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SOUTHERN
The 2014-15 season was a banner one for the Wofford Terriers. The team won a school record 28 games, including picking up a regular season victory at North Carolina State, rolled through the Southern Conference, only losing twice in conference play, and then followed it up by winning the SoCon tournament, with their only test coming in the finals against Furman, a team that was seeded 10th out of 10 teams yet made an incredible run to the conference tournament finals. The Terriers then went on to the NCAA tournament where they fell in the Round of 64 as a 12 seed to Arkansas, 56-53. Despite winning 22 games, Chattanooga did not get an NIT invite and did not play in any postseason tournaments. The only other SoCon team to play in the postseason was the Mercer, which participated in the CBI.
This season, Wofford does not look like they will be strong enough to repeat last season’s huge success, but the Terriers should still be good enough to compete for the conference title. The offseason losses of Karl Cochrane and Lee Skinner, arguably their two best players, will be tough to compensate for. Chattanooga, despite needing to adjust to new head coach Matt McCall, is the pick to take the conference title. However, the SoCon appears to be fairly wide open, as UNC Greensboro, East Tennessee State, Furman and Western Carolina all could be in the mix. Mercer will be one team taking a big step backwards — though the Bears’ success last year was a surprise, so they should not be easily counted out.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Chattanooga – The Mocs are led by three returning double-digit scorers including Casey Jones (no jokes will be made about him driving the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” train). If they can come together under new head coach Matt McCall now that Will Wade has moved to VCU, they could be dancing.
2. Wofford – Despite losing their top two players, the Terriers had depth last season and should be right back in contention this year. They will be led by the backcourt trio of Spencer Collins, Eric Garcia and Justin Gordon.
3. UNC Greensboro – Eight of the Spartans’ top nine players return from last season’s squad including guards Tevon Saddler and Diante Baldwin plus forward Kayel Locke and big man R.J. White. All four of them averaged double-digits in scoring last year, and with the experience they have now gained, this team could be right in the mix this year.
4. East Tennessee State – Murry Bartow is gone after 12 years in Johnson City, but even though his dismissal was a shock, the Bucs may have scored with the hiring of Steve Forbes. Forbes put in time as an assistant to Bruce Pearl and to Gregg Marshall and has the pedigree to do some great things. His first team lacks its top two scorers from last year, but does return A.J. Merriweather and Lester Wilson, plus adds in a strong group of newcomers led by Cincinnati transfer Ge’Lawn Guyn.
5. Furman – The Paladins went 5-13 in conference regular season play last season, dead last in the standings. They then rode their 10 seed to three straight upset victories, knocking off Chattanooga and Mercer on the way, before falling by 3 to Wofford in the SoCon title game. All five starters from the team that finally clicked at the end of the season are back, led by guard Stephen Croone. A 10th place finish will not happen again this time around, but a return to the title game is a distinct possibility.
6. Western Carolina – The Catamounts return three double-digit scorers from last season, but will still have to find a way to make up for the loss of James Sinclair’s 19+ points per game. They will need their newcomers to provide depth if they want any chance at contending.
7. VMI – It appears that Q.J. Peterson will be back this season, and he is one of the most explosive scorers in the country. If new head coach Dan Earl can improve the defense and get the team to accept his style, the Keydets could be a tough team to beat all season.
8. Samford – Darius Jones-Gibson and Christen Cunningham form a strong duo in the backcourt, but the Bulldogs will need their newcomers to shine down low if they want to avoid another losing season.
9. Mercer – The Bears exceeded expectations last season, but with three starters gone from that team and no frontcourt to speak of, it could be a long season.
10. The Citadel – Exactly how The Citadel was able to steal head coach Duggar Baucom away from VMI is a bit of a mystery, but may prove to be one of the best moves in the school’s basketball history. It will take time, but once Baucom has his crazy-fast, high-scoring system in place, the Bulldogs could finally have a shot at that elusive first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Until then, however, don’t expect much — especially not this year.