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| Battle of last two tournament champions kicks off the final month of the regular-season in SoCon Hoops |
The month of February comes into focus now, and it's the same four teams that appear to be vying for the Southern Conference basketball crown, with reigning champion East Tennessee State leading the way, followed by UNC Greensboro, Wofford and Furman will once again be the teams chasing down the Southern Conference regular-season title.
Who could play spoiler?:
One of the teams that could play the role of "spoiler" in the Southern Conference race as we head into the final month of the season is Dan Earl's VMI club. The Keydets already own a big win over Furman in late January, and could have had another win over one of the league's top teams, in Wofford, had it not been for Storm Murphy's heroics in a mid-January matchup in a game that saw the Terriers survive to get an 82-80 win in Lexington.
Monster Monday matchup:
The matchup everyone will have an eye on as we enter the final month of the season will be a rematch of the 2020 SoCon Tournament championship game, as Wofford and East Tennessee State will square off against each other in Spartanburg. The last time the Bucs traveled to the Upstate of South Carolina, ETSU suffered its lone loss of the Southern Conference season, dropping a 78-66 game at Furman playing without leading scorer LeDarrius Brewer.
The Bucs come in having won three-straight against the Terriers since Wofford knocked ETSU out of the 2019 Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville en route to completing one of the more remarkable campaigns in Southern Conference history, completing the season wire-to-wire unbeaten.
ETSU is only improving as the season progresses, and heads into Monday's clash at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium coming off one of its signature performances of the season, downing The Citadel 112-84, as the Bucs had three players score 20 or more points in what was an offensive explosion Saturday. Serrel Smith Jr. (21 points), LA Brewer (20 pts) and Damari Monsanto (20 pts) helped the Bucs to their sixth SoCon win in seven games, as ETSU remained one of the hotter teams in the SoCon.
Led by Tray Hollowell's career-best 22 points, Wofford was able to improve to 10-5 overall and 7-2 in SoCon play with a narrow 72-69 win over Mercer on Saturday at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The Bucs had an astounding 62 points in the second half in the win over the Bulldogs.
Hottest team in the SoCon heading into February:
That distinction easily goes to the UNC Greensboro Spartans, who enter the month of love winners of six-straight and looking every bit like the team picked to win it by the coaches.
The Spartans have been up to their old ways, using defense to create offense, and Isaiah Miller continues to come up big for the Blue and Gold. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring and leads the conference in steals going into the final month of the season. He recorded a season-high seven steals and scored a game-high 25 points to lead UNC Greensboro to its sixth-straight win, which was a 76-59 win over VMI at the Greensboro Coliseum Saturday evening. The win was also UNCG's 12th of the season, as the Spartans improved to 12-5 overall and 6-2 In league action with Saturday's win over the Keydets.
The Spartans return to action in search of their seventh-straight win in on Wednesday evening, as they will be on the road at McAlister Field House to take on The Citadel. As a team, the Spartans currently rank second in the SoCon in scoring defense (66.9 PPG), second in field goal percentage defense (41.0%), and third in steals (7.2 SPG).
Like it did against Wofford, the Spartans will play one of the league's top four teams in the pecking order within a 48-hour span when they play Furman in Greenville on Feb. 8 and in Greensboro on Feb. 10. The Spartans and Paladins were originally supposed to play on Jan. 25 in a nationally-televised clash (ESPNU), but the game was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Furman program.
We will find out a lot about the identity of the Spartans in the early part of the month, as we will the Furman and Wofford, as all three have a front-loaded February, with tough tests out of the gates.
Furman's February fate:
The next three games on the Furman schedule are its most daunting of the season, with contests slated against Wofford (Feb. 6), UNC Greensboro (Feb. 8) and UNC Greensboro (Feb. 10). The Paladins, who were the preseason favorites as selected by the media heading into the season, have back-to-back matchups with the coaches' pick to win the league in a 48-hour span.
The Paladins were put in that predicament by positive tests within the program. Every team has been affected by a COVID-19 stoppages this season, and adjusting to those challenges will ultimately end up deciding the champion.
When it comes to deciding the SoCon champion, one thing Furman will have in its favor going down the stretch of the regular-season is experience. No team in the SoCon has a more experienced starting five than the Paladins.
Furman enters the month of February on a high note, as it used five double-figure scoring performances yesterday, as the Paladins were 75-69 victors on the road at Western Carolina. It was one of their more complete efforts on both ends of the floor in terms of efficiency, and the Paladins put together one of their best offensive halves of the season, connecting on 68% of their shots in the second half to come out with the six-point road win.
In the next three games, Furman could either see its stock rise or fall in the Southern Conference pecking order. The Paladins might well still be the favorites, and have arguably the best starting five, however, finding a way to get its bench more involved and finding a way through the toughest February of any of the SoCon's top four will ultimately prove if they are a contender or pretender when we arrive in Asheville next month.
