The 2015 Southern Conference Tournament is set to begin on Friday, March 6 with first-round action at the U.S. Cellular Center and will wrap up with the championship game on Monday, March 9.
The Wofford Terriers are the reigning SoCon Tournament champions and will carry the top seed into this year's event after racking up 25 wins and going 16-2 in conference play. Led by SoCon Coach of the Year Mike Young and Player of the Year Karl Cochran, the Terriers are every bit the team to beat. Cochran, who was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year in October and finished his senior season fifth in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg) and second with 1.8 steals to go with 5.8 rebounds per tilt. He scored in double figures 25 times, including a season-high 33 in a win over No. 2 seed Chattanooga on Jan. 5. Cochran will get some help from teammates Spencer Collins (11.2 ppg) and fellow All-SoCon selection Lee Skinner (9.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Young's coach of the year nod is his third in six seasons, as he successfully guided the Terriers through their league slate despite carrying the proverbial target on their backs.
After Wofford, the second-seeded Chattanooga Mocs are likely the league's only other potential at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season 22-9 overall and 15-3 in league play. Chattanooga boasts a pair of all-conference performers in Casey Jones (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Justin Tuoyo (10.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.3 bpg). Jones' All-SoCon selection is his second in a row, while Tuoyo also took home the league's Defensive Player of the Year award. Tuoyo is the second Moc to win that honor in as many years after Z. Mason last season. A 55-percent shooter on the offensive end of the floor, Tuoyo is four blocks shy of Kyle Hines' single-season league record of 106 set in 2005. The Mocs have captured a SoCon-best 52 conference tourney wins in their history along with 10 titles, although none in the past five years.
Along with Wofford and Chattanooga, each of the top six seeds get a bye into Saturday's quarterfinal round.
The second quarterfinal matchup pits the No. 4 seed Western Carolina Catamounts (14-16, 9-9) against fifth-seeded East Tennessee State (16-13, 8-10). The Bucs won both regular season meetings between the two teams. Western Carolina is led by James Sinclair, an All-SoCon senior guard who ranked second in the conference with 19.1 ppg and first with 2.0 steals per game. He is one of four Catamounts who averaged double figures on the season. On the other side of the floor, All-SoCon senior guard Jalen Riley headlines four double-digit scorers for the Bucs. Riley led the league in scoring with 20.7 ppg.
In the nightcap of Saturday's quarterfinal action, the third-seeded Mercer Bears (17-14, 12-6) take on the No. 6 seed VMI Keydets (11-18, 7-11). Mercer swept the regular-season series and will once again be favored here. Darious Moten (11.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Ike Nwamu (14.5 ppg) both earned a spot on the 10-member all-conference team, while Stephon Jelks was one of five all- freshman selections. Meanwhile, VMI ended its schedule with two straight losses and will be without sophomore QJ Peterson, who was second in the league in scoring with 19.6 ppg until the school's mid-January announcement that he was no longer attending the school and had been placed on medical furlough. His absence leaves Tim Marshall (11.7 ppg) as the team's leading scorer.
The bottom four seeds will take part in Friday's first-round action. The No. 8 seed UNC Greensboro Spartans (10-21, 6-12) will get things started against the No. 9 seed Samford Bulldogs (13-18, 6-12). The teams split their home-and-home series. The Spartans can hold their own offensively (69.6 ppg), although they have allowed 70.7 ppg. Tevon Saddler leads the way with 13.6 ppg, and three other players average double figures for UNCG. Samford has three double-digit scorers that have started every game this season, including SoCon all-freshman pick Christen Cunningham (10.3 ppg).
Wrapping up the first round on Friday night is a matchup between the No. 7 seeded Citadel Bulldogs (11-18, 6-12) and the 10th-seeded Furman Paladins (8-21, 5-13). Each squad picked up a road win in the two regular-season meetings. The Citadel is led by All-Socon senior guard Ashton Moore (18.3 ppg), a 39-percent 3-point shooter, while P.J. Horgan (11.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg) shoots 55 percent from the floor and handles things down low. The Bulldogs will also lean on all-freshman wing Jake Wright (9.1 ppg), a 43-percent shooter from the perimeter. For Furman, junior Stephen Croone averages a team- best 17.2 ppg. The Paladins also have a couple of key rookie contributors in Daniel Fowler (7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Devin Sibley (10.1 ppg). In fact, Sibley took home the league's Freshman Player of the Year award, the first Paladin to do so since Quan Prowell in 2004.
Although there are several interesting matchups in this tournament, when all is said and done it would be a shock if Wofford or Chattanooga was not the last team standing. The Terriers, guided by the league's top coach, may simply have too much firepower to get knocked off their perch.
Sports Network Predicted Champion: Wofford
[SportsNetwork.com]
