(12-29-2021 07:45 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  Nobody has the powerful complete team that Wofford had 3 years ago or ETSU 2 years ago. The highest rated SoCon teams in Kenpom are #94 Wofford and #101 Chattanooga. But the bottom 5 teams, and especially 6th through 9th, are all highly competitive. 5 of the top 20 three point shooting teams in D1 are in the SoCon, and most of the other 5 aren’t bad. Which gives them a punchers chance in any game they play. SoCon offenses rate high this year – SoCon defenses do not.

Wofford: 8-4
RPI 125; KenPom #94 (Off #72; Def #131)

Best win @ #186 Georgia, 68-65. Next best @ #215 Gardner Webb by 8.
Worst loss @ #199 Coastal Carolina 60-59. Other losses @ #38 Clemson by 8; @ #96 South Carolina by 9; home vs Richmond by 9.

The loss of Messiah Jones for the season hurts – but this is a deep, talented, experienced team. B.J. Mack with a trimmed down body, more muscle, more mobility and more fire is a load in the middle at 6-8 247 with 14.1 ppg and 5.7 rebounds. 6-7 Isaiah Bigelow snags 5.5 rebounds (also 8.3 ppg, but only .259 from 3) and 6-9 true Soph Sam Godwin adds 4.1 rebounds in 16.6 minutes. Rebounding margin is +4.1, 109th in D1 and 5th in the SoCon.

They have the best t.o. margin in the SoCon by far with +4.25, tied with Florida for 29th in D1. Chattanooga is the only other good one in the SoCon with +1.92.

5 of the top 20 D1 teams in 3 pointers per game are in the SoCon. .. and #44 Wofford with a “mere” 9.4 per game on .352 is not one of them! They’re still pretty darn good. Get ready to defend the arc every night in the SoCon.

#3 in D1 VMI 12.7 per game, .367, Kamdyn Curfman 3.92 pg (6th in D1) .420; Jake Stephens .423, Sean Conway 2.0 pg
#4 Furman 11.6, .403 (8th in D1); Alex Hunter 3.92 pg (5th in D1).490, Conley Garrison .453, 2.2 pg
#5 Western Car 11.5, .358; Nicholas Robinson 2.5, Marcus Banks, 2.1
#11 Citadel 10.8, .344; Fr Jason Roche 3.82 pg (7th in D1, 1st in D1 among Freshmen) .420
#20 Samford 10.3, .345
#44 Wofford 9.4, .352; Austin Patterson .543, Ryan Larson .426, Max Klesmit .353 (2.0 makes and 15.5 ppg)

Kenpom rates Wofford as the 3rd best SoCon offense at #72. They are the best in the SoCon on defense, but at #131, are about tied with #132 UNCG. No SoCon team rates very high defensively this year. Max Klesmit is tied for the lead in steals with 2.0.

Ryan Larson averages 4.3 assists.

Chattanooga: 10-3
RPI 42; KenPom #101 (Off #39; Def #191)

Best win: @ #78 VCU 56-54. @ #115 Loyola Marymount 75-64; home vs #205 MTSU 77-65
Worst Loss: home vs #185 Charleston 68-66. Other losses @ #55 Belmont 76-68; @ #80 Murray St. 87-76. Furman beat Charleston and played better against Belmont. ETSU beat Murray St.

Kenpom rates the Mocs #1 offense in the SoCon, #39 in D1. When they need a bucket 6-4 215 Malachi Smith powers to the hoop (a little like 6-3 Mike Bothwell for Furman). Or David Jean-Baptiste pops a 3: 3.31 3’s per game, 22nd in D1 on .434. But a lot of guys can get them points, including 6-6 Darius Banks, or 6-7 K.C. Hankins or 6-5 A.J. Caldwell off the bench.

But they are only #191 defensively, which is still good for 3rd in the SoCon. Again, the SoCon does not rate high defensively.

Furman: 8-5
RPI 99; KenPom #119 (Off #47; Def #234). Had 4 OT games, won 3. Tough and disciplined down the stretch

Best win: @ #52 Louisville OT 80-72. Also home vs #185 Charleston OT; home vs #176 App St 73-65. Lost @ #42 Miss St 69-66 in a game they almost won; took #55 Belmont to OT in a game where a foul call on a missed 3 at the end let Belmont tie it.
Worst loss: @ #183 Winthrop 85-80. Home vs #138 Navy 77- 66. Also struggled to win @#261 Hgh Pt in 2OT
Other losses: @ #36 UNC 74-61

Kenpom says 2nd best offense in SoCon behind only Chattanooga, #47 in D1. But they are ranked below average in defense at #193.

