Wofford and Appalachian State Set To Settle SoCon's NCAA Tournament Spot

2010 Southern Conference Tournament Championship Preview

No. 1 (South) Wofford (25-8, 15-3 SoCon) vs. No.1 (North) Appalachian State (22-11, 13-5 SoCon), 9:00 p.m.

For the first time since the first time since 2000, the top two overall seeds in the tournament have reached the tournament championship game, as Appalachian State and Wofford both claimed lopsided semifinal victories on Saturday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C.

Interestingly enough, the last top two seeds to make it all the way to the championship were Appalachian State and College of Charleston, who were outright regular-season winners in their respective divisions of the SoCon and, it also marked the last time Appalachian State punched its NCAA Tournament ticket, with a 68-56 win over CofC at the Bi-LO Center in Greenville, S.C.

It will also mark the first title game in a decade that hasn't featured either Chattanooga or Davidson.

Though Wofford has won 12-straight and 18 of its last 19, the Terrier basketball program has entered uncharted territory, slated to make their first SoCon title game appearance since being allowed to participate in the league's annual postseason gathering in 1998.

With a win this evening, the Terriers could join the Wofford soccer team, who punched its inaugural NCAA Tournament berth by winning the league's postseason tournament last fall.

The Terriers' 12-straight wins tie a program-standard and the 25 wins are tied for the most wins in school history. A win tonight would eclipse that 25-win 1959-60 club and mark the Terriers' first NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I program. A win for ASU would be the third SoCon Tournament title in school history, with the other two coming in 1979 and 2000. ASU is just 2-6 all-time in tournament title affairs.

The Terriers and Mountaineers will be meeting for just the second time this season, as Wofford dropped its only meeting with Appalachian State during the regular-season, 77-76, at Benjamin-Johnson Arena back on Dec. 7.

During the regular season, the Terriers lost back-to-back league games to Western Carolina and Appalachian State and, with a win tonight, the Terriers could avenge both of those losses when it matters most. The 77-76 loss to ASU was Wofford's only home setback of the 2009-10 season.

Monday night's championship will mark only the second meeting between the two in tournament play, as the Mountaineers got a close 66-65 first round win back in the 2006 tournament, surviving a half-court prayer by Wofford's Shane Nichols that rimmed out as the buzzer sounded to allow ASU to hang on for the win.

Monday night's championship meeting will also mark the 33rd all-time meeting between the two league rivals, with ASU holding a 22-10 series advantage.

Both Appalachian State and Wofford looked deserving of their place in front of a national audience in tonight's championship game slated to be televised by ESPN2. The Mountaineers, who got a second-straight 30-point effort from an individual, as Kellen Brand scored a tournament-high 37 points to pace a blistering hot ASU offense in a 77-54 victory over the College of Charleston in the second semifinal of the evening.

The 37 points also marked a career-high for Brand and is the second-highest scoring game by an individual in the SoCon this season (regular season or postseason), bested only by teammate Donald Sims' 44 points at Davidson in an ASU win back on Jan.9.

Meanwhile, Wofford was able to put away Western Carolina early in the second half and strolled to a 77-58 win in Sunday night's first semifinal. Wofford was led by Terry Martin's 17 points and five rebounds off the bench, as the Terriers had little problem in disposing of the Catamounts. Jamar Diggs added 12 points, while Noah Dahlman and Tim Johnson added 10 apiece.

In the only meeting between the two this season, Wofford returned home after a tough six-game road trip, but dropped a 77-76 decision to Appalachian State to account for the Terriers only home setback of the season. The Terriers had a chance to tie that game with one second remaining, however, Corey Godzinski's shot was judged to be just inches inside the three-point arc and Appalachian was able to claim the one-point victory.

Appalachian State was paced by Donald Sims, who scored a co-game-high 25 points, connecting on 7-of-9 from the field, including going 3-of-4 from three-point range and was 8-of-9 from the charity stripe in the victory.

Noah Dahlman paced Wofford, matching Sims' game-high 25 of his own, knocking down 10-of-12 from the field and were 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Jamar Diggs also had a big night for the Terriers, scoring 16 points in the losing effort. Isaac Butts added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Terriers enter this evening's showdown, continuing to be led by Noah Dahlman (17.0 PPG), who has scored in double figures in 46-consecutive games.Dahlman also leads team in field goal percentage (58.8 percent) and is second on the team in rebounding. He is the only Terrier averaging in double figures coming into this evening's matchup.

Jamar Diggs, who is the team's best defender and will be charged with the unenviable task of checking Donald Sims, is the Terriers' second-leading scorer, averaging (9.4 PPG) PPG.

The unsung hero of this Wofford team is Brad Loesing (6.2 PPG ), who's a player that gets overlooked in the success that Wofford has enjoyed this season. Loesing, a sophomore point guard from Cincinnati, OH., leads the club in assists (102 assists) and ranks 10th in the league (3.1 APG).

