BracketBuster Saturday Preview

The SoCon has six BracketBuster games on Saturday. Let's briefly look at each one:

Eastern Kentucky at Western Carolina, 2:00- Eastern Kentucky has an RPI of 250 and Western Carolina has an RPI of 181. However, the Catamouns are the fifth place team in the OVC. They are 8-3 in their last eleven games. The Colonels move at a slow pace and don't rebound well. The Catamounts have moved up a lot since this game was announced, while Eastern Kentucky has only moved up some. Both have a shot at the NCAA- but the Colonels are the underdog here.

Vermont at College of Charleston, 5:00 ESPNU- Vermont has an RPI of 71 and College of Charleston has an RPI of 77. The Catamounts have won ten straight games. They also play just one game after this one, against the second best team in the America East conference that they already lost to on the road. They also tend to slow the game down, but are a good shooting team and a good rebounding team. They lost by 16 at Connecticut earlier this year. Charleston is the favorite- but this ought to be a good game.

Appalachian State at High Point, 7:00- High Point's RPI is 252 while Appalachian State's RPI is 209. The Panthers have not been a great home team, with a 7-4 home record. There is a two point win over an awful Radford team in the bunch. Nick Barbour is averaging 17.3 points per game, and has been very good. Appalachian State is probably the favorite, but going on the road in this one will not make this one easy by any means.

Ball State at Wofford, 7:00- Ball State's RPI is 184 while Wofford's RPI is 154. After the Cardinals won seven straight games, they have now lost six of their last eight. They are only a half game behind Western Michigan in the West Division of the MAC. If they win the division, they will get one of the top two seeds in the MAC Tournament. Wofford is the better team and is playing better right now and is at home.

Davidson at Presbyterian, 7:30- Presbyterian's RPI is 188 and Davidson's is 166. The Blue Hose have won two straight games, including a thirteen point home win over a pretty good Charleston Southern team. They are not bad, but they are clearly not as good as Davidson. They beat Auburn and Wake Forest, and only lost to Kansas State by nine and Missouri by 15. Could Presbyterian win? Absolutely. But they are not the favorite, particularly with how well the Wildcats have been playing.

Predicted Record: 4-1- though I'm not quite sure where the loss comes from. The SoCon has the favorite in each of these contests. If I had to pick one loss, it would probably be Appalachian State losing at High Point. They played a tough, emotionally draining game on Thursday night, and now have to go on the road. Sounds like a possible loss to me.

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 77
2) Furman 119
3) Wofford 154
4) Davidson 166
5) Western Carolina 181
6) Appalachian State 209
7) Chattanooga 212
8) Elon 275
9) Samford 292
10) The Citadel 293
11) UNC-Greensboro 294
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 23

Predicted Overall Record: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Record: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 71
2) Wofford 126
3) Furman 129
4) Davidson 149
5) Western Carolina 183
6) Appalachian State 226
7) Elon 245
8) The Citadel 276
9) Chattanooga 277
10) UNC-Greensboro 285
11) Samford 309
12) Georgia Southern 326

SoCon Rank: 22

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Record: 11-7

GO MOCS!

Three Point Play

1) College of Charleston has clinched a bye from the South, and are just a hair away from clinching the division. All they need to do is win one more game or have Wofford and Furman lose one more game each. The Cougars host Samford on Monday, so that should be enough to get the division. If it's not, the Cougars will be rooting for the Mocs to beat Wofford and Furman on Monday and Wednesday and help them close
down the division.

2) Western Carolina went on a 15-0 run late against Appalachian State to come up with the season sweep against the Mountaineers and take the division lead away from the Mocs. The Catamounts have reached the point where they may be the favorite to win the division, because they are probably favored in each of their final three games, and the Mocs may not be favored in any of them except for possibly Samford. The once seemingly insurmountable lead has been surmounted. And doesn't that foul call with a second left a week ago seem big now?

3) The Citadel has gone from trendy pick to make a run to trendy pick to be done quick. They were solidly in fourth place just a few weeks ago. Now they are out of it. Thiis team had completely fallen apart. In fact, I now think that The Citadel has less of a shot to win a game than Georgia Southern. Ouch. The Bulldogs go visit the Eagles next week. The Eagles might just be the favorite. Double ouch.

Mocs Clinch Bye

With Western Carolina's upset win over Appalachian State, the Mocs have clinched a first round bye in the SoCon Tournament, as has Western Carolina, as well. The problem? The Catamounts also now own the tiebreaker over the Mocs at the moment. They are in first place with just three games left. They have to go to UNC-Greensboro, and then play The Citadel and College of Charleston at home, while the Mocs have Furman and Wofford at home and Samford on the road.

Western Carolina
Remaining Home Opponents in SoCon Play: 18-12
Remaining Road Opponents in SoCon Play: 5-9
Total Record: 23-21

Chattanooga
Remaining Home Opponents in SoCon Play: 23-8
Remaining Road Opponents in SoCon Play: 4-11
Total Record: 27-19

So the Mocs have a tougher road the rest of the way- mainly because of the home games. Will College of Charleston be ready to play against Western Carolina in the final regular season game, when the Cougars are likely to have clinched the number seed already? That could play a huge role in who wins the North.

All in all, this is good for the Mocs. They needed to get a bye. Since no team has ever won the tournament with four games in four days, the Mocs needed to get the bye badly to have a chance. And they did it.

After their start it would be a major disappointment to not win the North. I tend to think that if they take care of business the rest of the way, they will win the division. But they have to win all three of them. It's going to be very tough. Not sure if they can do it or not.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Western Carolina 10-5
2) Chattanooga 10-5
3) Appalachian State 8-8
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-9
5) Elon 5-10
6) Samford 4-11

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 13-2
2) Wofford 12-4
3) Furman 11-4
4) Davidson 8-8
5) The Citadel 5-10
6) Georgia Southern 0-15

SoCon Thursday

Western Carolina 80, Appalachian State 75
College of Charleston 85, The Citadel 63

Three Point Play

1) Davidson maintained their hot streak against Georgia Southern. They completely dominated the Eagles, something that has not been done lately despite the fact that Georgia Southern has been playing close in a lot of games lately. It's going to be very tough for Davidson to win four games in four days in Chattanooga in the SoCon Tourney, but they are one of the more capable teams ever to pull that off.

2) Wofford has a leg up on Furman for the second seed now- but maybe not for long. Furman has a lot of advantages over Wofford for the tiebreaker. If the two finish tied, and Wofford beats Furman at Furman in the final game of the regular season, then Furman still may have the final tiebreaker edge (RPI Ranking). If the two finish tied, and Furman beats Wofford in that game, then Furman owns the tiebreaker because of the sweep of the Terriers. Wofford just about has to win out, or have no more than one loss, and then only if Furman has two losses. Furman just needs to have an equal record to Wofford the rest of the way. Pressure is on the Terriers.

3) It's a rivalry kind of day in the SoCon. The Battle of Charleston is tonight as College of Charleston goes to suddenly cold The Citadel. Appalachian State hosts Western Carolina. These are two good SoCon rivalries. They both have division title implications. This should be a great set of SoCon games that Moc fans should pay attention to, especially the all important Appy-Western game.

Georgia Tech 62, Mocs 53

This was an utterly frustrating game, which is odd, since the Mocs lost to an ACC team on the road by nine points, and never trailed by more than eleven.

But the frustrating thing is that listening to the game gave the feel that the Mocs would in fact be the better team on a neutral court on an average night. Ricky Taylor made just 5 of 16 from the floor. Keegan Bell had four turnovers and just two assists and just two points. The Mocs made just 5 of 27 from three point range. Chris Early had three points, went 0 for 4 from the free throw line, though he did have eight rebounds.

That is all way below what we should expect from the Mocs at this point. Twenty turnovers will do you in as well. Plus, when you make 6 of 11 free throws, while your opponent makes 17 of 27 from the line, then you aren't going to do that well either.

The Mocs did outrebound Georgia Tech 35-31, and seem to have corrected that problem that plagued them two weeks ago. They have gotten back to rebounding the basketball, and are looking better and better on that front. That is important, because that is what the Mocs do well. They have to rebound to have a chance.

They also managed to hold the Yellow Jackets to 40% shooting and 22.7% shooting from three point range. But as I said in the preview, the Jackets are not a great shooting team, and they are not a big team, so the Mocs should have been able to rebound with them, and should have been able to hold Georgia Tech down shooting-wise.

But there were too many turnovers. And Bell, Taylor, and Early all did not play well. When three of your five best players don't play well, you aren't going to win very often.

DeAntre Jefferson showed he belonged with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Omar Wattad scored 18 points with six rebounds and three steals. Glen Rice Jr. and Iman Shumpert combined for 46 for Georgia Tech.

None of it matters now. The Mocs have lost four straight, even though they played much better on this road trip, especially considering all the flu-related problems the Mocs had. Beat Furman, Wofford, and Samford, and the Mocs will be the North Division champs, and will be considered one of the favorites heading into the SoCon Tournament. That's where the focus has to be.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Western Carolina at Appalachian State

The North Division race heats up on Thursday night in Boone, North Carolina, as Western Carolina travels to take on their rival Mountaineers. If Western Carolina wins, then both the Mocs and the Catamounts clinch a bye in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. If Appalachian State wins, the Mocs will have a full game lead on Western Carolina, an the Mountaineers will be within one game of the Catamounts.

So this game is pretty important on a lot of levels.

Mike Williams and Trey Sumler are the teams leading scorer and the team leaders in assists. Williams is averaging 14.7 points per game, and 3.6 rebounds and assists per game. Sumler shoots nearly 42 percent from three point range. Richie Gordon and Harouna Mutombo are the team's leading rebounders, averaging 5.3 and 5.1 per game.

Appalachian State is lead, as everyone knows, by Donald Sims and Omar Carter. They combine to average over 37 points per game, or more than half that they score. They are good shooters, and are tough to contain for any team. Their continued improved play makes them one of the favorites in the SoCon Tournament. Andre Williamson is the team's leading rebounder, with 6.4 per game.

