Baddest Bucs on the Block
We've reached the two-week mark of Southern Conference play, and one team remains alone atop the standings, as East Tennessee State remains unbeaten after Saturday's 86-60 rout of UNC Greensboro.
The Bucs have looked like the team to beat all season and it's kind of a no-brainer to have them at the top of the power rankings for week two. As for the rest of the league to this point, it's been a little bit of a hodge-podge when you get past a pretty much definitive top four team, which are beginning to establish themselves as clear title contenders moving forward. It was Blake Barkley's 24 points that helped the Bucs break the game wide open in the second half after posting a narrow, 38-34, halftime lead.
I can't go too far without acknowledging the accomplishments of The Citadel from this past weekend, as the Bulldogs ended up knocking off Western Carolina, 79-77, in overtime at McAlister Field House to end what had been a 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I competition. The win also snapped a streak of 26-straight SoCon losses in both regular-season and tournament play, dating back to a Feb. 24, 2024, 71-62, win over Chattanooga inside the friendly confines of the McAlister Field House.
Speaking of the Mocs, UTC was able to end a four-game skid by topping Samford, 88-79, at McKenzie Arena Saturday afternoon. The defending SoCon regular-season champs looked at times like their former selves, especially in the first half, as Chattanooga raced out to a 21-point, 49-28, halftime advantage.
Then in the second half, had to hold off a furious rally by Jadin Booth and the Bulldogs, who put a real scare into the Mocs, as the Bulldogs got as close as four points (81-77) on a pair of Booth free throws inside the final two minutes, but the Mocs were able to find a way to a win down the stretch, finishing off an impressive afternoon at the foul stripe, as the Mocs blistered the nets at a scorching 91.7% clip, making 22-of-24 foul shots in the game.
The game of the day took place in Macon, as two of the top four teams squared off in Macon, with Wofford traveling to face a Mercer team that was a perfect 7-0 into the contest, and the game was very pleasing to the eyes in terms of offensive aesthetics, as the Bears moved to 8-0 at Hawkins Arena this season and evened their SoCon mark at 2-2 in league play with a second-straight 100-point game, knocking off previously SoCon-unbeaten Wofford, 109-97. The two teams combined to cconnect on 28 three-pointers, shooting the ball at an insane clip from deep, as the teams combined to go 28-of-51 on efforts from beyond the arc on Saturday. The Bears finished 12-of-19 () from three-point range.
What seven days it's been for Wofford's Nils Machowski, who dropped 33 points on this Saturday's loss after posting 37 last weekend in the Terriers' win in Charleston. Machowski finished 8-for-12 from three. Through four league games, Wofford is an astounding 57-of-112 from three-point range, which a 51% efficiency rate from long range. That's being a team heater!
It's been quite a week for Nils Machowski, who finished his week by scoring 33 points for the Terriers on an 8-of-12 performance from three-point range in the loss for the Terriers. Baraka Okojie turned in another strong effort of his own, adding 29 points and 12 assists to the fold for Mercer.
Furman returned to its winning ways at Timmons Arena, getting a 69-48 win over VMI. However, the win was costly, as the Paladins, who are already without Davis Molnar, Cooper Bowser and Collin O'Neal already down with injury, the Paladins would lose Tom House to concussion protocol and second-leading scorer Asa Thomas, who suffered some kind of lower body injury. Both left midway through the first half and didn't return.
VMI wasn't unscathed either, as the Keydets, who were already without Rickey Bradley Jr. due to an injury also lost Alexander Dashvili in the opening five minutes to an injury and he didn't return and was on crutches by the end of the game. Midway through the second half, the Keydets also lost talented point guard Tan Yildizoglu to some kind of lower body injury, as he wouldn't return to the game either.
The Paladins played some outstanding defense, and Eddrin Bronson stepped adding a season-high 16 points off the bench in the absence of both House and Thomas, and the Paladins played some of their best defense of the season, holding VMI to 26.9% shooting from the field and 30 empty possessions. However, Furman turned the ball over 20 times, which featured 16 VMI steals. The Keydets finished the game with more steals (16) than field goals (15).
Power Rankings:
1. East Tennessee State (12-5, 4-0 SoCon)--The Bucs remain the lone league unbeaten to this point and continue to rank as a Top 40 defensive team in all of college basketball. The Bucs sport the league's top defensive rating at 106.5, according to KenPom, while their 111.3 offensive ranking ranks second behind only Mercer (112.3) so far this season.
