SoCon Set for Two Semifinal Showdowns at Time Warner Cable Arena

SoCon Semifinals

No. 1 (South) Wofford (24-8, 15-3 SoCon) vs. No. 2 (North) Western Carolina (22-10, 11-7 SoCon), 6:00 p.m.

In Sunday's first semifinal matchup, Wofford and Western Carolina lock horns in a battle between the two teams with the best overall records, as the tournament shifts from Bojangles' Coliseum to the palatial Time Warner Cable Arena.

The Catamounts were victorious over Elon in Saturday's initial quarterfinal game, with a 68-57 win, while Wofford was able to come up with a hard-fought, 58-47, win over UNC Greensboro to claim a place in Sunday's first semifinal matchup.

Wofford, who is making only its second semifinal appearance as a conference member, faces a team in Western Carolina which is making its eighth appearance in the semifinal round.

The Catamounts last advanced this far into the tournament in 1999. Wofford's only other semifinal appearance in school history came back in 2000. Both schools were ousted in their last semifinal appearances by College of Charleston.

The Catamounts are 15-30 all-time in tournament play, while the Terriers hold a 6-10 record all-time in conference tournament play.

Western Carolina and Wofford will be squaring off in the postseason tournament for only the third time. The two have split those previous postseason meetings, with the Terriers claiming a 58-49 win over the Catamounts back in 2007, while the Catamounts were 67-64 winners over the the Terriers back in 1999.

The two squared off only once during the regular season, with WCU claiming a 72-67 win over the Terriers in Cullowhee back on Dec. 2.

Both the the Terriers and the Catamounts own three of the league's most-prestigious non-league wins this season, with Western Carolina having claimed a 91-83 win at Louisville, while Wofford owns victories over South Carolina (68-61) and Georgia (58-56).

It's been similar seasons for both the Catamounts and Terriers, who aren't exactly used to success on the SoCon hardwood since the respective schools joined the tradition-rich basketball conference. Both schools have experienced unprecedented, program-defining seasons thus far, as each has recorded 20-win seasons for the first time as Division I members.

The Catamounts have won one SoCon Tournament title, making a Cinderella-like run through the league's annual postseason championship, beating heavily-favored Davidson, 69-60, in the tournament title game in 1996. Davidson came into that contest 19-0 against league competition. This evening's meeting will mark the 38th all-time meeting between the two schools, with WCU holding a 22-15 series edge.

With its 11-point win on Saturday over the Spartans, the Terriers claimed their 11th-straight victory and 18th win in their last 19 outings. The Terriers were paced by Noah Dahlman's 13 points. The Braham, Minn. native scored in double figures for his 45th-straight game to lead Wofford to a methodical win in a defensive struggle against the Spartans.

Wofford's second quarterfinal victory as a league member was keyed by the performance on the defensive end of the floor. The Terriers held the Spartans to just 32.7-percent (16-of-49) from the field, as well as holding UNCG to a frigid 8.3-percent (1-of-12) shooting clip from beyond the three-point arc for the contest.

Dahlman lead four Terriers in double figures in the contest, as Jamar Diggs (12 pts), Junior Salters (12 pts) and Brad Loesing (10 pts) rounded out the double-digit scorers. The Terriers also claimed a 36-26 edge on the backboards, led by Tim Johnson's seven boards.

In the Catamounts' win over Elon, WCU was led by Richie Gordon's 16-point, eight rebound effort in the 11-point victory over an upstart Elon club. It was Western's experience and talent that allowed it to overcome the feisty Phoenix.

Gordon led four Catamounts in double figures. Harouna Mutombo (14 pts), Mike Williams (13 pts) and Jake Robinson (10 pts) rounded out the double figure scorers. WCU shot the ball well from two-point range in the contest, as the Catamounts shots connected on 62.5-percent (20-of-32) from the field. However, they struggled from three-point range in the win, connecting on just 25-percent (4-of-16) of their shots from three-point range.

In the only meeting between the Terriers and Catamounts back in December, the game was tight the entire way and featured seven ties and eight lead changes. The Terriers led as many as nine points midway through the second half before WCU used a 10-0 run to erase the deficit and claim the lead.

The Catamounts were led in that winning effort over the Terriers by senior wing Brandon Giles, who scored 22 points, while Mike Williams added 13 off the bench. For Wofford, Cameron Rundles and Noah Dahlman scored 18 points apiece in the losing effort on the road.

Coming into tonight's game, WCU is one of the best offensive teams in the league, ranking third in the league in scoring offense (74.3 PPG). On the defensive end of the floor, the Catamounts are also getting the job done, ranking fourth in the league in scoring defense (68.3 PPG), and continuing to lead the league in steals (9.4 SPG).

Individually, WCU has three players averaging in double figures, led by Giles and Robinson, who average 11.8 PPG apiece. Senior point guard Brigham Waginger continues to lead the league in steals (87 steals, 2.7 SPG) and he ranks third in the league in assists (140 assists, 4.4 APG).

Wofford enters this evening's contest ranking seventh in the league in scoring offense (69.6 PPG) and third in scoring defense (61.6 PPG).

The Terriers lead the league in scoring margin (+7.9) and also lead the league in three-point field percentage defense, holding opponents to an impressive 31.3-percent from long range this season. The Terriers also take great care of the basketball, leading the league in assist-turnover ratio (13.8 APG-12.0 TOs per game, ratio of 1.1).