The Mountaineers have won four straight, while the Catamounts have also won four straight. The first time they played in Cullowhee, Mike Williams made a jumper with less than a second left to give Western a 79-78 win.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Sims and Carter will combine for over 40.
--Williams and Sumler will combine for more than 30.
--This will be another very tight battle between these two rivals.
--Appalachian State 74, Western Carolina 69. This will be a tight battle, but Appalachian State is playing good basketball right now. At home, they will find a way to get this done, and turn this into an exciting three team race down the stretch of the SoCon race.

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-5
2) Western Carolina 9-5
3) Appalachian State 8-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-9
5) Elon 5-10
6) Samford 4-11

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 12-2
2) Wofford 12-4
3) Furman 11-4
4) Davidson 8-8
5) The Citadel 5-9
6) Georgia Southern 0-15

Battle of North vs. South

NORTH at SOUTH
South 14, North 5

SOUTH at NORTH
North 10, South 7

NORTH vs. SOUTH
South 21, North 15

SoCon Wednesday

Davidson 83, Georgia Southern 56
Georgia Tech 62, Chattanooga 53
Wofford 81, Samford 68

Three Point Play

1) UNC-Greensboro played with Miami for a half before falling by twenty to the ACC school. The Spartans have potential to be like Elon from 2008, when Davidson won the SoCon Tournament over the surprising Phoenix. UNCG can get that far in the tournament. They have those kinds of players. Next year, the North will be loaded, as Chattanooga, Western Carolina, Appalachian State, and UNC-Greensboro all will battle for the top two spots in the division.

2) Two pretty good South teams (Wofford and Davidson) take on the two last place teams (Samford and Georgia Southern) tonight. Georgia Southern will be looking for their first SoCon win when they visit Davidson. The Eagles have been getting closer, even against the better teams, but it seems unbelievably unlikely that they come up with their first SoCon win at Davidson. Wofford's visit to Samford is more intriguing. The Bulldogs are never an easy team to play, but the Terriers should be able to win- especially since they are in such a critical battle for a first round bye in the SoCon Tournament. Samford is in their own battle- trying to get up to fourth in the North. A win over Wofford would go a long way towards- and help the North a lot in the Battle of North vs. South.

3) This is the time to start really trying to get hot for the tournament. This is the time you want to be playing your best basketball. Davidson is red hot right now, and a hot pick to be a surprise team to win the tournament. But just two weeks ago, it was The Citadel that was red hot and had walked into Davidson and won. They haven't won since. So a lot can change in two weeks. Who gets hot? Does it start tomorrow with a team like Samford? Or the Mocs? Or Wofford? Or even Georgia Southern? Does Davidson stay red hot? Does The Citadel get hot again? What about Appalachian State and Western Carolina, who are both winning well right now? This is a very important time to really see who is playing well at the end of the year. Not that it matters- the last time the tourney was in Chattanooga, the Mocs lost their last three games before winning the tournament.

Georgia Tech Preview: If You're Going To Play An ACC Team....

Georgia Tech has lost six out of seven games and five straight games. They were outscored 74.4-63.2 in those five losses. They lost 102-77 to Virginia Tech in their last game. Only two of those five were road games. Three of the losses were at home. On top of that Brian Oliver, who was averaging 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, is out with an injury.

So, do the Mocs have a chance in this game? You have to admit, if ever there was a good time to play an ACC team on the road, this is it for the Mocs.

Of course, that assumes a handful of things:

1) The flu bug that decimated the Mocs over the weekend is now over. The Mocs will be one hundred percent healthy and ready to play.

2) The Mocs will show up and play to win the game, unlike they have sometimes done out of conference games right in the heart of the conference schedule (see Creighton).

The Mocs will play just one game over nine days and this is it. This shapes up as a game the Mocs can win if they get things to break right.

Iman Shumpert is 6-5 and weighs 212 pounds and is a guard. Shumpert is the team's leading scorer, rebounder, leader in assists, and steals. Shumpert is scoring 17.4 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, and 2.8 steals per game. However, he takes a lot of shots (14 a game) and threes (5 a game) and does not shoot great. He is making just 28% of his threes, and just over 40% from the floor. He did make 6 of 13 from three against Virginia Tech in his last game, but that was the first time this year he had made more than two.

Glen Rice Jr. is the second leading scorer. He is averaging 13.5 points per game, but shoots just 31.5% from three point range and 42% from the floor. He's another bigger guard, though at 6-5. That could present some match-up problems eventually to the Mocs, who can't quite match-up in height to the Yellow Jackets.

Daniel Miller is a critical inside presence. He is 6-11 and a freshman. He averages 4.8 rebounds per game, and shoots 49.5 percent from the floor. But the Yellow Jackets forget about him sometimes. In two of his last four games, he did not score, and scored just a combined twelve in the other two games. He also corralled just eleven rebounds in those four games. That's in nearly 26 minutes per game in those games. So he seems to disappear, which is unacceptable for a 6-11 player.

Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 78-58 back on January 16 in what is probably their best performance of the year. They forced 18 turnovers, and held North Carolina to 27.2% shooting from the floor. Only two players scored in double figures for the Yellow Jackets- Shumpert scored 30 and Rice scored 24.

Georgia Tech did lose to Kennesaw State at Kennesaw State two days before the Mocs went into the same arena and won. So there is some precedence here.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. The Mocs have done a pretty good job rebounding, even against big conference teams this year. They have to rebound well in order to have any shot at all of winning this game.
--Daniel Miller vs. DeAntre Jefferson, Jeremy Saffore. Miller is the type of guy who could produce big problems for the Mocs to guard. With the way the Mocs bigs tend to get into foul trouble, the Yellow Jackets should try to pound it in to Miller. If they do that, the Mocs need to have an answer. Not sure if they can find one or not.
--Shot selection. Omar Wattad and Ricky Taylor can shoot with Rice and Shumpert. No question that they can score with those two. But they need to let the game come to them and not force up bad shots. Georgia Tech is the 303rd ranked team in the country in field goal shooting. They could use some better shots too.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Yes! Beat an ACC team!
--Jump.
--Laugh.
--Remember that it is an out of conference game, and really doesn't matter nearly as much as the SoCon games coming up next week.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Be frustrated.
--Throw something.
--Be mad about the four game losing streak.
--Wonder if the Mocs can still win the SoCon North.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, and remember that tomorrow is another day.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Keegan Bell and Omar Wattad will play their best game in several weeks as they get back to full strength after the flu bug.
--Daniel Miller will record a double-double.
--Glen Rice Jr. will make more three pointers than is typical.
--Georgia Tech 78, Mocs 67. My heart tells me the Mocs win this one. My gut tells me the Mocs find a way to pull this one out. My head tells me that Georgia Tech is an ACC team that has lost five straight games and is looking for a team to take their frustration out on. They are just a little too athletic. If Jefferson, Early, Burroughs, and Saffore outplay the Yellow Jackets bigs, I'll take my chances. If Wattad can score 30, then the Mocs could also pull it off. The Mocs will have a really bad eight minute stretch where they are outscored by 20, but will play well the rest of the way.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Tuesday

Miami (FL) 78, UNC-Greensboro 58

ANALYSIS: The Spartans were ahead late in the first half- and then they just fell apart. UNCG showed again why they can be a dangerous team in the SoCon Tournament- but also why they are probably a year away from really contending in the SoCon.

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 77
2) Furman 118
3) Wofford 159
4) Davidson 163
5) Appalachian State 192
6) Western Carolina 195
7) Chattanooga 211
8) Elon 270
9) Samford 283
10) UNC-Greensboro 288
11) The Citadel 291
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 21

Predicted Overall Record: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Record: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 74
2) Furman 125
3) Wofford 127
4) Davidson 153
5) Western Carolina 187
6) Appalachian State 221
7) Elon 246
8) The Citadel 270
9) Chattanooga 277
10) UNC-Greensboro 279
11) Samford 304
12) Georgia Southern 326

SoCon Rank: 21

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Record: 11-7

GO MOCS!

Three Point Play

1) The Citadel lost to Savannah State on Monday night. A team that just two weeks ago looked like a darkhorse to make a run at a SoCon Tournament title behind Cameron Wells is now looking more and more like a team that could be one and done. The Bulldogs are not good. They don't look good. They have basically locked up the five seed from the South, which means they could easily be battling UNC-Greensboro (the current number four from the North) in the first round- a team that hammered them last week in Greensboro. Ugh.

2) The next two days feature two ACC-SoCon games, and I don't completely discount the SoCon teams from taking either one of them. Georgia Tech is not playing well right now and the Mocs will have a chance against them if they play really good basketball. But tonight's game between UNC-Greensboro and Miami is also a shot for the SoCon to fire a shot at the ACC. The Spartans played Clemson and Wake Forest very tight earlier in the year, showing signs of life. Miami is not unbeatable. Now that the Spartans are playing with more confidence, having won several games over the last month and a half, they could take out an ACC team.

3) Right now is about getting hot in the SoCon's final weeks before playing in the SoCon Tournament. Lots of teams have a real shot to get hot and gain momentum heading to Chattanooga. Davidson is the current hot team. But The Citadel was the hot team just a couple of weeks ago, and now they've lost it. Appalachian State, with all of their home games left, look like a team that is getting hot, and if they can sneak into a bye spot, they can make some real noise in the tournament.

New Feature

Beginning tomorrow morning, there will be a new feature on the site called "Three Point Play." It will run from today through the SoCon Tournament. There will be three comments on the Southern Conference at-large. Some of them will be better than others, obviously. But the point is to get a little bit of SoCon feel to the blog as the conference tournament approaches. I hope you enjoy the new bit....

GO MOCS!

Should We Care?

Does the Georgia Tech game this Wednesday matter?

One could certainly argue that it does not. After all, Georgia Tech is not a SoCon team, and it will not count in the conference standings.

But it does count in the overall record. If the Mocs win this game, it may help their seeding in the NCAA Tournament, if they manage to get that far.

With all the illness on the team last week, they can certainly use a game to get back to game speed and get their legs under them as well.

So, yes, this game matters. Does winning matter? Maybe- maybe not. But it certainly does mattter. It is impossible to ignore this game for the two reasons listed above.

But the beauty of this game is that the Mocs are only playing one game in a nine day span. And this is it. So there is no reason to rest anyone. They have plenty of time to rest. There's no reason to relax and not give it their all. This game is all there is. It's kind of like a Bracket Buster game in its own right.

