Author: Brad

The Stretch Run

We’re in the last week of non-conference play. Starting on December 30th, all of the SoCon teams will begin to beat up on each other. Before then, let’s look at where all of the teams are standing and what they have left this week.

*All of these rankings are current as of the morning of 12/19

Furman (9-3) RPI: 90 KenPom: 136

Remaining games: @ Tennessee (12/20)

UNCG (8-3) RPI: 83 KenPom: 99

Remaining Games: UNC-Asheville (12/19), Southeastern (12/21)

ETSU (6-4) RPI:138 KenPom: 113

Remaining Games: @Detroit (12/19), GA Southern (12/22), Tusculum (12/28)

Wofford (7-4) RPI: 171 KenPom: 197

Remaining Games: @ UNC (12/20, Harvard (1/10)

Mercer (6-5) RPI: 141 KenPom: 103

Remaining Games: @ Alabama (12/19), Kennesaw St (12/28)

VMI (5-5) RPI: 302 KenPom: 327

Remaining Games: @ VCU (12/22)

Chattanooga (5-6) RPI: 271 KenPom: 230

Remaining Game: @ Jacksonville St (12/21), Ga State (12/23)

Western Carolina RPI: 146 KenPom: 267

Remaining Games: High Point (12/19), Southern Wesleyan (TBD)

The Citadel (5-6) RPI: 310 KenPom: 316

Remaining Games: @ Ohio State (12/19)

Samford (4-8) RPI: 268 KenPom: 242

Remaining Games: @ Kennesaw St (12/21)

Memphis Escapes at Home … Twice

The Southern Conference has been searching for a big name program to scalp all season long as a signature win. The University of Memphis has been the most likely candidate … twice. The Tigers had back-to-back home games against Mercer and Samford and somehow managed to pick up two wins in games where it wasn’t the better team.

Mercer 81 – Memphis 83 (2OT)

Memphis thought it had caught a break to be playing Mercer without star player Ria’n Holland. Instead his replacement in the starting lineup, Ethan Stair, scored 13 points and Stephon Jelks added in 17 points for the Bears. Mercer controlled the game almost from the start and found itself up by double digits with 7 minutes to play. A quick 9-0 Memphis run made sure that the game was going to be a close affair to the end. Memphis hit a very long 3 point shot with 27 seconds left to tie up the game and Mercer was not able to get a good look on their last possession as the game went to overtime. In overtime, Jordan Strawberry took over for Mercer. He hit 2 big 3 pointers and made a 2 critical free throws with under 2 seconds left to send it to a second overtime. The second overtime was just as tight. But after 2 made free throws by Memphis, the Mercer was again unable to put together a good last possession and dropped the game 83-81.  It was a tough loss for the Bears, but Mercer will get a full week off the start getting healthy again. This was the third straight game they had played without Holland.

Samford 64 – Memphis 65

After a very disappointing start to their season, Samford found itself in a position to get to pick up a Southern Conference signature win on Tuesday night. Demetrius Denzel-Dyson, a local Memphis area player, poured in 17 points. His last basket staked the Bulldogs to a 64-60 lead with under 20 seconds left. However, Memphis rushed the ball up the court on the ensuing possession for a layup and then immediately forced a Samford turnover with 9 seconds left. On the final possession, Samford forced Memphis into taking a tough shot. Birmingham native Jamal Johnson collected the offensive rebound, and made the put back while getting fouled with 2.5 seconds left. His made free throw provided the final margin. As on Saturday, it was the Southern Conference team that controlled this contest almost throughout. However, Memphis was able to stay in the game by outrebounding Samford. So it was only fitting that the game came down to a critical offensive rebound. But for a Samford team that hasn’t had a lot go right for it early on this season, it’s the type of performance to build off of going forward.

Holiday Recap

With everything going on around Thanksgiving, you probably didn’t get to watch every SoCon basketball game (we didn’t either). But here’s a quick recap a few things you might have missed.

Wake Forest 81 – UNCG 75

Francis Alonso (31 points on 7-10 from 3) went full on nuclear but couldn’t quite get UNCG over the hump in Winston-Salem. The Spartans had a chance at the end. Down just 2 points with 23 seconds remaining, a missed Wake layup landed in Malik Massey’s hands while his foot was on the baseline. Wake then made 4 free throws to seal the win and leave the SoCon still searching for a signature win. The Spartans shot great (13-26) from behind the arc, but looked awful at the charity stripe (12-22).

Furman 78 – New Hampshire 64

Furman 78 – Northeastern 67

Furman went 2-0 in their trip to Nashville for the PK80 Invitational.

