History: The Southern Conference has roots going back to the 1920s. There was a time when Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia played in this league. Heck, Washington & Lee has a pair of tournament wins to brag about.
More recently, this is the conference that Stephen Curry called home during his days at Davidson. Before leaving the league, Davidson won the conference tournament 12 times, tied for the record with current member Chattanooga.
As for the NCAA Tournament, success still occurs here. Last season, Furman hit a miracle shot to beat Virginia in a 13-vs-4 game. In 2022, 13th-seeded Chattanooga lost to Illinois by a point in the first round. In 2019, 10th-seeded Wofford knocked off Seton Hall by 16 before losing to Kentucky by six. In other words, the winner of this league is not a team a big school wishes to see.
Returning Champion: Furman. As the #1 seed, they survived an overtime scare against Western Carolina in the semifinals before knocking off upstart #7 seed Chattanooga by nine in the title game.
Format: All ten teams make the field. There is a 7-vs-10 game and an 8-vs-9 game in the first round.
Favorite: Samford (26-5, 15-3)
Ranked #79 in the NET, Samford started the season with back-to-back losses to Purdue and VCU before embarking on a 17-game winning streak. The Bulldogs were likely on the edges of the bubble earlier this season, but the Southern Conference doesn’t offer much wiggle room for losses. They haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2000.
On a per-game basis, this team is one of the best offensive teams in the nation. They rank 4th in scoring (86.9) and 6th in 3-point shooting (39.8%). Sometimes, teams who hit a high percentage of three-point shots don’t take many. In the case of Samford, this isn’t the case as they toss up 25.5 attempts (40th).
They are well-balanced, as ten players average 10+ minutes per game. They’ll wear opponents down (12th in adjusted tempo). The combination of playing fast with a big rotation of players is bound to confound teams that don’t see them often.
Contenders: UNC Greensboro (21-10, 12-6), Chattanooga (20-11, 12-6), Western Carolina (22-9, 11-7)
Live Long Shot: Mercer (15-16, 8-10)
Preview:
The other teams in the league must remember that Samford lost three games. They are a beast, but not an unbeatable one.
UNC Greensboro ranked fifth in the nation with their 40.1% three-point shooting. Senior forward Mikeal Brown-Jones averages 19.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. He doesn’t take many three-pointers, but when he does, he hits them (45.5%). While Arkansas had a mediocre season, it is impressive that the Spartans beat them on the road.
An advantage that both Greensboro and Chattanooga have is that they are on the opposite side of the bracket from Samford. The two squads, perhaps on a collision course in the semi-finals, split their games this year. Each team blew out the other on the road. Chattanooga isn’t much of a defensive squad, but they did rank in the top 100 in offensive efficiency. Unlike Samford, they play at a methodical pace. Their entire offense revolves around volume 3-point shooting. If they get hot, they are tough to beat.
Western Carolina beat Notre Dame and Vanderbilt on the road and did hang with Samford in one of the two games they played this year (important, given that they might play in the semifinals). The Catamounts are dominated by senior guard play, with Vonterius Woolbright the star of the show. He averages 21.4 points (#1 in the conference; #10 in the country), 12.1 rebounds (#1; #2 in the country), and 5.5 assists (#2). He is a legitimate college basketball star, the type of player who could take over a tournament and win it. They finished the season winning their final three games, including a 19-point win at Chattanooga in the finale.
Mercer has to first get past 11-20 The Citadel. If they win that game, they have a date with Samford, a team they beat by four in mid-February. In case you are wondering, the other two squads who beat Samford are Furman and Wofford. They could meet Furman in the semi-finals if they beat Western Carolina.
Bottom Line:
I don’t mind picking upsets, but I recognize how much fun Samford would be in the NCAA Tournament. As a #13 or #14 seed, they might give someone fits (I am thinking of an Alabama – Samford matchup, which has 99-94 written all over it).
Winner: Samford