4 guys play 32.6 to 35.2 minutes per game (Hunter, Bothwell, Slawson and Garrison) putting all 4 in the top 10 in the SoCon for minutes played. 5th starter Marcus Foster gets 22.2 minutes. Those 5 account for over 80% of points and rebounds for the ‘Dins. Garret Hien is having a common sophomore year, getting 40% more minutes, but not really increasing production per minute yet as he tries to rise from role player to difference maker. Joe Anderson has shown flashes of being a contributor recently.

Slawson with 16.2 ppg, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.0 steals, is having an excellent senior year overall. But he needs to lay off the 3’s where he only shoots .311. And he needs to avoid trying to dribble too much with 3.92 t.o.’s. He’s taking Bob Richey too seriously when he compared Slawson to Noah Gurley. He doesn’t have that kind of “perimeter shooting, put the ball on the floor” game. But at 6-7 he’s probably focused on expanding his game for ‘the next level’.
6-4 Marcus Foster with a 7 foot plus wing span averages 5.7 rebounds and strong defense on a range of players of various sizes. Alex Hunter has been the best of a fine bunch of 3 point shooters in the SoCon, and one of the best in D1.

ETSU: 8-5
RPI 116; KenPom #150 (Off #107; Def #208)

Best win: neutral vs #80 Murray St 66-58; neutral vs #74 Missouri St 77-76; @ #186 Georgia 86-84 (without Charlie Weber); home vs #140 Morehead St. 82-75; neut vs #158 Kent St 57-51
Worst Losses: home vs #260 NC A&T 69-67; home vs #257 UNC Asheville 79-64; @ #176 App St 69-67; also @ #50 UAB 70-56

The Bucs have more strong OOC wins than any SoCon team. But they also have 2 of the worst SoCon home losses vs NC A&T and UNC Asheville. A team that can win @ Georgia or at a neutral site over Murray State can beat anybody in the SoCon. Of course a team that can lose at home to NC A&T and Asheville can also lose to anybody in the SoCon.

Those two sets of games show the broad range of possibilities for this team. They could still be a truly memorable team. Or go in the other direction.

The Bucs are low scorers in an offensively minded SoCon, averaging 70.9 ppg. But they have the grit to keep the opponent’s scorers down to 69.8. Jordan King at .436, 2.6 makes, and David Sloan at .429, 2.1 makes, rate in the top 10 SoCon in 3pt%. Sloan is tied for the SoCon lead with 4.5 assists. With Ledarrius Brewer, they are 3 big time players whose numbers are kept down in a low scoring situation. But any of them can go off, and they give the Bucs great options down the stretch in a tight game.

Silas Adheke’s muscle and athleticism is hard to replace, but Charlie Weber is doing better than many of us expected, with much better scoring than Silas (7.1 to 3.8), but less rebounding (3.8 to 4.9). If he plays with energy and confidence and watches his fouls, he can be a big difference maker. Ty Brewer’s thumb injury and bandage is probably keeping his shooting percentage down.

UNCG: 8-4;
RPI 164; KenPom #182 (Off #231; Def #133) 3 OT games

Best win: home vs #98 Vermont 54-51; also @ #196 Northern Kentucky OT 70-69; @ #233 UMBC 62-51
Worst loss: neutral #240 FIU OT 74-71; @ #112 Towson 74-64; neutral vs #132 UMass OT 93-90

Kenpom says it’s a near tie with Wofford for best defense in SoCon – but Spartans have the worst offense! They are a scratch and claw team, with most every game close.

They have the SoCon’s best rebound margin by far at +10.9, 8th in D1

6-4 220 Tr De’Monte Buckingham is a grown man in his 6th collegiate year with his 3rd college, scoring 13.4 ppg on .429 with 4.0 makes from 3 to lead a low scoring, slow paced offense, and 7.8 rebounds. He takes over at crunch time. Baz Leyte with 5.6 rebounds and 9.0 ppg has passed Mohamed Abdulsalam (4.4 rebounds and 7.0 ppg). Khyre Thompson has also made a step forward to 5.5 rebounds and 5.4 ppg.

They are the lowest scoring and lowest tempo team in the SoCon.