The Terriers are led individually by SoCon Coaches Player of the Year Noah Dahlman, who's averaging 17.3 PPG and 6.1 RPG, while connecting on 59.3-percent of his shots from the field.

Jamar Diggs adds 9.3 PPG, while senior guard Junior Salters is adding 7.7 PPG. Junior forward Tim Johnson has been a menace on the boards all season and is ripping down a team-leading 7.8 RPG to go with his 6.3 PPG scoring average.

In what should be an outstanding first semifinal between two programs that have been anemic in terms of success on the SoCon hardwood, both Wofford and Western Carolina have certainly earned the right to be considered among the upper echelon in the league this season.

Both programs will build off of the success of the 2009-10 season, but only one team will get the opportunity to punch an NCAA ticket on Monday night and that team will be Wofford, who will enter uncharted territory with the victory.

No. 1 (North) Appalachian State (21-11, 13-5 SoCon) vs. No. 2 (South) College of Charleston (20-10, 14-4 SoCon), 8:15 approx.

Three years ago, Appalachian State rolled into the SoCon semifinals with a program-standard 25 wins and were one of the schools favored to claim the 2007 SoCon Tournament title.

However, in one of the most memorable games in Southern Conference Tournament history, and for Appalachian State fans, one the most heartbreaking moments in its program's history, College of Charleston dashed the Mountaineers' NCAA hopes, with an 89-87 overtime win over at the North Charleston Coliseum.

ASU enters hoping to avenge that result and return to the SoCon title game for the first time since the 2000 season. That year was Buzz Peterson's last season in his first tenure in Boone and a much sweeter memory for Mountaineer fans, as ASU claimed a 68-56 title win over College of Charleston to punch its NCAA ticket.

For College of Charleston, it will be looking to avenge its 80-69 championship loss to Chattanooga in last season's title game.

Sunday's meeting between the Mountaineers and Cougars will mark the seventh between the two in tournament play, with the Cougars holding a 4-2 series edge in those previous six encounters.

This will mark the fourth time the Apps and Cougars have squared off in either the semifinals or finals of the tournament. CofC claimed the only regular-season meeting between the two with a 73-72 win over the Mountaineers in Charleston.

Both teams were impressive in victories last night. ASU claimed a 71-61 win over The Citadel to avenge an earlier season loss to the Bulldogs, while CofC took care of Chattanooga in convincing fashion with a 92-62 win over the Mocs, exacting its revenge on the defending champs in the process.

In ASU's win over the Bulldogs, the story of the night was SoCon Media Association Player of the year Donald Sims, who scored a tournament-high 30 points—21 of those points came in the opening half. He led three Mountaineer players in double figures in the quarterfinal win.

Sims scored 21 of his points prior to the break and connected on 10-of-19 shots from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe in the win. Sims was joined in double figures by senior guard Kellen Brand (15 pts) and junior forward Isaac Butts (11 pts, team-best 7 rebs).

Like Sims, Goudelock put forth a strong showing in CofC's 30-point quarterfinal win over Chattanooga, scoring a game-high 27 points and doing most of that damage before the intermission, with 24 of his points coming in the opening half of play.

Goudelock was joined in double figures by Tony White, Jr. (22 pts), Donovan Monroe (15 pts), and Jeremy Simmons (10 pts). The Cougars hit a blistering 54 percent (34-of-63) of their shots from the field and knocked 16 triples (16-of-31, 51.6%) en route to their win over the Mocs.

Tonight's game will pit the league's two top scoring teams against each other, as the Mountaineers lead the league in scoring, averaging 75.3 PPG, while the Cougars rank just behind the Apps, averaging 74.4 PPG to rank second in the league in scoring.

Sunday's matchup will also offer an opportunity to see the league's top two individual scorers, ASU's Donald Sims (20.7 PPG) and CofC's Andrew Goudelock (19.2 PPG).

The Cougars continue to rank in the top five nationally in three-point field goals made per game (9.2, 276 triples this season), while the Mountaineers lead the league in rebounding margin (+7.6), field goal percentage (48.1%), and three-point field goal percentage (39.2%).

The Cougars rank second in the league in overall field goal percentage shooting, connecting on 46 percent of their shots from the field.

Sims is joined in double figures by Kellen Brand (10.9 PPG), while Isaac Butts continues to lead the SoCon in field goal percentage (62.6%) and ranks second in the league in rebounding, pulling down 8.1 RPG.

For CofC, Goudelock is joined in double figures scoring average by Donovan Monroe (12.4 PPG), Jeremy Simmons (12.0 PPG), and Tony White, Jr. (11.7 PPG). Simmons paces the league in blocked shots, having swatted away 53 shots (2.1 BPG) on the campaign.

Both teams are as evenly matched on paper as they can possibly be, however, the distinguishing factor in Sunday evening's final semifinal game might be the disparity on the backboards.

That will be the difference, as the Mountaineers, who lead the league in rebounding margin, face a team that ranks last in that same category.

Despite out-boarding (41-31) and claiming a 19-5 advantage in second-chance points in the initial meeting, the Mountaineers found themselves on the wrong end of a 73-72 decision at CofC back in mid-February.

ASU and CofC should be another classic that will go down in the SoCon Tournament annals, only this time ASU will use its the crowd, heavily in its favor, and its size and strength underneath to return to the title game for the first time since 2000.