Chattanooga

Poll: Who Will Win the Southern Conference?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:07:14 -0400

Kevin Goffney, Chattanooga: Tournament Talk Q&A

Jon Teitel — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:57:58 -0400

Collegehoops.net's Jon Teitel is in Philadelphia all week bringing you live coverage and interviews from one of the opening weekend's most intriguing venues.

NCAA Tournament Q&A

Kevin Goffney: Sr, F, Chattanooga

Q: Is it hard being at your 3rd school in 4 years (Nicholls State, then Pratt CC)?
A: It was kind of hard because I had a lot of different coaches and teammates with different personalities. I got settled at Pratt, but it was a big change coming to Chattanooga: the D-1 game is more physical, and my teammates here became like my family, because we are all very close.

Q: How did you hurt your ankle in the Tennessee game, and how bad was it (team was 16-8 this year when he started and played for more than a minute, 2-8 when he did not)?
A: I did not think it was that bad, as my ankle just rolled, so I was going to keep playing, but when I came back to the bench and took off my shoe, my ankle was as fat as a baseball (it turned out to be a broken bone).

Q: How did you rehab yourself, and what did it feel like when you came back?
A: I was out for 9 games. It was rough at first because I was not as explosive, and it was hard to get back to full speed. Our trainers helped me out big time.

Q: Your non-conference schedule featured a ton of NCAA tourney teams (Tennessee, Missouri, Memphis, USC, Davidson, E. Tennessee State): what effect did your 1-7 start have on your team?
A: It was kind of rough, but it prepared us for this moment right here, which is our goal. We will not be surprised by anything Connecticut does.

Q: After finishing the regular season with 3 straight single-digit losses, you had a team-high 18 points and a career-high 5 assists in the 1-point conference tourney quarterfinal win over Elon: what turned it around for your team?
A: We had a great week of preparation before the conference tourney: we just focused on defense/rebounding, and did not put up many shots at all, because we just wanted to stay aggressive.

Q: After being tied at 34 at halftime of the title game vs. College of Charleston, what did Coach John Shulman tell the team, and how did you guys respond in order to get the win?
A: We played them earlier this year on senior night and they blew us out, so we did not want it to happen again. We came out and got stop after stop: the 1st 5 minutes after halftime were very critical.

Q: How important is the veteran leadership of you, Stephen McDowell, and Nicchaeus Doaks?
A: Big time, because our team is young after the 3 of us. We have to pick the young guys up, so we try to be as vocal as we can, and tell the young guys to just keep playing hard.

Q: Has Coach Shulman said anything about his time in 1992 as an assistant at E. Tennessee State when they upset Arizona as #14 seed?
A: He has talked to us about what it takes to get an upset, and and how it feels to win and keep on going: he is a great coach.

Q: Was your hometown of Ethel, LA affected by Hurricane Katrina, and if so, how bad was it?
A: We were not affected too much, although my family lost power for a few weeks and the roof was blown off our house, even though it is a couple of hours away from the coast.

Q: Are you the original “KG”, or did Kevin Garnett have it first?
A: Kevin is the man: just call me “Little KG”.

+ More Tournament Talk Q&A's

+ NCAA Basketball Tournament

• All Tournament Coverage

• NCAA Tournament Capsules

• NIT Capsules

• NCAA Tournament Schedule

• Venue Info & Tickets

• Bracketology

Seven Day Stretch: Mocs, Mocks, Wild Big Ten, and More Billy G

Rob Carpentier — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:44:40 -0400

Rob Carpentier's "Seven Day Stretch" is a whirlwind tour around every corner of college basketball nation:

Seven Day Savior (Team): North Carolina Tar Heels

I think we can safely put to bed the idea that UNC is one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time, but the Tar Heels finished the regular season exactly where they started, as the #1 team in the country. North Carolina has had to deal with season-ending injuries, raised expectations and the knowledge that they were going to typically get an opponents best shot. In terms of those adverse conditions, what the Tar Heels have been able to accomplish this year has been pretty impressive. The Heels closed out the regular season by beating Duke for the second time this year. They enter the ACC Tournament as the consensus favorite to win the national title. Carolina reminds me quite a bit of the Florida squad from a few years ago that ended up winning a second consecutive national championship. That Florida team sort of coasted through the regular season and noticeably kicked their play up a notch when the postseason began. Outside of senior Tyler Hansbrough, who plays every possession as if it’s his last, the Tar Heels show some of the same qualities as those Gators. The Heels lose focus at times, especially on defense, but it seems to be because they know that the time for serious focus is fast approaching.