Mercer: 7-6
RPI #177 KenPom #217 (Off #148; Def #284)

Best win: @ #199 Coastal Car. 74-69 (the Chanticleers beat Wofford); home vs #143 Georgia St 83-77; home vs #210 Georgia Sthrn 77-68;
Worst loss: Neftali Alvarez to a broken foot against GA Southern!!; also home vs #242 Troy 69-65 (no Glissom); neutral; vs #203 MTSU 82-58; @ #188 FGCU 67-55

This is a different, and weaker, team w/o Neftali Alvarez, but still competitive and talented. They need 6-6 four star athlete Jalen Johnson to regularly show the talent that he rarely showed in stints for UT and Wake Forest, but has displayed at times this year (14.2 ppg, .415 from 3 with 2.6 makes, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals).

6-10 Felipe Haase is the most efficient starter in the SoCon from 3: .500 from 3 with 2.5 makes, 14.5 ppg, 5.8 rebounds.

VMI: 7-5
RPI #232; KenPom #232 (Off #158; Def #294)

Best win: @ #195 Seattle 89-82; @ #281 Portland 90-82; home vs @215 Gardner Webb 65-61; close loss @ Wake Forest 77-70
Worst loss: neutr vs #277 Presby 59-54; @ #277 Presby OT 73-72; @ #305 New Orleans 79-71

#4 in D1 in 3 pt shooting. Disciplined and won’t quit. Always a threat to get hot and come back at you.
Very short on athleticism, which hurt vs Presby – need Trey Bonham in the lineup and off the injury rolls

Samford: 10-2
RPI #236 (Off #196; Def #268)

Best win: @ #110 Ole Miss 75-73; @ #149 Oregon St 78-77
Worst loss: only 2 losses – home vs #55 Belmont 85-73 and @ #32 San Francisco 77-55. But had poor games in wins neutr vs #260 NC A&T 77-75; home vs #337 Alabama A&M 52-50; and home vs #268 Kennesaw St 85-84.

They are a different and more dangerous team with 6-5 all-freshman A.J. Staton-McCray and 6-9 245 Logan Dye back for the first time this season in the last 2 games. Florida Tr Ques Glover 19.3 ppg, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals is a high major talent and team leader.

The Citadel: 6-5
RPI #248 (Off #208; Def #283)

Best win: started the season on the road humiliating a surprisingly weak #181 Pitt team 78-63. Only other D1 wins @ #328 SC State in OT 91-79, and home vs #330 NC Central 80-67
Worst loss: last 2 games, home in rematch vs #328 SC State 74-57 and home vs #243 Manhattan 77-74. Also lost @ #257 Asheville 65-58 and @ Presby in 2OT 74-70.

Hayden Brown 20.1 ppg (2nd in SoCon), 8.2 rebounds (3rd in SoCon)

They miss Kaiden Rice who is averaging 14.5 ppg for Georgetown, and is 2nd in D1 with 4.3 three’s per game on .426. But 6-5 Fr Jason Roche is 7th in D1 and 1st among D1 freshmen in 3 pointers per game.

Western Carolina: 6-7
RPI #298 (Off #219; Def #338)

Best win: home vs #161 Bowling Green OT 79-71. Also @ #194 Longwood 64-53; home vs #276 Tenn Tech OT 74-69. Played @ #186 Georgia tough, losing late 85-79.
Worst loss: only home loss was vs #257 UNC Asheville 73-72 who beat ETSU by 15. Also @ #205 Charlotte 98-82; @ #215 Gardner Webb 87- 59.

6-6 220 Nicholas Robinson is as old and as well traveled as De’monte Buckingham, a graduate transfer with years in at Valpo and St. Joseph’s. He averages 15.0 ppg, 7.6 rebounds.
6-5 208 JUCO Jr. Vonterius Woolbright, 5.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists
6-10 224 Rs-JR Kansas St Tr Joe Petrakis, 7.9 ppg on .393 from 3, 1.5 makes, 3.3 rebounds
Holdover 6-1 187 Jr Travion McCray 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists
6-2 187 Fr (Fork Union) Marcus Banks 8.4 ppg, 2.4 rebounds
6-5 228 Jr Marvin Price 7.6 ppg, 2.7 rebounds,
6-3 178 Gr TR Indiana St, and Md Eastern Shore Cam Bacote 7.1 ppg, 2.0 rebounds
6-7 195 holdover Jr Tyler Harris 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rebounds

6-7 is the worst record in the SoCon, but is still not bad for the lowest ranked team in a conference. With plenty of well-traveled warriors they have been very competitive against the kind of opposition they will face in the SoCon.

Current Covid Policy.

