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SOUTHERN
The Chattanooga Mocs won 29 games last year. That is a win total that is almost unheard of among “Under the Radar” or mid-major programs. They rolled through SoCon regular season play with a 15-3 record, then sweated out three close games to capture the league’s automatic bid. It almost came as a shock to us then when, as a 12 seed, they suffered a convincing 25 point Round of 64 loss to Indiana. To show just how impressive the Mocs were last year, 5 of their 9 conference mates also qualified for the postseason. Furman and Mercer were invited to the CIT. Western Carolina and UNC-Greensboro played in the CBI (albeit both receiving invites despite having sub-.500 overall records). And East Tennessee State played in the inaugural Vegas 16, advancing to the semifinal round.
This season, Chattanooga has a chance to be even better than last. The quantity of wins may not improve (29 is the type of number teams very rarely reach), but the team itself may prove to be stronger, and could very well be in the hunt for an at-large bid should they slip up in the conference tournament. They will certainly be challenged early in the season as their first two games at are Tennessee and at North Carolina. If the Mocs can pick up a few big non-conference wins and roll through the SoCon again, their names should be called on Selection Sunday. That doesn’t mean, however, that the rest of the league is just going to let them roll. East Tennessee State, UNC-Greensboro and Furman all have deep experienced lineups returning that could give the Mocs a run for their money. And we never want to count out Bob Hoffman’s Mercer Bears, whose season was interrupted last year by the tragic heart-breaking death of guard Jibri Bryan. His shooting was the type of story we never want to hear and our hearts and prayers still go out to Jibri’s and the Mercer basketball family.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Chattanooga – Six of the Mocs’ top seven players return from a team that won 29 games last year, including Casey Jones who missed much of last season due to injury. If this team plays up to its potential, it may not need an automatic bid to make the Big Dance.
2. East Tennessee State – The Buccaneers need to replace leading scorer Ge’Lawn Guyn, but they have size and depth to challenge. Head coach Steve Forbes has brought in four junior college transfers that could all help immediately.
3. UNC-Greensboro – The Spartans received a bid into the CBI with a losing record last season. This year, we expect them to be above .500 as they return four starters and five players that averaged at least 8 points per game.
4. Furman – Top player Stephen Croone may be gone, but almost everyone else is back from last year’s 19 win team. With only one key senior on the roster this season, head coach Niko Medved has this team poised to be good this year, and possibly very good next.
5. Mercer – Last season was overshadowed by the tragic death of Jibri Bryan. Head coach Bob Hoffman is one of the best coaches in the conference and with Stephon Jelks leading the way, the Bears should remain competitive.
6. Wofford – Guards Fletcher Magee and Eric Garcia will score a ton of points this season, but the Terriers will need a very young frontcourt to develop quickly if they want to challenge.
7. VMI – Q.J. Peterson is an absolute scoring machine, and he does have some help on the roster from the likes of Julian Eleby and Trey Chapman. The Keydets biggest problem last season was a lack of size, so the new, taller recruits will need to step up quickly.
8. Samford – Junior guard Christen Cunningham outside and sophomore center Wyatt Walker inside form a solid core around which the program can be built, but the Bulldogs need more depth and better defensive play to rise in the standings.
9. Western Carolina – With four starters gone, this could be a long season for the Catamounts. Guard Elijah Pughsley will need to become a big-time scorer if this team is going to win more than a handful of games.
10. The Citadel – Only two starters return from a team that lost 22 times last year. Don’t expect much better than that this time around.