The Mocs could use a win over a very average Georgia Tech suffering from an injury to a starter. And the Yellow Jackets lost to Kennesaw State this year, a team the Mocs beat on the road. Of course, Georgia Tech also beat North Carolina, just one of two ACC teams to do that. So, they have been up and down.

The Mocs can win this game. It sure would be nice to be competitive against an ACC team. Honestly, I think the Mocs will play better given the fact that they have not won their last couple of games. They will play better because the illness has them itching to play a good game. And they will try to win. I'm not sure Shulman would have gone hard core after this win if the Mocs had beaten Western and/or Appy. But thank to the flu, the Mocs are going to go after this one.

That's what I think anyway.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monday

Savannah State 65, The Citadel 61 OT

ANALYSIS: Nothing to say except- thanks a lot Bulldogs! We all appreciate the effort!

SoCon The Week Ahead

MONDAY
Savannah State at The Citadel 7:00

TUESDAY
Miami, FL at UNC-Greensboro 7:00

WEDNESDAY
Georgia Southern at Davidson 7:00
Wofford at Samford 8:00 (Battle of North vs. South)
Chattanooga at Georgia Tech 7:30

THURSDAY
College of Charleston at The Citadel 7:00
Western Carolina at Appalachian State 7:00 (SoCon Monster Game of the Week)

SATURDAY
Furman at Samford 5:00 (Battle of North vs. South)
The Citadel at Georgia Southern 7:00
UNC-Greensboro at Elon 8:00 (SoCon Saturday on SportSouth)
Eastern Kentukcy at Western Carolina 2:00
Vermont at College of Charleston 5:00 (ESPNU)
Appalachian State at High Point 7:00
Ball State at Wofford 7:00
Davidson at Presbyterian 7:30

ANALYSIS

It's a strange week in the SoCon, as there are just seven conference games this week. Two of the games are North vs. South- leaving eleven North vs. South match-ups for the final week. That means that the Battle of North vs. South (regardless of what happens this week) will come down to the final week. The South leads 20-15. Each division is trying to get to 25 to win the Battle of North vs. South. That means the South needs just five more, while the North needs ten more. Furman and Wofford both are big favorites at Samford this week. So we'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

The SoCon Monster Game of the Week is Western Carolina's visit to Appalachian State. The two teams are still hoping to win the North Division title, but the Mountaineers will need a lot of help to get it. However, if the Mountaineers beat Western Carolina, they can move into position to possibly steal a bye from the Catamounts in the North Division. Western won earlier on a last second shot. This game should come down to the wire as well.

We'll have analysis of the BracketBusters for the SoCon teams as the week progresses. Those will happen on Saturday.

There are eight out of conference games this week for the SoCon. The SoCon needs to come up with wins out of conference. It will help the conference RPI and help the national perception of the conference if they can have a good week out of conference. If that happens, the SoCon Tournament Champion can have a stronger case for a better seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Only two weeks left in the regular season. Three weeks from today will be Semifinal Sunday in the SoCon Tournament. It's getting very very close.

GO MOCS!

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 77
2) Furman 118
3) Wofford 158
4) Davidson 161
5) Appalachian State 193
6) Western Carolina 202
7) Chattanooga 205
8) Elon 269
9) The Citadel 276
10) Samford 284
11) UNC-Greensboro 286
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 21

Predicted Overall Record: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Record: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 73
2) Furman 123
3) Wofford 126
4) Davidson 151
5) Western Carolina 185
6) Appalachian State 222
7) Elon 246
8) The Citadel 266
9) Chattanooga 276
10) UNC-Greensboro 277
11) Samford 304
12) Georgia Southern 325

SoCon Rank: 21

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Rank: 11-7

GO MOCS!

Appalachian State 78, Mocs 68

This is so frustrating. But the Mocs were playing on their second straight night still recovering from the flu bug against a good team on the road. And they lost their two road games to the two other best teams in the North by a combined total of eleven points in two nights.

So do we blame them for these losses? Or do we praise them for not getting obliterated in either game?

I don't know yet. That's the problem. This was a critical weekend, and the Mocs needed desperately to come up with a win. That was what made this flu so devastating. It just couldn't have come at a worse time for the Mocs.

Western is 6-2 in North Division play, while the Mocs are 7-2. So a tie could still go either way between those two. Appalachian State is 6-3 in North Division play. If the Mocs beat Samford or if Appalachian State loses on Thursday to Western Carolina, the Mocs will have the tiebreaker against the Mountaineers. Either one of those events would also clinch a first round bye for the Mocs.

Omar Wattad and Keegan Bell combined to shoot 5 of 18 tonight, including 2 of 13 from three point range. It was obvious that the team was tired in the second half. They had been outrebounding the Mountaineers up until the last ten minutes. They wound up getting outrebounded 32-30. DeAntre Jefferson scored 11 points and ten rebounds, a very nice double-double. Ricky Taylor scored 21 while Chris Early had 12.

The Mocs were up one at the half, and lead with about 12 minutes to play in the second half. But then a 14-0 run by Appy left the Mocs in a hole they could not climb out of. Omar Carter and Donald Sims combined to scored 41 points.

The Mocs do not play another conference game until Monday, February 21. That's nine days from now. They play Georgia Tech in-between. The Mocs now need to beat Wofford and Furman, and go on the road to beat Samford just to win the division.

How will the Mocs attack the Georgia Tech game given everything that happened this weekend? Unknown.

This game- the Mocs were slower to the loose balls in the second half and it cost them. It probably was at least partially sickness related. That's the hope.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Power Rankings

1) College of Charleston
2) Furman
3) Wofford
4) Davidson
5) Chattanooga
6) Western Carolina
7) Appalachian State
8) UNC-Greensboro
9) Elon
10) The Citadel
11) Samford
12) Georgia Southern

ANALYSIS: Davidson has been so hot, that they have to jump ahead of some of these teams. Chattanooga, Western Carolina, and Appalachian State are all unbelievably close. The Mocs just lost to Western and Appy, but they had previously beaten them, and they are still ahead of both teams in the standings. Very close. Appy hosts Western next Thursday. Elon jumps ahead of The Citadel thanks to their win over the Bulldogs, and Samford is just behind these two teams. UNC-Greensboro is clearly number eight at the moment. This is very complex to do at this stage. It seems to be getting more complicated every week.

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-5
2) Western Carolina 9-5
3) Appalachian State 8-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-9
5) Elon 5-10
6) Samford 4-10

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 12-2
2) Furman 11-4
3) Wofford 11-4
4) Davidson 7-8
5) The Citadel 5-9
6) Georgia Southern 0-14

TIES: Furman beat Wofford head-to-head, which is why they have the two seed over the Terriers.

Battle of North vs. South

NORTH at SOUTH
South 14, North 5

SOUTH at NORTH
North 10, South 6

NORTH vs. SOUTH
South 20, North 15

SoCon Saturday

Western Carolina 85, Samford 63
College of Charleston 87, UNC-Greensboro 69
Furman 88, Davidson 79
Appalachian State 78, Chattanooga 68
Wofford 69, Georgia Southern 61
Elon 79, The Citadel 72

Appalachian State Preview: More Effort?

The Mocs just played their guts out, and put them out there against the Catamounts. Can the Mocs possibly play with that much effort again and come up with a solid performance against Appalachian State for a second straight night?

Will Keegan Bell and Omar Wattd be healthy enough to play closer to 30 minutes? How will Chris Early play coming off of his suspension?

These are all questions that the Mocs can't possibly answer at this point. If they could, then maybe I'd have a better chance of providing reasonable analysis of this game.

I'll freely admit- I'm at a loss. I don't have a clue if the Mocs can win. They could get beat by 30. Or they could win the game. Or anything in between. It's impossible to know for sure.

Donald Sims and Omar Carter are the Mountaineers leading scorers. Sims is averaging 20.9 points per game. He makes 42% of his shots, and 32.6% from three point range, while shooting almost 87% from the free throw line. He also averages 3.9 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, and 1.9 steals per game. Carter is averaging 16.3 points per game, and 5.8 rebounds per game. Carter is shooting 40% from three point range.

Andre Williamson is shooting 56.6% from the field, and averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, to go along with his 8.6 rebounds per game. Williamson has been playing very well lately for the Mountaineers.

The first time the Mocs and Mountaineers played, Sims scored 28, but they were a very quiet 28 points. Carter scored just 14, and that was why the Mocs were able to win. Williamson was the only other player with more than six- he scored ten. The Mocs outrebounded the Mountaineers 37-30, and Appy shot 39.1% from the field and 22.6% from three point range. Wattad had 21 points, and Bell had thirteen assists.

Appalachian State has won three straight games. They won by two at UNC-Greensboro, and by six at Elon, and by six at home against Samford on Thursday night. That followed six losses in seven games.

The Mountaineers are a decent rebounding team. They are a team that likes to play at a fast pace, in the Top 100 in the country in scoring.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. The Mocs have to rebound well to stay in the game, just like they did the first time.
--Legs. Will the Mocs have any energy coming off a tough game on Friday night? Will Bell and Wattad be healthy enough to contribute?
--Chris Early. Will he play under control? Or will he be so eager to contribute that he'll get into early foul trouble and put pressure on the Mocs bench to contribute again?
--Hold down Sims and Carter. If the Mocs can hold them to 4 of 17 from three point range again, they will have a shot.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Celebrate clinching a bye in the North.
--Be pleased with the split of the back-to-back games.
--Hope that the Mocs can come up with more wins and clinch the division.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Worry a lot about losing the bye in the North.
--Be upset about not getting a splut in the back-to-back games.
--Wish the flu on everyone. EVERYONE!
--Sigh, take a deep breath, and remember that tomorrow is another day.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Early will pick up two quick fouls.
--Sims will score over 30.
--Surgical Mask Night won't be a flop.
--Appalachian State 77, Mocs 58. The Mocs will not be able to show up with that much effort on two straight nights. Without knowing the health of Wattad and Bell, there is no way to think that the Mocs can do THAT again. The Mocs need to play great game to have a shot. Will they be able to bounce back this quickly? It's hard to see.

