Southern Conference Power Rankings
As COVID-19 adjusts the league schedule once again, below are a look at the power rankings so far and some other news and notes you might have missed.
1. Furman (8-3, 2-0 SoCon)--Two wins to open the SoCon by a total of seven points has the Paladins tied atop the league lead. Coming into the week, the Paladins faced a pair of teams with a combined 16-2 record, in both unbeaten Chattanooga and two-loss Mercer. Courtesy of 22 points on the road by Mike Bothwell, and despite only four three-pointers the entire game, the Paladins were able to knock the Mocs from the ranks of the SoCon unbeatens with a 77-73 win in the Scenic City last Wednesday. The Paladins turned around and got the job done in their SoCon home opener Saturday, downing a game Mercer squad, 83-80, in Greenville, as the Bears played their second game without point guard Neftali Alvarez, who also missed the Wofford game, but is expected back this week. The Paladins got a career-high 27 points from senior forward Clay Mounce in the win, while Noah Gurley contributed 23. Furman was slated to face Western Carolina on Wednesday night, but the game was postponed as a result of COVID-19 protocols. Furman will return to action Saturday when it faces VMI at Timmons Arena, with tip-off slated for 2 p.m.
2. Wofford (5-3, 2-0 SoCon)--When Jay McAuley's Terriers have been able to play this season without COVID-19 interruption, the Terriers have looked like a team that will be in competition for the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles. The Terriers, like Furman, have gotten a pair of impressive league wins to open Southern Conference play, as the Terriers opened on the road with a 78-65 win over Mercer, who was without its point guard Neftali Alvarez, and without him, the Terriers were locked in defensively and made the Bears seemingly look lost at times offensively, especially down the stretch in the second half. Storm Murphy was a big part of the story in Macon, as he netted his 1,000th point and scored 16 points, but was also 0-for-6 from three-point range, however, the Terriers were outstanding defensively by limiting the Bears to just 39.7% from the field for the game. Samford is a team that Wofford has somehow done Houdini act after Houdini act to escape over the past four years in three out of the past four meetings at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Arena, and this past Saturday's contest was no different, as Wofford needed to shoot a scorching 63.3% from the field so far. Storm Murphy continued to show why he is one of the premier point guards in all of college basketball, posting his first-career double-double, with 23 points and 11 assists, leading five Terriers in double figures en route to a 94-84 win over the Bulldogs. Wofford has a huge showdown at home against UNC Greensboro on Wednesday night at Jerry Richardson Indoor Arena. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m. Saturday's scheduled game against East Tennessee State has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocol.
3. East Tennessee State (6-4, 2-0 SoCon)--It was only a matter of time before Jason Shay's ETSU Bucs started to figure things out, and the Bucs went on the road and got a huge 71-61 win over co-league favorite UNC Greensboro in the Nexstar Southern Conference Game of the week this past Saturday. The Bucs put together arguably their most complete game of the season against the Spartans, and it was junior guard Serrell Smith that scored a career-high 16 points, which included going 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range in helping lead the Bucs to the all-important road win. LeDarrius Brewer continued his outstanding play to open the season, as he posted a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, as the Bucs finished the contest connecting on 44.6% from the field and 46.7% from three-point land in the win. While the offense has begun to come to life for Jason Shay's Bucs, the defense remained stout through the first two games of conference play in wins over Western Carolina and UNC Greensboro, holding the Spartans to just 32.8% shooting in a road win, while converting 19 Catamount turnovers into 20 points in an 86-78 league win. The defending champion Bucs have won 18 of their past 20 Southern Conference regular-season games. ETSU has paused all basketball related activities due to COVID-19 protocols.
4. Mercer (7-3, 0-2 SoCon)--Mercer has big expectations under the direction of second-year head coach Greg Gary, but had a tough slate to open Southern Conference play by hosting perennial league power Wofford to open the SoCon season last week, while having to travel to Furman this past weekend. Add to that the Bears had to do so without starting point guard--arguably one of the biggest impact player of any in the SoCon to this point--and it made those two aforementioned assignments all the more tougher. That said, the Bears played well at times against, but looked gassed by the end of the 78-65 SoCon-opening loss to the Terriers. After falling behind by as many as 18 points in the second half in Greenville, the Bears battled all the way back with a chance to tie the game on a Felipe Haase three-point attempt at the buzzer, which fell short, as the Paladins held on for an 83-80 win. Ross Cummings continued his strong play and to show why he was such a key missing piece for Gary's Bears last season, posting 22 points in the road loss to the Paladins. Cummings is averaging 16.6 PPG so far this season and ranks fourth in the SoCon in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 45.8% from long range. The Bears had their game against The Citadel slated for Wednesday night halted due to COVID-19 protocols. Mercer will return to SoCon action Saturday when it travels to UNCG.
5. UNC Greensboro (5-4, 0-1 SoCon)--UNC Greensboro and head coach Wes Miller had their four-game winning streak halted on Saturday, as East Tennessee State handed the Spartans their first Southern Conference loss of the season, including their third-straight league regular-season loss dating back to last season. The Spartans continue to struggle offensively early on this season. The Spartans' 71.0 PPG this season ranks them 209th out of 357 NCAA Division I teams, however, its been defense that has been the calling card for Wes Miller's Spartans over the past four years. That hasn't changed, but shooting the basketball at least a little better from the field, and also preseason player of the year Isaiah Miller (19.1 PPG) is going to need some help with the scoring load if the Spartans are going to live up to preseason expectations. The talent is certainly there to do so, however. UNCG is on the road for a huge game tomorrow night when the Spartans invade Spartanburg to take on Wofford.