The Bucs continue to get some solid play from their frontcourt through the first four conference games, while Brian Taylor II continues to be the steadying force of the backcourt and remains on the short list for SoCon Player of the Year. Taylor has the league's only triple-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebs, 10 assists vs. Central Arkansas). Taylor leads the team averaging 14.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.1 APG and 1.6 SPG.
Defensively, the Bucs lead the SoCon in steals-per-game, averaging 9.6 thefts per game, while also leading the SoCon and ranking 41st nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding foes to just 40.0% shooting from the field, as well as leading the SoCon and ranking 29th nationally in scoring defense, holding teams to just 66.2 PPG. Blake Barkley and Cam Morris III have anchored the frontcourt so far this season and the duo has been among the league's best in terms of impact transfers that have come in and been immediate contributors in the paint.
Barkley, who came to ETSU from Northwestern, is averaging 13.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG, while shooting a blistering 63% from the field so far this season. As far as Morris III is concerned, he transferred into ETSU from UMass-Lowell and he is time with Taylor II for team-high scoring average honors, posting 14.0 PPG and leads the team in rebounding average, at 4.7 RPG.
The Bucs return to action on Wednesday night, as the Bucs travel to Cullowhee to face Western Carolina before facing off against Samford in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off against the Catamounts is set for 7 p.m. EST Wednesday night at the Ramsey Center.
2. Furman (12-5, 3-1 SoCon)--Since its surprising home loss to Western Carolina last week, the Paladins responded nicely with a pair of double-digit wins--at Chattanooga (W, 78-67) and vs. VMI (W, 69-48)--displaying a wealth of depth in those two wins. The Paladins removed the redshirt from Cole Bowser in their road win at Chattanooga, and he responded by leading the Paladins with 10 rebounds to go with six points in his debut. On Saturday, the Paladins would have two more starters go down with injuries, in Tom House and Asa Thomas, but it didn't end up being hugely costly, as the Paladins found enough from its bench and from stellar defense to dispatch VMI by 21 at home.
Furman continues to be the league's second-best defensive team, ranking second in the league in scoring defense behind ETSU, surrendering just 69.5 PPG to rank 84th in all of college basketball.
According to KenPom's metric, the Paladins have the second-best defensive rating in the SoCon, sporting a 107.4 rating. The Paladins are second to only ETSU in the league in effective field goal percentage, ranking 55th in all of college basketball at 55.5%. The Bucs rank 47th nationally in the same statistical category, sporting an effective field goal percentage of 56.0%.
The Paladins also continue to lead the SoCon and rank in the Top 100 nationally in several different rebounding categories, leading the league and ranking tied for 42nd nationally in total rebounds (40.1 RPG) and are second in the SoCon in offensive rebounds per game, ranking tied for 113th nationally at 12.1 off. rebounds per game.
The Paladins will head into a tough week shorthanded of course, facing off against Samford on the road on Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. EST tip-off slated for the Pete Hanna Center before hosting Wofford at 5 p.m EST at Timmons Arena before an expected sellout crowd.
3. Mercer (10-7, 2-2 SoCon)--After losing its first two SoCon games on the road at Furman (L, 72-74) and at East Tennessee State (L, 71-77) before scoring 100-points in consecutive conference games in home wins over The Citadel (W, 101--63) and Wofford (W, 109-97) and those two high-scoring contests were enough to garner talented guard Baraka Okojie SoCon Player of the Week accolades.
The former Memphis and George Mason guard was awesome, posting 14 points and five helpers in the 38-point win over The Citadel before finishing with 29 points and 12 assists three days later against Wofford. All told for the week, Okojie finished out his strong two games across the week of action averaging 21.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.0 SPG, and he has also recorded at least one steal in each of the past seven games for the Bears.
The Bears rank second to only Wofford in offensive efficiency since the start of SoCon play, as the Bears have posted a 127.7 offensive rating (KenPom) since the starting of league play, while sporting a 60.0% effective field goal percentage.
Continuing to lead the Bears underneath the basket this season has been Boston College transfer Armani Mighty (12.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG), as he posted an impressive performance against Wofford, with 17 points and 11 rebounds, which marked his eighth double-double of the season, as well as having one of the top field goal percentages in the league and in the country, as he is posting a 65.9% shooting clip for the season.
