Monday Night's SoCon Basketball Previews

In this article, I will take a look at Monday night's matchups. It's a crucial week in league play as teams in both divisions, jockey for seed positioning for the upcoming SoCon Tournament this week.

On Monday afternoon, I'll take a look at the South Division team notes, and also please stay tuned for my article previewing the regular-season SoCon title-deciding game between Wofford and College of Charleston that is slated for Thursday night. It's gonna be an exciting two weeks on the SoCon hardwood.

MONDAY NIGHT's SOCON PREVIEWS

Davidson (14-13, 9-6 SoCon) at Chattanooga (13-15, 5-10 SoCon), 7 p.m.

Two of the traditional powers in the Southern Conference will square off on Monday night at McKenzie Arena, as Chattanooga celebrates Senior Night.

The two schools have combined to win 19 Southern Conference Tournament titles, and one of the two schools has managed to represent at least one of the two teams in the SoCon Tournament title game 14 of the last 16 years, including having done so in nine consecutive post-season tournaments.

The Mocs and Wildcats have met on the hardwood a total of 50 times previously, with the Mocs holding a 30-20 all-time series advantage.

Davidson comes into tonight's match up, having won seven-straight against the Mocs, dating back to a 65-59 setback in 2006. Monday night's meeting will mark the only meeting between the two in the regular-season.

But this season has been a struggle for both the Mocs and Wildcats, as both teams lost more scoring power than any of the other league schools.

The Mocs graduated all five starters from last season's title-winning squad, while Davidson lost three starters to graduation, losing Stephen Curry, who decided to forego his senior year to enter the NBA Draft, Andrew Lovedale, who was the Wildcats' second-leading scorer, and the league's top defender, Max Pauhlus-Gosselin.

Not only did these two teams lose their top two leading scorers, in Curry and UTC's Stephen McDowell, those two also placed as the league's top two scorers at season's end.

With the standings as they are currently, both the Mocs and Wildcats could be playing each other in the play-in round of the league tournament for the first time since the inception of the format back in 1993.

The Mocs are a half-game ahead of UNC-Greensboro in the North Standings, but the Mocs could realistically finish sixth should they lose their last two, which is a real possibility.

It would mark the first time UTC has finished at the bottom of the North Division since the divisional format was implemented. It would definitely be an irony to see these two SoCon basketball titans facing off on the league's opening day.

The Mocs enter this evening's encounter having lost six straight games and have dropped to fifth-place in the North after its 60-54 loss to Samford on Saturday, while Davidson has been relatively hot as of late, having won six of its last eight games.

UTC's loss to Samford pushed the Mocs to fifth place in the North Division. UTC's roller-coaster season is personified by having both a six-game winning streak and a six-game losing streak in the same season.

Davidson's win over Furman coupled with The Citadel's 59-53 loss to UNC Greensboro forged a tie for third-place in the South Division standings.

Davidson got an impressive win on Saturday, with a 61-58 win over Furman, responding nicely after the 73-51 thrashing it took on its home floor at the hands of the Wofford Terriers on Wednesday night.

In the victory over the Paladins on Senior Day at Belk Arena on Saturday afternoon, it was a big afternoon for a freshman, as Jake Cohen led the way with 14 points, including knocking down two crucial foul shots with 3.1 seconds remaining to help the Wildcats to the three-point win.

Senior William Archambault contributed 12 points off the bench and Cohen's classmate, J.P. Kuhlman, added 10 points and a career-high seven boards in the season-sweeping victory over the Paladins.

It appeared Davidson would run away with the contest from the outset racing out to an 11-0 lead before the Paladins responded with a 16-0 run to take a 16-11 lead.

Then, late in the game, the Wildcats held a double-digit 5:06 to play. However, consecutive three-pointers by Bryson Barnes and Darryl Evans cut the Wildcats' lead to just two with a little over a minute left.

Davidson was able to survive as Furman's Justin Dehm heaved a potential game-tying half-court jumper that was off the mark as the buzzer sounded and it went down as a 61-58 Davidson win.

In UTC's six-point road loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center, the Mocs were led by Ricky Taylor, who scored 11 points, while forward Sam Watson added six points and ripped down a season-high 12 rebounds.

It was a tough shooting afternoon against Samford's stingy defense, as the Mocs were limited to just 38.6-percent shooting from the field.

