Checking In On… the Southern Conference
Posted by rtmsf on January 28th, 2012
Eric Moyer is the RTC correspondent for the Southern Conference and Atlantic Sun Conference and a contributor to the RTC SEC Microsite. You can find him on Twitter @EricDMoyer
Reader’s Take
Looking Back
- Davidson created some separation in the South Division, besting Charleston, 87-69, on Saturday. The Cougars then lost at Georgia Southern on Monday to fall behind the Eagles, as well as Wofford, in the South standings. Jake Cohen led the Wildcats as he matched his career-high with 29 points (24 coming in the first half).
- In the North Division, Elon remained in first place, defeating preseason favorite Chattanooga, 88-87, on Monday.
One for the Record Books
In the final scheduled non-conference game in the SoCon (four will play on Feb. 18 a part of the 2012 BracketBusters event), Western Carolina put itself in the company of Texas, Purdue and Long Island, becoming just the fourth school to ever defeat an opponent by at least 100 points. The Catamounts defeated Toccoa Falls 141-39.
From the Notebook
- College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins owns 226 wins at a SoCon school (100 at Appalachian State from 1975-81; 126 at College of Charleston) to move into a share of fifth place on the SoCon win list. He matched Duke’s Eddie Cameron (the namesake for Cameron Indoor Stadium) against Elon on Jan. 14. He will take a temporary leave of absence for a non-life threatening health condition beginning this weekend.
- In its last three games, Samford’s starting five of Tyler Hood, Drew Windler, Jeffrey Merritt, Raijon Kelly and Will Cook has combined to score 70.3 of the team’s 75.7 points per game.
Davidson's J.P. Kuhlman Reached The 1,000-point Milestone
- Davidson’s J.P. Kuhlman joined the 1,000-point club on January 14 at Appalachian State, the eighth active player in the league to reach that milestone.
- Wofford’s Brad Loesing leads the nation in minutes per game at an even 39.0 MPG. He has played in 819 of the team’s 845 minutes this season.
B.M.O.C.
UNC Greensboro’s Derrell Armstrong averaged 27.7 points and six rebounds in the Spartans’ last three games (wins against Chattanooga, Samford and Appalachian State). The junior, who prior to this stretch had averaged 7.9 points per game on the season, notched a season-high 29 points against the Mocs. He hit a season-best five three-point field goals. He followed that performance up with consecutive 27-point efforts.
Power Rankings
Last week’s ranking in parentheses:
- Davidson (15-4) (1): The Wildcats remained undefeated in SoCon play thanks to Nik Cochran’s free throw at Chattanooga with 1.2 seconds remaining. Davidson joins Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee and Saint Mary’s as the only schools in the country with conference records of 9-0 or better.
- Wofford (13-8) (5): The Terriers moved into second place in the South Division standings as they defeated The Citadel for the 11th straight time. The conference’s stingiest defense held the Bulldogs to 55 points, lowering their season average to 61.7.
- Elon (10-9) (3): After two defeats, the Phoenix moved back above the .500 mark with wins against Chattanooga and at Western Carolina. Jack Isenbarger averaged 22.5 points, six rebounds and shot 47.1% from the three-point arc in the two victories.
Jack Isenbarger Was Outstanding In Two Elon Victories
- College of Charleston (12-8) (2): After a 3-1 start in SoCon play, the Cougars have dropped four of five. The most recent defeat came at home to Furman ending a nine-game win streak against the Paladins. The Cougars have lost three straight SoCon games for the first time since February 2008.
- UNC Greensboro (7-14) (10): The biggest risers in the power poll, the Spartans notched their first five-game winning streak since the 2007-08 season. Under the guidance of 28-year-old interim coach Wes Miller, UNCG has already matched its win total from a season ago.
- Georgia Southern (8-12) (6): The Eagles dropped behind Wofford and into third place in the South Division standings after dropping a two-point contest at Samford. Georgia Southern fell to 1-11 on the road (as compared to 7-1 at home).
- Appalachian State (8-11) (8): After winning straight three games at the Greensboro Coliseum, the Mountaineers lost at UNC Greensboro for the first time since Jan. 8, 2001. On his 24th birthday, Omar Carter scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds against UNCG.
- Western Carolina (9-12) (4): The Catamounts have lost four of their last five games, registering only a 102-point win against NCCAA member Toccoa Falls in that span. In the four SoCon losses, Western Carolina has lost by an average of 11 points per game.
- Furman (10-10) (9): Furman claimed its first victory at the College of Charleston’s home floor since the 1952-53 season. Brandon Sebirumbi led the Paladins against the Cougars with 15 points. In his last five games, he has averaged 17.2 points per game while shooting 57.1% from the floor.
- Chattanooga (9-13) (7): The Mocs, picked first by the coaches in the preseason, dropped consecutive one-point decisions (at Elon and vs Davidson) to fall into last place in the North Division.
- Samford (6-13) (12): After an 0-4 start in SoCon play, the Bulldogs have registered three wins in their last four games, including a win at North Division leader Elon. Most recently, they earned a two-point win against Georgia Southern.
- The Citadel (4-16) (11): The Bulldogs have dropped five straight games, three of which by single digits. The Citadel’s offense has struggled offensively during the stretch, averaging just 59.8 points per game.
Looking Ahead
- Elon at Appalachian State, January 28: The North Division leaders travel to Boone, N.C. looking to end a six-game slide against the Mountaineers.
- Chattanooga at Davidson, February 4: Ten days after Davidson needed a last-second free throw to win at Chattanooga, the two meet again at the Belk Arena.