If the Bears continue to have a third scorer like they have been getting out of Wagner transfer Zaire Williams, the prospects remain high that the Bears will be in the thick of the SoCon title race throughout the duration of league play during the regular season. Williams is averaging 11.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG so far in 2025-26, while his 37 made threes leads the team, and he's shooting 35% (37-of-106) from long-range so far this season.
As a team, Mercer also leads the SoCon in scoring offense, averaging 84.8 PPG through 17 games and rank third in the league in total field goal percentage, shooting at a 46.4% clip per outing so far this season. The Bears will return to action Thursday night on the road at VMI in a 6 p.m. EST tip-off before rounding out the week on Saturday with a trip to First Horizon Coliseum to face the UNC Greensboro Spartans in a tip-off time slated for 4 p.m. EST.
4. Wofford (11-6, 3-1 SoCon)--Kevin Giltner's young team is playing as well as anyone in the league at the moment, especially when it comes to shooting the ball from all points on the floor. Through four conference games so far this season, the Terriers are connecting on an astounding 47.1% (57-of-121) from three-point range.
The performance from three-point range this season is thanks in large part to the performance of Nils Machowski, who is shooting 37.4% from three-point range this season, including having connected on a team-leading 46 three-point field goals this season.
Last week for Wofford, he scored 37 points in a road win at The Citadel, while finishing the week this past Saturday with a 33-point effort in Wofford's first SoCon loss of the 2025-26 season on the road at Mercer. Machowski went 8-of-11 from three-point land in the win over The Citadel and was 8-for-12 from long-distance in the loss at Mercer. He also sandwiched that performance with a 4-for-8 shooting effort from three-point range in a mid-week win over UNCG.
Wofford continues to be led by SoCon Player of the Year candidate and sophomore guard Kahmare Holmes, who has gotten off to an outstanding start for Wofford this season. Holmes is currently fourth overall in the SoCon in scoring average, posting 17.5 PPG and remains one of the best rebounding guards in the SoCon, ripping down 6.0 RPG.
The Terriers went 1-1 on the week, with a 109-97 loss at Mercer, while opening SoCon play at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in the middle of last week, posting an impressive 97-85 win over UNC Greensboro.
Wofford returns to action Wednesday evening hosting Chattanooga in a 6 p.m EST tip-off at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium before heading to Furman Saturday to the Paladins at Timmons Arena in a tip-off time slated for 5 p.m. EST.
5. Samford (9-8, 2-2 SoCon)--Much like Mercer and Wofford in its first four SoCon games, Lennie Acuff's Samford Bulldogs have looked excellent on the offensive end of the floor, sporting the fourth-best offensive efficiency rating (117.5/KenPom), which trails only Wofford (129.7/KenPom), Mercer (127.7/KenPom), and East Tennessee State (117.5/KenPom).
However, while Acuff's offensive system has been good in all but really one half of conference play this season, the Bulldogs have struggled defensively at times this season, ranking in the bottom four of the league since the start of league play, with a rating of 114.2 (KenPom) in league-only games.
There's no doubting the Bulldogs have the best pure shooter and scorer in the league, in Jadin Booth, while Dylan Faulkner continues to rank among the league's top big men this season. Booth leads the league in scoring averaging, posting 20.4 PPG and is shooting a blistering 41.2% from three-point land this season. Faulkner missed Samford's win against Western Carolina but was back for this past weekend's contest at Chattanooga.
Faulkner heads into this week averaging 17.3 PPG and a team-leading 6.8 RPG, while shooting an impressive 62.2% from the field. Keaton Norris continues-to do a solid job at point guard and is the third-leading scorer after the Bulldogs lost Daijon Humphries to a season-ending Achilles injury in a preseason exhibition against Alabama A&M. Norris is currently averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.8 APG and 4.5 RPG so far this season for the Bulldogs.
Booth follows in the line of successful shooters to make the move up from the NCAA Division II level, reminding me of a player like of Furman's Nick Anderson (Furman, 2024-25) last season, only maybe a better scoring threat. It's interesting that those two played in the same conference at rival schools at the NCAA Division II level, with Booth at Florida Southern and Anderson at Barry.