Seven Day Savior (Player): Kenneth Faried, Morehead State Eagles

Faried had a very good season for the Eagles, averaging almost 14 PPG and 13 RPG. However, he didn’t begin to turn it on until towards the end of the year. Faried is a sophomore and played at the beginning of the season like a young man who didn’t know exactly what to do when he was on the floor. However, his transformation and growth has been almost exponential. He capped off a superior second half of his season by dominating the Ohio Valley Conference Tourney and leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984. He was simply a one-man wrecking crew in the OVC final against Austin Peay. His block of Peay’s attempted game-winning shot at the end of the first overtime was a thing of beauty. The Govs had designed a very nice play for an inbounds with 3 seconds to go in that first OT. The Peay players ran it to perfection but there was Faried to simply swat the shot away like it was nothing and send the game into a second OT where the Eagles won to go dancing.

Game of the Week (The One You Already Know About): Big Ten Conference Tournament

Because we’ve now entered Championship Week, there really isn’t one game to focus on, but rather an entire tournament. The Big Ten Tourney has serious ramifications because most “experts” in the NCAA selection process have stated or written that the Big Ten should get 8 teams into the NCAAs. However, some of those squads, specifically Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State and even Northwestern, have a bit of work to do in order to feel comfortable about what’s going to happen to them on Selection Sunday. It really is a compelling tournament because of this one issue. The Gophers open with Northwestern while Wisconsin has to play Ohio State on Thursday. The Nittany Lions get Indiana first, which should be a win, but Michigan has a tricky game with Iowa to open their tournament. The long and short of it is that the Big ten really is the only conference that is beginning it’s conference tournament with so much postseason uncertainty surrounding so many of its teams.

Game of the Week (The One You Don’t Know About): The WAC Tournament

As much as the Big Ten has five teams with their postseason fate hanging on their tournament performances, the WAC really has only one storyline; Utah State. There has been so much talk over the past several weeks about how there aren’t that many mid-major teams that are going to “steal” spots in the NCAA Tournament from teams in the bigger conferences. That means that most mid-major conferences are going to be one-bid leagues. With the Horizon League having completed their tournament, the only mid-major left playing that might steal a bid from a BCS school is Utah State. If the Aggies make the WAC Tournament final and lose, there is a very good chance that they will get an at-large bid to the Big Dance. There are only a few schools that bubble teams are keeping an eye on this week and Utah State is one of them. Every team in the proverbial bubble is hoping that the Aggies win the WAC.

Seven Days Under the Radar: Chattanooga Moccasins

The Mocs started the season 0-6. They lost seven of their first eight. They were a mess in December. Now they are going to the NCAA Tournament. Even though they are 18-16, the Mocs have all the ingredients of a team that can pull off a first round upset. They have a big-time scorer in guard Stephen McDowell who averages almost 19 PPG, and two complimentary scorers in Nicchaeus Doaks and Kevin Goffney. They shoot well from the outside and for the past four weeks they’ve been defending and rebounding with a renewed passion. They have very good guard play and that, coupled with their other qualities, mean the Mocs are going to be a real threat in their first round game. They are probably looking at a 14 or 15 seed in the NCAAs, but even if they get that dreaded 16 seed…well, just remember where you read it first.

Seven Days on the Hot Seat: Billy Gillispie, Kentucky Wildcats

I put Gillispie in this spot earlier this season and was chastised by many readers for it. Heck, the leader of collegehoops.net, Shawn Seigel, even stated that I was essentially wrong to put Gillispie on the hot seat*. Well, the Wildcats are about to have their streak of NCAA Tourney appearances put on ice, and quite frankly, deservedly so. Gillispie has brought a certain style to Lexington but he hasn’t modified his system at all to fit the players he inherited when he arrived from Texas A&M two years ago. He has alienated several of his players, his game decisions have been questionable throughout the season and, most importantly, he hasn’t gotten his players to buy in to his philosophy. Now he’s losing the fans because this Kentucky team has been terribly underwhelming in a year when the SEC has been terribly down. Gillispie has no connection to Kentucky and seems like he is a coach who would be better off being slightly under the radar like he was at College Station. If the Wildcats lose early in the SEC Tournament and then go to the NIT, don’t be surprised if there’s a change in Lexington.

*Ed: My direct quote was, "UK will be fine.. more than fine actually down the road. I have a lot of faith in Gillispie's coaching ability."

