SoCon Championship Preview and Predictions

SoCon Championship Preview and Predictions

Favorite

Furman

This story will be hard for me to go over as a Furman fan, but it’s necessary. In last season’s SoCon championship game, Furman faced Chattanooga. 

It was back-and forth all game, but near the end, Furman was down. Mike Bothwell of Furman took over, scoring in multiple consecutive possessions, and with the ball down two, Bothwell hit a 3 with under 10 second left. Here’s where it all fell apart. Chattanooga’s David Jean-Baptiste dribbled the ball down, and in an half court prayer, he made it, and as the buzzer sounded, Chattanooga was SoCon champs and would be moving onto the NCAA Tournament.

Furman was supposed to win that game. They were supposed to be the ones moving on. But, due to a half court buzzer beater, they weren’t. Despite that, Furman returned most of their best players including Jalen Slawson (who was just crowned SoCon player of the year) and, of course, Mike Bothwell. 

With a really good young core coming back, Furman were the preseason picks for first place. And, a couple of months later, that’s exactly where they are. Coach Bob Richey in an interview said, “I really hope we can get it done this time around”. And, I think that they will, but it sure won’t be easy.

Sleeper

Western Carolina

Western Carolina is a program on the rise. They didn’t have the best season last year, but have now risen to fourth place in the SoCon. They have a good history and fanbase, and have proven it this year with an early win over Furman. 

They’re led by senior Tre Jackson, who after spending 3 seasons as a backup at Iowa State, is now flourishing against easier competition. They also have 2 other guys averaging 15 points along with Jackson in Vonterious Woolbright and Tyzhaun Claude. 

This trio has been tough to stop, but against UNCG, Samford and Furman, they haven’t shown up, other than their early Furman victory. Their fanbase and program could propel them to a deep run, but Furman may be too difficult to beat.

Bracket Prediction