With Booth's ability as a shooter, the Bulldogs are never really out of a game, rebounding from an 18-point deficit to defeat Western Carolina (W, 82-77) last week, while trailing by as much as 28 in the first half before cutting that deficit to four in the second half before eventually running out of gas in an 88-79 loss over the weekend at Chattanooga.
The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday night, hosting Furman in a 7 p.m. EST contest at the Pete Hanna Center before hosting league-leading East Tennessee State in a 2 p.m. EST contest Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center. The Paladins and Bucs handed the Bulldogs four of their six SoCon regular-season losses a year ago.
6. UNC Greensboro (6-11, 2-2 SoCon)--UNCG has broken even through its first two Southern Conference games, winning its first two, while losing its two most recent games in league play. The most-recent week has seen the Spartans drop games at East Tennessee State (L, 60-86) and at Wofford (L, 85-97) in a pair of games that weren't all that close to begin with.
The Spartans have been maybe the most inconsistent team in the SoCon of late, and I've harped on UNCG's lack of defense being quite uncharacteristic of a Mike Jones-coached team. According to KenPom, the Spartans continue to rank as one of the worst defensive teams in the SoCon, with a rating of 117.6. The Spartans currently also rank No. 319 out of a possible 361 ranked teams in scoring defense, allowing 80.3 PPG, while ranking No. 286 in field goal percentage defense (45.5%).
The one consistency for the Spartans this season has been wing Justin Neely, who continues to be among the league's best impact transfers. eighth in the league in scoring average (15.9 PPG) and continues to lead the league in rebounding (11.4 RPG) and double-doubles (10). In fact, his 10 double-doubles not only lead the SoCon, but rank him tied for fifth in the nation in that particular category.
The Spartans will have a chance to get back on the winning track this week, starting with a visit from The Citadel on Thursday night at Bodford Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST. The Spartans will take on Mercer on Saturday, as the Spartans pay a visit to the First Horizon Coliseum for a 4 p.m. EST contest in a game in which the Bears overcame a huge deficit last season to come away with one of the more impressive early road wins of the Ryan Ridder era a year ago.
7. Chattanooga (7-10, 1-3 SoCon)--Chattanooga finally looked like the team we all thought they would be, at least in the opening half of its most-recent game against Samford, which was one that the Mocs would hold on to get an 88-79 win this past Saturday.
The Mocs looked particularly good in the first half of that game, building as much as a 28-point lead in the contest before watching that huge lead dwindle to as little as four points in the second half, at 81-77, before regaining its foothold in the late-going, avoiding what would have been just its third 0-4 start in its 48-year membership in the Southern Conference.
The Mocs' guard play has been elite at times this season, with Jordan Frison, Teddy Washington Jr. and Tate Darner playing especially well of late, and that has paid off for the Mocs this season, while Jikari Johnson has been good on the offensive end, however, inconsistent on the defensive side of things.
Part of the problem for UTC is that having been so ravaged by the injury situation in the front court, it has left little margin for error for guys like Makai Richards, true freshman Josh Bowman, and pain issues have forced Collin Mulholland to only really be able to give about 75%-80% when he is pain free and can play.
The Mocs will look to make it two in a row, but it will be a tall task, facing an upstart Wofford team in Spartanburg on Wednesday evening. That game will tip off at 6 p.m. EST at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, while the Mocs will continue on the road Saturday, facing off with Western Carolina in Cullowhee on Saturday, with tip-off set for 4:30 p.m. EST in that contest.
8. Western Carolina (5-10, 1-3 SoCon)--The Western Carolina Catamounts were riding high after one of the signature wins of the Tim Craft era, taking down Furman, 80-77, in overtime, in Greenville at the refurbished Timmons Arena. However, a giant dose of humble pie would follow, as the Catamounts blew a big lead on the road last Wednesday night at Samford in a game that saw the Bulldogs drop an 82-77 game on the road, despite building as much as an 18-point lead.
Then came the ultimate piece of humble pie, and that would come on the road Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House, as the Catamounts would be the first SoCon scalp the Bulldogs would claim since Feb. 24, 2024, as The Citadel ended its 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I foes with a 79-77 overtime win over the Catamounts this past Saturday.
The good news is the effort has been there nearly every time out this season for the Catamounts, and despite the rough early struggles, the Purple and Gold have played the second-toughest non-conference slate in the SoCon according to most metrics.
