ETSU: 9-4, 6-1 at home (KenPom 94th)

The Bucs maintain the highest KenPom rating in the SoCon. They lost the 1st round to NKU in game 1 of the season, but came back with a pretty impressive 84-71 win in the 2nd go against a team ranked 79th by KenPom. ETSU dropped a home game to Troy 65-73 (172nd KenPom), but spanked Georgia Southern (102nd KenPom) hard 79-59. And ETSU almost got the big signature win over 12-1 Xavier, then ranked 10th in D1, after outplaying them for 2/3 of the way and building a 22 point lead, but ultimately succumbing by 2 points 66-68 to a 1-3-1 zone, poor shooting, opposing big men who could shoot the 3 and, especially, Trevon Bluiett.

Steve Forbes has been earning his money this year, first by recruiting replacements to replace heavy losses from last year. Then by whipping them into a team while dealing with the loss of top recruit Jeromy Rodriguez 6-7 240 to injury and bench player Andre Edwards 6-6 240 to likely academic ineligibility. The intensity of the Bucs defensive effort and the all around improvement in play since that first NKU game have been remarkable.

A swarming, ball hawking defense that knocked even Xavier back on their heels is the Bucs’ hallmark. The Bucs are 3rd in the SoCon in steals with 8.8 (behind Citadel and UNCG) and 21st in D1. They are 2nd in FG% defense behind UNCG (.417 to .411) 104th in D1. They are 4th in 3pt% defense with .321 (83rd in D1) behind UNCG (.277, 7th in D1), Furman (.289, 18th in D1) and VMI (.306, 48th in D1). With a t.o. margin of 3.6 they are 2nd in the SoCon (40th in D1) behind the Citadel (5.7, 8th in D1) and Furman (3.5 and 41st ). Shotblocking is part of good defense, and the Bucs are 1st in the SoCon and tied for 105th in D1 with 4.0 blocks per game.

Rebound margin is +2.5 3rd in the SoCon and tied for 138th in D1.

Post players Peter Jurkin and freshman Mladen Armus have both been more effective than expected – splitting time at 16 to 18 plus minutes and giving us about 35 minutes of solid point performance. They are both relatively inexperienced in terms of minutes of D1 play and should improve. Some of us would like to see a little experimentation with both men in at once.

The big deficiency that can hurt the Bucs is in 3 point shooting, with a worst in conference percentage of .313, 304th in D1, and only 7.1 makes per game, worst in conference and 233rd in D1. Payne and Bradford are doing worse from 3 than last year, and Burrell, Long and McCloud seem to have completely lost their 3 point stroke. Jason Williams, and Kanayo Obi-Rapu (when he gets in) have been welcome counters to the trend. But look for conference foes to pack the defenses back in and challenge the Bucs to shoot.

Guards:
#01 6-4 190 Sr Desonta Bradford, 30.9 minutes, 14.0 ppg, .321 from 3 (17-53), 6.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.2 t.o.'s, 1.8 steals
#12 5-11 160 Gr Jalan McCloud, 24.2 minutes, 11.2 ppg, .130 from 3 (3-23), 3.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.0 t.o.'s, 1.3 steals
#11 6-2 175 Sr Devontavius Payne, 22.2 minutes, 9.8 ppg, .342 from 3 (24-73), 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.1 t.o.'s, 1.1 steals
#03 6-4 190 Fr Bo Hodges, 17.8 minutes, 8.3 ppg, .200 from 3 (1-5), 1.1 t.o.'s
#00 6-3 195 Jr Kanayo Obi-Rapu, 12.2 minutes, 5.3 ppg, .421 from 3 (16-38), 1.5 rebounds
#04 5-11 185 So Jason Williams, 13.7 minutes, 4.8 ppg, .500 from 3 (15-30), 0.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 t.o.'s
#24 6-3 180 Sr Jermaine Long, 17.5 minutes, 3.4 ppg, .148 from 3 (4-27), 1.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 t.o.'s, 1.2 steals

Front Court:
#05 Peter Jurkin, 18.8 minutes, 8.3 ppg on .500 from 3 (3-6), .867 from FT, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 t.o.'s, 1.3 blocks
#02 David Burrell, 23.8 minutes, 6.3 ppg, .136 from 3 (3-23), .500 from FT, 5.5 rebounds
#33 Mladen Armus, 16.7 minutes 4.8 ppg, no 3's, .607 FT, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 t.o.'s

Mercer: 7-6, 5-0 at home (KenPom 98th), finished OOC 7-6 with a win over Kennesaw (KenPom 310th )

Looked good outplaying Alabama (50th KenPom) @ Huntsville but dropped it at the end 79-80. Also took Memphis (157th KenPom) to double OT before losing 81-83. Beat Troy in the season’s first game 77-73 (172nd KenPom).

1st just ahead of Wofford in SoCon in FG% (.487) and also 1st just ahead of Wofford in SoCon in 3pt% with .439, 3rd in D1.

But Mercer is better defending than Wofford. They are 3rd behind UNCG and ETSU in FG% defense, allowing .428. They are not strong in 3pt% defense, 7th in the SoCon at .354, but are ahead of Wofford which is 9th at .382.

The Bears are 2nd to UNCG's 6.1 in rebounding margin with 3.8, ahead of ETSU's 3rd place 2.5.

The Bears seem to have carried over a habit from last year of dropping close games, even though the offense is much improved. Rs-So Ethan Stair coming back from injury is becoming what they hoped he would be, the second coming of Bud Thomas. Smooth 6-4 Freshman point guard Marcus Cohen has crashed his way into a crowded, senior dominated rotation and helped make sure that Mercer is essentially in a 4 way tie for 2nd in the conference in assists with Furman, Wofford and Samford. They'll need to start winning close ones, because they'll be in the mix with 4 others till the end.