Entering the final month of the regular-season, Furman, which was forced to move three of its games slated to be played downtown at "The Well" have been moved back to Timmons Arena due to COVID-19 protocol, is the lone league unbeaten on its home floor heading into the final month. The Paladins have won 19 in a row regular-season games in their on-campus facility.
While the next three games are tough, it's not like the end of the month will be easy either, as Furman still has a trip to Mercer (Feb. 20) and Wofford (Feb. 27) facing them in the coming weeks. It's why Furman's tough non-conference slate, which included games at Winthrop, at Cincinnati and at No. 9Alabama could come in handy in this tough stretch. For Furman, it's no time like the present, and February's chill will either freeze the Paladins in place, or it will chisel them into a refined product by tournament time, ready to Dance for the first time in 41 years.
Point guard prowess:
If there's been one position that has defined SoCon Hoops over the past couple of seasons, it's been without question the point guard position. Wofford's Storm Murphy, UNCG's Isaiah Miller, Mercer's Neftali Alvarez, and VMI's Greg Parham comprise arguably the best contingent of point guards in mid-major basketball, and that's not even including Mason Faulkner, who has seen some struggles as of late, and it's a big reason as to why the Catamounts find themselves at 0-7 in league play at the moment.
The league was excellent at the position last season as well, as we won't soon forget a guy like Josh Sharkey, who was an electrifying, quick point guard at Samford. That success has continued this season, and might have even seen a little bit of an upgrade.
Alvarez has been one of the premier SoCon newcomers, and he's given Mercer an element it lacked last season, which is a player that can beat defenders off the dribble and get to the rack. Alvarez hit one of the more exciting shots in non-conference play against Georgia Southern, while having helped engineer one of the best SoCon non-conference wins of the season over Georgia Tech.
The Bears could be another team that is one that no one will to face in Asheville. Alvarez is currently averaging 12.8 PPG and averages 4.6 APG, which ranks third in the SoCon.
If there were award given for best newcomer, he would be among the candidate. Storm Murphy has become known as a clutch shot maker, and he proved that once again in a jumper that helped Wofford pull out a tough win on the road at VMI, and that's been something he's been able to hang his hat on throughout his Wofford career. Murphy currently ranks second in the SoCon in scoring (19.1 PPG) and is shooting 40% from three-point land this season.
Furman's Alex Hunter is averaging on the verge of double figures, and has taken as good of care of the basketball as anyone in mid-major basketball. We all know the human highlight reel that Miller is and how he can change a game with his defense, quickness and athleticism. Add to that his supreme quickness off the dribble, and you come up with the best player in the SoCon.
The Citadel's grad transfer point guard, Tyler Moffe, is currently leading the SoCon in assists, dishing out 5.2 helpers-per-game so far this season.
Newcomer of the Year?:
If they gave an award out for newcomer of the year, and not just freshman of the year, but combined the award for both, that would definitely be a tough call. Literally an argument can made for ETSU's entire roster...lol...But really, LeDarrius "LA" Brewer has been outstanding, and if I were voting on this award that doesn't exist, he'd be my pick, but less than you might think.
But other guys have also been impressive around the league. Certainly the aforementioned Alvarez has been one of those players, as he has been an immediate impact player for the Bears.
Another player more than worthy of mention is Malachi Smith, who has been an immediate contributor for the Chattanooga Mocs, who has been a double-double machine, leading the league with eight double-doubles entering the final month of the regular-season.
SoCon Tournament champions and the month of February since 2014-15:
Over the past six seasons, Southern Conference Tournament champions have combined to go 49-7 in the month of February, with no champion during that period having lost more than two games during the final month of the regular-season.
Chattanooga lost two games in the final month of the season back in 2016, while East Tennessee State, which finished in a three-way tie for first place in the 2016-17, also lost a pair of games back in that 2016-17 campaign. Over the past two seasons, the two teams that have gone on to win the past two titles--ETSU and Wofford--have gone a combined 18-0 in league play. Those two teams were a combined 60-9 overall the past couple of seasons.
Eight of 10 teams at .500 or better:
As a byproduct of the success of the top four teams over the past five seasons, the entire league has seemingly seen improvement. It's showing up this season, as we enter the final month of the regular-season, and despite battling a pandemic, eight of 10 teams are currently at .500 or better.
The lone two teams below .500 heading into the final month off the regular-season are Samford and Western Carolina. Both have seen some substantial stoppages due to COVID-19.
But Bucky McMillan still has one of the SoCon's most impressive wins as a league early on in the season, when the Bulldogs knocked off Belmont during the non-conference slate. The Catamounts got off to a 7-2 start before having lost seven-straight.
Perhaps the most surprising has been the improvement of the SoCon's two military program's, in VMI (9-9, 4-5 SoCon) and The Citadel (9-5, 2-5 SoCon), who have both have sprung some SoCon surprises this season, with Dan Earl's club getting a win over Furman late in the month of January, and the following week, the Bulldogs took down Wofford in Charleston.
The Citadel got off to an 8-0 start and was one of then last eight remaining undefeated teams before losing to Furman, despite a valiant effort against the SoCon preseason co-favorite.