GO MOCS!

Western Carolina 69, Mocs 68

If I told you that Chris Early would be suspended and not play at all, Keegan Bell would play ten minutes, Omar Wattad would play twelve minutes, DeAntre Jefferson would fould out, and the Mocs would turn the ball over 21 times, what would you have predicted would happen?

I would have predicted roughly the 75-54 blowout that I actually did predict.

The Mocs won the rebounding battle against the team that is the second best rebounding team in the league. The Mocs collected 40-31. DeAntre Jefferson collected eight, and Troy Cage had eleven rebounds.

Jefferson scored 13 points. Ricky Taylor put up 14 points, while Jahmal Burroughs scored ten, including knocking down an incredible five of six from the free throw line. Wattad had nine points in twelve minutes. Dontay Hampton also scored nine. Cage put home eight.

The Mocs of course lost the game in heart breaking fashion. They were tied when Trey Sumler was fouled with one second left. He knocked down a free throw to give them the win. It was heartbreaking for the Mocs.

The biggest problem was the last five minutes of the first half, when the Catamounts went on a 15-1 run to go from down six to up eight. This happened because the Mocs could not stop turning the ball over. They couldn't figure out how to not turn the ball over on possession after possession. Suddenly, they were playing from behind.

Honestly, I can't think of a time that I was prouder of the Mocs in a loss. They had so much going against them- basically three starters were either out or were shells of themselves. They combined for 22 minutes. And yet, the Mocs were in it until the end against the second best team in the North.

All along, the Mocs have needed to come up with a split on this road trip. Will Bell and Wattad be well enough to play normal minutes tomorrow? Maybe. Will Early be able to play well enough for the Mocs to win? Will Hampton and Cage and Burroughs be able to play such important minutes and play well again?

So proud of the Mocs tonight. Too bad it couldn't end in a win. We'll find out tomorrow if they can get that elusive road win and move a step closer to clinching the division, and can clinch a bye.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Davidson at Furman

Davidson has won five straight after winning just one of eight games. That one of eight? Davidson beat Furman at home. If the Wildcats were able to beat Furman for a second time, Davidson would be within two games of the Paladins, and have the tiebreaker.

Yep- the Paladins need to look out, because that object in the mirror (long left for dead) is closer than they appear.

In their first match-up, Amu Saaka scored just six points. That was his second lowest scoring output of the season. Jordan Miller did have a tremendous game, though. He scored 21 points. The Wildcats dominated the boards, 30-20. Nik Cochran scored 22 off the bench for the Wildcats, and De'Mon Brooks put home 11. JP Kuhlman scored 13.

It was a great performance by the Wildcats.

And this is how Davidson has been winning games. They've been rebounding well, and they've been relying on Brooks to be a monster coming off the bench. Brooks has turned into a real star, even though he still is not getting huge minutes. He is the best player on the team, really. Even if that is not true, he has the best chance to develop into a true stud on the team.

Jake Cohen is the second leading scorer with 12 points per game, and 6.6 rebounds per game. Cohen has been coming on stronger lately. Over the last three games, he has averaged seven rebounds per game.

Amu Saaka has been averaging 17.1 points per game and has 6.3 rebounds per game. Noah States and Jordan Miller has been very good lately. States scored 11.5 points per game and has 5.2 rebounds per game.

Furman has lost just one home game all year. That was a four point loss to College of Charleston. They have lost two of their last five games. They lost at Western Carolina and at College of Charleston. They won at home against Georgia Southern and Appalachian State. They won at The Citadel.

Davidson just won at Wofford to really prove that they are on the rise. This is a great run for the Wildcats.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Saaka vs. Cohen. Should be entertaining.
--Davidson will outrebound Furman.
--Furman will play inspired ball at home.
--Furman 78, Davidson 76. The Wildcats just can't keep on winning at this pace- can they? There's no way. Surely this is the game where they come back to earth at least a little bit. Furman at home is too tough of a task.

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-4
2) Western Carolina 8-5
3) Appalachian State 7-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-8
5) Samford 4-9
6) Elon 4-10

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 11-2
2) Furman 10-4
3) Wofford 10-4
4) Davidson 7-7
5) The Citadel 5-8
6) Georgia Southern 0-13

SoCon Friday

Western Carolina 69, Chattanooga 68

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 76
2) Furman 124
3) Wofford 151
4) Davidson 168
5) Chattanooga 195
6) Appalachian State 198
7) Western Carolina 209
8) The Citadel 259
9) Elon 282
10) Samford 285
11) UNC-Greensboro 289
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 20

Predicted Overall Record: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Record: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 72
2) Wofford 115
3) Furman 128
4) Davidson 150
5) Western Carolina 187
6) Appalachian State 223
7) The Citadel 255
8) Elon 257
9) UNC-Greensboro 280
10) Chattanooga 282
11) Samford 300
12) Georgia Southern 327

SoCon Rank: 21

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Record: 11-7

GO MOCS!

Staggered Start Times For NCAA Tournament

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2011-02-10/turner-cbs-air-all-ncaa-tourney

I'm a detail person. OK- not really. But to some degree. I like knowing start times.

The staggered start times on TBS, TruTV, TNT, and CBS makes the tournament that much more interesting. This tournament will be great. We'll get to watch whatever game we want. It doesn't change much, though. Anyone with a computer could have watched the games on March Madness on Demand on CBSSports.com. Any game they wanted to watch would have been on. But this will make it easier.

So- whatever SoCon team makes it to the tourney, I'll get to watch it without buffering issues. That's been unusual here in Kentucky in recent years.

GO MOCS!

Western Carolina Preview: In Sickness and In Health

A lot of us have relationships with the Mocs like that of a married couple. We love them. They drive us mad. But we keep on coming back no matter what. When they are healthy, we watch them a lot.

Now they are sick. With the flu. We all know the story by now. So it is this weekend that we find out- do we love the Mocs in sickness too?

If you are at this blog, and you are a Mocs fan, odds are- you love them in sickness, too. But we'll know more after this weekend.

It is very difficult to write a real preview of this game. After all, we don't know who will be healthy enough to play. We don't know how much anyone will be able to play. We don't know anything.

What we do know mostly centers around Western Carolina- and that Chris Early will be suspended for this game. So let's review Western Carolina and their strengths and weaknesses.

The Western Carolina offense centers around Bob Cousy Award Nominee Mike Williams. Williams is averaging 14.5 points per game, along with 3.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds, along with 1.9 steals per game. This guy is a real beast. He is shooting only 38.4% from the field, though, along with 33.3% from three point range. He also averages 3.0 turnovers per game. Williams is a very good point guard, but he turns the ball over a bit too much for a top point guard. But he is a big time scorer. As the leading scorer for the Catamounts, he can dominate a game.

Richie Gordon and Haroumba Mutombo are the bigs inside that can take over a game. They average 18.5 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game between them. They also average 1.6 blocks per game. Gordon shoots 48% from the floor. Gordon and Mutombo are going to be very difficult for the Mocs to contain with Chris Early not being eligible. Even if everyone is 100% healthy outside of Early, this duo will be tough to contain.

Trey Sumler is a hot shooting freshman. Sumler shoots nearly 41% from three point range and averages 11.8 points per game with four rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Sumler also shoots nearly 80% from the free throw line. Sumler has been very good for the Catamounts, and a big reason that they are currently second in the North division.

Keaton Cole scored 17 points against Chattanooga the first time they played, but that was his season high. In fact since the Campbell game after the Mocs game, he has not scored in double figures, and has scored zero points in seven games out of thirteen. He also has not had more than two assists, rebounds, or steals, except for when he had three assists against Dayton on December 18. He has been completely average (or maybe even below) since then.

Williams was the only other one to score double figures against the Mocs in the first meeting. He scored 21 points. Tawaski King collected 12 rebounds in their first meeting. But he hasn't played a lot of minutes even since that point. King has been OK- but is not really special.

Of course, Early scored 12 points in the first game, and he can't play in this one. He is the the second leading scorer for the Mocs. Keegan Bell scored 13 and Ricky Taylor added 11. DeAntre Jefferson had 11 rebounds and seven points. Wattad scored just seven points. But who knows if any of these will play?

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. The Mocs have been beaten on the boards in their last two games. Not surprisingly, they did not look good in those games. To beat Western Carolina, they will not to do a better job rebounding, which had been a major strength for the Mocs. It also has been a strength for the Catamounts.
--Health and stamina. How healthy will anyone be? Will the Mocs be able to field a team that does not completely die from exhaustion? With the flu running through the team, Sam Watson injured, and Early suspended, they are going to have to find a way to stay on the floor and not get worn out.
--Controlling Williams. If the Mocs can control Williams to some degree or another, then they could have a shot to win the game. If he turns the ball over too much, then the Mocs will have a chance to win.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--WAHOO!
--Be uncontrollably happy. If they won, the Mocs would need just one more win or Western Carolina loss to clinch the North Division.
--Celebrate, and wonder if the Mocs could possibly win two straight games.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Be frustrated.
--Wonder if the Mocs health had been better, if they could have won this game.
--Hope that the Mocs didn't expend too much energy trying to win this one so that they can be a little bit better for the Appalachian State game.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, and remember that tomorrow is another day.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Ummm....Bell and Wattad (two of the ones who had been sick) will not be able to play over 30 minutes. (Why not? Really- how can anyone have a prediction about this game?)
--Sumler will hit a bunch of threes.
--Early won't play.
--Richie Gordon will dominate the inside.
--The Mocs will play poorly due to lack of stamina.
--No one will look like this.
--Western Carolina 75, Chattanooga 54. It is hard to imagine a worse situation for the Mocs- all the illness, on the road, a big game, with a key game the next night as well. How do the Mocs perform in this one? How do they even show up? It's hard to know. Since the Mocs struggle so much on the road, how can anyone expect any better than this?

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-3
2) Western Carolina 7-5
3) Appalachian State 7-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-8
5) Samford 4-9
6) Elon 4-10

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 11-2
2) Furman 10-4
3) Wofford 10-4
4) Davidson 7-7
5) The Citadel 5-8
6) Georgia Southern 0-13

TIES: Furman beat Wofford head to head, so they have the advantage over them. The two will play on the final day of the regular season at Furman. At this point, it certainly appears that the winner of that game will have the second bye out of the South.