The Catamounts continue to be elite on the offensive glass this season, ranking 31st nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.7 OFF RPG), however, the Catamounts have continued to struggle when it comes to shooting the basketball from all points on the floor, ranking no. 269 nationally in field goal percentage (43.6%) and 294th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (31.2%), which as you might expect probably wouldn't lead to a favorable overall offensive rating in KenPom's metric for that particular, leading to the third-worst offensive rating in the league (113.3).
The one offensive metric that Craft has been able to see his team ranking towards the top of the league in each of his first two seasons is possessions, as the Catamounts rank second in the league in possessions-per-game and 100th nationally, averaging 69.6 possessions-per-game. The only team in the SoCon to average more is Mercer, which averages 70.1 possessions-per-game.
The top player for WCU continues to be both guard Cord Stansberry in the backcourt, while wing forward Marcus Kell's consistency seems to only get better with the beginning of league play. Kell leads the Catamounts in scoring average, posting 13.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while Stansberry isn't far behind at 13.1 PPG. Diminutive veteran guard Julien Soumaoro continues to be the Catamounts' most prolific three-point threat, shooting 36.9% from three so far this season, including a team-leading 33 triples.
The Catamounts have a couple of tough tests to deal with in Cullowhee this week, beginning Wednesday night with a visit from the league's only unbeaten so far, as 4-0 ETSU pays a visit to the Liston B. Ramsey Center for a 6 p.m. EST contest Wednesday night. That will be followed by a 4:30 EST contest against reigning SoCon regular-season champion Chattanooga on Saturday.
9. VMI (6-11, 1-3 SoCon)The It seems that whenever I have addressed VMI basketball this season, each time I have had more questions than answers with the progression of the season. With SoCon Preseason Player of the Year Rickey Bradley Jr. having already been out the entire season with an undisclosed injury, following Saturday's trip to Furman--one which the Keydets fell 69-48 to the Paladins--the season is beginning to look more like head coach Andrew Wilson's first season in charge back during the 2022-23 campaign, when his team was so injured that it didn't have enough players to even go 5-on-5 in any practice the entire season.
The latest casualties as a result of the injury bug were point guard Tan Yildizoglu and freshman forward Alexander Dashvili, who left and did not return to the game. Dashvili suffered an injury before the first media timeout in the loss at Furman, while Yildizoglu left the same game in pain with about eight minutes left and did not return, as he screamed out in frustration upon his exit.
But life and games go on for Wilson and the Keydets, but depending on how long those two are down, along when and if Bradley Jr. even returns all remain big questions and whether or not a once promising season now comes a complete disaster. The good news is that TJ Johnson has consistently been one of the best players in the SoCon this season, and heading into Thursday evening's contest against Mercer, he continues to rank second overall in the SoCon in scoring, at 19.1 PPG.
The Keydets will play host to Mercer in a 6 p.m. EST contest with Mercer on Thursday evening, while hosting league arch-rival The Citadel in a 7 p.m. EST contest Saturday evening at Cameron Hall.
10. The Citadel (4-13, 1-3 SoCon)--The Citadel and head coach Ed Conroy's feelings following ending what had become a 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I competition must have been indescribable, following the Bulldogs' 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina last time out.
The win also snapped a streak of 26-straight losses to SoCon foes, counting regular-season and SoCon Tournament games. You have to go all the way back to Feb. 24, 2024, to find the last time the Bulldogs were successful in league play, which saw them capture a 71-62 win over Chattanooga.
The Citadel continues to be led in scoring by wing Braxton Williams, who is averaging 12.1 PPG and is one of two players averaging in double figures, along with fellow wing forward Christian Moore, who is averaging 10.8 PPG so far this season.
The Bulldogs have connected on 160 threes this season, ranking sixth in the league in that category this season, however, have struggled on both offensive and defensive ends of the floor, with the more alarming of the two being on the defensive side of things. Teams are shooting 48.3% against the Bulldogs this season, which ranks The Citadel No. 346 in the country in that particular defensive category.
The Bulldogs return to action Thursday night with a trip to face UNCG at Bodford Arena in a 7 p.m. EST contest before traveling to Cameron Hall on Saturday evening to face bitter rival VMI in a 7 p.m. EST slated tipoff time.
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