Seven Days of Head Scratching: Scheduling and the Economy

One of the things I’ve been thinking about this year is how some of the smaller D-1 programs are going to cope with the shrinking economy. The first thing that came to mind was and is scheduling. Many of these low-major programs are cannon fodder for the big schools at the beginning of the season. However, this year there has also been more of an effort by many of these smaller programs to schedule NAIA and D-II schools. That simply can’t happen anymore, or at least no where near as much as this past season because of the cost involved in bringing those teams in to small school ‘X’s arena. These small schools, or at least many of them could possibly be in serious trouble as D-1 entities. The fact is that many of these schools moved into Division 1 when they shouldn’t have. They don’t have the facilities, the fan base or the tradition to survive what appears to be an economy that is reaching into all areas of society. Perhaps that’s a good thing; some of these schools will be forced to move back to a classification that better fits their enrollment, facilities, etc. The question, and it bears watching, is how this recession is going to hit these smaller D-1 programs.

+ NCAA Tournament

• All Tournament Coverage

• NCAA Tournament Capsules

• NIT Capsules

• NCAA Tournament Schedule

• Venue Info & Tickets

• Bracketology

Chattanooga: 2009 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Joel Welser — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:23:27 -0400

Chattanooga Mocs

Southern Conference (18-16, 11-9)

Big Wins: 12/30 Niagara (99-84), 2/5 at Wofford (84-77), 3/9 Charleston (80-69)

Bad Losses: 1/3 at Georgia Southern (74-78), 1/24 at Elon (85-86), 2/7 at Furman (70-72)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2005, First Round loss to Wake Forest

Coach: John Shulman (0-1 in 1 NCAA appearance)

Why They Can Surprise:

Few starting lineups in all of college basketball have as much experience as Chattanooga’s starting five. All of them are seniors and the sixth man is a junior. Coach John Shulman can rely on his players to do what they do best. And what this group does best is rebound. Nicchaeus Doaks has emerged as the most productive member of the frontcourt, averaging 13.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and one block per contest. The 6-7 Trenton, Tennessee native will spend most of his time hanging around the basket, but he can step outside and knock down the occasional three-pointer.

Small forward Kevin Goffney can hit the long ball as well. Goffney is not a back to the basket type of player and he will slash down the paint and score with ease. He is even a great passer and that is rare for a 6-5 forward. The biggest of the big guys is 6-8, 222 pound senior Khalil Hartwell. He is a decent scorer around the basket and solid rebounder. Hartwell will not block many shots, that is Doaks’ job, but he can play good defense.

Why They Can Disappoint:

The biggest concern for the Mocs is the lack of depth. Ty Patterson and Jasper Williams are the only two players outside of the likely starting five that average more than ten minutes per game. And those two are guards. Patterson will provide a spark off the bench with his outside shooting and Williams can handle the ball, but if one of the big guys gets hurt or in foul trouble, Coach John Shulman suddenly has a much smaller lineup on the floor and the advantage on the glass virtually disappears. Patterson is 6-6 and can certainly play at the three or four spot, but he will not be hitting the glass as effectively as the player he substituted in for.

Who To Watch:

Keyron Sheard is a solid guard who does a good job creating shots for his teammates. The teammate that is usually the beneficiary of his passing is Stephen McDowell. The 5-11 transfer from South Carolina connects on an amazing 4.0 three-pointers per game. Only a couple players in the nation can say they hit more than that. And it is not like McDowell just jacks up three’s all the time. His 43.4 percent from long range ranks in the top 20 in the nation. And McDowell does more than just shoot. A majority of his shots do come from beyond the arc, but he will mix things up every once in a while and attack the basket. He is a little small to do that against some opponents, but he seems to always find a way. McDowell seems to have his best scoring performances in big games and they do not get any bigger than the NCAA Tournament.

Probable Starters:

Keyron Sheard, Senior, Guard, 7.1 ppg, 3.8 apg

Stephen McDowell, Senior, Guard, 18.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg

Kevin Goffney, Senior, Forward, 13.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.6 apg

Nicchaeus Doaks, Senior, Forward, 13.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg

Khalil Hartwell, Senior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Ty Patterson, Junior, Guard, 8.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg

Jasper Williams, Freshman, Guard, 2.2 ppg, 1.5 apg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 76.7 (42^nd in nation, 3^rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 76.2 (314, 10)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.4 (136, 6)

Field-Goal Defense: 43.9 (202, 3)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.4 (18, 2)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.6 (108, 5)

Free-Throw Percentage: 65.0 (273, 9)

Rebound Margin: 3.2 (70, 2)

Assists Per Game: 13.8 (114, 2)

Turnovers Per Game: 15.7 (284, 11)

Following the final Bracket announcement, more team info will be added, including final RPI, final team statistical rankings, Joel's prediction, and more!