SoCon Thursday

Furman 54, Georgia Southern 45
Appalachian State 65, Samford 59

Western Game Moved....Again!

The Mocs will now play on Friday night against Western Carolina at 7:00 PM, while travelling to Appalachian State at 7:00 PM on Saturday night. That will be back to back games. Kind of like the SoCon Tournament I suppose.

The Mocs health and stamina coming off the flu will play a large role in determining these two absolutely critical SoCon North games.

GO MOCS!

Sickness...

The Mocs have the flu. All of them. Almost literally. Amazingly.

The game against Western Carolina was postponed for good reason. They'll have to review the situation sometime on Friday to see if they will be able to play on Saturday against Appalachian State.

What happens from here? Early will sit out Saturday (assuming the Mocs play). This helps some- they need to win one of these two badly.

The flu is bad....Hope they get over it.

Thanks to Western Carolina, Larry Hunter, the SoCon, and the CDC for their understanding in this situation.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-3
2) Western Carolina 7-5
3) Appalachian State 6-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-8
5) Samford 4-8
6) Elon 4-10

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 11-2
2) Wofford 10-4
3) Furman 9-4
4) Davidson 7-7
5) The Citadel 5-8
6) Georgia Southern 0-12

Battle of North vs. South

NORTH at SOUTH
South 13, North 4

SOUTH at NORTH
North 10, South 6

NORTH vs. SOUTH
South 19, North 14

SoCon Wednesday

College of Charleton 85, Elon 67
Davidson 67, Wofford 58

Mocs Postponed

Due to the flu running rampant through the team, the Mocs game against Western Carolina for tomorrow night has been postponed until Monday.

Chris Early will now be forced to sit out the Appalachian State game on Saturday rather than the Western Carolina game.

Four Mocs have tested positive for the flu- meaning only four would have been suiting up for the game Thursday night, due to injuries, suspensions, and sickness.

The Mocs now have some more time to collect their thoughts, get together, and get ready for Saturday's showdown with Appalachian State. They need to get well between now and then so they can actually dress enough to play.

More to follow....

OOC Opponents

AT A GLANCE

Tennessee- 15-8, 21
Austin Peay- 13-11, 133
Kennesaw State- 5-17, 322
Marshall- 13-8, 64
Louisville- 18-5, 26
Jackson State- 11-10, 203
Florida International- 7-14, 271
Murray State- 16-6, 121
Georgia State- 10-13, 214
Georgia Tech- 10-12, 164

IN DEPTH

Tennessee has been on a bit of a run. It's hard to know exactly where the Vols stand because they have been way up and way down. They had won five in a row before losing to Alabama at home on Saturday. Tonight, they are battling Kentucky, and have Bruce Pearl coming back to coach again. They are a contender in the SEC East, and in the SEC title race.

Austin Peay has suddenly turned cold, and they have fallen behind the both Morehead State and Murray State in the OVC race. The loss at Tennessee Tech last night leaves those two teams tied for third in the conference. The Governors have lost three out of four. They have Fairfield in BracketBusters, and four winnable OVC games left. So they can get back on track.

Kennesaw State beat Campbell last night to get back in the win column. They had lost five straight prior to that, but have Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson at home before a trip to Mercer- all winnable games coming up. The Owls need to get going if they are going to make any noise at all in the Atlantic Sun this year. After their start with a win over Georgia Tech, they have been a disappointment.

Marshall is still the highest ranked win for the Mocs this year. The Herd lost to Southern Miss over the weekend, and are 3-5 in Conference USA play. With UAB, Tulsa, UCF, and UTEP all left as Top 100 RPI teams on the schedule, they are a dangerous team in C-USA. They continue to be mentioned as a major contender to steal a tournament title. They could do it. They have been good- but not great.

Louisville is almost assured to go dancing. They are 7-3 in Big East play. They need to get just two or three more wins to lock up an NCAA bid. They go to Notre Dame tomorrow night in a huge game, and battle Syracuse at home this weekend. The Cardinals will continue to rise up the RPI just by the sheer fact that their schedule will continue to be brutal.

Jackson State had a shocking loss to Alcorn State on Saturday. They are still 9-2 in SWAC play. They have only two road games left- Mississippi Valley State (RPI- 215) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (319). Texas Southern comes to town on Saturday night, and TSU is 9-1 in SWAC play. That game should be a very good game and probably will determine the SWAC regular season champion, although 8-3 Mississippi Valley State may have something to say about it.

Florida International has lost seven out of eight, with their lone win coming over Troy. But their last time out, they lost by one to Top 100 Florida Atlantic. So maybe they are starting to play a little better again. With UL-Lafayette, and Middle Tennessee coming up, the Panthers can get on a bit of a roll if they keep on playing well, before their home rematch with Florida Atlantic. It's time to get going if Isaiah Thomas' team wants to have a solid finish.

Murray State is now back into first place in the OVC, tied with Morehead State. They are the favorites to advance to the NCAA out of the OVC now. It ought to be a very compelling OVC Tournament with Murray State, Austin Peay, Morehead State, and even Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech providing a lot of depth to the league. With only one road game left (at RPI 317 SE Missouri State) and a huge home date with Morehead State, everyone has to like the position the Racers are in to win the regular season title.

Georgia State has beaten UNC-Wilmington and Towson in their last two games to get back in the win column in the CAA. Hofstra, Northeastern, and George Mason all come calling over the next few weeks. Old Dominion is the toughest road game, while Louisiana Tech and William & Mary are the other road games. This team can still make a bit of a run in the CAA, and get to a decent seed in the conference tournament.

Georgia Tech has lost three straight, after winning three out of four. Brian Oliver is now out three weeks. They play Florida State at home and go to Virginia Tech before facing the Mocs. Winning either will be tough. The Yellow Jackets are stumbling a bit. They could smell blood and the ability to get well against the Mocs when they hook up.

GO MOCS!

Saffore Out?

And the hits just keep on coming....

Jeremy Saffore supposedly has the flu and may not play on Thursday night. Saffore, the starting center, is one of the most important parts of the team for the Mocs.

With Watson out due to injury, and Early out due to suspension, the last thing the Mocs need is for Saffore to be out. That would leave them with just Burroughs and Jefferson as inside players. That is not a good thing as the Mocs play a critical game against Western Carolina on Thursday night, and then another crucial game on Saturday.

Can the Mocs rally around all of these injuries? Or are they just too thin right now? Only time will tell.

I hope Saffore gets well, mostly because having the flu stinks. It's awful. It's no fun. Get well soon, Jeremy!

GO MOCS!

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 77
2) Furman 111
3) Wofford 132
4) Davidson 184
5) Chattanooga 193
6) Western Carolina 204
7) Appalachian State 207
8) The Citadel 262
9) Samford 278
10) Elon 288
11) UNC-Greensboro 295
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 20

Predicted Overall Rank: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Rank: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 79
2) Wofford 108
3) Furman 119
4) Davidson 162
5) Western Carolina 187
6) Appalachian State 218
7) Elon 244
8) The Citadel 256
9) UNC-Greensboro 280
10) Chattanooga 282
11) Samford 301
12) Georgia Southern 330

SoCon Rank: 20

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Record: 11-7

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-3
2) Western Carolina 7-5
3) Appalachian State 6-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 5-8
5) Samford 4-8
6) Elon 4-9

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 10-2
2) Wofford 10-3
3) Furman 9-4
4) Davidson 6-7
5) The Citadel 5-8
6) Georgia Southern 0-12

GO MOCS!

Battle of North vs. South

NORTH at SOUTH
South 13, North 4

SOUTH at NORTH
North 10, South 5

NORTH vs. SOUTH
South 18, North 14

ANALYSIS: I maintain that this is closer than it should be gives the common perception that the South is so much better than the North. Yes, the South is better- but it is far closer than most fans want to admit. Tonight's dominance by UNCG continues to prove that the divisions are closer than it would appear. Of course, the South is better, but the North could sure use a 8-8 split down the stretch to prove that they belong in the battle between the two divisions.

SoCon Monday

UNC-Greensboro 86, The Citadel 74

ANALYSIS: I watched a large chunk of this game, and UNCG looked pretty darn good. So, the question is this- is The Citadel folding after their hot stretch? Are they beginning to fall apart? Or is UNCG playing this much better than The Citadel right now? Was this just one night? That is three losses in a row for the Bulldogs. This thing is getting tougher and tougher for The Citadel. UNCG keeps their dreams alive for a third place finish alive. They looked very good tonight. I still maintain that both of these teams will be teams that no one wants to be facing on the second day of the tournament- especially the Spartans.

Early Suspended

Chris Early has been suspended for one game for the flagrant foul that lead to his ejection against Davidson on Saturday night.

Should he have been suspended? Should he have not been suspended? That's above my pay grade.

The fact is that two Mocs have been suspended for actions in Belk over the last ten years- and no other Mocs has been suspended for on-court actions during that time. Sounds suspicious, but it doesn't matter. The fact is that Early lost control and he needs to learn to maintain his composure.

It couldn't come at a worse time for the Mocs, as a win over Western Carolina on Thursday would put the Mocs in great shape in the North. A win by Western Carolina completely changes the dynamics and opens the door for the Catamounts to possibly sneak in and steal the division.

Jahmal Burroughs probably starts in his place- but I think I would start Jefferson at 4 and Saffore at 5 and see what happens. The problem- with Watson out, if foul trouble hit, the Mocs could have major problems with depth.

Another possibility- Wattad at 4, Taylor at 3, and Hampton at 2. I like that better than starting Burroughs. I like Burroughs energy off the bench. I would like to keep him coming off the bench.

GO MOCS!

Heat-O-Meter: Mostly Cool

Previous:

Preseason
November
December

OK- so I realize that I am about a week late getting this done, but this is good of a time as any to analyze where Coach Shulman stands at this point in the season.

Let's talk about the negatives:

1) The Mocs are getting hammered on the road consistently right now after winning road games earlier in the year. They have lost their last three road games by at least 14 points against teams that should not have beaten them that badly. There is clearly something wrong with the Mocs on the road right now. With all the road games left, this could be a long term problem.

