SoCon Teams in Postseason Play

NIT
Tuesday, March 17th  ESPN2
#6 Davidson 70
#3 South Carolina 63
Columbia, SC

CBI
Wednesday, March 18th
Coll. of Charleston 93
Troy 91
Troy, AL

NCAA
Thursday, March 19th CBS
#16 Chattanooga 47
#1 Connecticut 103
Philadelphia, PA

Women’s NIT
Thursday, March 19th
Chattanooga 76
Kentucky 81 OT
Lexington, KY

CIT
Thursday, March 19th
The Citadel 59
Old Dominion 67
Norfolk, VA

Women’s NCAA
Saturday, March 21st ESPN/2
#13 Western Carolina 44
#4 Vanderbilt 73
Albuquerque, NM

CBI Quarterfinals
Monday, March 23rd
Coll. of Charleston 72
Richmond 74
Richmond, VA

NIT 2nd Round
Monday, March 23rd ESPN2
#6 Davidson 68
#2 St. Mary’s 80
Moraga, CA

Tournament Central

First off, let me mention that after many delays, I have added a bunch of stuff to the Tourney Central page (and I will add more tonight)…lots of restaurant listings, etc. Now on to the games!

LIVE STATS LINK – MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

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MEN:
Friday:
Game 1
#4N Appalachian State 86
#5S Georgia Southern 75
ASU kept a comfortable lead of close to double digits for most of the 2nd half. Now they get to take on the 800lb gorilla.

Game 2
#3S College of Charleston 69
#6N UNC Greensboro 56
CofC gets a good lead early and kept it throughout the game.

Session 1 Attendance: 2,586

Game 3
#4S Wofford 55
#5N Elon 62
Just like their women’s team, Elon rises from the ashes to beat the higher seeded team.

Game 4
#3N Samford 57
#6S Furman 52
Samford jumped out to a 27-13 lead and holds on for the win, capping the first night in the men’s tournament that saw 3 of the 4 North division teams picking up wins.

Session 2 Attendance: 2,412

Saturday
Game 5
#1S Davidson 84
#4N Appalachian State 68

Game 6
#2N Western Carolina 48
#3S College of Charleston 67

Game 7
#1N Chattanooga 79
#5N Elon 78

Game 8
#2S The Citadel 67
#3N Samford 77

Sunday
Game 9 – 6:00pm TV: SportSouth
#1S Davidson 52
#3S College of Charleston 59

Game 10 – 8:30pm TV: SportSouth
#1N Chattanooga 81
#3N Samford 70

Monday
Championship Game – 7:00pm TV: ESPN
#1N Chattanooga 80
#3 Coll of Charleston 69

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WOMEN:
Thursday

#8 Appalachian State 63
#9 Furman 60
8th seeded Appalachian State rallied from a 16 point 2nd half deficit to beat 9th seeded Furman, 63-60, ASU took the lead with less than 90 seconds to play

#7 UNC Greensboro 83
#10 Wofford 64
UNCG jumped on Wofford right out of the gate and never let up.

#6 Georgia Southern 54
#11 Elon 57
Elon gets the first upset of the tournament. They had led by double figures for most of the game and then held on for the win.

Session 1 Attendance: 1,533

Friday

#2 Samford 58
#7 UNC Greensboro 49
UNCG had some fight early and wouldn’t go away late, but Samford’s consistent effort pulled them through relatively easily.

#1 Chattanooga 86
#8 Appalachian State 53
Pretty much what was expected from the #1 vs #8 matchup.

Session 2 Attendance: 1,841

Saturday

Game 6
#4 College of Charleston 65
#5 Davidson 54
CofC used a 7-1 at the end of the first half to get a small cushion and then kept that small lead the entire 2nd half.

Game 7
#3 Western Carolina 71
#11 Elon 52
Elon never led, but made it a game for most of the first half. In the 2nd half, WCU just kept pulling away, setting up a clash of the top four seeds in the semi’s on Sunday.

