We've hit a crucial part of the Southern Conference slate, as Thursday's slate of games will mark the midway point of the conference slate, and East Tennessee State (15-6, 7-1 SoCon) continues to show that they are the team to beat, but that's not to say they haven't been tested because they certainly have.
The first game of the night will be a nationally-televised affair between Furman (14-7, 5-3 SoCon) and Samford (10-11, 3-5 SoCon), with both teams coming off impressive wins the last time they took the floor, with Samford snapping a four-game skid by getting a 75-64 win over Chattanooga (9-12, 3-5 SoCon), while the Paladins were able to go to UNC Greensboro (8-13, 4-4 SoCon) and put together their most efficient offensive performance of the season with an 89-66 win at Bodford Arena.
The Paladins hit a season-high 14 threes and connected on 12 of their final 14 shots from the field, which equated to a 30-11 run over the final eight minutes en route to posting one of their most dominant performances of the season, despite having only eight scholarship players available to play.
It would be a big afternoon for both Alex Wilkins (17.9 PPG, 5.2 APG) and Tom House (7.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG), as the two combined to score 52 of the team's 89 points, which included knocking down 11 of the team's 14 three-pointers, with House shooting a blistering 70% (7-of-10) from three-point land in the contest, while Wilkins connected on 4-of-7 long-range efforts.
Not to be overlooked was the performance by Cole Bowser, who recorded his first double-double in a Furman uniform, with 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Paladins had 23 assists against the Spartans and only turned it over five times. Wilkins recorded six assists and had no turnovers.
Already playing without Cooper Bowser (13.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 81.2% FG%), Asa Thomas (13.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 53 3PT FGs), Davis Molnar (hasn't played yet this season), and Mason Smith (3.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG) due to injury, the Paladins would also be without Eddrin Bronson (5.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG) and Abijah Franklin (5.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) for the game against the Spartans due to illness and both are expected back for Thursday evening's contest.
Both Bronson and Franklin are expected back for the Paladins, and Colin O'Neal (4.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG) is expected to have less of a minute's restriction as he moves forward and gets more comfortable playing with his knee brace, and as his knee continues to strengthen.
Prior to his brief illness which kept him out at UNCG, Franklin has been playing some of his best basketball as a Paladin, stringing together back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts off 14 and 11 points, respectively, while four of his last seven three-point field goals, including a half-courter vs Wofford.
The Paladins haven't lost at home to Samford since a 75-73 setback to the Bulldogs back in 2019, and it was a game that one of the most costly of Bob Richey's career, as Furman had been among the "Last Four In" of Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology going into that game, and it was a stellar 21-point, 12-assist performance from Josh Sharkey that handed Furman its worst loss of the season. It was a loss from which they never recovered from in terms of getting an at-large invitation to the Big Dance in that particular season.
That was the season the Paladins knocked off both reigning national champion and No. 8 Villanova (W, 76-68 OT) as well as reigning Final Four participant Loyola Chicago (W,60-58) to garner both national attention for the league and the program, as the Paladins were ranked early in the season for the first time in program history.
Samford will be looking to continue its momentum at this crucial point in the season, and when you talk about continued momentum for the Bulldogs, it all centers around talented guard Jadin Booth. The senior grad transfer from Florida Southern is leading the SoCon in scoring and continues to shoot above 40% from three-point range this season, as he is connecting on a ridiculous 41.7% from three-point range this season (78-of-187).
Booth's 78 triples made this season ranks him second overall in threes made this season, trailing only Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic, who has connected on 80 threes this season. Booth's 41.7% shooting clip from three-point land ranks him 36th nationally in three-point percentage shooting.
Booth was held in check for the most part in the first meeting between the two this season, as the Paladins were able to limit him to just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range, as they never let him get into any kind of rhythm throughout the game. Being cognizant of where Booth is at all times must be a priority once again if the Paladins hope to pull off the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs.
He continues to lead the Southern Conference in scoring, averaging 20.6 PPG and also is averaging 3.6 RPG. He is coming off a strong performance against Chattanooga last time out, as he finished the contest with 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range. It was his 11th game with 20 or more points this season, which is tied for the lead in the SoCon along with Wofford's Kahmare Holmes.
It will mark the second meeting of the season, as the Paladins were able to get what was a 77-73 win back on Jan. 14, with just eight scholarship players. Alex Wilkins would be the lone Paladin in double figures in that contest, as he posted a career-high 28 points in leading the Paladins to the memorable road win. It will also mark the 43rd all-time meeting between the two programs, with Furman holding the 30-12 all-time series edge, including having four-straight over the Bulldogs and eight of the past 11.
