineers are one of the teams that are in the best position to prevent UNCG from continuing their climb. Appalachian State is a very good team that is 4-4 in the SoCon North. So are the Spartans. Elon is 4-3 and leading the division, but these teams are half a game back. The winner will be putting themselves in the position for a bye out of the North.

This game is Thursday night. Should be a very exciting night in Greensboro, as the Spartans are in a position that no one thought they would be just two weeks ago.