+ NCAA Tournament

• All Tournament Coverage

• NCAA Tournament Capsules

• NIT Capsules

• NCAA Tournament Schedule

• Venue Info & Tickets

• Bracketology

Southern Conference Tournament: Preview

Evan Dorey — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:07:15 -0500

This is one in a series of conference tournament previews, in which I run down all the teams involved, give a brief statistical review and present the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. I don’t claim to be an expert on any particular conference, and I’m sure there are some mis-characterizations on some players I’ve seen sparingly at best, so please add your thoughts in the comments. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Southern Conference

The SoCon Tournament is in Chattanooga, TN, and uses a divisional system, with the top 4 teams getting first round byes.

#	Team	QF	SF	F	W
N1	Chattanooga	100.00%	65.87%	29.27%	5.08%
S1	Davidson	100.00%	94.62%	85.70%	74.62%
N2	Western Carolina	100.00%	35.38%	2.77%	0.82%
S2	The Citadel	100.00%	72.60%	47.43%	11.19%
N3	Samford	87.80%	26.70%	12.18%	1.64%
S3	College of Charleston	88.06%	61.74%	9.30%	4.57%
N4	Appalachian St.	77.37%	4.94%	2.07%	0.68%
S4	Wofford	76.38%	30.16%	10.46%	1.34%
N5	Elon	23.62%	3.97%	0.58%	0.03%
S5	Georgia Southern	22.63%	0.44%	0.08%	0.01%
N6	NC Greensboro	11.94%	2.88%	0.09%	0.01%
S6	Furman	12.20%	0.70%	0.08%	0.00%

Between Davidson, Charleston and The Citadel, the South division should dominate the tournament, with the hosts Chattanooga a having a decent shot to make the final, but not looking good against the dominant favorites.

North #1 – Chattanooga Mocs (15-16, 11-9) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.028

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2005 (1^st Round)

The Mocs may be North Division champions, but that’s more about the strength of the South than a ringing endorsement of their play, as Chattanooga has just barely been better than a .500 team. They put up a lot of threes, but make a fairly poor percentage, and are excellent at getting to the free throw line, where they shoot just 65%, adding up to a lot of wasted chances. Chattanooga has struggled to stop the three-point shot, allowing opponents to hit 38% of attempts, and their defensive style means more than 45% of opponents’ shots come from behind the arc, more than any other team in the country. It doesn’t take much statistics knowledge to realize how damaging that is. The saving grace for the Mocs’ defense is that they force turnovers and do well on the defensive glass, but they are still only an average team at best.

Players to watch:

5-11 SR Stephen McDowell, 18.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 58.9 eFG% - McDowell is the conference’s top scorer not named Curry, powered by his 42% three-point shooting on nearly 300 attempts. He doesn’t tend to do much else besides score, but when you’re this good a scorer, that’s more than enough.

6-7 SR Nicchaeus Doaks, 14.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 53.6 eFG% - Doaks leads the conference in rebounds, and is a 57% shooter from inside the arc. He’s excellent at getting to the free throw line, but shoots just 63% there.

South #1 – Davidson Wildcats (25-6, 18-2) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.232

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (Elite Eight)

While the Wildcats’ hopes for an NCAA at-large bid basically disappeared with a two-week period that saw them drop three games, including both their conference losses, they are still heavy favorites to win the conference tournament, and clearly the SoCon’s dominant team. While the Davidson offense gets a lot of focus because of Stephen Curry, the team’s major asset is its defense, the best in the conference by a wide, wide margin. It holds opponents under 40% from the field, and forces a lot of turnovers, in the top 25 in the nation in both areas. If it has a defensive weakness, it’s a tendency to commit a few too many fouls. Offensively, the Wildcats’ shooting percentages aren’t particularly good, but their turnover rate is one of the country’s lowest.

Players to watch:

6-3 JR Stephen Curry, 28.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.8 APG, 2.6 SPG, 55.1 eFG% - You might have heard of this Curry fellow, as he only happens to be the nation’s leading scorer. He also leads the conference in both assists and steals, and is among the national elite in both of those categories. The amazing thing about Curry is how he manages to stay so efficient when he gets so many possessions; a lot of players have shot as well as he has, percentage-wise, but only Curry can maintain that level over nearly 40% of his team’s shots. He may not get enough credit as a ball distributor, as he has a great assist rate with very few turnovers.