The Paladins continue to be led by Wilkins, who is averaging 17.9 PPG and 5.2 APG, which includes nine games of 20 or more points this season, with five of those coming in eight league games thus far.
It's unclear whether or not Cooper Bowser will be back for this game, but he is expected to return sometime soon. The original target date was right around the end of January, and since this is the final game of the month of January for Furman, one would logically assume that Friday evening would be the game in which he would be back in the lineup.
So why is that important? When Bowser was injured in a pre-Christmas game at Manhattan, he'd been averaging 13.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG, along with leading the nation in field goal percentage, shooting a blistering 81.2% and leading the nation in dunks. He had also blocked 13 shots on the season when he last saw action for the Paladins.
With Cooper Bowser in the lineup for the Paladins this season, the Paladins had posted an unbeaten mark in December (4-0), however, since he has left the lineup, the Paladins are 6-3, including winning their final two games of the month of December against Charleston Southern and Mercer.
If Bowser does return Thursday evening, it would make for a neat dynamic, in that it would see him play on the court for the first time with his brother in college, Cole Bowser (7.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG). Cole Bowser had his redshirt removed before Furman's road game at Chattanooga and has been one of the Paladin leaders on the glass and defensively in the absence of Cooper.
In Furman's last game, Cole Bowser posted his best performance yet as a Paladin player, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds against UNCG. With Keaton Norris (10.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG) and Cade Norris (8.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG) both on the floor for Samford, it would give each team a tandem of brothers. That's a rare thing to see in college basketball. It would also mark the first tandem of brothers to play at the same time for the Paladins since both Charlie and Colin Reddick back during the 2012-13 season.
Furman and Samford will tip off at 5 p.m. EST from the refurbished Timmons Arena, as the Paladins are an uncharacteristic 2-2 this season in SoCon tilts on the home hardwood, having beaten both Mercer (W, 74-72) and VMI (W, 69-48), while suffering setbacks against both Western Carolina (L, 77-80) and Wofford (L, 70-74).
ETSU will tangle with the lone team to beat them so far in the Southern Conference slate, as Western Carolina (7-12, 3-5 SoCon) pays a visit to Freedom Hall for a 7 p.m. EST contest, with a big-crowd expected for the border rivalry clash. The Catamounts were able to get a 72-68 win in the first meeting between the two earlier this season at the Ramsey Center.
A late Marcus Kell (13.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG) bucket would allow the Catamounts to take the lead late, as his second-chance layup untied the 68-68 game with 12 seconds remaining, whipping the Ramsey Center faithful into a frenzy in the process.
The Bucs are coming off quite the performance in their last outing, dispatching of The Citadel to garner the season sweep of the Bulldogs, with an 84-55 win over the Bulldogs. The Bucs and Catamounts will be meeting for the 92nd time in series history, with the Bucs maintaining a 59-32 all-time series edge.
Blake Barkley (14.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG) and Cam Morris III (14.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG) continue to be among the most productive frontcourts in the SoCon this season, but in the first matchup against the Bucs this season, WCU did a nice job of neutralizing those guys with the Catamounts size under the basket, with guys like Samuel Dada and Abdulai Fanta Kabba (5.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG) causing some issues.
In the first meeting between these two earlier this season, it was Western Carolina that owned the backboards, with a 39-30 edge in that department and a slight 10-5 advantage in second-chance points, and in games decided by the slimmest of margins, that proved to be a major statistic in the grand scheme of things.
Previously under Steve Forbes and even more recent under Brooks Savage his first two seasons in Johnson City, the Bucs have been one of the bigger teams in the league. That's not the case this season, with no big man on the roster exceeding 6-8.
That has allowed the Bucs to be a little more athletic in the low-post, and while maybe there hasn't been a Jayden Parker or a Lucas N'Guessan underneath to block or alter shots around the rim, the Bucs have been just as effective defensively in the low-post this season and in fact lead the league in blocks (3.7 BPG). I would argue that the Bucs have had the best defensive low-post players, despite the fact they don't have an out and out rim protector.
When I say the Bucs are doing it on both ends, you need look no further than ETSU leading the league in overall team field goal percentage (49.1%), while also leading the league in blocks (3.7 BPG) and Steals (9.4 SPG).
The Bucs have a solid collection of talent in the backcourt as well, and while Al Strothers (3.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG) provides the ball-handling and on-ball defense, its Brian Taylor II (14.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG) that provides the scoring, while Maki Johnson (5.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 34 3PT FGs, 38.6% 3PT FG%) and Jaylen Smith (9.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 37 3PT FGs) that are the three-point marksmen. Gabe Sisk (3.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG) continues to be a presence as a lockdown defender for ETSU this season.