A huge second half run allowed Furman to coast to a win over Hew Hampshire on Friday. The Paladins defense in the second half was amazing as it shut down New Hampshire’s best player (Leissner) and held him without a field goal. Devin Sibley finished 1 rebound shy of a double-double (20 points & 9 rebounds).

On Saturday, Sibley did tally a double-double (20 point & 10 rebounds) as the Paladins ran out to a double digit halftime lead and were never really threated again by Northeastern. Furman owned the boards (36-29) and shot almost 50% (31-63) from the field. Sibley is looking strong to win the SoCon POY award.

SE Louisiana 77 – Samford 71

No Josh Sharkey. No Wyatt Walker. No Alex Peters. Without those 3 players, Samford isn’t a very good team and showed it. SELA’s bench outscoring Samford’s 43-5 is the stat of the game. Demetrius Denzel-Dyson carried the Bulldogs (23 points) in this one, but a 16-10 Lions run over the last 3 and a half minutes sealed the loss for Samford.

ETSU 83 – Fort Wayne 73

Texas Southern graduate transfer Jalan McCloud filled up the stat sheet (25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) in a nice win in Johnson City. While Fort Wayne bombed away form the outside (12-37), it was the Bucs that repeatedly attacked the basket. The major stat line in this one was ETSU’s 28-33 at the free throw line compared to just 11-15 for the Mastodons. Desonta Bradford scored 16 for ETSU as well.

UNC Asheville 85 – Wofford 65

In a downright ugly loss, the Bulldogs shredded a normal reliable Wofford defense to the tune of a 26-2 run in the second half. Fletcher Magee and Nathan Hoover each had nice games, but UNCA went 8-9 from 3 to start the second half and the Terriers were done. It’s their second straight 20+ point loss.

Team Previews: ETSU

Last Season: 25-8 (14-4 SoCon)

Major Non-Conference Wins

  • @ Mississippi State
  • Fordham
  • @ Morehead State

Major losses

  • TJ Cromer – 19.1 ppg 3.2 apg
  • Tevin Glass – 8.9 ppg 6.3 rpg
  • AJ Merriweather – 8.6 ppg 3.6 rpg

Top Returners

  • Desonta Bradford – 11.4 ppg 4.4 rpg 3.9 apg
  • Devontavious Payne – 6.5 ppg

2017-2018 Schedule Highlights

  • 11/17 @ Kentucky
  • 11/10 (away) & 12/6 (home) Northern Kentucky
  • 12/16 @ Xavier

Outlook

  • Stop me if you’ve heard this before, there’s a lot of turnover this year in Johnson City. ETSU roster is always in flux, and that’s just how coach Steve Forbes works. Forbes is a master JUCO recruiter and has done well in the transfer market. This year though, he’ll be looking to replace the best player in the Southern Conference for a year ago, TJ Cromer.
  • Longwood transfer Kanayo Obi-Rapu looks to make a big impact after sitting out last season. He averaged 12 ppg in his sophomore season with the Lancers.
  • Before the season has even started, the Bucs have lost prospective starter Jeromy Rodriguez for the season.
  • Look for Bradford, Payne and David Burrell to help carry the team early as it finds the right chemistry. Bradford looks like an All-Socon performer who could challenge for POY status.
  • Plugging the Bucs into our power rankings is hard in this preseason. They’ve lost a lot from last year. But Steve Forbes and Desonta Bradford make us think this team has a lot of upside and could climb a lot higher than their starting spot of 6th in our poll.

Team Previews: The Citadel

Last Season: 12-21 (4-14 SoCon)

Major Non-Conference Wins

  • @ Stetson
  • USC – Upstate

Major losses

  • Warren Sledge – 7.6 ppg 2.7 rpg 3.4 apg

Top Returners

  • Preston Parks – 17.5 ppg 3.7 apg
  • Zane Najdawi – 15.0 ppg 6.7 rpg

2017-2018 Schedule Highlights

  • 11/12 @ Virginia Tech
  • 11/24 @ Florida State
  • 12/19 @ Ohio State

Outlook

  • The Bulldogs return almost everyone to a team that is really just starting to be molded into a roster to coach Duggar Balcom’s liking. With virtually no roster turnover, that will make it easier to implement their frenetic pace.
  • Preston Parks has a chance to be the best player in SoCon. His 40% field goal percentage leaves a lot of room for improvement. But again with the style of play, he’s certainly going to get a high volume of shots.
  • So, I guess when talking about the Bulldogs it all comes down to how much do you trust their style? It has the potential to be amazing. If it goes south, it can go way south. But their experience tends to take some of the edge off of our skepticism. They appear to be at the top of the lower tier of the SoCon with a legit chance to move into the middle tier and maybe beyond.