6-8 SR Andrew Lovedale, 12.5 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 51.4 eFG% - Lovedale is a quality defensive player, and important to Davidson’s strong play at that end of the floor; he leads the team in rebounding and shot-blocks, and is an important influence inside. He’s not a huge scorer, but he doesn’t need to be: he takes his chances pretty well when he gets them.

North #2 – Western Carolina Catamounts (16-14, 11-9) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.012

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1996 (1^st Round)

I promise to stop harping on it, but it’s a little unfair to the South division that the North #2 is has actually been outscored in conference play, yet still earns a first round bye. The Catamounts have allowed the highest opponent FG% in the conference, including 53% on two-point attempts, and commit more than 21 fouls a game, but actually have a league average defense. This is due to good rebounding and the best rate of forcing turnovers in the SoCon. Western Carolina is also an average shooting team, but thanks to its ability on the offensive glass, gets a lot of second-chance opportunities.

Players to watch:

6-4 FR Harouna Mutombo, 14.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 51.3 eFG% - A talented freshman out of Pickering HS, not too far from where I call home, Mutombo has led the Catamounts in rebounding and scoring, and has put up a very good shooting percentage, well over 50% from two-point range.

6-2 JR Brigham Waginger, 8.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.5 SPG, 50.2 eFG% - Waginger isn’t much of a scorer, but shoots the ball pretty well, with most of his attempts coming from three, and has one of the nation’s best steal rates.

South #2 – The Citadel Bulldogs (20-11, 15-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.094

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

While much of the talk about the SoCon has focused solely on Davidson, one of the great stories in college basketball this season managed to gain some well-deserved attention when the Citadel beat Davidson in mid-February. This was the highlight of a run that saw the Bulldogs go 11-1 over the last month or so of the season, and the first time that the team had reached 20 wins in thirty years. If any team has a chance of stopping the Curry show from making a stop at the NCAA tournament, this looks like it. The Citadel has depended on a dynamite defense, the only non-Davidson unit to hold opponents below a point per possession on the year. It managed this with tough perimeter defending, allowing just 39% on opponent three-point attempts, and good defensive rebounding. The Citadel’s offense is only at the league average, but it’s a solid shooting team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, good enough to carry them through a defensively deficient league.

Players to watch:

6-8 SR Demetrius Nelson, 16.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 59.3 eFG% - The team’s leader in both points and rebounds, Nelson has been one of the best players in the conference this year, hitting nearly 60% of his shots and getting to the free-throw line quite often, where he makes 76% of attempts.

6-1 SO Cameron Wells, 15.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 49.0 eFG% - Wells is nowhere as efficient a player as Nelson, but he’s a good scorer who leads the team in assists and steals.

North #3 – Samford Bulldogs (14-15, 9-11) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.024

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2000 (1^st Round)

Samford’s overall record is a little misleading, they’ve been an .500 team in efficiency margin, though they don’t have the wins to show for it. The Bulldogs run one of the country’s slowest offenses, and take 50% of their field goal attempts from behind the arc. This has helped their inside play somewhat, as they are among the best two-point shooting teams in the country, but they’ve struggled with offensive rebounding and turnovers. Samford is also poor at defensive rebounding, and is vulnerable to opponents inside, but forces a lot of turnovers, rarely fouls and gets teams it plays to shoot a lot of threes.

Players to watch:

6-4 JR Trey Montgomery, 11.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 57.3 eFG% - Montgomery is a do-everything player who leads the team in four separate categories, including rebounds and assists. A lot of this is due to the fact that Samford has tended to spread out its possessions and playing time, as his rates aren’t great, but he plays a lot. He’s a good shooter who scores mostly inside, and has a good complimentary long-distance shot.

6-4 FR Josh Davis, 10.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 61.9 eFG% - Davis is a three-point specialist, and he does an awfully good job of it, hitting 40% of his attempts and leading the conference in eFG%. He’s averaged 15 points a game in his last eight contests.

South #3 – College of Charleston Cougars (23-7, 15-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.067

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1999 (1^st Round)

The Cougars are the fourth favorite for the tournament title, and twice fought Davidson down to the final possession, including causing the Wildcats’ first conference loss in early February. They feature the conference’s best offense, hitting shots well inside and outside, and rarely giving up the ball. Charleston’s defense has only been average, and its weak spot has been rebounding, as opponents have managed to get back a lot of their own misses. With the Cougars forcing few turnovers, this has meant a lot of chances for opposing teams to score.