Guards:
#10 6-0 152 Sr Ri'an Holland, 30.6 minutes, 22.1 ppg, .597 from 3 (2.8 makes), 3.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals
#5 6-1 175 Sr Jordan Strawberry, 28.3 minutes, 9.7 ppg, .367 from 3 (1.8 makes), 4.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.6 t.o.'s
#23 6-8 180 Sr Demetre Rivers, 24.8 minutes, 10.1 ppg, .357 from 3 (1.3 makes), 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 t.o.'s
#14 6-5 205 Rs-So Ethan Stair, 20.0 minutes, 8.0 ppg, .455 from 3 (0.8 makes), 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 t.o.'s, 1.0 steals
#3 6-4 190 Fr Marcus Cohen, 15.9 minutes, 5.0 ppg, 1-4 from 3, 1.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 t.o.'s, 0.8 steals
#2 6-4 200 Jr Jaylan Stowe, 13.6 minutes, 3.3 ppg, 0-6 from 3, 2.8 rebounds. 0.5 assist, 1.0 t.o.'s, 0.5 steals
# 5-8 156 Sr Rashad Lewis - hasn't played this year

Front Court:
#34 6-6 225 Sr Stephon Jelks, 25.0 minutes, 10.8 ppg, .559 from 3 (1.6 makes), 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s, 0.6 steals
#0 6-9 255 Sr Desmond Ringer, 21.9 minutes, 6.7 ppg, 0-1 three's, 2.7 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 1.5 t.o.'s
#11 6-5 192 Jr Ryan Johnson, 7.5 minutes, 2.3 ppg, 1-4 from 3, 1.8 rebounds
#1 6-7 195 Jr Cory Kilby, 15.4 minutes, 4.0 ppg, .370 from 3 (0.9 makes), 2.9 rebounds

UNCG: 9-4, 7-1 at home, KenPom 108th
Got a signature win at NC State 81-76 (77th KenPom). Also came within 6 at Wake Forest 75-81 (#72 KenPom) in game #1 when Wake was struggling. But also suffered a signature screwup losing @ Presbyterian 72-74 (322nd KenPom). Also lost @ UNC Asheville 60-67 (147th KenPom) and took 3 overtimes at Liberty 76-75 (154th KenPom).

The Spartans hold opponents to the lowest FG% in the SoCon (.412, 86th in D1 and just ahead of ETSU at .416). They also hold opponents to the lowest 3pt% in the SoCon (.277, 8th in D1!!), just ahead of Furman at .289.

They are 4th in turnover margin in the SoCon with +2.15, just behind ETSU and Furman, and just ahead of Wofford. They are second in the SoCon in steals with 9.7 (11th in D1!!), 1 ahead of ETSU and 2 behind The Citadel

On offense they are a middling 6th in the SoCon in FG% with .450, about equal to ETSU, Furman and Samford. And they are a middling 4th in the SoCon in 3pt% with .366, although they are second in makes to The Citadel with 10.2 per game.

Francis Alonso leads in 3’s with 3.7 makes on .463, followed by Marvin Smith with 2.1 makes on .342 and Demetrius Troy with 1.4 makes but only .305. They miss Diante Baldwin for defense and scoring and rely more heavily on Alonso to come through down the stretch. Freshman point guard Isaiah Miller at 6-1 180 has become a big part of the rotation with 15.0 minutes, 7.8 points (1of 7 from 3), 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Freshman guard Kaleb Hunter has not played.

In the front court, 6-10 200 James Dickey, 6-9 250 Jordy Kuiper and 6-8 215 Kyrin Galloway have picked up the slack from White very effectively. Kuiper will even step out to hit some 3’s (he’s .378 with 1.4 makes). That gives them an excellent 1st in SoCon rebounding margin of +6.1, 54th in D1, just ahead of Mercer with 3.7. They are second in blocked shots to ETSU with 3.1.

Don’t know which Spartan team to expect. The one that simply outplayed NC State, or the one that blew it against a really bad Presbyterian.

Guards:
#10 6-3 185 Jr. Francis Alonso, 28.6 minutes, 17.8 ppg, .453 from 3 (3.7 makes), 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals
#11 6-0 187 Jr. Demetrius Troy, 24.1 minutes, 7.0 ppg, .305 from 3 (1.4 makes), 3.4 assists
# 24 6-1 180 Fr., Isaiah Miller, 15.0 minutes, 7.8 ppg, (1-7 from 3), 2.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals
#2 6-3 185 So. Malik Massey, 18.0 minutes, 5.3 ppg, .346 from 3 (0.7 makes)

Front Court:
#1 6-6 205 Sr Marvin Smith, 24.7 minutes, 11.5 ppg, .342 from 3(2.1 makes), 4.7 rebounds
#21 6-10 200 Rs-So. James Dickey, 28.6 minutes, 8.1 ppg, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.1 steals
#32 6-9 250 Sr Jordy Kuiper, 27.3 minutes, 6.8 ppg, .378 from 3 (1.5 makes), 5.7 rebounds
#14 6-8 215 So Kyrin Galloway, 18.5 minutes 5.5 ppg, .617 FG%, (4-13 from 3), 4.8 rebounds
#0 6-5195 Rs-Fr Kalia Sykes, 12.1 minutes, 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals

Furman: 9-4, 6-1 at home; KenPom 129th
Best game was probably taking Tennessee to the wire before losing 61-66. Best two wins were neutral site over Northeastern (#140 KenPom) 78-67 and at home over Asheville (#147 KenPom) 83-72. A win over a struggling UNC Wilmington at 2-9 and #268 KenPom is less impressive than it would have been last year.

In the Front Court Matt Rafferty has been healthy, increased his minutes by 5 per game, been second in the SoCon in rebounding with 8.0, scored 11.5 points on a conference leading .645 FG% and hit a few 3's at a .483 clip making about 1 every other game. Like Jordy Kuiper for UNCG and Cam Jackson or Matt Pegram for Wofford, you've got to come out and defend him at the arc. The help that Clay Mounce and Jalen Williams provides is limited. Geoff Beans has some 3 point ability. Noah Gurley appears to be redshirting.

