Previewing the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament

The 2014 Southern Conference Tournament begins Friday. With College of Charleston moving to the Colonial Athletic Conference this past season, the Southern Conference shrunk to 11 teams . This meant that the number of first-round byes for the SoCon Tournament would increase from four to five. The five teams with a first-round bye in this year's tournament are Davidson (#1 seed), Chattanooga (2), Wofford (3), Elon (4) and Western Carolina (5). Although Elon and Western Carolina each have byes, they already know they will play one another on day two of the tournament in the quarterfinal round. Elsewhere, Davidson will play the winner of the Samford (8) versus Appalachian State (9) contest. Chattanooga, meanwhile, will await the winner of the Georgia Southern (7) versus Furman (10) matchup. Wofford will battle the victor of the UNC Greensboro (6) versus Citadel (11)  game. 

This will be the final SoCon Tournament that Davidson, Elon, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will participate in. Davidson and Elon are merging into the Atlantic-10 and the Colonial Athletic Conference, respectively, while Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are both transitioning to the Sun Belt Conference. Eastern Tennessee State University, Virginia Military Institute and Mercer University will join the Southern Conference next season, which will feature 10 teams for the 2014-2015 season.

Here is the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament  Bracket:

First Round Friday, March 7					Quarterfinals Saturday, March 8 ESPN3					Semifinals Sunday, March 9 ESPN3					Championship Game Monday, March 10 ESPN2
						1	Davidson
	8	Samford
	9	Appalachian State
						4	Elon
						5	Western Carolina
						2	Chattanooga
	7	Georgia Southern
	10	Furman
						3	Wofford
	6	UNC Greensboro
	11	The Citadel

Below are my responses to the questions provided by John Roberts of MocsMania as a part of his annual "Scanning the SoCon: Tournament Edition" post on his website. 

1)      Which team playing Friday do you think will go the furthest in the tournament? Why?

I don’t envision any of the six teams playing on Friday to make it past the quarterfinal round. If I had to pick one team, I would select UNC Greensboro, the No. 6 seed in the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament. The Spartans draw a favorable first-round matchup against Citadel, a club that lost its first 14 conference games before finishing the season on a two-game winning streak. If the Spartans are to advance as expected, they will battle Wofford on Saturday with the winner earning a spot in the semi-finals. The Spartans defeated the Terriers on Wofford’s home floor on Saturday night so an upset is fathomable.

2)      Which Top-3 seed is most likely to disappoint? Why?

Chattanooga is most likely to disappoint. The Mocs will draw the winner of the Georgia Southern-Furman contest. Assuming Georgia Southern defeats Furman, a club that recorded two of its three conference wins against the last-place Citadel Bulldogs, they will face off against a Chattanooga squad that they blew out on the road less than two weeks ago. Even if the Mocs are able to sneak past the Georgia Southern Eagles, they will likely oppose the Wofford Terriers in the semi-finals. The Mocs defeated the Terriers twice in the regular season, but it is an arduous task to beat a formidable conference opponent three times in one calendar year.

3)      What do you think would be the best match-up to see on Sunday in the semifinals?

A matchup featuring Davidson versus Elon (split season-series) will bring immense intrigue based on the sole fact that the Phoenix handed the Wildcats their only conference loss of the season. The Phoenix would love to avenge Davidson after getting torched by the first-place Wildcats at Alumni Gym on Senior Night.

4)      What team has the best chance to advance in the NCAA Tournament? Why?

Elon played better than any other Southern Conference team in its non-conference portion of the schedule. That being said, Davidson is riding a 12-game win streak (and if they win the SoCon Tournament their streak will increase to 15) and no team in the country wants to play a squad that has not lost since mid-January.

5)      Who do you think will play in the SoCon Championship Game? Who will win? Why?

My gut feeling tells me that Davidson will square off against Wofford for the Southern Conference Championship game. But the fourth seeded Elon Phoenix, the preseason conference favorites, could make some major noise in the tournament. Elon has the most talented starting lineup in the conference, featuring four seniors (Lucas Troutman, Ryley Beaumont, Jack Isenbarger and Sebastian Koch) with over 1,000 points scored in their respective careers. Davidson versus Elon seems like an inevitable semi-final matchup and the winner of that contest will likely win the SoCon Tournament. Conventional wisdom says that Davidson will be representing the Southern Conference in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, but it’s called “March Madness” for a reason: anything is possible.