Players to watch:

6-1 SO Andrew Goudelock, 16.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 56.3 eFG% - Goudelock is the conference’s best free throw shooter at 89%, and is also pretty good from behind the arc, where he earns a lot of points.

6-8 SR Dustin Scott, 9.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 55.5 eFG% - Scott’s best contributions come on the defensive end, where he leads the Cougars in both steals and blocks. He’s a very good percentage shooter, but doesn’t take a lot of shots, and he’s faced a lot of foul trouble in recent games, fouling out in 4 of his last 8.

North #4 – Appalachian St. Mountaineers (12-17, 9-11) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.002

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2000 (1^st Round)

The Mountaineers just barely finished with a positive efficiency margin, and featured a pretty solid conference offense. They are the best pure shooters in the SoCon, leading the league in free throw and three-point percentage, and get back a lot of the shots they do miss. They need to maximize these chances, as they generally lose out in the turnover battle by a wide margin, the worst in the conference in both forcing and committing them. The problem that Appalachian St. has had is that its opponents make a lot of shots, and while it is as good on the defensive glass as the offensive glass, it doesn’t force enough misses to really take advantage.

Players to watch:

6-1 JR Kellen Brand, 15.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 57.7 eFG% - Brand is one of a pair of quality long-distance threats, shooting over 40% from behind the arc, but his contributions in the other parts of the boxscore are fairly limited.

6-10 SO Issac Butts, 8.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 58.9 eFG% - Butts doesn’t have a huge role in the offense, but he’s pretty much what you want out of a big guy, a high percentage scorer who dominates the boards. He hasn’t played that much in recent weeks, but has had some big games, including 12-and-10 against Chattanooga.

South #4 – Wofford Terriers (16-13, 12-8) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.019

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

Wofford is the last of the teams in the top 8 of the conference; after it, there is a large drop-off to the teams in the league basement. It’s had a pretty good offensive showing, making a fair number of its threes, avoiding turnovers, and doing well on the offensive glass. The Terriers’ problem has been defensive, especially from behind the arc, where opponents have shot 39%.

Players to watch:

6-6 SO Noah Dahlman, 17.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 61.1 eFG% - Dahlman is one of the SoCon’s most efficient players, as he does a lot of things really well, an over 60% shooter who is an excellent offensive rebounder and has committed just 37 turnovers all season.

6-2 JR Junior Salters, 15.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 54.4 eFG% - Salters is a good three-point shooter who has seen his scoring numbers drop over the month of February, and will need to find some form if Wofford is to make any noise in the tourney.

North #5 – Elon Phoenix (10-19, 7-13) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.083

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

All of the teams from here and below have averaged less than a point-per-possession offensively, and all are underdogs in their opening round games. Elon is the best of these teams, as it has an above-average defense, holding opponents to a fairly low percentage from behind the arc and forcing a lot of turnovers. The Phoenix have needed this defense to be good, as they’ve had the conference’s second worst offense, shooting just 43% from the field and not being able to get their misses back very often, resulting in a lot of one-and-done possessions.

Players to watch:

6-8 SR Ola Atoyebi, 14.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 57.3 eFG% - Atoyebi leads the Phoenix in both points and rebounds, and is an is an excellent shooter who takes a large role in the offense.

6-5 SR Brett James, 13.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 46.4 eFG% - James is an impressive defensive player, leading the team in both blocks and steals, but his relatively poor shooting, including just 30% on three-pointers, holds back his offensive game.

South #5 – Georgia Southern Eagles (8-21, 5-15) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.108

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1992 (1^st Round)

Georgia Southern seemed to be going pretty well when it was 5-4 in conference in the final week of January, but totally lost its way from then on, losing 11 straight games to finish just one game out of a tie for last place. The Eagles have fallen this far because of their conference-worst defense, which has been one of the country’s worst in several areas, allowing opponents to shoot 38% on threes and 52% on twos, and getting very few defensive rebounds. Their offense has been better, but still not particularly good, below average in pretty much every statistical category.

Players to watch:

5-10 FR Ben Drayton, 11.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 57.0 eFG% - Drayton has been an excellent three-point shooter, over 50% from behind the arc, and while he hasn’t taken a huge number of them, he’s made enough to raise his efficiency. Drayton’s scoring average is somewhat dampened by his start, in which he played little; in the last month he’s averaged more than 17 points a game.