Guards:
#12 6-2 175 Sr Devin Sibley, 26.8 minutes, 16.2 ppg, .438 from 3 (2.3 makes), 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.0 t.o.'s, 1.0 steals
#1 5-11 165 Sr John Davis, 28.3 minutes, 12.4 ppg, .314 from 3 (1.2 makes), 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 t.o.'s, 1.6 steals
#35 6-4 203 Sr Daniel Fowler, 29.0 minutes, 11.5 ppg, .411 from 3 (1.8 makes), 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 t.o.'s, 1.5 steals
#5 6-4 212 Jr Andrew Brown, 24.0 minutes, 6.9 ppg, .538 from 3 (1.5 makes), 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 t.o.'s, 1.3 steals
#23 5-11 170 So Jordan Lyons, 16.0 minutes, 6.5 ppg, .297 from 3 (1.5 makes), 1.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.6 t.o.'s
#10 5-11 170 Fr Alex Hunter, 13.7 minutes, 3.0 ppg, .375 from 3 (0.7 makes), 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 t.o.'s

Front Court:
#32 6-8 215 Jr Matt Rafferty, 27.6 minutes, 11.3 ppg, .645 FG%, .438 from 3 (0.5 makes), 8.0 rebounds
#45 6-7 200 Rs-Fr Clay Mounce, 12.5 minutes, 5.9 ppg on .231 from 3 (3 makes all year), 2.6 rebounds
#2 6-8 245 Rs-So Jalen Williams, 9.9 minutes, 3.3 ppg, 0 three's, 4.2 rebounds
#3 6-7 210 Sr Geoff Beans, 9.2 minutes, 2.6 ppg, 1.2 rebounds

Wofford: 8-5, 5-1; Kenpom 175th

Marked a huge signature win over THE UNC, ranked #5, along with a somewhat less impressive win over THE Georgia Tech (5-6 and 130th in KenPom). But also got thumped by 20 at UNC Asheville (147th KenPom), 67-85. The Terriers started the season 3-5, but are now on a 5 game win streak with Fletcher McGee doing a dead on Steph Curry imitation ranking 1st in D1 with 4.67 made 3's per game on a .549 percentage. Oh, and he's perfect from the FT line with 32 makes and 0 misses. Underneath 6-8 240 Jr Cameron Jackson has been going in full beast mode.

Looks like they will be as hard to defeat at the new Richardson Center as they were at the BenJo. Road wins will be very hard to come by there.

Freshman point guard Storm Murphy looked like a "bleh" signee, with no other D1 interest, but has become a perfect fit at point guard in the Mike Young system, getting 25 minutes and 3.8 assists. Underneath skinny 6-9 225 Fr Keve Aluma has made some useful contributions with 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 points in 15.6 minutes.

Wofford is second to Mercer in the SoCon in FG% at .483 and also second to Mercer in 3pt% at .437 (4th in all of D1) with 10.7 makes. But they’re 9th in 3pt% defense allowing opponents .382, albeit only 7.7 makes. They’re also on the weak side at #7 in FG% defense, allowing .462.

Guards:
#3 6-4 194 Jr Fletcher Magee, 32.8 minutes, 24.3 ppg, .459 from 3 (4.67 makes), NO MISSES FROM FT!! (32 makes in a row), 2.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 t.o.'s, 1 steal
#10 6-4 180 So Nathan Hoover, 25.4 minutes, 10.6 ppg, .409 from 3 (2.3 makes), 1.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s, 0.5 steals
#5 5-11 170 Fr Storm Murphy, 25 minutes, 4.6 ppg, .355 from 3 (1.0 makes), 2.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 turnovers
#15 Trevor Stumpe, 7 games averaging 19.4 minutes, 7.7 ppg, .391 from 3 (1.3 makes), 3.1 rebounds
#31 6-1 185 So Donavan Theme-Love, 14.5 minutes, 3.1 ppg, 1.2 assists, 1.3 t.o.'s, 0.3 steals
#01 6-4 195 Sr Derrick Brooks, 15.5 minutes, 3.0 ppg, (2-6 .333 from 3), 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 t.o.'s
#21 6-2 185 Fr Tray Hollowell, 9 games averaging 12.3 minutes, 4.0 ppg, .259 from 3 (7-27), 0.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.5 t.o.'s

Front Court:
#33 6-8 235 Rs-Jr. Cameron Jackson, 23.7 minutes, 12.4 ppg on .564 FG%, 0-3 three's, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 1.9 steals
#50 6-11 240 Jr. Matthew Pegram, 21.6 minutes, 8.1 ppg on .439 FG% (4-10 .400 from 3), 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 t.o.'s
#24 6-8 200 Fr Keve Aluma, 15.6 minutes, 2.6 on .476 FG% (0-0 from 3), 3.5 rebounds

Chattanooga: 6-7, 5-2 at home, 239th KenPom
Lamont Paris has been trying to staunch the bleeding and clean up Matt McCall’s mess in the Roundhouse. Hit by a wave of transfers and decommits, Paris had the unenviable task of recruiting late into a disaster area, with limited results. But he seems to have found a way to communicate with the talented 6-11 Makinde London, something McCall could never do, and got stud football player 6-8 245 defensive end/linebacker Joshua Phillips to put on a basketball jersey at the end of football season. In the 5 games that he played the former 3 year basketball letterman from MTSU averaged 9.6 points on .647 from the field and 4.6 rebounds in 21 minutes. Over that span the Mocs were 3-2 with wins over Charlotte, UT Martin and Tennesse Wesleyan, a 5 point road loss at 212th Akron (70-75) and a 4 point road loss at 161st Marshall (66-70). Unfortunately Phillips has not played since, and the Mocs are 1-2 without him. What’s up with that?

As for London, despite a long athletic body, he continues to be a poor shooter from 2 point range (about .396) and averages 3.0 turnovers per game, although he has developed a nice 3 point stroke (.390 with 1.9 makes) and rebounds well at 7.8 per game.