Coming into this evening's match-up, the Wildcats are continuing to be paced by the freshman duo of Jake Cohen (13.0 PPG) and J.P. Kuhlman (12.5 PPG).

Also averaging in double figures for the Wildcats is William Archambault (11.1 PPG), who's having to adjust to coming off the bench for the Wildcats.

Davidson favors an up-tempo game, entering the contest averaging 70.8 PPG as a team, to rank fourth in the league in scoring offense.

As usual, the Wildcats are also continuing to burn opponents from the outside, ranking second in the league in three-point field goals per game (8.6) and are shooting 36.1-percent from long range to rank fifth in the league as a team.

The area where Davidson hasn't been its usual self this season is on the defensive end of the floor, allowing teams to hit 43.3-percent from the field (7th in SoCon FG% defense), but have still managed to rank fourth in the league in scoring defense (68.6 PPG).

Chattanooga continues to be led by wing guard Ty Patterson, who leads the club in scoring average at 15.0 PPG, while Ricky Taylor continues his strong play this season, averaging 11.0 PPG to round out the double-figure scorers for the Mocs.

Perhaps more importantly for UTC is now it has Josh Odem (8.0 PPG/ 2.5 RPG) and Ridge McKeither (9.1 PPG /6.1 RPG) back on the floor, as the duo has returned from suspension.

Despite the struggles as of late, the Mocs continue to rank second in the league in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 41.8-percent shooting from the field this season.

In last meeting between the Wildcats and Mocs last season at "The Roundhouse," Davidson was able to claim a 92-70 win over the eventual league title winners.

The game will most likely most be remembered by fans of both teams for Stephen Curry's 74-foot shot that made was the top play on ESPN's nightly segment of the "Top 10" plays from the day in sports.

Curry led all scorers with 32 points, while the league's second leading scorer, Stephen McDowell added 19 in the losing effort for the Mocs.

No matter if the two teams have struggled compared to their usually lofty expectations, this is still one of the games I look forward to every year in SoCon hoops and is one of the league's best basketball rivalries.

Davidson is playing well of late, with the exceptions of hiccups against Wofford and Appalachian State in the past couple of weeks. UTC will play better at home, but Davidson sends the Mocs to their seventh-straight loss.

Georgia Southern (6-21, 4-11 SoCon) at Samford (11-16, 5-10 SoCon), 8 p.m. EST

Though Samford and Georgia Southern have seen their share of struggles this season, dwelling at fourth-place or lower in their respective divisions for much of the 2009-10 season, both the Bulldogs and Eagles have played well as of late.

Georgia Southern lost a heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon at home to Wofford, as the Eagles dropped an 82-76 overtime decision to red-hot Wofford on Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles were looking to establish their first official winning streak of the season on Saturday, after GSU was able to knock off Furman, 79-77, on Wednesday night.

Samford was also playing a divisional rival on Saturday afternoon, as the Bulldogs were 60-54 winners over Chattanooga, marking the Bulldogs' second win in their last three outings, both of which have come against the Mocs.

Samford, who was picked anywhere from second to fourth in the preseason prognostications, has been somewhat of a disappointment thus far.

After all, the Bulldogs were SoCon Tournament semifinalist last year and returned four of five starters this season.

The Bulldogs and Eagles were conference rivals once before, prior to each school's membership in the SoCon, as the both once called the defunct Trans America Athletic Conference home.

Monday night's meeting between the Eagles and Bulldogs will mark the 56th meeting between the two institutions, with the Eagles holding a 31-24 series edge. The two clubs met twice last season, splitting those two encounters.

The Bulldogs were 69-46 winners at the Pete Hanna Center, while the Eagles got a 69-56 win over Samford in Statesboro.

The Eagles come into Monday night's contest, losers of 22 straight on the road, dating back to a 72-63 win at UNC Greensboro last season.

Georgia Southern is in its first year under head coach Charlton Young and the Eagles have looked good at times this season under the once highly-successful performer for the Eagles.

Young has tried to revive the style of basketball that was evident early in his predecessor's regime as head coach, focusing on playing fast and turning up the pressure at all areas on the defensive end of the court.

The Eagles are the Missouri Tigers of the SoCon, implementing basically the same style of play that Mike Anderson has been able to introduce in Columbia, Mo.

In stark contrast to that style, Samford's deliberate, plodding pace will be a challenge to Young and the Eagles.