2) There are times that the Mocs seem to be a touch undisciplined at times when they get in tough environments. They can't get into so much foul trouble. They sometimes lose their heads it seems like, as evidenced by what happened with Chris Early at Davidson.

Now let's focus on positives:

1) He is subbing less and has a more tight rotation.

2) He is playing more zone.

3) He is being less stubborn.

So, where does Shulman really stand? The odds of him being fired after this season are very small, now that he has clinched a winning conference record. However, a total fold down the stretch could change things slightly.

HEAT-O-METER: 3.5. Previously, he sat at 6.5, but he has dropped substantially thanks to the dramatic win over College of Charleston and the winning conference record. Combine that with a likely first round bye in the SoCon Tourney, and it is going to be hard to get him out of town this year, if that's what you're trying to do. It's certainly not what I'm trying to do. But, it could drop to almost nil with a solid finish to the season and a conference tournament title. If that happens, and next year's team should be even better than this year's team, Shulman could have the fire completely put out by the end of next season, not to return for many years to come, and could just keep it on a dull burn until then.

GO MOCS!

There IS Something Wrong

You all know that I am generally positive about the Mocs. But I try to identify things that I think are wrong when I see them.

And there is something glaringly wrong right now.

The Mocs got 30.5 rebounds over the last two games. Their opponents collected 36.5 over these last two games. This from a team that has been dominating the glass in SoCon play.

Yes, the Mocs beat Georgia Southern, but the fact that they only got 23 rebounds compared to the Eagles 23 was a sign that something was not right. I thought it was fixable and that it would be fixed by the Davidson game. Boy was I wrong. The Wildcats outrebounded the Mocs 50-38. And that is reason number one the Mocs lost the game.

The good news for the Mocs- they've tended to play poorly in twos this year. Now that they have a little bit of time off, maybe they come out with a fire again against Western Carolina and Appalachian State- each critical games to the North race.

Also, the Mocs should be able to correct whatever problems they are having on the boards. This has been a team strength. So, the Mocs should be able to get back to work and correct this problem. With the way Shulman emphasizes rebounding, I'm sure he is on it right now.

The Mocs have a major flaw right now, and no matter what anyone else thinks, it is the fact that the strength that we have been relying on has become a fatal flaw. Until that gets corrected, the Mocs will continue to flounder.

Let's hope it is corrected by Thursday night.

GO MOCS!

SoCon The Week Ahead

MONDAY
The Citadel at UNC-Greensboro 7:00 (Battle of North vs. South)

WEDNESDAY
College of Charleston at Elon 7:00 (Battle of North vs. South)
Davidson at Wofford 7:00

THURSDAY
Samford at Appalachian State 7:00
Chattanooga at Western Carolina 7:00
Georgia Southern at Furman 7:00

SATURDAY
Chattanooga at Appalachian State 2:00
Samford at Western Carolina 2:00
UNC-Greensboro at College of Charleston 4:00 (CSS) (Battle of North vs. South)
Davidson at Furman 6:00 (CSS) (SoCon Monster Game of the Week)
Elon at The Citadel 7:00 (Battle of North vs. South)
Georgia Southern at Wofford 7:00

ANALYSIS

The South currently leads the North, 18-13. There are four match-ups this week between the North and South. UNCG and Elon from the North take on The Citadel and College of Charleston this week. That makes for some interesting battles between North and South, particularly when the South is on the road.

The SoCon Monster Game of the Week is Davidson's visit to Furman. The Wildcats beat the Paladins at home. There is still an outside chance of Davidson catching Furman for third in the South. If Davidson wins, they will own the tiebreaker over the Paladins and have narrowed the gap. The gap between them is currently three games. The Wildcats would have to keep on rolling, while Furman would have to collapse a bit. But Davidson needs to win to stick in the fourth spot in the South, while Furman needs to win to stick around in the critical bye race. This game is huge.

Elon, UNC-Greensboro and Samford all have opportunities this week to sort out the fourth through sixth spot in the North. Appalachian State is barely out of that race for now. The Mountaineers can get back in the bye race this week if Western struggles at home, as those two teams take on Samford and Chattanooga at home. Ought to be a big week in sorting out the North race.

GO MOCS!

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 74
2) Furman 111
3) Wofford 131
4) Davidson 184
5) Chattanooga 195
6) Western Carolina 204
7) Appalachian State 211
8) The Citadel 249
9) Samford 278
10) Elon 290
11) UNC-Greensboro 296
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 19

Predicted Overall Rank: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Rank: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 79
2) Wofford 107
3) Furman 120
4) Davidson 160
5) Western Carolina 187
6) Appalachian State 218
7) The Citadel 244
8) Elon 246
9) Chattanooga 284
10) UNC-Greensboro 289
11) Samford 303
12) Georgia Southern 331

SoCon Rank: 20

Predicted Overall Rank: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Rank: 11-7

GO MOCS!

Another Thought

The Mocs can't get into foul trouble and expect to continue to win. The refs were calling everything, and it was over the top. It really hurt the Mocs. The Mocs need to not get into foul trouble in the SoCon Tournament. If the refs are calling everything in the SoCon Tourney, the Mocs could be in big trouble.

The Mocs could have had a major achilles heel exposed tonight. College of Charleston and Wofford are thin as well, so they can't have it either. But the Mocs are thin too. So they can't get into foul trouble.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Power Rankings

1) College of Charleston
2) Wofford
3) Furman
4) Chattanooga
5) Davidson
6) Western Carolina
7) Appalachian State
8) The Citadel
9) UNC-Grreensboro
10) Samford
11) Elon
12) Georgia Southern

GO MOCS!

Davidson 73, Mocs 59

Let's do good news, bad news again.

Let's start with the good news.

The Mocs fell behind by 19 points midway through the second half. This was a point where the Mocs have quit previously in the year and gone on and gotten blown out by 30. Instead tonight, they kept their heads nad kept on fighting and fighting and lost 14. Not a great loss- but at least respectable.

The Mocs finally held a team down shooting-wise. The Wildcats shot only 36.5% from the floor.

The Mocs forced 15 turnovers, which is pretty good.

Now, the bad news.

The Mocs were outrebounded for the second straight game- this time, by 16!

Keegan Bell had just two assists and two turnovers and two points.

The Mocs had just six assists, after a ton of games where they came up with a bunch of assists.

Only one Moc player made a three- Omar Wattad, who made six and scored 29.

Keegan Bell is obviously the head of this team. People say Wattad deserves a spot on the All SoCon team, but Bell does not. But if you look at this game, then it is obvious that Bell is the key. The Wildcats cut off Bell, and even though Wattad dominated, the Mocs could not win.

The Mocs were dominated on the boards. They can not win when they are not rebounding well against good teams.

Outside of Wattad, the Mocs shot 10 of 39 for 25.6% from the floor. The Mocs are going to struggle when they are shooting that poorly. This was a terrible offensive performance, and they just could not get a shot to fall.

The Mocs were shooting poorly, rebounding poorly, and Bell did not play well. That's a trifecta for how the Mocs get beat. Just can't win when they play like that.

Is this a problem on the road? Or is a problem that just happens from time to time?

The Mocs actually were up by six for a good chunk of the first half, before being tied at halftime. Then, the second half, things just fell apart. What do we make of the Mocs from this point forward?

The Mocs have four more road games. They have two huge games against Appalachian State and Western Carolina on this road trip. They have to play better than they played tonight.

The good news from tonight is that they showed up early, and they did not quit once they were down 19. If they bring THAT kind of focus, and bring the effort on the boards, then the Mocs could get one of these next two against Western Carolina or Appalachian State.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-3
2) Western Carolina 7-5
3) Appalachian State 6-7
4) Samford 4-8
5) UNC-Greensboro 4-8
6) Elon 4-9

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 10-2
2) Wofford 10-3
3) Furman 9-4
4) Davidson 6-7
5) The Citadel 5-7
6) Georgia Southern 0-12

TIES: UNCG is 2-6 vs. the North. Samford is 3-4 vs. the North. Therefore, Samford is higher in the standings than UNC-Greensboro.

Battle of North vs. South

NORTH at SOUTH
South 13, North 4

SOUTH at NORTH
North 9, South 5

NORTH vs. SOUTH
South 18, North 13

SoCon Saturday

Samford 58, Georgia Southern 50
Western Carolina 83, UNC-Greensboro 73
College of Charleston 73, Furman 54
Davidson 73, Chattanooga 59
Appalachian State 68, Elon 62
Wofford 74, The Citadel 60

Davidson Preview: Hit The Road

The Mocs have collected five road wins already this year, including a very nice set of three conference road wins. The problem is that three of the last five road games have ended very very badly. Try an average loss in those three games of 87-57.

Ouch.

So what happens now, as the Mocs take to the road for five of their final seven games?

It all begins at Davidson on Saturday night. The Wildcats have been struggling a bit, losing seven out of eight earlier in January. But then last Saturday, everything turned around. The Wildcats beat College of Charleston, then went on the road and took out Georgia Southern and Samford. Now, they've won three in a row, and are back in the race for fourth in the South at the minimum, and with a big run, maybe a shot at third.

The good news for the Mocs? Davidson hasn't won a game against a D1 team by more than 16 points this year. The Mocs haven't lost a game that was decided by less than 16 since December 30 against Georgia State. The Mocs actually have only lost four games by less than twenty points this year. They are 2-6 in games decided by 20 points or more this year. They are 12-4 in games decided by 19 or fewer. So the Mocs have success in closer games- as we all know.

Nik Cochran had been the Wildcats best player recently until the Wildcats upset the Cougars. He scored 21 that day, following up a 21 point game against The Citadel. That was his seventh straight game in double figures. Since then, he scored two against Georgia Southern and six against Samford. Was the pressure of his sudden stardom too much for him? Will he return to his old self now that he is back in Belk Arena?

JP Kuhlman has scored in double digits in nine straight games. During this three game winning streak, Kuhlman has averaged 16.7 points per game. He is shooting 35.4% from three point range. He is shooting 40.4% from the field, and 81% from the free throw line. Kuhlman also averages three assists per game.