The other kicker is the Covid situation, which has already postponed our game with Western Carolina, as well as basketball games for Wofford, VMI and Duke. Current SoCon Covid policy is this:

“Under the newly approved measures, if a team does not have a minimum of seven healthy scholarship players and one full-time coach available for a game, it will be considered a no contest. If a team does have at least seven healthy scholarship players and one full-time coach available but elects not to play, that game will be considered a forfeit.” https://www.etsubucs.com/mbasketball/news/2021-22/18403/socon-alters-covid-rescheduling-policies-for-basketball/

This is a country where in some areas, like our own, half the population is militantly unvaccinated and opposed to health measures like masking or social distancing as a matter of ‘political correctness’. Tennessee is currently 4th highest among the states in per capita Covid cases and 7th highest in per capita Covid deaths. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ It is tied for 5th in lowest percentage of fully vaccinated at 51%. And restaurants and bars are packed, and public gatherings going on with few restrictions as infections climb.

Covid cases peaked around mid-January this past year, so they’ll probably continue to rise for a while this year, especially with the omicron variant. Of course this past year there were still restrictions on public gatherings which no longer seem politically possible.

Virginia, Boston College and Boise State have canceled their bowl games. NFL and NBA teams are playing games with playoff spots at stake without multiple key players, starting hapless 4th string rookie quarterbacks (Ian Book???) and linemen fresh off the practice squad – or off the street!

Get ready for a January-February struggle against Covid as much as against SoCon opponents. Teams which can keep their squads together and healthy will have a big advantage.

(12-29-2021 07:45 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  Nobody has the powerful complete team that Wofford had 3 years ago or ETSU 2 years ago. The highest rated SoCon teams in Kenpom are #94 Wofford and #101 Chattanooga. But the bottom 5 teams, and especially 6th through 9th, are all highly competitive. 5 of the top 20 three point shooting teams in D1 are in the SoCon, and most of the other 5 aren’t bad. Which gives them a punchers chance in any game they play. SoCon offenses rate high this year – SoCon defenses do not.

Wofford: 8-4
RPI 125; KenPom #94 (Off #72; Def #131)

Best win @ #186 Georgia, 68-65. Next best @ #215 Gardner Webb by 8.
Worst loss @ #199 Coastal Carolina 60-59. Other losses @ #38 Clemson by 8; @ #96 South Carolina by 9; home vs Richmond by 9.

The loss of Messiah Jones for the season hurts – but this is a deep, talented, experienced team. B.J. Mack with a trimmed down body, more muscle, more mobility and more fire is a load in the middle at 6-8 247 with 14.1 ppg and 5.7 rebounds. 6-7 Isaiah Bigelow snags 5.5 rebounds (also 8.3 ppg, but only .259 from 3) and 6-9 true Soph Sam Godwin adds 4.1 rebounds in 16.6 minutes. Rebounding margin is +4.1, 109th in D1 and 5th in the SoCon.

They have the best t.o. margin in the SoCon by far with +4.25, tied with Florida for 29th in D1. Chattanooga is the only other good one in the SoCon with +1.92.

5 of the top 20 D1 teams in 3 pointers per game are in the SoCon. .. and #44 Wofford with a “mere” 9.4 per game on .352 is not one of them! They’re still pretty darn good. Get ready to defend the arc every night in the SoCon.

#3 in D1 VMI 12.7 per game, .367, Kamdyn Curfman 3.92 pg (6th in D1) .420; Jake Stephens .423, Sean Conway 2.0 pg
#4 Furman 11.6, .403 (8th in D1); Alex Hunter 3.92 pg (5th in D1).490, Conley Garrison .453, 2.2 pg
#5 Western Car 11.5, .358; Nicholas Robinson 2.5, Marcus Banks, 2.1
#11 Citadel 10.8, .344; Fr Jason Roche 3.82 pg (7th in D1, 1st in D1 among Freshmen) .420
#20 Samford 10.3, .345
#44 Wofford 9.4, .352; Austin Patterson .543, Ryan Larson .426, Max Klesmit .353 (2.0 makes and 15.5 ppg)

Kenpom rates Wofford as the 3rd best SoCon offense at #72. They are the best in the SoCon on defense, but at #131, are about tied with #132 UNCG. No SoCon team rates very high defensively this year. Max Klesmit is tied for the lead in steals with 2.0.

Ryan Larson averages 4.3 assists.