After all, it was one of the best coaches in the league, John Shulman of Chattanooga, that called Samford's offense the most difficult team to scout defensively in the league on his weekly television show last week.

Samford is the latest in the "Princeton-Style" offense in the league and no team shoots more threes in the league than the Bulldogs do (609 threes attempted this season).

When these two squared off at the Pete Hanna Center last season, the Bulldogs used their conference-leading defense to dominate the day in a 69-46 win over the Eagles.

The Bulldogs limited Georgia Southern's fast-paced attack to just 35.2-percent shooting and held the Eagles to 0-for-15 from three-point range in the resounding 23-point victory.

The Bulldogs finished with four players in double figures, led by Trey Montgomery's 17 points, while Bryan Friday added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Josh Davis and Curtis West added 10 points apiece to close out the double figure scorers for the Bulldogs.

Georgia Southern didn't have a player finish in double figures and the Eagles were led by Tyler Troupe and Ben Drayton, who scored nine points apiece in the loss.

In Saturday's 82-76 overtime loss to the Terriers, it was an epic finish and Georgia Southern showed its grit and determination numerous times in the contest, battling back from double-digit deficits twice in the second half against the lone 20-win team in the SoCon.

Junior forward Rory Spencer had another strong effort, as the Atlanta, Ga. native led the Eagles with 19 points, scoring seven of those 19 points in the extra session.

He was joined by three other players in double figures, as Ben Drayton (15 pts), Antonio Hanson (14 pts) and Willie Powers III (12 pts) rounded out the double-figure scorers.

Coming into Monday's game, GSU is led by its talented backcourt tandem of Willie Powers III (15.0 PPG) and Antonio Hanson (11.8 PPG), while Rory Spencer is leading the Eagles (4.1 RPG) on the glass.

As a team, Georgia Southern is averaging 69.2 PPG to rank sixth in the league in scoring offense.

The Eagles remain one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing opponents to score 78.6 PPG, which ranks the Eagles last in the SoCon in scoring defense and GSU is allowing its opponents to connect on 50.6 percent of their shots from the field, which also ranks GSU last in the league.

Samford enters the contest continuing to be led in scoring by Josh Davis' 13.8 PPG, while Trey Montgomery (11.1 PPG) and Bryan Friday (10.0 PPG) also continue to average in double figures.

The Bulldogs continue to rank ninth nationally in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 59.3 PPG, while also sporting the league's top field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to just 40.8-percent shooting from the field this season.

Offensively, the Bulldogs are shooting at a 45.7-percent clip to rank third in the league in field goal percentage. The Bulldogs have shot 609 three-pointers this season to just 565 two-point attempts.

Samford is getting its act together at the right time and at third-place in the North Division with wins in two of its last three, are starting to live up to those pre-season prognostications, as the league's media tabbed the Bulldogs third in the pre-season.

Georgia Southern is also starting to learn coach Young's system and if the Eagles can keep from being frustrated against the Bulldogs, they have a shot to win.

The only problem is, rarely do teams that play GSU's style end up being able to accomplish that feat. Samford should win its second in a row and third in its last four against the Eagles on Monday night.

Appalachian State (17-11, 10-5 SoCon) at Elon (8-19, 5-10 SoCon), 7 p.m.

For the second time this year, Appalachian State will look to claim a Southern Conference title on the campus of Elon University.

Back on Nov. 14, the Appalachian State football team claimed its fifth-straight SoCon football crown, with a resounding 27-10 win over Elon.

On Monday night, the Mountaineers will have a chance to claim their third North Division title in the past four years, when ASU engages the Elon Phoenix on the Alumni Gym hardwood.

The only difference with Monday night's encounter on the hardwood is there will be much less drama, as the Phoenix won't be playing for a North Division title and in that football loss back in November, the Phoenix, with a win over the Mountaineers could've claimed a SoCon title on the gridiron.

ASU will be in search of its first outright North Division title since that magical 2006-07 season, when the Mountaineers won a school-record 25 games.

Both schools enter Monday evening's match-up playing well, as the Mountaineers have won five of their last six games, including stepping out of conference on Saturday night and coming away with an 81-68 win over Tennessee Tech in a Bracket Busters game at the Holmes Convocation Center.

Elon is also playing well as of late, having won its last two games, which is the second two-game winning streak the Phoenix have produced in the month of February, which matches Elon's total of two official winning streaks of the season.