Chattanooga's challenges:
No team got off to a better start to the season than Chattanooga, who posted a 9-0 start--its best in its storied Division I history, and managed to stay unbeaten until two days prior to the New Year, dropping a 77-73 decision to Furman.
Throughout the season, Lamont Paris' club has battled injuries, as its best player entering the transfer portal and then returning a week later, K.C. Hankton becoming eligible and then suffering an injury, and are a bit worn thin underneath in terms of size. Since that spectacular open to the season, which featured a win over a talented UAB club on the road, the Mocs have gone 3-4 since that strong start.
Still, in David Jean-Baptiste, Chattanooga has a team potential of causing more than its share of problems when the 10 teams arrive in Asheville in early March for the Southern Conference Tournament. Jean-Baptiste as important to his team as any one player in the Southern Conference, which made his return essential for the Mocs to have a chance to make a run at the tournament title, which I think they will have come March.
The problem comes in the middle of the standings, where there is a log-jam after the top four teams. Chattanooga now sits in sixth place, which would be for the final bye spot heading into the final month of the season, despite being tied with Mercer in the league standings, with both being tied with 3-5 league marks.
Mark your calendars for Feb. 24, as that's when the Mocs and Bears square off for the second time this season, with Chattanooga having rebounded from a 19-point first half deficit in the first meeting in the Scenic City to get an 83-80 win in a thriller back on Jan. 13.
The Mocs recently got talented guard Darius Banks eligible, and he will make enough of a difference during the final month of the regular-season to see the Mocs end up holding on for a top six seed for the Southern Conference Tournament in early March. Banks, who was a standout at James Madison before transferring into Chattanooga, is averaging 12.8 PPG and 4.8 RPG in four games. Jean-Baptiste continues to lead the Mocs in scoring at 17.7 PPG, while Malachi Smith is adding 16.1 PPG and 9.5 RPG.
The Mocs are schedule to return off COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday when they face Western Carolina in Cullowhee, with tip-off for that contest slated for 7 p.m.
Western's woes:
Most expected Mark Prosser's job to be a tough one this season without Carlos Dotson and Onno Steger to relieve some of the pressure off point guard Mason Faulkner, however, after a 7-2 start, which included an impressive win over one of the Big South favorites, in UNC Asheville, most started to become cautiously optimistic.
After playing well on the road, despite an 86-78 road loss at East Tennessee State, the Catamounts tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the postponement of four conference games. When the Catamounts finally returned to the hardwood on Jan. 16 when they faced Mercer on the road. The Bears survived to get a 78-76 win after nearly blowing a big lead.
The Catamounts then dropped games at Samford (L, 78-82), vs. East Tennessee State (L, 48-59), at Wofford (L, 78-91), at VMI (L, 61-87) and vs Furman (L, 69-75). Following Saturday's close loss to Furman, the Catamounts don't have to dwell on that, and that could be a good thing.
Western is slated to host The Citadel in a noon tip-off at the Ramsey Center on Monday afternoon, and will then turn around and play at home a little over 48 hours later, as Chattanooga is slated to come to town. However, while COVID-19 positive tests will remain a threat the rest of the season, it's the weather over the next few days that could potentially another postponement. Fingers are crossed in the league's two mountain locales, in Cullowhee and Johnson City, as the league office, as well as the teams will be hoping there won't be any roadblocks due to weather.
Mason Faulkner continues to lead the Catamounts in scoring this season, as he is averaging 15.8 PPG and ranks second in assists, averaging 4.7 helpers-per-game. After scoring below double figures for three-straight games, Faulkner has rebounded to score ins double figures in each of the past two games, posting 15 and 14 points, respectively, in losses to Furman and VMI.
The Catamounts have only had two home games in the past 45 days, and the schedule will turn more in their favor in the month of February, but have they dug themselves too deep of a hole to get back into the top six? The turnaround would have to start this afternoon in a crucial clash with The Citadel.
Monday's slate:
The Citadel at Western Carolina, noon
East Tennessee State at Wofford, 7 p.m.
If I had to vote for SoCon All-League Honors today:
First Team
G--Isaiah Miller (UNCG)
G-LeDarrius Brewer (ETSU)
G-Storm Murphy (Wofford)
G-Mike Bothwell (Furman)
F-Hayden Brown (The Citadel)
Second Team
F-Clay Mounce (Furman)
G-Damari Monsanto (ETSU)
G-Malachi Smith (Chattanooga)
G-Ross Cummings (Mercer)
G-Greg Parham (VMI)
Third Team
G-Neftali Alvarez (Mercer)
G-Keyshaun Langley (UNCG)
C-Jake Stephens (VMI)
F-Noah Gurley (Furman)
G-Tray Hollowell (Wofford)
Player of the Year: Isaiah Miller (UNCG)
Defensive Player of the Year: Isaiah Miller (UNCG)
Newcomer of the Year: LeDarrius Brewer (ETSU)
Freshman of the Year: Trey Bonham (VMI)
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