Sunday

Game 8 – Noon TV: SportSouth
#1 Chattanooga 51
#4 College of Charleston 53

Game 9 – 2:30pm TV: SportSouth
#2 Samford 53
#3 Western Carolina 66

Monday

Championship Game – 3:00pm TV: SportSouth
Game 8/9 winners

SoConFans…Denied

For the first time in 5 years, we have been denied a credential to the SoCon Tournament.  I guess the work here doesn’t merit the status anymore.  Disappointing to say the least.

But fear not, fans of the SoCon will still get great coverage here during the regular season and tournament…this year, next year and every year after that.

Thanks to all of you that have expressed kind words in regard to our hard work here at SoConFan…we take a lot of pride in keeping you up to date with the lastest on SoCon men’s and women’s basketball.

It’s On, Baby!

The Bart Bellairs Invitational Tournament (BBIT)* field has been set (winners pass on to the SoCon Tournament, starting on Saturday)…

Friday, March 6
Game 1 – (4N) Appalachian State (9-11) vs. (5S) Georgia Southern (5-15), 2:00 p.m.
Game 2 – (3S) College of Charleston (15-5) vs. (6N) UNC Greensboro (4-16), 30 mins. after Game 1
Game 3 – (4S) Wofford (12-8) vs. (5N) Elon (7-13), 7:00 p.m.
Game 4 – (3N) Samford (9-11)vs. (6S) Furman (4-16), 30 mins. after Game 3

and so has the Wofford Invitational Tournament (WIT)**…

Thursday, March 5
Game 1: No. 8 Appalachian State vs. No. 9 Furman, 3 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 UNC Greensboro vs. No. 10 Wofford, 30 mins. after Game 1
Game 3: No. 6 Georgia Southern vs. No. 11 Elon, 30 mins. after Game 2

*The opening round of the SoCon Men’s Tournament has been (jokingly) named the BBIT after former VMI coach Bart Bellairs. Heck, you can’t call it Military Elimination Day anymore…VMI is gone and The Citadel has the 2nd best record in the conference.

**The opening round of the SoCon Women’s Tournament has been named after Wofford, the only team in SoCon history to record an 0-20 conference record.

All in fun folks, best of luck to all participants. One of my favorite things about being in the Southern Conference is that it is not only the oldest tournament in the NCAA, but that ALL teams get to participate.

21 games, 5 days…two champions!

Do or Die Time…

The Citadel (20-11, 15-5S) 74
Georgia Southern (8-21, 5-15S) 53
FINAL
(#5S Georgia Southern / #2S The Citadel)

Davidson (25-6, 18-2S) 90
Elon (10-19, 7-13N) 78
FINAL
(#1S Davidson / #5N Elon)

Furman (6-23, 4-16S) 55
Wofford (16-13, 12-8S) 80
FINAL
(#6S Furman / #4S Wofford)

FINAL STANDINGS AND SEEDS:

North Division
1. X Chattanooga 11-9
2. X Western Carolina 11-9
3. X Samford 9-11
4. X Appalachian State 9-11
5. X Elon 7-13
6. X UNC Greensboro 4-16

South Division
1. X Davidson 18-2
2. X The Citadel 15-5
3. X Coll. of Charleston 15-5
4. X Wofford 12-8
5. X Georgia Southern 5-14
6. X Furman 4-16

2008-09 SCSMA All-Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Team

First Team
Jade Hughes, College of Charleston
Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga
Mercedes Robinson, Davidson
Lee Stephens, Furman
Emily London, Samford

Second Team
Brittany Mixon, Appalachian State
Tonia Gerty, College of Charleston
Erin Ogan, Chattanooga
Savannah Hill, Samford
Brooke Johnson, Western Carolina

Player of the Year – Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga

Freshman of the Year - Tiara Gause, Elon

Coach of the Year – Mike Morris, Samford

Cup Standings Update

The German and Commissioner’s Cup Standings have been updated thru Indoor Track.

On the men’s side, ASU has a commanding 11 point lead over Furman.

On the women’s side, newcomer Samford has 7 point lead over Furman.

Click the “Cup Standings” tab (above) for complete details.

Next Monday, March 9th, we will add Men’s and Women’s basketball and Wrestling to the tallies.

After that, it will be a couple of months until Outdoor Track, Tennis, Golf, Baseball and Softball will be completed.

Monday Night Special

Well, the Saturday Showdown settled the North division, but the South division will come down to a Monday Night Special.