Guards:
#5 6-4 183 Jr Nat Dixon, 34.2 minutes, 12.8 ppg, .431 from 3 (1.9 makes), 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.1 t.o.'s, 1.0 steals
#1 6-1 172 So Rodney Chatman, 28.8 minutes, 11.5 ppg, .304 from 3 (1.3 makes), 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.6 t.o.'s, 1.0 steals
#0 6-1 185 So Makale Foreman, 32.6 minutes, 8.5 ppg, .394 from 3 (2.0 makes), 1.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s
#3 6-1 190 Rs-Fr David Jean-Baptiste, 22.5 minutes, 6.5 ppg, .282 from 3 (0.9 makes)1.7
#33 6-3 206 Fr Jonathan Bryant II, 8 games averaging 7.5 minutes, 2.0 ppg

Front Court:
#22 6-11 220 Jr Makinde London, 28.1 minutes, 13.3 ppg, .394 FG%, .390 from 3 (1.9 makes), 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 3.0 t.o.'s, 0.8 blocks, 1.1 steal
#2 6-8 245 Gr Joshua Phillips, 5 games averaging 21.0 minutes, 9.6 ppg, 0-0 3's, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 t.o.'s
#10 6-6 204 Fr James Lewis, Jr., 27 minutes, 9.1 ppg, 0 from 3, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 t.o.'s
#21 6-6 180 Fr Duane Moss, 7 games averaging 19.3 minutes, 4.9 ppg, .571 from 3 (1.1 makes), 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 t.o.

Samford: 4-9, 4-1 (256th KenPom)
Injuries hit a team that some were predicting to contend for the Conference title. 6-9 240 Jr. Wyatt Walker, the best rebounder in the SoCon last year with 9.7, has missed almost the entire season. They are hoping to have him back for Conference play. Alabama transfer point guard Justin Coleman was also been slowed by leg problems and Cristen Cunningham missed several games with illness.

Their best OOC wins were over the 2 teams ranked worst in all of D1 by KenPom: Alabama A&M 0-13 and ranked 350, and Mississippi Valley State also 0-13 and ranked 351. In fact, those are their only 2 D1 wins thus far. But they have played several teams close, coming within a single point of upsetting Memphis, 64-65.

Without Walker they are a poor rebounding team with a -3.4 margin, ahead of only Western Carolina and the Citadel, which basically ignores rebounding in its high speed scheme. They are tied for 294th in D1. Lack of a post presence also leaves them 3rd from the bottom in blocks with 1.9 per game.

Guards:
#22 6-5 205 Sr Demetrius Denzel-Dyson, 29.5 minutes, 15.5 ppg, .425 (2.6 makes), 5.2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.5 t.o., 1 steal
#2 5-10 170 Jr Justin Coleman, 29.5 minutes, 12.0 ppg, .390 from 3 (1.8 makes), 2.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.5 t.o.'s, 1.5 steals
#00 6-2 190 Sr Christen Cunningham, 28.9 minutes, 7.7 ppg, .176 from 3, 2.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.5 t.o.'s, 0.5 steals
#3 5-10 170 So Josh Sharkey, 20.5 minutes, 5.6 ppg, .111 from 3 (1-9), 1.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 t.o.'s, 1.5 steals
#4 6-2 185 So Tristan Chambers, 18.0 minutes, 5.5 ppg, .413 from 3 (1.5 makes), 1.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.2 t.o.'s
#1 6-2 170 Fr Kevion Nolan, 11.6 minutes, 3.4 ppg, .345 from 3 (1.0 makes), 1.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.4 t.o.'s, 0.6 steals

Front Court:
#20 6-8 210 Sr Alex Thompson, 22.8 minutes, 10.8 ppg, .304 from 3 (1.4 makes), 3.2 rebounds
#15 6-7 220 Jr Stefan Lakic, 15.3 minutes, 6.7 ppg, .462 from 3 (1.0 makes), 2.3 rebounds
#13 6-7 210 Sr Eric Adams, 21.5 minutes, 6.5 ppg, 0 three's, 6.1 rebounds
#55 6-8 225 Sr Alex Peters, 15.4 minutes, 4.5 ppg, 0 three's, 3.3 rebounds

Western Carolina: 4-8, 2-1 at home (286th KenPom)
They rarely saw Cullowhee with only 3 home games in their OOC schedule, a win over Hiwassee 76-57, a win over Appy State 72-71 (223 in KenPom) and a home loss to High Point (233rd in KenPom) 61-72. They played 6 road games and 2 at neutral sites. Best win was on the road at UNC Asheville (147th KenPom), 76-72. Their 4th win was a neutral site victory over 0-13 Alabama A&M, 82-72.

They are the lowest scoring team in the SoCon with 66.8 ppg average (316th in D1). They still have a tough time shooting – a last in SoCon .393 FG% (340th out of 351 in D1) and a middling 6th place .359 from 3, but are 3rd from the bottom in the SoCon in makes from 3.

So while they match The Citadel’s difficulties in stopping the other guy from scoring, they don’t share the Citadel’s ability to put up points themselves. The result is that Western Carolina has a scoring margin of -14.2 instead of The Citadel’s -2.8.

One significant change in Western’s statistical profile is a big drop in rebounding margin this year. One of their trademarks in recent years is a willingness to scrap on the boards and do what it takes to ‘win ugly’. Last year their rebounding margin was +0.7. This year that has dropped all the way to -6.5, second only to the Citadel in the SoCon and 330th in D1.

Maybe settling into a conference schedule that actually includes some home games will help turn things around for the Catamounts.

Guards:
#13 6-5 155 Rs-Sr Deriece Parks, 27.6 minutes, 11.3 ppg, .363 from 3 (2.4 makes), 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 t.o.'s
#2 6-1 170 Fr Matt Halvorsen, 23.8 minutes, 10.1 ppg, .373 from 3 (2.3 makes), 1.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 t.o.'s
#5 6-1 175 Sr Devin Peterson, 23.7 minutes, 8.0 ppg, .357 from 3 (0.4 makes), 2.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 t.o.'s, 1.1 t.o.'s
#11 6-5 190 Rs-Sr Haboubacar Mutombo, 17.3 minutes, 3.5 ppg, 3-13 .231 from 3, 3.0 rebounds
#0 6-6 215 So Maurice Smith, 12.2 minutes, 2.7 ppg, 4-10 .400 from 3, 3.4 rebounds

Front Court:
#23 6-7 210 Jr Mike Amius, 20.3 minutes, 10.0 ppg, 0 three's, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 t.o.'s, 0.8 blocks
#12 6-7 205 Jr Marc Gosselin, 25.9 minutes, 8.0 ppg, .379 from 3 (1.0 makes), 5.4 rebounds
#33 6-5 205 Onno Steger, 13.3 minutes, 3.5 ppg, .389 from3 (0.7 makes), 1.0 rebounds
#44 Adam Sledd, 8.3 minutes, 1.7 ppg, 0 three's, 1.7 rebounds


The Citadel: 5-7, 4-2 at home (321st KenPom)
“Signature” wins @ High Point (233rd KenPom) 79-77 and at home over JMU (241st ) 84-82.