Team Previews: Chattanooga

Last Season: 19-12 (10-8 SoCon)

Major Non-Conference Wins

  • @ Tennessee
  • Marshall
  • @ Coastal Carolina

Major losses

  • Tre’ McClean – 13.7 ppg 5.4 rpg
  • Justin Tuoyo – 13.6 ppg 6.6 rpg
  • Greg Pryor – 12.0 ppg
  • Casey Jones – 9.5 ppg 4.1 rpg
  • Matt McCall (Coach – UMass)

Top Returners

  • Makinde London – 6.0 ppg 3.5 rpg
  • Trey Chatman – 5.3 ppg 2.2 apg

2017-2018 Schedule Highlights

  • 11/10 @ Wyoming
  • 11/13 @ UAB
  • 12/10 Charlotte

Outlook

  • The Mocs looked great for most of the season last year, but a February swoon that included a host of in fighting rumors led to a huge roster turnover for this season. Almost all contributors from last season will have to be replaced. That’s not something that will happen overnight.
  • However with all the roster turnover, back is talented Makinde London who has All-Socon talent but needs find consistency this season.
  • The schedule sets up to work in UTC’s favor as it is not filled with Power 5 teams that could kill this team’s confidence before the season really starts.
  • It may take some time for new coach Lamont Paris (Wisconsin) to put his personal stamp on this team in terms of style and roster. How quick both of those things happen will be the keys to the Mocs success this year and going forward.

Team Previews: Western Carolina

Last Season: 9-23 (4-14 SoCon)

Major Non-Conference Wins

  • High Point
  • App State

Major losses

  • Kyle Rhoades – 2.3 ppg 2.0 rpg

Top Returners

  • Haboubacar Mutumbo – 11.7 ppg 5.3 rpg 2.2 apg
  • Devin Peterson – 10.5 ppg 3.6 apg

2017-2018 Schedule Highlights

  • 11/10 @ Clemson
  • 11/13 @ Cincinnati
  • 11/19 @ Minnesota
  • 12/6 @ UNC-CH

Outlook

  • Western fans may be upset at being picked this low in the Socon, and they might have a good argument. The Catamounts return virtually all of their important players from last season, as well as getting back Deriece Parks for a redshirt season (Parks only appeared in 10 games last season). This is a very senior laden team.
  • The schedule makers at Western have done this year’s team no favors. This schedule is loaded with high major road games. This team will struggle to pull out more than 5 non-conference wins. That’s not an indictment on the Catamounts, but a testament to how challenging this schedule will be for WCU.
  • Haboubacar Mutumbo is truly one of the biggest stars in the SoCon. I’m expecting him to have an All-SoCon type season.
  • Shooting doomed the Catamounts last season and it’s the main reason why they are ranked here to start the year now. WCU shot only 39% from the field and 30% from three point range last season. Coach Larry Hunter will need his team to shoot better in order for his grinding system to be more effective. If that happens, look for Western to place much higher this season and serve me up some crow.

Team Previews: VMI

Last Season: 6-24 (3-15 SoCon)

Major Non-Conference Wins

  • Charleston Southern

Major losses

  • QJ Peterson – 19.6 ppg 6.5 rpg 2.4 apg
  • Julian Eleby – 12.9 ppg 5.1 rpg 2.2 apg
  • Trey Chapman – 9.6 ppg 5.3 rpg

Top Returners

  • Armani Branch – 7.8 ppg 3.5 rpg
  • Adrian Rich – 6.5 ppg 2.0 apg

2017-2018 Schedule Highlights

  • 11/10 @ NC State
  • 12/5 @ Davidson
  • 12/22 @ VCU

Outlook

  • The Keydets lost a lot from their 2016-2017 team, and that team only won a handful of games. VMI Coach Dan Earl has a major roster overhaul he’s currently having to deal with due in part to a huge change in philosophy. Coach Earl would like to play a defensive game with his team placing emphasis on getting good shots. It’s pretty much the mirror opposite of previous coach Duggar Baucom.
  • The trio of Peterson, Eleby and Chapman accounted for over 60% of the scoring, 50% of the rebounds and 45% of the assists from last years team. That’s a ton to have to replace. VMI is adding a huge freshman class though (7 players). Incoming freshmen Jordan Ratliff and Samuel Patel scored well in their European trip this summer though.
  • Branch and Rich will have to step up their games this season. I expect both will become center pieces for the new look Keydets.
  • Size will be an issue for VMI. Only 3 players on the roster are 6’8″ or taller.
  • How well VMI does this season will probably hinge on how well these new freshmen adapt to life at a military academy and to Division 1 basketball. I expect a lot of early struggles, but improvement as the year progresses. But progress might not be measured (or noted) in terms of wins.