7:00pm
Davidson (24-6, 17-2S) @ Elon (10-18, 7-12N)
Furman (6-22, 4-15S) @ Wofford (15-13, 11-8S)

7:30pm
The Citadel (19-11, 14-5S) @ Georgia Southern (8-20, 5-14S)

It’s simple…if The Citadel wins, they get the #2 seed in the South…if they lose, College of Charleston gets it.

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One last scenario…

If GSU loses to The Citadel and Furman wins at Wofford, the following would happen:

GSU and Furman would be tied at 5-15 and they split the season series.
Each team would be 0-2 to Davidson, CofC and The Citadel…and both teams would be 1-1 versus Wofford.

Honestly, I can’t remember this ever happening and I am not totally sure what the next tiebreak is…a coin flip? Some sort of look at the North Division?

If this was for the division title or for a bye, I would spend more time trying to figure it out…but since it is who to see who will be last in the South, well, excuse me if I don’t just wait for the SoCon to tell us who gets which seed. I know, I know…this ignorance should forfeit my self-described title of “King of the If It Ended Today Bracket”.

Saturday Showdowns

Here is an hour by hour “what to watch for” on Saturday…

(SoConFans will be live blogging updates to the bye standing throughout the day)

1:00pm WOMEN: Georgia Southern (16-12, 11-8) @ Appalachian State (7-21, 6-13) SoCon.TV

(If GSU wins, they earn the 5th bye in the women’s tournament)

GSU (16-13, 11-9) 59 — ASU (8-21, 7-13) 68

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2:00pm MEN: Georgia Southern (8-19, 5-13S) @ Davidson (23-6, 16-2S)   Wildcat All-Access

(If Davidson wins, they clinch the South Division title and the #1 seed)

GSU (8-20, 5-14S) 56 — Davidson (24-6, 17-2S) 99 Davidson clinches the #1 seed and South division title.

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3:00pm WOMEN: Davidson (11-17, 10-9) @ Furman (12-16, 6-13)   Furman All-Access

(Davidson will being watching the GSU score.  If the Eagles fall and DC wins, they can take the 5th bye from GSU)

Davidson (12-17, 11-9) 66 — Furman (12-17, 6-14) 63.  Davidson takes the 5th bye from GSU.

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3:00pm WOMEN: Chattanooga (20-8, 16-3) @ Samford (21-5, 16-3) SoCon.TV

(This one is for all the marbles, the winner takes the SoCon women’s title and the top seed in the tournament.  If Samford win, it will be their first SoCon title in as many tries, if Chattanooga wins, it will be their unprecedented 10th regular season title in a row)

Chattanooga (21-8, 17-3) 72 — Samford (21-6, 16-4) 48.  Lady Mocs win their 10th straight title and take the #1 seed.

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3:00pm MEN: Samford (N) @ Appalachian State (N)   SoCon.TV

(ASU still has a chance for the 2nd bye in the North.  They need to take care of Samford and then they will be pulling for Chattanooga against WCU)

Samford (14-15, 9-11N) 72 – ASU (12-17, 9-11N) 63.  Samford clinches the #3N seed, ASU falls to thr #4N seed.  WCU clinches the #2N seed.

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4:00pm WOMEN: Wofford (5-22, 3-16) @ Western Carolina (17-11, 13-6)   Catamount All-Access

(CofC will be watching this game closely, if WCU wins, they will take the #3 seed from the Cougars)

Wofford (5-23, 3-17) 55 — WCU (18-11, 14-6) 77 WCU takes the #3 seed from CofC.

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4:00pm MEN: Furman (6-21, 4-14S) @ Coll. of Charleston (22-7, 14-5S)   SportSouth

(CofC needs to get the win and then hope that The Citadel falls later in the evening to Wofford…if that happens, the Cougars will also have to wait until Monday night and hope that GSU can also knock off The Citadel)

Furman (6-22, 4-15S) 58 – Coll. of Charleston (23-7, 15-5S) 69 CofC does all they can to get the #2 seed, now they can only hope that The Citadel loses tonight and on Monday.