Budding sophomore star Preston Parks quit the team and is transferring.

As usual with Duggar Baucom they are a team of statistical extremes. They lead the SoCon in scoring with 87.2 per game (14th in D1) and are last in scoring defense with 90.0 (next to last at 350th in all D1).

They are 341st in D1 and last in the SoCon with a -8.7 rebounding margin.

They are 8th in D1 and 1st in the SoCon with a 5.7 turnover margin. They are 1st in the SoCon and 3rd in D1 with 11.6 steals. The ultra high speed creates turnovers and steal opportunities.

Lots of scoring means lots of assists so they lead the SoCon by 2 per game with 17.8 assists, 26th in D1.

Lots shooting means lots of 3’s, so they lead the conference with 141 total 3’s and are 7th in D1 in 3’s attempted, but have a weak percentage of makes, tying for 7th in the SoCon with .344.

Add up all the extremes and you get a 5-7 team with a -2.8 scoring margin. Lots of flash and dash, but still near the bottom of the SoCon. The personnel that they have assembled does seem to match the style, but the results haven't yet added up to a lot of wins. If stars like Parks leave, that makes it harder.

Guards:
#4 6-0 180 Fr Tariq Simmons, 23.8 minutes, 13.2 ppg, 21-59 .356, 3.5 rebounds
#3 6-1 150 Jr Matt Frierson, 23.4 minutes, 10.8 ppg, 36-90 .400, 2.3 rebounds
#23 6-4 225 So Kaelon Harris, 19.8 minutes, 9.7 ppg, 14-33 .424, 3.8 rebounds
#1 5-9 150 So Frankie Johnson, 20.8 minutes, 6.8 ppg, 6-18 .343, 2.2 rebounds,
#2 5-11 170 Jr Quayson Williams, 14.4 minutes, 5.3 ppg, 10-45 .222, 3.3 rebounds
#5 6-8 190 Fr Rob Johnson, 14.1 minutes, 5.0 ppg, 1-6 .167, 4.3 rebounds
#10 6-6 196 Lejandro Allende, 12.3 minutes, 2.7 ppg, 2-8 .250, 2.1 rebounds,

Front Court:
#35 6-7 205 Jr Zane Najdawi, 16.3 minutes, 8.6 ppg, 5-25 .200, 2.8 rebounds,
#33 6-6 220 Fr Hayden Brown, 15.6 minutes, 6.9 ppg, 8-24 .333, 3.0 rebounds,
#25 6-5 205 Fr Alex Reed, 10.0 minutes, 4.8 ppg, 14-32 .438, 1.8 rebounds
#11 6-6 180 Fr Kaiden Rice, 7.0 minutes, 4.4 ppg, 10-35 .286, 0.6 rebounds
#32 6-5 205 Fr Derek Webster, 11.6 minutes, 3.5 ppg, 0 three's, 3.1 rebounds

VMI: 5-6, 4-1 at home (326th KenPom)
Biggest win was probably over 307th Longwood, or maybe 332nd Presbyterian. Remember that UNCG LOST to Presbyterian. So don’t get too cocky with these guys; they did go to VCU and come within 10 (65-75) of a team ranked 93rd by KenPom. And holding their opponents to .306 from 3 does rank them 49th in D1.

Armani Branch, who looked to be their best player, is not playing.

They are the opposite of The Citadel, aiming for a controlled tempo. They are the 2nd lowest scoring team in the SoCon to Western Carolina with a 69.5 ppg average. But they are better than average defenders, ranking 3rd in the SoCon and 49th in D1 in 3 point % defense holding opponents to .306, and 4th in the SoCon in FG% defense at .435

Guard:
#23 5-11 155 Fr Bubba Parham, 26.9 minutes, 12.1 ppg, .309 from 3 (1.6 makes), 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.0 t.o.'s
#0 6-4 190 Jr Austin Vereen, 19.1 minutes, 9.4 ppg, .455 from 3 (1.8 makes), 3.4 rebounds
#1 6-0 170 So Keith Smith, 27.8 minutes, 8.9 ppg, .500 from 3 (1.1 makes), 3.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.3 t.o.'s, 1.8 steals
#11 6-0 188 Fr Jordan Ratliffe, 17.9 minutes, 7.5 ppg, .250 from 3 (0.6 makes), 2.2 rebounds, 2.3 t.o.'s, 1 steal
#2 6-4 200 So Garrett Gilkeson, 22.4 minutes, 5.6 ppg, .188 from 3 (0.6 makes), 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 t.o.'s, 1.1 steals
#5 6-4 160 Fr Greg Parham, 11.5 minutes, 4.5 ppg, .400 from 3 (1.6 makes), 0.9 rebounds
#31 6-3 170 Fr Sarju Patel, 11.4 minutes, 3.7 ppg, .405 from 3 (0.6 makes), 1.0 rebounds

Front Court:
#25 6-10 245 So Tyler Creammer, 22.1 minutes, 9.5 ppg, 0 three's, 6.5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.6 t.o.'s
#24 6-8 210 So Will Miller, 19.2 minutes, 4.5 ppg, .353 from 3 (0.6 makes), 2.1 rebounds
#4 6-6 205 Sr Fred Iruafemi, 14.9 minutes, 1.5 ppg, 0 three's, 3.5 rebounds

(12-28-2017 12:44 PM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  I'll be working on this for a couple of days:

ETSU: 8-4 (should be 9-4 after Tusculum), 5-1 at home (KenPom 94th)

The Bucs maintain the highest KenPom rating in the SoCon. They lost the 1st round to NKU in game 1 of the season, but came back with a pretty impressive 84-71 win in the 2nd go against a team ranked 79th by KenPom. ETSU dropped a home game to Troy 65-73 (172nd KenPom), but spanked Georgia Southern (102nd KenPom) hard 79-59. And ETSU almost got the big signature win over 12-1 Xavier, then ranked 10th in D1, after outplaying them for 2/3 of the way and building a 22 point lead, but ultimately succumbing by 2 points 66-68 to a 1-3-1 zone, poor shooting, opposing big men who could shoot the 3 and, especially, Trevon Bluiett.