Jake Cohen had been the Wildcats best player over the first two months of the season. But since the calendar turned to 2011, he has struggled, scoring just 9.6 points per game. He has fouled out three times during that stretch of eleven games, and picked up four fouls three other times. Cohen can be a force, and has continued to rebound well, but he is just not scoring the way he was in 2010. On the year, he is averaging 12.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds.

Brendan McKillop, like Keegan Bell, was nominated for the Bob Cousy Award for the best point guard in the country. However, I would say that McKillop has been the most disappointing one of the bunch. He is averaging 2.3 assists and 1.5 turnovers. He is also averaging 9.3 points per game and 2.4 rebounds.

De'Mon Brooks has been a key player for the Wildcats during their three game winning streak. Brooks scored 11.7 points per game during this stretch. He is also averaging seven rebounds per game. He's been a very good player, and one of the more important players for the Wildcats during this stretch. He's played nearly 23 minutes per game during this stretch.

Davidson is 116th in the country in rebounding. They are 147th in the country in scoring, but just 210th in shooting. Of course, the Mocs are not playing good defense. Many teams have been shooting over 50 percent against the Mocs, even if that was not their norm.

The Mocs played really bad basketball on Thursday night. They turned the ball over too much. They did not play good defense. They did not rebound well. It's hard to imagine that they play that poorly again, particularly coming off of a win and going on the road into a hostile environment. They are such a good rebounding team, but their struggles in that area against Georgia Southern show that it can happen.

Davidson has allowed several secondary players to go off for big games against them. They have done OK against the big name player, but not against the secondary players. This means that Wattad may struggle some, but Taylor, Bell, Jefferson, and Early all have a chance to have big games.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. After getting outrebounded Thursday night, will the Mocs come back with a fire in their belly for rebounding? The Mocs need to dominate the boards by about their SoCon average of eight to have any real shot at winning this thing.
--The effort. This is related. The Mocs need to avoid getting blown out and see if they can pull off another close game. If they come with the effort, they should be able to keep it close, unlike what happened against Wofford and Furman.
--First ten minutes. The Mocs got mauled by Furman and Wofford early and were never in the game. They need to play those first ten minutes and still be in the game. If they are, then they could have a chance all the way until the end. Davidson needs to come out early and take control and make the Mocs doubt.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Beat Davidson on the road? YES!
--Start planning out how we beat Western Carolina and clinch this division.
--Celebrate being 11-2 in SoCon play for the first time since 1994-95.
--Wonder if our KenPom ranking will finally start going back up.
--Wonder how far up our RPI will go.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Think that we may not win another road game.
--Wonder how far down our RPI will drop.
--Start trying to figure out how we come up with one win against Western Carolina or Appalachian State to put us in better position in the division.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, and remember that tomorrow will be another day.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Wattad will score in double figures but will be controlled by the Wildcats defense.
--Jefferson and Early will be the teams two leading scorers for the Mocs.
--Kuhlman, Cochran, and Brooks will all have good games for the Wildcats, scoring in double figures.
--The Mocs will rebound much better.
--Mocs 78, Davidson 71. Bell will control the game with his tempo, and will score more than his share. The Mocs will come up with a lot of assists like they've been doing lately. They look more and more like they are capable of winning a road game like this. Davidson does not look like they are capable of blowing the Mocs out, so the Mocs find a way to win in the end. Should be an absolutely tremendous basketball game.

GO MOCS!

Pomeroy's Rankings

OK- let's talk about Pomeroy's rankings a little bit.

I get it. We don't beat teams by a lot. And the Mocs tend to get beaten down when they lose. This leads to a ranking system that relies on point differential to put the Mocs lower in the rankings than one that does not take that into account.

But- how can the Mocs be behind Elon, a team they beat twice? How can they be behind The Citadel, a team they beat on the road?

If they could get ahead of those two teams, then I would have a lot less problem with their ranking according to Pomeroy. It just doesn't make sense when you look at the rankings that the Mocs would be that far down, as the only team with double digit conference wins so far. Of course, these are also based on the out of conference schedule. The Mocs are one of four teams in the SoCon with a winning record overall, and yet are ranked ninth according to Pomeroy.

Also, his rankings give the Mocs just a 12% chance of beating Davidson, and a 14% chance of beating Western Carolina, not to mention a 21% chance of beating Appalachian State. I just don't think the Mocs should be considered that much of an underdog in these upcoming games. If the Mocs can take one of these road games, maybe they will move up in the rankings a lot. We'll have to wait and see.

I normally think Pomeroy does a good job with his rankings, but it doesn't seem to be doing a great job of ranking the Mocs right now because of their tendency to play close games.

GO MOCS!

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 85
2) Furman 108
3) Wofford 146
4) Chattanooga 185
5) Davidson 188
6) Western Carolina 203
7) Appalachian State 227
8) The Citadel 241
9) Elon 266
10) Samford 282
11) UNC-Greensboro 294
12) Georgia Southern 339

SoCon Rank: 19

Predicted Overall Record: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Record: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 85
2) Furman 111
3) Wofford 116
4) Davidson 162
5) Western Carolina 182
6) Appalachian State 223
7) The Citadel 236
8) Elon 242
9) Chattanooga 281
10) UNC-Greensboro 291
11) Samford 307
12) Georgia Southern 325

SoCon Rank: 20

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Record: 11-7

GO MOCS!

Mocs 75, Georgia Southern 66

First the bad news.

The Mocs were terrible. They were outrebounded by Georgia Southern, the 321st ranked rebounding team in the country. The Mocs collected just two offensive rebounds.

The Mocs turned the ball over nineteen times.

They allowed Georgia Southern to shoot 54.9% from the floor, including 50% from three point range.

For the third consecutive game, the Mocs built up a lead over 15 points, and watched it get whittled away down to almost nothing.

Now the good news.

The Mocs forced twenty turnovers from Georgia Southern, and those turnovers lead to 25 points.

The Mocs shot 59.1% from the floor, including 63.2% from three point range.

The Mocs had 21 assists on 26 made baskets.

And the won.

In the end, there's not much else to say. The Mocs found a way to come up with the win yet again. And there never seemed to really be any doubt about it. I know the lead got trimmed to three late, but there was never really any doubt.

Omar Wattad and Ricky Taylor lead the way with 19 points. Chris Early scored 13, including five big ones in the final two minutes. Keegan Bell finished with 12 points and nine assists, and just three turnovers.

Bell is one of the top point guards in the conference. He leads the conference in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. This guy doesn't get nearly enough credit for all that he has done to lead the Mocs this year.

Taylor is also really turning into a great scorer. I said earlier in the year that Taylor was turning into my favorite player on this team (along with DeAntre Jefferson), and here over the last couple of weeks, he has really earned that title. He has simply been brilliant lately. He's got to keep it up.

Now comes the stretch that defines the season. These next seven games are TOUGH. These three conference road games (Davidson, Western Carolina, and Appalachian State) will define how these Mocs are remembered, possibly. If they win two games on this road trip, they will likely be division champs.

Down to two more wins in a row from officially clinching the division. Down to 5-2 from accomplishing my preseason goals of getting to 17 D1 wins.

To reach those goals, they have to play better defense. That is an absolute must for this team. I'm not sure if they are capable of it or not, because they have not shown it recently. Got to find a way to play better defense over this stretch.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 10-2
2) Western Carolina 6-5
3) Appalachian State 5-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 4-7
5) Elon 4-8
6) Samford 3-8

SOUTH
1) College of Charleston 9-2
2) Furman 9-3
3) Wofford 9-3
4) The Citadel 5-6
5) Davidson 5-7
6) Georgia Southern 0-11

Battle of North vs. South

NORTH at SOUTH
South 12, North 3

SOUTH at NORTH
North 9, South 5

NORTH vs. SOUTH
South 17, North 12

SoCon Thursday

Chattanooga 75, Georgia Southern 66
College of Charleston 79, Wofford 54
Furman 59, The Citadel 55
Davidson 62, Samford 49

Georgia Southern Preview: Remember the Panthers

Georgia Southern is 0-10 in SoCon play, and has won just one game all season against a D1 opponent. They are ranked 340 out of 345 in RPI. They are 0-13 on the road on the season.

So what's to be scared of?

Well, their lone win was a two point win in overtime. Over Georgia State.

Yes, that Georgia State.

Yes, the one that beat the Mocs in the Dr Pepper Classic Championship Game in McKenzie Arena.

Uh-oh.

The Mocs should be at least a little nervous about that. A team that killed them with shooting...also shot over 50 percent against Georgia Southern. A team that held us to very average shooting allowed the Eagles to shoot 56 percent from the floor. A team that shot the ball well from three point range against us was held to 27.6% shooting from three point range against the Eagles.

What are the odds it happesn again? Probably not good. The Eagles have 9 freshman, 1 sophomore, 2 juniors, and 3 seniors on their roster. Two of the three seniors have not played this year. In other words, this team is very very young. They had a good recruiting class last year, and have a good one coming in this year. They are slowly going to improve.

But in the here and now, they are not very good. Ben Drayton III is their best player. He plays about 38 minutes a game. He is averaging 15.4 points per game, but is a terrible three point shooter, making less than 25 percent. He shoots nearly 49 percent from the floor though. For a 5-10 guard, he has great ability to make shots inside the three point line, but just can't make the long range jumper. He also leads the team in assists with 4.1 per game. He also averages 3.2 rebounds per game. Again- that's not bad for a 5-10 guard.

The Eagles have four players in double figures. Eric Ferguson, Rory Spencer, and Jelani Hewitt all average in double figures. Ferguson has 13.5 points per game, and 5.6 rebounds per game. Spencer averages 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. Hewitt averages 10.0 points per game, and 3.9 rebounds, along with 2.7 assists.

Marvin Baynham played well coming off the bench against Davidson. He collected eight rebounds and had seven points. He has only had two other games where he played that well- Western Carolina on 1-5 (8 points, 7 rebounds), and College of Charleston on 12-4 (10 and 11).

Of course, Drayton is where it starts. He has scored in double figures in every game except for one (a 99-54 loss to Cincinnati). He also collected five steals against College of Charleston is the 65-61 loss to the Cougars at Georgia Southern last week. Drayton has a ton of potential.