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7:00pm MEN: Chattanooga (15-15, 11-8N) @ Western Carolina (N)   Catamount All-Access

(While UC has already secured the North division title and #1 seed, they still can play for the pride of winning the division outright and securing a winning record after an abysmal start.  WCU has much more on the line.  The win gets them the #2 seed in the North and earns them only their 2nd ever regular season SoCon title)

Chattanooga 77 (15-16, 11-9N) — WCU (16-14, 11-9N) 86 WCU shares the North division title with the Mocs.

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7:00pm MEN: Wofford (14-13, 10-8S) @ The Citadel (19-10, 14-4S)   SoCon.TV

(If The Citadel wins, they clinch the #2 seed in the South.  They also still have a faint chance for the division title if Davidson should falter on Saturday and Monday)

Wofford (15-13, 11-8S) 62 — The Citadel (19-11, 14-5S) 55 The Citadel still has another chance to take the #2 seed in the South, but now they have to win it on the road, Monday night at GSU.

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The only other game that will be played on Saturday is Elon @ UNCG.  Unfortunately, that game has no significance in the bye races)

2:00pm MEN: Elon (10-17, 7-11N) @ UNC Greensboro (4-24, 3-16N)   SportSouth

(Not exactly the most thrilling TV matchup for the final weekend.  UNCG has clinched the #6 seed in the North and Elon will either be 4th or 5th)

Elon (10-18, 7-12N) 66 — UNC Greensboro (5-24, 4-16N) 74 Elon takes the #5N seed, UNCG finishes with the #6N seed.

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5:43pm, The Women’s Bracket is now set (see “If It Ended Today” link for the bracket/schedule)

.X Chattanooga 17-3 (21-8)
2. X Samford 16-4 (21-6)
3. X Western Carolina 14-6 (18-11)
4. X Coll. of Charleston 14-6 (21-7)
5. X Davidson 11-9 (12-17)
6. X Georgia Southern 11-9 (16-13)
7. X UNC Greensboro 9-11 (12-17)
8. X Appalachian State 7-13 (8-21)
9. X Furman 6-14 (12-17)
10. X Wofford 3-17 (5-23)
11. X Elon 2-18 (4-25)

5:46pm, The Men’s North Division is now set.

1. X Chattanooga 11-8
2. X Western Carolina 10-9
3. X Samford 9-11
4. X Appalachian State 9-11
5. X Elon 7-12
6. X UNC Greensboro 4-16

(2/27) Women’s Scores & (2/28) Schedule

Elon (4-25, 2-18) 54
UNC Greensboro (12-17, 9-11) 47
A:   333
Game Story
Elon plays for pride in their last regular season game and picks up their 2nd SoCon win. UNCG clinches the #7 seed.

HIGHLIGHT:   Elon
LOWLIGHT:   UNC Greensboro

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Schedule (2/28)
1:00pm
Georgia Southern (16-12, 11-8) @ Appalachian State (7-21, 6-13) SoCon.TV

3:00pm
Davidson (11-17, 10-9) @ Furman (12-16, 6-13)   Furman All-Access
Chattanooga (20-8, 16-3) @ Samford (21-5, 16-3) SoCon.TV

4:00pm
Wofford (5-22, 3-16) @ Western Carolina (17-11, 13-6)   Catamount All-Access

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Women’s Bye Scenarios

With only one game left in the women’s regular season, there are still a lot of issues to be settled in the race for the byes. ..

#1 Chattanooga and #2 Samford

UC and SU, both 16-3, will play on Saturday in Birmingham to determine the SoCon regular season title.  But just as importantly, the game will also decide who will get the #1 and #2 seeds.  Winner takes all.

#3 Coll. of Charleston and #4 Western Carolina

CofC has completed their season at 14-6 and are in the unevniable position of possibly losing their 3-seed without even playing.  WCU (13-6) finishes their season by hosting Wofford.  If they win, they will take the #3 from Charleston.  While CofC and WCU split their regular season matchup,  WCU also split with both #1 UC and #2 SU while CofC was swept by both teams.

#5 Georgia Southern and #6 Davidson

Obviously, if GSU (11-8), wins at ASU, they clinch the 5-seed.  However, if they fall at ASU and Davidson wins at Furman, then DC and GSU would be tied at 11-9.  If this happens, DC would take over the 5th and final bye by virtue of sweeping GSU during the regular season.