Steve Forbes has been earning his money this year, first by recruiting replacements to replace heavy losses from last year. Then by whipping them into a team while dealing with the loss of top recruit Jeromy Rodriguez 6-7 240 to injury and bench player Andre Edwards 6-6 240 to likely academic ineligibility. The intensity of the Bucs defensive effort and the all around improvement in play since that first NKU game have been remarkable.

A swarming, ball hawking defense that knocked even Xavier back on their heels is the Bucs’ hallmark. Through 12 games with one more soft non-conference game coming up against 3-9 Tusculum, the Bucs are 3rd in the SoCon in steals with 8.6 (behind Citadel and UNCG) and 32nd in D1. They are 2nd in FG% defense behind UNCG (.415 to .411) 98th in D1. They are 4th in 3pt% defense with .321(83rd in D1) behind UNCG (.277, 7th in D1), Furman (.289, 18th in D1) and VMI (.306, 48th in D1). With a t.o. margin of 3.3 they are 3rd in the SoCon (48th in D1) behind the Citadel (5.7, 8th in D1) and Furman (3.5 and 41st ). Shotblocking is part of good defense, and the Bucs are 1st in the SoCon and tied for 105th in D1 with 4.0 blocks per game.

Rebound margin is +2.0 3rd in the SoCon and tied for 152nd in D1.

Post players Peter Jurkin and freshman Mladen Armus have both been more effective than expected – splitting time at 16 to 18 plus minutes and giving us about 37 minutes of solid point performance. They are both relatively inexperienced in terms of minutes of D1 play and should improve. Some of us would like to see a little experimentation with both men in at once.

The big deficiency that can hurt the Bucs is in 3 point shooting, with a worst in conference percentage of .315, 299th in D1, and only 7.1 makes per game, worst in conference and 233rd in D1. Payne and Bradford are doing worse from 3 than last year, and Burrell, Long and McCloud seem to have completely lost their 3 point stroke. Jason Williams, and Kanayo Obi-Rapu when he gets in have been welcome counters to the trend. But look for conference foes to pack the defenses back in and challenge the Bucs to shoot.

Mercer: 6-6, 4-0 at home (KenPom 98th), likely to finish OOC 7-6 with a win over Kennesaw (KenPom 310th )

Looked good outplaying Alabama (50th KenPom) @ Huntsville but dropped it at the end 79-80. Also took Memphis (157th KenPom) to double OT before losing 81-83. Beat Troy in the season’s first game 77-73 (172nd KenPom).

The Bears carry over a habit from last year of dropping close games, even though the offense is much improved.

UNCG: 9-4, 7-1 at home, KenPom 108th
Got a signature win at NC State 81-76 (77th KenPom). Also came within 6 at Wake Forest 75-81 (#72 KenPom) in game #1 when Wake was struggling. But also suffered a signature screwup losing @ Presbyterian 72-74 (322nd KenPom). Also lost @ UNC Asheville 60-67 (147th KenPom) and took 3 overtimes at Liberty 76-75 (154th KenPom).

The Spartans hold opponents to the lowest FG% in the SoCon (.412, 86th in D1 and just ahead of ETSU at .416). They also hold opponents to the lowest 3pt% in the SoCon (.277, 8th in D1!!), just ahead of Furman at .289.

They are 4th in turnover margin in the SoCon with +2.15, just behind ETSU and Furman, and just ahead of Wofford. They are second in the SoCon in steals with 9.7 (11th in D1!!), 1 ahead of ETSU and 2 behind The Citadel

On offense they are a middling 6th in the SoCon in FG% with .450, about equal to ETSU, Furman and Samford. And they are a middling 4th in the SoCon in 3pt% with .366, although they are second in makes to The Citadel with 10.2 per game.

Francis Alonso leads in 3’s with 3.7 makes on .463, followed by Marvin Smith with 2.1 makes on .342 and Demetrius Troy with 1.4 makes but only .305. They miss Diante Baldwin for defense and scoring and rely more heavily on Alonso to come through down the stretch. Freshman point guard Isaiah Miller at 6-1 180 has become a big part of the rotation with 15.0 minutes, 7.8 points (1of 7 from 3), 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Freshman Kaleb Hunter has not played.

In the front court, 6-10 200 James Dickey, 6-9 250 Jordy Kuiper and 6-8 215 Kyrin Gallow ay have picked up the slack from White very effectively. Kuiper will even step out occasionally to hit some 3’s (he’s .378 with 1.4 makes). That gives them an excellent 1st in SoCon rebounding margin of +6.1, 54th in D1, just ahead of Mercer with 3.7. They are second in blocked shots to ETSU with 3.1.

Don’t know which Spartan team to expect. The one that simply outplayed NC State, or the one that blew it against a really bad Presbyterian.

Guards:
#10 6-3 185 Jr. Francis Alonso, 28.6 minutes, 17.8 ppg, .453 from 3 (3.7 makes), 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals
#11 6-0 187 Jr. Demetrius Troy, 24.1 minutes, 7.0 ppg, .305 from 3 (1.4 makes), 3.4 assists
# 24 6-1 180 Fr., Isaiah Miller, 15.0 minutes, 7.8 ppg, (1-7 from 3), 2.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals
#2 6-3 185 So. Malik Massey, 18.0 minutes, 5.3 ppg, .346 from 3 (0.7 makes)

Front Court:
#1 6-6 205 Sr Marvin Smith, 24.7 minutes, 11.5 ppg, .342 from 3(2.1 makes), 4.7 rebounds
#21 6-10 200 Rs-So. James Dickey, 28.6 minutes, 8.1 ppg, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.1 steals
#32 6-9 250 Sr Jordy Kuiper, 27.3 minutes, 6.8 ppg, .378 from 3 (1.5 makes), 5.7 rebounds
#14 6-8 215 So Kyrin Galloway, 18.5 minutes 5.5 ppg, .617 FG%, (4-13 from 3), 4.8 rebounds
#0 6-5195 Rs-Fr Kalia Sykes, 12.1 minutes, 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals

Furman: 9-4, 6-1 at home; KenPom 129th
Best game was probably taking Tennessee to the wire before losing 61-66. Best two wins were neutral site over Northeastern (#140 KenPom) 78-67 and at home over Asheville (#147 KenPom) 83-72. A win over a struggling UNC Wilmington at 2-9 and #268 KenPom is less impressive than it would have been last year.