The matchup between the Catamounts and Bucs is slated for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off time at Freedom Hall.
The Southern Conference Game of the Week presented by Nexstar will see Wofford (14-7, 6-2 SoCon) be on the road to take on Chattanooga in the Scenic City on Thursday night. The Mocs have had a lot of recent success against the Terriers, having won seven-straight games in the series between the two, and that includes earlier this season when the Mocs went into Spartanburg and were able to claim what was a 76-67 win over Wofford, using a barrage of threes late in the game, as the Mocs pulled the minor upset in Spartanburg.
Chattanooga will be looking to put an end to a two-game skid which has included a one-point loss at home to league-leading East Tennessee State (L, 66-67) and a road loss at Samford (L, 64-75) this past Saturday.
Wofford, meanwhile, has established itself as a real title contender this season and has its eyes firmly trained on its first top three finish in the league standings for the first time since finishing second in the regular-season in the 2020-21 season.
The matchup pits the reigning regular-season champion against the reigning SoCon Tournament champions for a second time this season even though this matchup looks nothing like it did a year ago, with both teams losing their entire starting fives to either the transfer portal or to graduation.
Chattanooga has oftentimes been the team that Terriers' season, as in three of the past four tournaments, the Mocs have knocked out the Terriers in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament. The fact that Furman knocked off the Mocs in the semifinals of the tournament last March, 80-77, in overtime, in hindsight, was a pretty good thing.
The Mocs have to find a way to slow reigning SoCon Player of the Week Kahmare Holmes, who is likely the most-improved player in the SoCon and on most folks' short list for SoCon Player of the Year. Holmes has started all 20 games he has played in this season, averaging 19.3 PPG and 5.8 RPG.
In two wins last week against Samford and Mercer at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, Holmes posted 36 points in the win over Samford and then turned around and poured in 27 in the win over Mercer on Saturday. The sophomore guard is tied for the league lead in games with 20 or more points this season, having posted 11 games with 20 or more points.
In wins in conference play, Chattanooga has been getting solid production from Collin Mulholland (8.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG) of late, and that has seen the Mocs have more post-production, which they had been severely lacking since Sean Cusano went down with a season-ending injury back in December.
Mulholland had his best performance in a road game this season against Western Carolina, which was another impressive road win for the Mocs, as Big Maple went for 16 points, which included a 4-of-8 performance from three-point range.
Another guy that needs to come up big for the Mocs in the paint is Josh Bowman (4.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG) and he's shown flashes this season for the Mocs and he had eight points in the road win over Western Carolina and also contributed eight against in UTC's first SoCon win of the season.
The Terriers and Mocs will be meeting for the 59th time in series history, with the Mocs holding a commanding 36-22 series lead. Tip-off for that contest is set for 6 p.m. EST at the McKenzie Arena with the game slated to play locally on the Nexstar Affiliate in SoCon cities.
Mercer (13-8, 5-3 SoCon) will try to get back on the winning track Thursday evening when it hosts UNC Greensboro at Hawkins Arena, where the Bears have yet to lose a game this season. In my opinion, the Bears are the most versatile offensive team in the league, with maybe the league's top player, in point guard Baraka Okojie (18.6 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.1 RPG), and in combination with Armani Mighty (13.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG) underneath, it gives Bears quite the inside-outside combo.
With Wofford posting an 80-77 win over the Bears last Saturday at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium to garner the season split, it snapped a five-game winning streak for the Bears. The good news is the Bears return to the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena, where they are a perfect 9-0 this season and have won 10 in a row dating back to the final regular-season game of last season.
The last team to take down the Bears at Hawkins Arena was UNCG, which avenged an earlier loss in the season to Mercer with a 78-61 win in Macon. The Bears have been lighting it up offensively all season, but particularly in conference play, as the Bears have already posted 100 or more points three times in league play this season, with one of those coming against the Spartans in what was a 102-92 win.
According to KenPom, Thursday night's clash between the Bears and Spartans matches up the SoCon's top offense, in Mercer with a 125.4 offensive efficiency rating, against the SoCon's worst defensive team, in UNCG, which sports a 132.2 defensive efficiency rating. Which is why you get an outcome like the first time these teams played. The Spartans allow 81.0 PPG, which ranks the Spartans 331 out of 361 teams ranked in NCAA Division I in scoring defense. Mercer's 85.0 PPG, meanwhile, ranks the Bears 36th in the nation in scoring offense.