The big advantage for the Mocs comes on the boards. The Mocs rank 15th in the country in rebounds per game. Georgia Southern ranks 321st. Georgia Southern also is 205th in scoring and 124th in field goal percentage. They normally start four guards, and play a slightly slower tempo.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebound. The Mocs should be able to pound the glass in this game at will. The Eagles play a smaller lineup, and are not a particularly good rebounding team to begin with. The Mocs need to dominate on the glass.
--Focus. The huge four game road trip has not started yet for the Mocs. It starts Saturday. Put the Georgia State tape in and see how the Eagles beat them. That should catch the Mocs attention.
--Inside play. Can Georgia Southern withstand the pounding? Chris Early, DeAntre Jefferson, Jahmal Burroughs, and Jeremy Saffore are terrible match-ups for the Eagles to try to match up to. The Mocs need to completely dominate the inside game, and let that open up the outside shot.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Be happy about the guaranteed winning record in SoCon play.
--Hope that Omar Wattad's back will be healthy enough for him to play a quality game this Saturday against Davidson.
--Start worrying about the road trip and what the Mocs record will be when they play Wofford and Furman at home in about two and a half weeks.
--Remember a time when Georgia Southern was actually one of the better South Division teams in the SoCon.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Try to remind myself that this team has been maddeningly inconsistent all season long. This is just another example of it.
--REALLY start worrying about the road trip and what the Mocs record will be when they play Wofford and Furman at home in about two and a half weeks.
--Wonder if Georgia Southern's performances against Davidson and College of Charleston just were the precursors for this performance and the start of a nice run in the second half of the SoCon schedule.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, wake up mad in the middle of the night, take another deep breath, and remind myself that tomorrow is another day.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Keegan Bell and Ben Drayton III will be an interesting match-up. They will have a shooting contest at some point.
--The Mocs inside game will complete dominate.
--The Mocs will jump out to a big early lead- but let Georgia Southern sneak back into the game, causing some anxious moments in the second half.
--Mocs 81, Georgia Southern 64. The Mocs will jump out to a 20 point lead again, and let Georgia Southern trim the lead to 8 early in the second half. But then the Mocs will get rolling again. This will be a relatively easy win, which means Wattad will play about 25 minutes, and rest his back so that he will be OK for the Davidson game. This will be the easiest win the Mocs have had all year against a D1 team.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Standings

The North Division only played tonight, so that's the only division we'll update.

NORTH
1) Chattanooga 9-2
2) Western Carolina 6-5
3) Appalachian State 5-7
4) UNC-Greensboro 4-7
5) Elon 4-8
6) Samford 3-7

TIES: Elon has a better winning percentage than Samford, which is why they are ahead of them. Samford will break the kind of tie tomorrow night. If the Bulldogs beat Davidson they will be tied with UNC-Greensboro. If they lose to the Wildcats, Samford will be in last place by themselves.

GO MOCS!

SoCon Thursday

Western Carolina 74, Elon 58
Appalachian State 80, UNC-Greensboro 78

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Wofford at College of Charleston

This should be fun.

The Terriers and the Cougars battle on ESPNU Thursday night, and the match-up should be tremendous and could go a long way to figuring out who wins the SoCon South, and finishes with the best record in the SoCon, thus clinching an NIT bid even they do not win the SoCon Tournament. Both teams have just two conference losses, and Chattanooga is the only other team with two conference losses.

This is also a match-up of the top two players in the SoCon. The Cougars Andrew Goudelock and the Terriers Noah Dahlman are the two top players in the the conference. Dahlman is averaging 20.6 points per game, while Goudelock averages 23.5. These two obviously will not match-up personally- Dahlman plays down low, and Goudelock plays out around the three point line. But these two players are very good and will be a lot of fun to watch.

Cameron Rundles and Jamar Diggs both score in double figures for the Terriers, while Jeremy Simmons and Donavan Monroe are the other double figure scorers for the Cougars.

Charleston is 41st in the country in scoring, while 26th in field goal percentage. But they are not a good rebounding team at all. Wofford is 67th in scoring and 41st in field goal percentage, while in the Top 50 in assists. The Terriers are not a particularly good rebounding team either.

Tim Johnson, who averages 8.5 rebounds per game, is the top rebounding player in the conference. He is a great rebounder. Simmons will have to do a good job to try to contain Johnson's rebounding ability.

In their last meeting on January 8, Charleston won 77-73. Dahlman and Diggs had 25 and 23. Goudelock had 18, while Monroe and Simmons had 13 each. Charleston outrebounded the Terriers by five. They also shot over 50 percent from the floor. The Cougars committed ten turnovers, while the Terriers committed just eight.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. Will Johnson rebound well? Will Simmons step up to the challenge and rebound well.
--Energy levels. Both teams only go seven deep consistently. Which team will have the most energy at the end of the game to pull out a close one?
--Shooting. Goudelock is a great shooter. Can the Terriers contain him in his home arena?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Goudelock will lead all scorers this time around.
--Dahlman will certainly get his points.
--Rebounding will be tightly contested- but neither team will get a lot of rebounds, as the shooting percentages will be very high.
--College of Charleston 74, Wofford 67. These are two teams that are very similar, but Wofford plays a touch better defense, and is better in the middle than the Cougars, who are better from the outside. But the Cougars have been very good in Charleston this year. They won't lose at home. But they may not be able to beat them again in Chattanooga. Should be a tremendous game.

Super Slate

From today until Saturday's games complete, the SoCon will feature some of the best basketball going. This is a great time to be into SoCon basketball.

UNCG battles Appalachian State in Greensboro and Elon hosts Western Carolina tonight, as all four teams try to get a bye in the North Division.

Tomorrow, Wofford visits College of Charleston- two of the top three teams record-wise, and the top two teams Power Rankings-wise in the whole conference. Davidson goes to Samford in a game that features two teams that are struggling- but both seem to be starting to come around. Furman goes to The Citadel in a game that could get the Bulldogs back into the race for third in the South, or could possibly push them closer to Davidson for the fifth spot. And yes, Georgia Southern visits the Mocs, in the lone game that appears to be a real dud on the schedule.

On Saturday, the Mocs visits Davidson in a game that could define both teams February. Wofford visits The Citadel in another deeply intriguing game. Furman goes to College of Charleston in another game that could make it very close in the South Division. Samford visits Georgia Southern in a game that looks like a game that the Eagles really could win. Appalachian State at Elon along with UNCG's trip to Western Carolina will further define the bye race in the North.

There are eleven games out of twelve that are almost impossible to forecast who will win. They are great games that will really shape the entire month of February.This ought to be one of the best stretches of games in the SoCon this year.

GO MOCS!

February: Mission Impossible

The longest, toughest stretch of the season awaits the Mocs in February. They have to play five road games over a seven game stretch, and also will play two home games against teams that have already beaten them by more than 25 points. They will also play an ACC team on the road.

This is the Mocs mission, if they choose to accept it: Go out and win this month. Accomplish the team goals that have been set out for the Mocs. They set them for themselves. They have raised the stakes with their play. They have set a lot of goals for themselves.

Easiest Game: Georgia Southern, February 3. The Mocs are playing a team who is winless in SoCon play, even though their lone D1 win was over Georgia State, who beat the Mocs in the Dr Pepper Classic Championship Game. The Eagles are not a particularly good team, and they are ranked 340th in the RPI out of 345 teams. The Mocs should be able to handle this team if they come focused and prepared.

Toughest Game: at Georgia Tech, February 16. This game is not really important in the whole scheme of things....and that makes this a terribly dangerous game. The Mocs have not shown up for several games this year, and this is an OK ACC team on the road, in an out-of-conference game with very little on the line. The Mocs have the potential to get absolutely mauled in this one...and it won't mean one thing. Remember the BracketBuster game against Creighton? A blowout loss that meant nothing. Remember the two games against Western Carolina and Appalachian State to end the 2008 season? The Mocs lost both of them (possibly costing themselves a 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament)- and then won the SoCon Tournament. This game reminds me of those.

Biggest Game: at Western Carolina, February 10. This is the team closest to the Mocs in the standings in the SoCon North. If the Mocs win this game, it will become a much simpler route to winning the North Division. They will own the tiebreaker over the Catamounts. A loss, and suddenly, the tiebreaker is not guaranteed, and the Mocs lead would be trimmed by one game with their very difficult schedule still ahead of them. This game is critical.

Predicted Record: 4-4. The Mocs will beat Georgia Southern, and beat Samford in the season finale. In between, they will split the home games with Furman and Wofford, and go 1-2 in the road games against Davidson, Western Carolina, and Appalachian State. Also, there will be a loss to Georgia Tech. That's how they get there. What does that mean for them. It means that the Mocs will finish with a 12-6 SoCon record. I'm hoping that the Mocs will exceed my expectations again.

What do I want out of this month? A 6-2 mark would match my preseason hopes for this team. That would give them 19 wins, 17 against D1 teams. That would mean that if they won the three SoCon games- they would have 20 D1 wins. And that would probably be enough to get us a 15 seed- and maybe even a 14 seed. That's what I want. A 6-2 mark might also put them in a position to get a CBI invitation even if they can't don't get the automatic NIT bid, or the automatic NCAA bid. That would be huge.

GO MOCS!

RPI Rankings

According to RealTimeRPI.com:

1) College of Charleston 94
2) Furman 112
3) Wofford 145
4) Chattanooga 179
5) Davidson 201
6) Western Carolina 222
7) Appalachian State 231
8) The Citadel 239
9) Elon 256
10) Samford 273
11) UNC-Greensboro 276
12) Georgia Southern 340

SoCon Rank: 21

Predicted Overall Record: 16-15
Predicted SoCon Record: 12-6

GO MOCS!

KenPom Rankings

According to KenPom.com:

1) College of Charleston 102
2) Wofford 103
3) Furman 111
4) Davidson 168
5) Western Carolina 197
6) Elon 215
7) Appalachian State 228
8) The Citadel 240
9) Chattanooga 278
10) UNC-Greensboro 286
11) Samford 302
12) Georgia Southern 329

SoCon Rank: 20

Predicted Overall Record: 15-16
Predicted SoCon Record: 11-7

GO MOCS!