Cameron Rundles (6.2 PPG) is another player that can placed in the 'unsung hero' category, as he has provided solid play off the bench this season for the Terriers and has provided some clutch free throws in victories this season, most notably in the Terriers' upset win at Georgia.

Tim Johnson (6.3 PPG, team-leading 7.7 RPG) and Terry Martin (4.5 PPG) have been huge on the interior for Wofford in the paint this season. Johnson is a big presence inside the paint for the Terriers and will give the Terriers a good physical presence in the paint tonight against the Mountaineers and Isaac Butts.

Martin comes off the bench and the Terriers don't lose anything in terms of athleticism or physicality. Corey Godzinski (3.8 PPG) will be one of the tougher matchups for ASU tonight, as the lanky, 6-8 wing guard can come off the bench and provide big shots from the perimeter as well as score in the post.

The biggest reason the Terriers find themselves in the title game tonight against the Mountaineers is senior guard Junior Salters (7.7 PPG). Salters, though his scoring has been down this season as opposed to last season, it's been his experience coupled with his clutch shooting, especially from the perimeter, that has been a huge boon for the Terriers' run of the latter half of the 2009-10 season.

Salters is one of those players that could come out of nowhere and take over a game, much like Kellen Brand was able to do for Appalachian State last night. Salters is the Terriers' most-proficient long-range shooter (team-leading 64 triples, 64-of-179, 35.8%).

As a team, Wofford leads the league in scoring margin (+8.3), while ranking seventh in the league in scoring offense and third in scoring defense (61.5 PPG).

One thing that will give the Mountaineers troubles this evening will be Wofford's perimeter defense, which leads the league, holding opponents to just 31.2-percent shooting from long-range.The Terriers also take good care of the basketball, leading the league in assist-turnover ratio (13.7 APG-12.1 TOPG, 1.1).

Appalachian State has the league's leading scorer, in Donald Sims (20.3 PPG). Sims was held to 10 points last night and that could be a scary prospect for the Wofford coaching staff, especially if ASU is able to get the kind of support from its supporting cast this evening as it was able to get last night.

Sims also leads the league in three-pointers made (107), ranks second in three-point field goal percentage (43.0%) and leads the league in free throw shooting (95.2%, 158-of-166).

Senior shooting guard Kellen Brand (11.7 PPG) has been the fuel for the Mountaineers in the postseason. Brand has scored 52 points in ASU's two previous games in the conference tournament.

Brand was able to break down College of Charleston's defense last night with his ability as a slasher and, with the focus again on Sims, look for Brand's quickness and ability to take it to the rack and score or draw contact to be a factor in tonight's title game.

Isaac Butts (8.8 PPG, team-leading 8.2 RPG) and Josh Hunter (8.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG) have big on the boards all season for the Apps and the two veteran frontcourt players have the kind of size that Jerry Moore would be happy to employ along his offensive and defensive lines this fall.

Butts continues to be ASU's top field goal percentage shooter, leading the league at a 62.6-percent clip, while Hunter is a player that carried the Mountaineers during a three-game stretch in February, which included a loss to Division II King College.

Marcus Wright (6.8 PPG) and Ryann Abraham (5.5 PPG, 83 assists) are two guards that have provided useful minutes off the bench for the Apps all season. The two are pace dictators, as the game changes into an up-tempo game when these two are in the lineup. Both are great to bring off the bench and have given the Mountaineers' offense a shot of adrenaline on plenty of occasions this season.

Rounding out the players that could be factors for ASU in tonight's game are Jeremi Booth (8.1 PPG, 46 triples) and Andre Williamson (4.2 PPG, team-high tying 32 blocks), who are maybe the two top athletes on the ASU roster. Williamson could be a factor on the defensive end of the floor, as a shot-blocking presence, while Booth is an excellent perimeter shooter and is an athletic player that can create his own shot.

As a team., ASU continues to lead the league in field goal percentage (48.4 percent), scoring offense (75.3 PPG), three-point field goal percentage (39.6 percent) and rebounding margin (+8.0).

While I know last night's predictions were accurate, those encounters were far from the outcomes I had anticipated in terms of margin of victory for both Wofford and Appalachian State. Prior to the tournament, I picked Wofford to win the title, defeating Appalachian State in the final game.

However, I failed to take into account the boisterous Mountaineer fanbase that was most certainly the difference in the resounding semifinal win for ASU over CofC. These two are certainly a contrast in styles, but if there was ever a sixth-man for a team, I heard it last night.

On paper, this has to be the scenario that fans were hoping to play out as ASU and Wofford showed themselves as the class of the league last night. Appalachian State returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, bolstered by a loud pro-ASU crowd to overcome a gritty, talented Wofford club.

My All-Tournament Team (going into this evening)

G-Donald Sims (Appalachian State)

G-Kellen Brand (Appalachian State)

G-Jamar Diggs (Wofford)

F-Noah Dahlman (Wofford)

F-Isaac Butts (Wofford)

F-Ben Stywall (UNC Greensboro)

Tournament MVP: To Be Determined Tonight