UNCG has continued to get strong play out of freshman guard KJ Younger (13.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG) and Albany grad transfer Justin Neely (16.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG). Neely continues to be a literal walking double-double, posting 22 points and 22 rebounds to start last week in a win at VMI before finishing the week up by posting 20 points and nine rebounds in an 89-66 loss to Furman. Neely leads the SoCon and is tied for fifth nationally in double-doubles this season, with 12 in 21 games.
The battle between Neely and Mighty underneath is a matchup between two of the best big men in mid-major hoops, who just also happen to play their basketball in the Southern Conference. Mighty is right behind Neely with 11 double-doubles this season and ranks eighth in the country, while his 69.7% field goal percentage is second in the nation behind Navy's Aidan Kehoe. Neely's 11.8 RPG ranks him second nationally in rebounding average behind only Kent State's Delrecco Gillespie, who is averaging 12.4 RPG.
The game will mark the 28th all-time clash between the two programs, and by virtue of that 10-point win earlier this season, the Bears have closed to within a game of UNCG in the all-time series, at 13-14. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. EST at Hawkins Arena and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Rounding out the jampacked night of Thursday basketball, which officially signals the mid-way point of league play is the rivalry clash between The Citadel (6-15, 3-5 SoCon) and VMI (6-15, 1-7 SoCon) at McAlister Field House. The game offers the opportunity to continue their momentum heading into the turn, while it's VMI that seems like more and more they are heading into a tailspin that is going to be hard to dig out of this season.
What a difference a year has made for both programs, and this time last year, it was VMI right in the thick of it starting a climb and battling for a top six finish, as they were even as high as fifth at one point in the standings last season following a home win over a Furman and a road win at Wofford. But the season seemingly has never gotten started for Andrew Wilson's club, and most had the Keydets capturing that momentum of last year, and with the most veteran leadership returning and production returning of any team in the league, had the Keydets to build on that momentum and be a middle of the pack finisher in the league, and firmly playing in one of four quarterfinal games on Saturday.
But with no Rickey Bradley Jr.--the SoCon's Preseason Player of the Year--and other more recent injuries, the Keydets find themselves at 1-6 in the league, and it's not a matter of if coach Wilson's team will be playing on Friday night in Asheville at the Harrah's Cherokee Center, but which time slot...The 5 p.m. or the 7:30 p.m. game.
The Keydets one win in league play came against a team that Wilson had yet to beat in his VMI tenure as head coach, and that was Chattanooga, as VMI beat its former head coach with its current one by a score of 79-71 at Cameron Hall. Nothing much has gone right since, as the Keydets have lost five in a row since that win over the Mocs. Included among those losses was an 82-68 loss to The Citadel, which notched its first road win in league play since February of 2023, when it took down Western Carolina.
The win against the Keydets came exactly a week after a 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina, which ended a 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I competition for the Bulldogs, but it transformed the team's morale as well as its confidence.
What followed is Ed Conroy doing some of his best coaching to date, as well as the team growing with confidence after that breakthrough win over the Catamounts. Then last week, the Bulldogs did the unthinkable, rebounding from a 19-point deficit at home, and in the final 10 minutes of regulation, found a way to force overtime. Then in overtime, the Bulldogs found a way to knock off their bitterest rival and perennial SoCon title contender Furman, 77-75.
The Bulldogs did lose a lopsided game on the road against league leader ETSU last time out, but the Bulldogs have done enough to put them in a good spot to finish in the top six and avoid the opening Friday night of games in much the same fashion as VMI had itself positioned heading into February just last season.
A big part of the success has been the performances of guys like Valdosta State transfer forward Braxton Williams (13.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG), who has been outstanding lately and that has equated to the team finding its overall success.
Though he was held to just eight points in the last outing in the 84-55 road loss to ETSU, Williams has posted performances of 21, 25, 22, and 18 prior to having that impressive string of double-figure scoring games snapped in Johnson City last Friday night. Williams has made his last 22 free throws and posted 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from long-range and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line the last time these teams met.
The Bulldogs got a career-best performance from Sola Adebisi (8.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG) in the win over Furman last week, as he posted a career-best 22 points in a career-high 42 minutes against the Paladins, as he finished 9-for-10 from the field. Christian Moore (10.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG) has been the league's top sixth man by far this season.
Success for VMI in this game will come only if they can get a big night scoring-wise from both TJ Johnson (18.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and either Tan Yildizoglu (9.3 PPG, 4.0 APG) or Mario Tatum Jr. (9.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG) and will depend on largely to what effect AJ Clark (6.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG) has in getting in passing lanes and being able to create scoring opportunities off live ball turnovers.
Thursday night's rivalry clash will mark the 127th all-time meeting between the two, with the series tied, 63-63. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Keydets is set for 7 p.m. at McAlister Field House.
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