(2/26) Men’s Scores & (2/28) Schedule

Wofford (14-13, 10-8S) 84
Coll. of Charleston (22-7, 14-5S) 86
A:   2,836
Game Story
CofC almost squandered a 17 point 2nd half lead, but the final score came on a 3-pointer at the buzzer, so it wasn’t quite as close as the final score indicates.  CofC keeps their dimming bye hopes alive while Wofford is officially eliminated and has clinched the #4 seed in the South.

Chattanooga (15-15, 11-8N) 82
Appalachian State (12-16, 9-10N) 88
A:   1,387
Game Story
Chattanooga, who leads the nation in free throw attempts, had plenty of chance tonight at ASU, but only converted on 19-32 chances at the charity stripe (59.4%).  The win keeps ASU in the bye race, thanks in big part to Donald Sims’ career high 35 points.

Georgia Southern (8-19, 5-13S) 61
Elon (10-17, 7-11N) 75
A:   1,118
Game Story
Elon scored one for North division pride and keeps themselves in the running for 4th place in their division.  GSU just has no offense left in their highly depleted roster.

Samford (13-15, 8-11N) 58
Western Carolina (15-14, 10-9) 65
A:   1,006
Game Story
WCU officially eliminates Samford from the bye race.  The Catamounts now have a Saturday night home finale in which they can not only secure the #2 seed in the North, but also force a tie for the North division title with visiting Chattanooga.  Samford needs a win at ASU on Saturday to avoid falling to 5th place in the division.

Furman (6-21, 4-14S) 54
The Citadel (19-10, 14-4S) 75
A:   4,219
Game Story (no game story available as of “deadline”)
The Citadel runs their winning streak to 11 games and, believe it or not, still has a chance to win the South division (granted, a very, very slim chance) and only a catastrophic collapse will keep them from earning the #2 seed in the South.  Furman finishes out the regular season string in a rivalry game at Wofford.

Additional kudos to The Citadel…great attendance, especially for a game that didn’t feature a Cougar or a Curry!

HIGHLIGHT:   Appalachian State
LOWLIGHT:   Georgia Southern

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Schedule (2/28)
2:00pm
Georgia Southern (S) @ Davidson (23-6, 16-2S)   Wildcat All-Access
Elon (N) @ UNC Greensboro (4-24, 3-16N)   SportSouth

3:00pm
Samford (N) @ Appalachian State (N)   SoCon.TV

4:00pm
Furman (S) @ Coll. of Charleston (S)   SportSouth

7:00pm
Chattanooga (N) @ Western Carolina (N)   Catamount All-Access
Wofford (S) @ The Citadel (S)   SoCon.TV

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Men’s Bye Scenarios

North Division
1. X Chattanooga 11-8
2. Western Carolina 10-9
3. Appalachian State 9-10

South Division
1. Davidson 16-2
2. The Citadel 14-4
3. Coll. of Charleston 14-5

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Thursday night helped clear up the bye picture as Wofford, Elon and Samford were all officially eliminated from the race.  This leaves only ASU and CofC with a chance to earn the 2nd byes in their respective divisions.

Here is a team by team breakdown of the five remaining teams in the bye race.

Davidson

The Wildcats just need to win against either GSU (home) or Elon (away) to wrap up the #1 seed in the South.

The Citadel

To gain the #1 seed in the South, The Citadel would need Davidson to lose their remaining games, while picking up wins against Wofford (home) and GSU (road).

To keep the #2 seed, The Citadel only needs to win one of their two remaining games.

College of Charleston

The only way CofC can get the 2nd bye in the South would be for The Citadel to lose both of their remaining games, while winning their home finale against Furman.  A tie in the standing between CofC and The Citadel would go to the Bulldogs because they swept the season series with the Cougars.

Western Carolina

If WCU wins their home finale against Chattanooga, they get the #2 seed in the North.

Appalachian State

To get the 2nd bye in the North, ASU needs to win their home finale against Samford and have WCU lose to Chattanooga.  The tiebreak (since ASU and WCU split their regular season matchup) would go to ASU because they would have split with division champion Chattanooga, while WCU would have been swept by the Mocs.