6-2 JR Antonio Hanson, 11.9 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 53.2 eFG% - Hanson hasn’t shot as good a percentage as Drayson, but he’s taken more threes than anyone else on the team, and made nearly 40% of them. His only real contribution is with his shot, so when he can’t get it to fall, he’s pretty much invisible statistically.

North #6 – NC Greensboro Spartans (5-24, 4-16) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.114

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2001 (1^st Round)

Only Georgia Southern has defended worse than the Spartans in the SoCon this year, despite the fact that Greensboro has been better than average at defending shots. The problem for Greensboro has been limiting the number of chances its opponents get; it rarely gets opponents to turn the ball over, and picks up relatively few of its opponents’ misses. The Spartans have also struggled on the offensive side of the ball, sitting second to last in the conference in shooting on both three-pointers and two-pointers.

Players to watch:

6-5 JR Ben Stywall, 11.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 52.5 eFG% - Stywall is one of the SoCon’s better rebounders, and is pretty efficient on the offensive end, shooting 52% from the field and getting to the free throw line a lot. His 59% shooting at the stripe is a drop-off from previous seasons and an area he needs to improve.

6-4 JR Mikko Koivisto, 12.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.4 APG, 50.5 eFG% - The Vantaa, Finland native is the only major three-point shooting threat on the Spartans, and the team’s leading scorer, though he tends to be inconsistent.

South #6 – Furman Paladins (6-23, 4-16) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.146

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1980 (1^st Round)

Furman is the weakest team in the Southern Conference, with two of its six wins on the season coming against non-D1 opponents. It is the conference’s worst shooting team, barely managing to crack 40% from the field, and is one of the SoCon’s worst teams at committing turnovers. Defensively, they’ve been pretty weak inside, and while they’ve done a decent job of forcing turnovers, they just haven’t been good enough to cover for their offensive woes.

Players to watch:

6-2 SO Jordan Miller, 13.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 42.0 eFG% - Miller takes a lot of the Paladins’ shots, and is the team’s leading scorer, but his percentages are weak, especially his sub-40% two-point shooting.

6-5 SO Bryson Barnes, 8.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 48.5 eFG% - Barnes has only started 10 games, but leads the team in both rebounding and shot-blocks, and is a decent inside scorer. He’s increased his role in recent games, averaging 12 points in his last six games.

My statistical all-Southern team:

Davidson JR G Stephen Curry, 28.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.8 APG, 2.6 SPG, 55.1 eFG%

Chattanooga SR G Stephen McDowell, 18.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 58.9 eFG%

The Citadel SO G Cameron Wells, 15.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, 49.0 eFG%

Wofford SO F Noah Dahlman, 17.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 61.1 eFG%

The Citadel SR F/C Demetrius Nelson, 16.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 59.3 eFG%

SoCo Awards: Curry Player of the Year & More

Press Release — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:19:30 -0500

2008-09 All-Conference
Kellen Brand, Appalachian State
Stephen Curry, Davidson
Noah Dahlman, Wofford
Nicchaeus Doaks, Chattanooga
Andrew Goudelock, College of Charleston
Andrew Lovedale, Davidson
Stephen McDowell, Chattanooga
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina
Demetrius Nelson, The Citadel
Cameron Wells, The Citadel

All-Freshman Team
John Brown, The Citadel
Ben Drayton III, Georgia Southern
Damian Eargle, UNC Greensboro
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina
Brad Loesing, Wofford

Freshman of the Year
Harouna Mutombo, Western Carolina

Defensive Player of the Year
Max Paulhus Gosselin, Davidson

Player of the Year
Stephen Curry, Davidson

Coach of the Year
Ed Conroy, The Citadel

- The league’s men’s basketball coaches voted on the All-Conference and All-Freshmen teams.

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Southern Conference?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:42:26 -0500

Clip of the Day: Steph Curry Outscores Chattanooga

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:54:34 -0500

Clip of the Day

Thanks to the genius of YouTube, the world has access to thousands of great college basketball videos to keep us busy every second of every day. We'll be featuring daily movies to whet your college basketball appetite. Even if you've seen them before, some clips are just too good not to watch again and again.

Stephen Curry: Outscores UTC

Curry puts up 27 in a half against Chattanooga, while the the Mocs only score 26

- Watch all of CHN's favorite College Basketball Videos!

- Also check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- And finally the Picture of the Day!

