You know what month it is? That’s right, it’s March, which means the most wonderful time of the year is around the corner. The NCAA Tournament is just weeks from getting underway, as 64 teams battle it out for the national championship!
One of the 64 teams that will dance this year will hail from the Southern Conference, or SoCon. The 10-team conference features universities from southeastern states such as Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
The men’s SoCon tournament will take place from Friday, March 8, to Monday, March 11. Each game will be played at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
This tournament has been a fun one in the past. Last year, top-seeded Furman fought its way to the championship, where the Paladins beat the Cinderella of the SoCon Tournament, Chattanooga, by seven to punch their ticket to March Madness. In the NCAA Tournament, the Paladins sparked madness, when JP Pegues hit a game-winning three, as No,13 Furman beat No. 4 Virginia in the first round, 68-67. Who knows, maybe the winner of the SoCon Tournament can create more magic in the NCAA Tournament this season!
With all of that being said, here is the favorite, the contenders, the dark horse and my pick of who will win the 2024 Southern Conference Tournament!
The Favorite:
Samford Bulldogs (26-5, 15-3)
Samford has set the standard for others to follow in the SoCon this season. The Bulldogs enter the conference tournament after a regular season filled with history and success under SoCon Coach of the Year, Bucky McMillan. They will be the top seed in the tournament for the first time since joining the conference, and the 26 wins they’ve compiled this season is the most wins in a year in Samford program history.
The Bulldogs will need to on their phenomenal team offense if they want to avenge a surprise loss in the quarterfinals of this tournament last year. Samford is the best mid-major offense in the country and ranks fourth among all Division I teams averaging 86.7 points per game. McMillian’s team broke triple digits five separate times, including when they scored 134 against VMI in mid-January, a program record. The Bulldogs also average 18 assists per game, which also tops the mid-major field.
Four Samford players average double figures in scoring, but it’s Australian-born forward Achor Achor who leads the line, averaging 15.2 points per game. Achor shoots 59.1% from the field, which is top 25 in the nation. Samford’s offense also depends on its experienced guards, seniors Jaden Campbell (11.2 points per game) and Rylan Jones (4.9 assists per game) commanding the backcourt.
If Samford wants to return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2000, it’ll have to ride the highs that led them on a 17-game win streak midway through the year, and an undefeated record at home for the season. However, Bucky McMillan and his playersmay not have finished the regular season out like they hoped. They come into the tournament losing two of their final five games, giving up more than 85 points in both losses.
The Contenders:
UNC Greensboro Spartans (21-10, 12-6)
UNC Greensboro leads the pack that is looking to chase down Samford in this tournament, and the Spartans have some bright spots on their resume this season, including a big win against a ranked Arkansas team on the road. They’ll be looking to avenge a poor display at last year’s tournament, where they lost to No.6 Wofford in the quarterfinals.
The Spartans can use their strengths of shooting and defense when they hit the floor in Asheville. The only mid-major team that shoots the 3-pointer better than Samford is UNC Greensboro, as they knock down 40.1% of their shots from beyond the arc. The Spartans also allow only 69.7 points per game, which is second-best in the SoCon.
Leading the line for the Spartans will be All-SoCon First Team selection Mikeal Brown-Jones. The Philadelphia native shoots 55% from the field, and averages 19.3 points per game. Veteran guard Keyshaun Langley is another key piece, as he has played 147 games as a Spartan, and scored 1631 career points. But if the Spartans want a third Socon Championship in the last seven years, they’ll need to work on an offense that has scored less than 70 points in all but one of their losses this season.
Chattanooga Mocs (20-11, 12-6)
After making a surprise run to the SoCon tournament finals last season as a seven seed, the Chattanooga Mocs will look to go one step further to qualify for their fifth NCAA tournament in the past 20 seasons. Second-year head coach Dan Earl has experience with the SoCon, as he coached VMI for seven years before joining the Mocs, but Earl has never won the SoCon Tournament title.
All-SoCon Second Team member Honor Huff will look to help change that, as he averages 17.6 points per game while playing 34.3 minutes per game. In five of the last seven games, Huff has scored more than 20 points. When healthy, Trey Bonham also makes a big impact for Chattanooga (second in scoring), but his ankle injury may force him to miss some or all of the tournament, affecting the Mocs’ championship chances.
The Mocs had a strong start to their conference season, going 7-3 in their first 10 SoCon games. However, they have gone 3-3 in their final six regular season games, and will need better consistency in order to advance to their third straight SoCon Championship game, and maybe beyond.
Western Carolina Catamounts (22-9, 12-6)
In the 48 year history of Western Carolina basketball, the Catamounts have only won the SoCon Tournament once, back in 1996. However, this season has been a special one for the WCU and head coach Justin Gray. They won 22 games, which ties the program record for wins in a season at the Division I level. They’ll look to carry that momentum into this weekend to make some more history.
Any championship run for the Catamounts will be highly dependent on the SoCon Player of the Year, Vonterius Woolbright. The impressive senior guard leads the SoCon in points per game this year (21.4), but what’s more impressive is that Woolbright has notched five triple-doubles on the season, which leads all of Division 1. He was picked as the SoCon player of the week nine separate times this season, a conference record.
Woolbright and the Catamounts will look to avenge a close overtime loss to top-seeded Furman in last year’s tournament. Western Carolina is the four seed once again in this year’s tournament, so a matchup with top-seeded Samford could potentially be on the cards. However, they’ll have a rematch with the defending champions, Furman, in round one to get to the semis.
The Dark Horse:
Mercer Bears (16-15, 8-10)
No. 8 Mercer recently put itself in the conversation for making a surprise run in the SoCon Tournament this season, after being a long shot just weeks ago. The Bears come into the tournament having won four of their final five games of the regular season, with two of those wins coming over top seeded Samford and second seeded UNC Greensboro. Coach Greg Gary and his Mercer squad are coming into Asheville at the right time, as they look for their first ever SoCon tournament title since joining the conference in 2014.
Jaylin McCreary, a two time all SoCon selection for Mercer, has been on a tear for the Bears recently. In five of the past nine games, McCreary has scored more than 20 points, and Mercer went a perfect 5-0 in those games. McCreary also shoots 53% from the field, which ranks in the top ten in the conference.
Mercer hasn’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2014, when they pulled off a shocking upset against third seeded Duke in the first round. If they want to tap into that same kind of magic a decade later, they’ll have to do it the hard way. A first round matchup with No. 9 Citadel awaits, with the winner getting the opportunity to face top-seeded Samford on Saturday,
My Pick: Samford
Last year I picked the top seed, Furman, to win the SoCon tournament, and they proved me right by running the table. I actually think one of the main reasons that I like Samford is because they possess some of the qualities that Furman had last season. Team offense defines Samford’s identity.
The path to a SoCon tournament championship for Samford is not easy, but if the Bulldogs can capture the SoCon crown, they might be able to use their offense to pull an upset in the NCAA Tournament.