Wofford: 8-5, 5-1; Kenpom 175th

Marked a huge signature win over THE UNC, ranked #5, along with a somewhat less impressive win over THE Georgia Tech (5-6 and 130th in KenPom). But also got thumped by 20 at UNC Asheville (147th KenPom), 67-85. The Terriers started the season 3-5, but are now on a 5 game win streak with Fletcher McGee doing a good Steph Curry imitation and 6-8 240 Jr Cameron Jackson going in full beast mode underneath.

Looks like they will be as hard to defeat at the new Richardson Center as they were at the BenJo. Road wins will be very hard to come by there.

Freshman point guard Storm Murphy looked like a bleh signee, with no other D1 interest, but has become a perfect fit in the Mike Young system.

Wofford is first in the SoCon in FG% at .483 and first in 3pt% at .437 (4th in all of D1) with 10.7 makes. But they’re 9th in 3pt% defense allowing opponents .382, albeit only 7.7 makes. They’re also on the weak side at #7 in FG% defense, allowing .462.

Chattanooga: 6-7, 5-2 at home, 239th KenPom
Lamont Paris has been trying to staunch the bleeding and clean up Matt McCall’s mess in the Roundhouse. Hit by a wave of transfers and decommits, Paris had the unenviable task of recruiting late into a disaster area. But he seems to have found a way to communicate with the talented 6-11 Makinde London, something McCall could never do, and got stud football player 6-8 245 defensive end/linebacker
Joshua Phillips to put on a basketball jersey at the end of football season. In the 5 games that he played the former 3 year basketball letterman from MTSU averaged 9.6 points on .647 from the field and 4.6 rebounds in 21 minutes. Over that span the Mocs were 3-2 with wins over Charlotte, UT Martin and Tennesse Wesleyan, a 5 point road loss at 212th Akron (70-75) and a 4 point road loss at 161st Marshall (66-70). Unfortunately Phillips has not played since, and the Mocs are 1-2 without him. What’s up with that?

Samford: 4-9, 4-1 (256th KenPom)
Injuries hit a team that some were predicting to contend for the Conference title. 6-9 240 Jr. Wyatt Walker, the best rebounder in the SoCon last year with 9.7, has missed almost the entire season. They are hoping to have him back for Conference play. Alabama transfer point guard Justin Coleman was also been slowed by leg problems and Cristen Cunningham missed several games with illness.

Their best OOC wins were over the 2 teams ranked worst in all of D1 by KenPom: Alabama A&M 0-13 and ranked 350, and Mississippi Valley State also 0-13 and ranked 351. In fact, those are their only 2 D1 wins thus far. But they have played several teams close, coming within a single point of upsetting Memphis, 64-65.

Without Walker they are a poor rebounding team with a -3.4 margin, ahead of only Western Carolina and the Citadel, which basically ignores rebounding in its high speed scheme. They are tied for 294th in D1. Lack of a post presence also leaves them 3rd from the bottom in blocks with 1.9 per game.

Western Carolina: 4-8, 2-1 at home (286th KenPom)
They rarely saw Cullowhee with only 3 home games in their OOC schedule, a win over Hiwassee 76-57, a win over Appy State 72-71 (223 in KenPom) and a home loss to High Point (233rd in KenPom) 61-72. They played 6 road games and 2 at neutral sites. Best win was on the road at UNC Asheville (147th KenPom), 76-72. Their 4th win was a neutral site victory over 0-13 Alabama A&M, 82-72.

They are the lowest scoring team in the SoCon with 66.8 ppg average (316th in D1). They still have a tough time shooting – a last in SoCon .393 FG% (340th out of 351 in D1) and a middling 6th place .359 from 3, but are 3rd from the bottom in the SoCon in makes from 3.

So while they match The Citadel’s difficulties in stopping the other guy from scoring, they don’t share the Citadel’s ability to put up points themselves. The result is that Western Carolina has a scoring margin of -14.2 instead of The Citadel’s -2.8.

One significant change in Western’s statistical profile is a big drop in rebounding margin this year. One of their trademarks in recent years is a willingness to scrap on the boards and do what it takes to ‘win ugly’. Last year their rebounding margin was +0.7. This year that has dropped all the way to -6.5, second only to the Citadel in the SoCon and 330th in D1.

Maybe settling into a conference schedule that actually includes some home games will help turn things around for the Catamounts.

The Citadel: 5-7, 4-2 at home (321st KenPom)
“Signature” wins @ High Point (233rd KenPom) 79-77 and at home over JMU (241st ) 84-82.

Budding sophomore star Preston Parks quit the team and is transferring.

As usual with Duggar Baucom they are a team of statistical extremes. They lead the SoCon in scoring with 87.2 per game (14th in D1) and are last in scoring defense with 90.0 (next to last at 350th in all D1).

They are 341st in D1 and last in the SoCon with a -8.7 rebounding margin.

They are 8th in D1 and 1st in the SoCon with a 5.7 turnover margin.

Lots of scoring means lots of assists so they lead the SoCon by 2 per game with 17.8 assists, 26th in D1.

Lots shooting means lots of 3’s, so they lead the conference with 141 total 3’s and are 7th in D1 in 3’s attempted, but have a weak percentage of makes, tying for 7th in the SoCon with .344.

Add up all the extremes and you get a 5-7 team with a -2.8 scoring margin. Lots of flash and dash, but still near the bottom of the SoCon.