The Phoenix were 79-75 winners at Gardner-Webb on Saturday night in another Bracket Busters game.

Monday evening's game between the Phoenix and Mountaineers will mark the 89th all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Mountaineers holding the narrow 47-41 all-time series advantage.

The Mountaineers won the earlier season meeting between the two Old North State rivals, as ASU posted an impressive 89-65 win at the Holmes Center back on Jan. 13. The Mountaineers defeated the Phoenix, 77-63, at Alumni Gym last season.

In ASU's win over visiting Tennessee Tech on Saturday night, it was SoCon Player of the Year candidate Donald Sims that once again helped propel the Mountaineers in victory as he has done on so many other occasions this season.

Sims scored 10 straight points in the second half to help the Mountaineers secure the 13-point win. In all, Sims accounted for 14 of ASU's final 23 points in the contest, as the junior guard nearly single-handedly broke open a close game down the stretch.

Sims finished the contest with a game-high 25 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including going 10-of-10 at the charity stripe to bring his streak of consecutive made free throws to 42.

Kellen Brand and Isaac Butts also reached double figures, adding 16 and 15 points, respectively.

For Elon, its trip to Paul Porter Arena to square off with Gardner-Webb was a tougher victory than the Mountaineers found their win at home against the Ohio Valley Conference's Tennessee Tech proved to be.

In the 84-79 win over the Bulldogs, the Phoenix found it to be a war-of-attrition most of the game, as the game lacked any sort of cadence or sequence, despite a score that would seem to indicate otherwise.

The game featured 51 fouls, 63 free throw attempts and 38 turnovers between the two seven-win clubs. Junior point guard Chris Long led the way for Elon with a game-high 24 points, while also dishing out seven assists for the Maroon and Gold.

Sophomore guard and leading scorer Drew Spradlin added 18 points, while senior forward T.J. Douglas rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points.

In the initial meeting between the Mountaineers and Phoenix that occurred back on Jan. 13 in Boone, the game would hardly seem to play out the way the stats sheet revealed at the end of the night.

It's pretty rare to see a game that featured 12 lead changes, yet end in a 24-point blowout, however, that's exactly what happened when the Mountaineers and the Phoenix met for the first time this season.

Trailing by three points at halftime, the Phoenix rallied to knot the score on four different occasions in the first nine minutes of the second half, but were unable to take more than a one-point second half lead.

Once reserve point guard Devan Carter scored a lay-up to pull Elon within two, at 59-57, with eight minutes remaining, ASU point guard Ryann Abraham led the Mountaineers on a 24-6 run over the next six minutes to put the game beyond the grasp of Elon.

Kellen Brand led the way for the Apps with 20 points, while Abraham added 12 to power the strong backcourt effort from the Mountaineers.

Sims added 16 points and forward Josh Hunter would add 11 points off the bench to round out the double figure scorers for ASU. Elon got 20 points from Drew Spradlin, while Adam Constantine led the Phoenix on the boards, ripping down nine boards.

The Mountaineers come into Monday night's match-up, continuing to lead the league in several categories. ASU continues to lead the league in scoring offense (75.6 PPG), as well as pacing the league in field goal percentage shooting (48.3%).

In terms of individual scoring, Donald Sims' 20.0 PPG remains the pace-setter on the league's scoring ledger, while the same can be said about Isaac Butts' field goal percentage, as he continues to connect at a blistering (62.7%) percent clip this season.

Senior guard and emotional leader Kellen Brand (10.5 PPG) is the only other Mountaineer averaging in double digits.

Elon continues to be paced by Drew Spradlin in scoring, as he averages 13.3 PPG. Like Brand is to Appalachian, Adam Constantine is the heart and soul of the Phoenix ballclub and enters as the only other double figure scorer other than Spradlin, averaging 11.9 PPG.

Constantine also leads the Phoenix in rebounds (8.1 RPG/3rd in SoCon), blocked shots (1.4 BPG) and field goal percentage (58.4 %).

So, will Monday night's encounter between the two SoCon arch-rivals become the coronation for Buzz Peterson and his Mountaineers after he made his return to Boone after a decade away at various stops along the way, or will Elon be able to delay the inevitable with a win.

It would seem that, though both teams are playing good basketball at this present time, ASU is the more talented team and now has a championship within its sights.