Southern Conference Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:38:27 -0500

Conference Rank: 17th

10 year average: 19th

Southern Conference Page

All-Southern Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Stephen Curry	Davidson	Jr
G	Donald Sims	Appalachian St	So
G	Tony White	Charleston	Jr
F	Nicchaeus Doaks	Chattanooga	Sr
F	Jermaine Johnson	Charleston	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Stephen Curry Mid-Major All-Americans Stephen Curry* *Mid-Major POY		Points: Stephen Curry 25.1 Rebounds: Jermaine Johnson 8.5 Assists: Cameron Wells (Citadel) 3.8

Southern Conference Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

40	Davidson	Southern	1	NCAA
116	Appalachian St	Southern	2
141	Charleston	Southern	3
169	Chattanooga	Southern	4
205	Georgia Southern	Southern	5
216	UNC Greensboro	Southern	6
239	Furman	Southern	7
269	Elon	Southern	8
278	Wofford	Southern	9
292	Samford	Southern	10
293	Western Carolina	Southern	11
324	Citadel	Southern	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the SoCo? (soon)

Other Southern Content

Conference Media/Coaches Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: Patriot

Top SG's: Stephen Curry

Top Non-BCS Players: Stephen Curry

State of '08: Tennessee

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:21:59 -0400

HTML clipboard

Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

TENNESSEE

MEMPHIS - Whatever blueprint John Calipari follows seems to work. In his eighth year at Memphis, the Tigers advanced to the National Title game after making back to back Elite Eights. At UMASS, it also took eight years for him to reach the Final Four.

TENNESSEE - The Vols are in the midst of a good run under Bruce Pearl, three NCAA Tournaments in a row including back to back Sweet Sixteen trips. Before Pearl arrived, Tennessee hadn't made the Tourney in five years.

VANDERBILT - Vandy has been a consistent winner the last five seasons under Kevin Stallings. There's been four 20-win seasons, 5 postseason trips, and a pair of Sweet Sixteen runs. After winning 26 games last year (the 2nd best in school history), the team's first round loss to Siena was a bit of a downer.

BELMONT - Long-time coach Rick Byrd is suddenly the leader of a mid-major power. Belmont has made three NCAA Tournaments in a row, and is once agan favored to win the Atlantic Sun in 08-09.

AUSTIN PEAY - Dave Loos is nearing 20 years at APSU, a time in which the Govs have consistently been one of the top teams in the OVC. In the last decade, there hasn't even been a sub-.500 finish in conference play. In the last six years, they've made 2 NCAA trips and one NIT.

6. MIDDLE TENNESSEE - Before Kermit Davis took over in 2002, MTSU was coming off a brutal season that included just 4 D1 wins. While Davis hasn't led the Blue Raiders to the Big Dance, the program has made amazing strides under his leadership. Last year, the team advanced to the Sun Belt finals, and many feel they are that league's team to beat in '09.

7. CHATTANOOGA - Just as Davidson is the current Southern Conference darling, Chattanooga was once the league's team to beat. The last decade has been a bit more pedestrian however, with just a lone tourney trip in 2005, though the team came close in '03 & '04 as well. The last few teams have been mediocre, with win totals boosted by playing an oddly high amount of D2 teams.

8. EAST TENNESSEE STATE - With the exception of a horrible 2005 campaign, ETSU has been one of the A-Sun's most consistent winners. In 2004, the Bucs won the league title, in 2007 they dominated the regular season before falling to Belmont in the finals, and they were solid once again in 2008.

9. TENNESSEE TECH - The Golden Eagles haven't won their conference tournament in over 40 years, but they've come close in the last decade. From 2000-2003, Tech was one of the best teams in the OVC but they couldn't get over the postseason hump. The last five years have been up and down however, and this year could be one of the downers.

10. LIPSCOMB - From 2002 to 2004, this was one of the country's worst program. But after those initial growing pains, this young program has made nice progress in the A-Sun. 2006 was the program's best season with 21 wins, a 143 RPI, and a close loss to Belmont in the conference title game. This year, expectations are a bit muted.

11. TENNESSEE STATE - In the early part of the decade, Tennessee State was one of the country's worst programs. But a lot of progress has been made, and last year was the first time in a decade that the Tigers won an OVC Tournament game. Not only did TSU win one game, but they made it to the conference championship.

12. TENNESSEE-MARTIN - Over the last 20 years, UTM has hovered between bad and worse, with only 2 winning seasons in that period. But last year was surprisingly mediocre with a 15-16 D1 record and 11-9 OVC finish. Now, there's suddenly high expectations for the first time, and some publications are projecting a league title.

* Note: An unfinished version of this article, with the wrong ranking (Lipscomb in 12th) was originally posted, but it has since been corrected.

Last: South Carolina - Next: Texas

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)