6. Chattanooga (9-2, 0-2 SoCon)--After getting off to the best start in school history, the Mocs have had a pair of hiccups to open Southern Conference play, with a 77-73 home loss to Furman to open league play, while dropping an 84-79 road contest at VMI to open the New Year. The good news is All-SoCon guard David Jean-Baptiste has returned to the fold for Lamont Paris' Mocs. The bad news is UTC is dressing only eight players right now due to a roster that has seemingly been influx all season. Malachi Smith has been one of the real positives for the Mocs this season, and he is the Player of the Month for the league for the month of December. Smith is averaging 16.3 PPG to rank 10th in the SoCon, while leading the SoCon with 11.0 RPG so far this season. The Mocs return to Southern Conference action Wednesday night with an important clash against its closest SoCon rival, Samford. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m. at McKenzie Arena. This game is important for Chattanooga, which can ill-afford an 0-3 start to league play.
7. Samford (5-4, 1-1 SoCon)--"Bucky ball" is alive and well in the Magic City, as Bucky McMillan's Samford Bulldogs have been an exciting revelation through the early portion of the Southern Conference hoops season. Samford's 86.9 PPG so far through its first nine games ranks second to only The Citadel in points per game. The Bulldogs have found points from a lot of different areas on the floor, and have one of the league's most versatile guards, in Myron Gordon (17.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG), as well as one of the most underrated big men in the league, in Jalen Dupree (8.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG). McMillan's Bulldogs gave the Terriers all they wanted in Spartanburg last Saturday night, and the relentless pressing style is very similar to The Citadel, only dare I say even a quicker pace. Samford and Chattanooga will be meeting for the 104th time on the hardwood on Wednesday night, with UTC holding the 63-40 all-time series edge.
8. Western Carolina (7-3, 0-1 SoCon)--Western Carolina has had two games slated for this week against both Furman and The Citadel both postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Catamounts opened SoCon play with an 86-78 road loss at East Tennessee State, marking their 29th loss in their last 30 meetings against the Bucs. That being said, it was the second-straight time the Catamounts have let one slip away in Johnson City, as the Bucs put together one of their best halves of the season to post a win in their Southern Conference opener. It's not been the start that Mason Faulkner had hoped to get off to this season for the Catamounts, however, he's still averaging 15.9 PPG and ranks third in the league in assists--per-game, dishing out 4.5 helpers-per-game. Matt Halvorsen has really stepped up and been the Catamounts top player to this point in the season, averaging 16.0 PPG, knocking down a league-best 41 triples, while shooting them at a 45.1% clip so far this season. The Catamounts have enough weapons to be a factor in the title race this season.
9, VMI (6-5, 1-1 SoCon)--Dan Earl has his best team yet in Lexington, but like almost everyone else in the league, had its midweek game postponed vs East Tennessee State in what would have shaped up to be a very interesting Southern Conference clash. In its last outing against Chattanooga, in what was an 84-79 win at Cameron Hall against Chattanooga. The Keydets could be this year’s version of the Southern Conference surprise package, much like Mercer was last season. The Keydets are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Dan Earl, who has arguably his best team this season.
Furman will put what has become a 18-game Timmons Arena home winning streak on the line when it faces the VMI Keydets in a key SoCon showdown. The Keydets were one of the team’s that put Furman’s long homecourt winning streak to the test late last January, as the Paladins were forced to hold off the Keydets for a 74-72 overtime win. It was Furman’s 10th-straight win over the Keydets. Saturday’s meeting between the Paladins and Keydets will mark the 101st all-time meeting between the two program’s, with Furman holding a 66-34 all-time series edge. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the Paladins are 69-11 at Timmons Arena during that span on their on-campus home floor. Earl’s Keydets put on a solid shooting display in this past Saturday’s win over the Mocs at Cameron Hall. Both center Jake Stephens and guard Greg Parham got 2021 off to a strong start, posting 25 points piece, as the duo combined for 50 of the 84 points.
10. The Citadel (7-0, 0-0 SoCon)--It probably seems like I am being completely cruel to The Citadel Bulldogs, but I am really not. It's just that the Bulldogs have yet to play anyone with a pulse yet. One player that has played exceptionally well to start the season Hayden Brown, who leads the league averaging 21.2 PPG, while teammate Kaiden Rice is third in the SoCon in scoring, averaging 18.6 PPG. The Citadel is one of a handful of teams remaining in the nation that have yet to take a loss, and all three of its slated SoCon games have been postponed. The Bulldogs last played a game back on Dec. 22, knocking off Presbyterian, 94-82.
SoCon All-Conference Teams so far
First Team
G-Mike Bothwell (Furman)
G-Isaiah Miller (UNCG)
G-LeDarrius Brewer (ETSU)
F-Clay Mounce (Furman)
G-Storm Murphy (Wofford)
Second Team
G-Matt Halvorsen (Western Carolina)
G-Greg Parham (VMI)
G-Malachi Smith (Chattanooga)
F-Noah Gurley (Furman)
G-Myron Gordon (Samford)
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