VMI: 5-6, 4-1 at home (326th KenPom)
Biggest win was probably over 307th Longwood, or maybe 332nd Presbyterian. But don’t get too cocky with these guys; they did go to VCU and come within 10 (65-75) of a team ranked 93rd by KenPom. And holding their opponents to .306 from 3 does rank them

Armani Branch, who looked to be their best player, is not playing.

They are the opposite of The Citadel, aiming for a controlled tempo. They are the 2nd lowest scoring team in the SoCon to Western Carolina with a 69.5 ppg average. But they are better than average defenders, ranking 3rd in the SoCon and 49th in D1 in 3 point % defense holding opponents to .306, and 4th in the SoCon in FG% defense at .435

Wow such good information. Thanks.

Didn't know where to post this, so I'll post it here.

Game to watch today....UNCG at Western. The Catamounts look to be improved, and today will show if they can be a factor or not.

(01-13-2018 11:14 AM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Didn't know where to post this, so I'll post it here.

Game to watch today....UNCG at Western. The Catamounts look to be improved, and today will show if they can be a factor or not.

Excellent point - with the start of conference play the light seems to have gone on for the Cats who are finally playing like a typical Larry Hunter team. They are 3-1 in conference play, and the change is probably best reflected in rebound margin. That's as good a measure as any of fight and sheer 'want to'. OOC they were 2nd worst in conference ahead of only The Citadel, one of the worst rebounding teams in all of D1.

But now in SoCon games they are literally leading the league with a +7.8. Quite the turnaround. Of course, they still can't shoot, with a third worst in conference .401 FG%. But that's consistent with Western's history.

The other big game today of course has the 2 leading scoring teams in the conference square off with Furman at Wofford, where the Terriers claim to have sold out the new Jerry Richardson Center. They are 8-1 in home games, losing only to South Carolina in the first game of the season. They are showing their own spark with the usual blistering shooting (50%), but also a rebounding margin just behind Western's at +6.7 in conference. Furman is the steadiest team in conference - no wins over UNC or Georgia Tech, but no surpise losses either. I give a slight edge to Furman, but Mike Young is doing another fine job, revamping his team and going with 6-5 Trevor Stumpe instead of 6-11 Mike Pegram, and Derrick Brooks ahead of Nathan Hoover, with Freshman Storm Murphy running the point instead of Theme-Love. For ETSU fans, these are the 2 best SoCon teams that we have yet to meet.

UTC just lost to The Citadel after having a big lead. I think it's appropriate to ask, is UTC the worst team in the Socon?

(01-13-2018 03:09 PM)Bucster Wrote:  UTC just lost to The Citadel after having a big lead. I think it's appropriate to ask, is UTC the worst team in the Socon?

Wow. I say this in jest but also kind of seriously, should we consider moving our “gold out” game to a more formidable opponent like Furman?

(01-13-2018 03:22 PM)Bucs06 Wrote:  

(01-13-2018 03:09 PM)Bucster Wrote:  UTC just lost to The Citadel after having a big lead. I think it's appropriate to ask, is UTC the worst team in the Socon?

Wow. I say this in jest but also kind of seriously, should we consider moving our “gold out” game to a more formidable opponent like Furman?

I think we should. It almost seems pointless to do it against Chattanooga. I know it's a rivalry but man they are bad. Let's try to Gold out for Furman and/or Wofford.

I think the Wofford-Furman game may hinge on three point shooting and defending the line. Wofford is #2 in the nation in three point shooting percentage and Furman is #14 at defending against the three. In the UNCG-Wofford game Wofford shot great in the first half but UNCG did a great job defending Magee in the second and Wofford really struggled overall. Wofford has been poor at three point defense and Furman is capable of exploiting that if the Terriers don't improve.

Offensive and defensive efficiency numbers show that only ETSU and Furman rate high in both offense and defensive numbers nationally. UNCG is strong defensively but middle of the pack nationally on offense. Mercer and Wofford are #1 and #2 in the conference in offensive efficiency but in the bottom third nationally on defense. Samford is decent on offense but their defense is 5th worst in the country. Western Carolina is actually poor in both aspects, although better on defense than Samford. Those two have the toughest remaining schedules in the conference. Chattanooga, Citadel, and VMI are all low ranked on offense and defense. Chattanooga can still make a run for a bye if they get their big men back healthy.

Mercer is playing mad right now. Up 28 on Samford at halftime.

Spartans take down Mercer in G'boro in OT.

Chatt was up 10-12 on Wofford but the Terriers have been making a run and just took the lead late in the game.

Edit: And the Terriers win by 4. Magee went for 26. London 20.

(01-20-2018 08:41 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Spartans take down Mercer in G'boro in OT.

Chatt was up 10-12 on Wofford but the Terriers have been making a run and just took the lead late in the game.

Edit: And the Terriers win by 4. Magee went for 26. London 20.

Chattanooga had London and Lewis back. They look like a much more dangerous team with added size.

I didn't see Ria'n Holland's name in the box score for Mercer. Injured again?

Furman won 78-67 with four players scoring in double figures. Devin Sibley wasn't one. He sat out tonight's game recuperating. He might play against UNCG.

Holland didn't dress for the game and had his arm in a soft cast and sling. Based on the amount of time he spent talking to uncg players post-game and how they looked talking to him, Im thinking it might be a long term injury (ie many weeks or season ending. Just a guess though.

(01-20-2018 10:53 PM)FUATT Wrote:  

(01-20-2018 08:41 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Spartans take down Mercer in G'boro in OT.

Chatt was up 10-12 on Wofford but the Terriers have been making a run and just took the lead late in the game.

Edit: And the Terriers win by 4. Magee went for 26. London 20.

Chattanooga had London and Lewis back. They look like a much more dangerous team with added size.

I didn't see Ria'n Holland's name in the box score for Mercer. Injured again?

Furman won 78-67 with four players scoring in double figures. Devin Sibley wasn't one. He sat out tonight's game recuperating. He might play against UNCG.

Holland is out at least 4-6 weeks with broken hand.

Wofford always finds a way to win, which worries me a bit. Chatt had a 5 or 6 point lead with about 4 minutes left and Wofford comes down and hits back to back 3s and then it's game over from there. Kenpom ranks Wofford as the 2nd luckiest team in all of college basketball.