Chattanooga: 10-3
RPI 42; KenPom #101 (Off #39; Def #191)

Best win: @ #78 VCU 56-54. @ #115 Loyola Marymount 75-64; home vs #205 MTSU 77-65
Worst Loss: home vs #185 Charleston 68-66. Other losses @ #55 Belmont 76-68; @ #80 Murray St. 87-76. Furman beat Charleston and played better against Belmont. ETSU beat Murray St.

Kenpom rates the Mocs #1 offense in the SoCon, #39 in D1. When they need a bucket 6-4 215 Malachi Smith powers to the hoop (a little like 6-3 Mike Bothwell for Furman). Or David Jean-Baptiste pops a 3: 3.31 3’s per game, 22nd in D1 on .434. But a lot of guys can get them points, including 6-6 Darius Banks, or 6-7 K.C. Hankins or 6-5 A.J. Caldwell off the bench.

But they are only #191 defensively, which is still good for 3rd in the SoCon. Again, the SoCon does not rate high defensively.

Furman: 8-5
RPI 99; KenPom #119 (Off #47; Def #234). Had 4 OT games, won 3. Tough and disciplined down the stretch

Best win: @ #52 Louisville OT 80-72. Also home vs #185 Charleston OT; home vs #176 App St 73-65. Lost @ #42 Miss St 69-66 in a game they almost won; took #55 Belmont to OT in a game where a foul call on a missed 3 at the end let Belmont tie it.
Worst loss: @ #183 Winthrop 85-80. Home vs #138 Navy 77- 66. Also struggled to win @#261 Hgh Pt in 2OT
Other losses: @ #36 UNC 74-61

Kenpom says 2nd best offense in SoCon behind only Chattanooga, #47 in D1. But they are ranked below average in defense at #193.

4 guys play 32.6 to 35.2 minutes per game (Hunter, Bothwell, Slawson and Garrison) putting all 4 in the top 10 in the SoCon for minutes played. 5th starter Marcus Foster gets 22.2 minutes. Those 5 account for over 80% of points and rebounds for the ‘Dins. Garret Hien is having a common sophomore year, getting 40% more minutes, but not really increasing production per minute yet as he tries to rise from role player to difference maker. Joe Anderson has shown flashes of being a contributor recently.

Slawson with 16.2 ppg, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.0 steals, is having an excellent senior year overall. But he needs to lay off the 3’s where he only shoots .311. And he needs to avoid trying to dribble too much with 3.92 t.o.’s. He’s taking Bob Richey too seriously when he compared Slawson to Noah Gurley. He doesn’t have that kind of “perimeter shooting, put the ball on the floor” game. But at 6-7 he’s probably focused on expanding his game for ‘the next level’.
6-4 Marcus Foster with a 7 foot plus wing span averages 5.7 rebounds and strong defense on a range of players of various sizes. Alex Hunter has been the best of a fine bunch of 3 point shooters in the SoCon, and one of the best in D1.

ETSU: 8-5
RPI 116; KenPom #150 (Off #107; Def #208)

Best win: neutral vs #80 Murray St 66-58; neutral vs #74 Missouri St 77-76; @ #186 Georgia 86-84 (without Charlie Weber); home vs #140 Morehead St. 82-75; neut vs #158 Kent St 57-51
Worst Losses: home vs #260 NC A&T 69-67; home vs #257 UNC Asheville 79-64; @ #176 App St 69-67; also @ #50 UAB 70-56

The Bucs have more strong OOC wins than any SoCon team. But they also have 2 of the worst SoCon home losses vs NC A&T and UNC Asheville. A team that can win @ Georgia or at a neutral site over Murray State can beat anybody in the SoCon. Of course a team that can lose at home to NC A&T and Asheville can also lose to anybody in the SoCon.

Those two sets of games show the broad range of possibilities for this team. They could still be a truly memorable team. Or go in the other direction.

The Bucs are low scorers in an offensively minded SoCon, averaging 70.9 ppg. But they have the grit to keep the opponent’s scorers down to 69.8. Jordan King at .436, 2.6 makes, and David Sloan at .429, 2.1 makes, rate in the top 10 SoCon in 3pt%. Sloan is tied for the SoCon lead with 4.5 assists. With Ledarrius Brewer, they are 3 big time players whose numbers are kept down in a low scoring situation. But any of them can go off, and they give the Bucs great options down the stretch in a tight game.

Silas Adheke’s muscle and athleticism is hard to replace, but Charlie Weber is doing better than many of us expected, with much better scoring than Silas (7.1 to 3.8), but less rebounding (3.8 to 4.9). If he plays with energy and confidence and watches his fouls, he can be a big difference maker. Ty Brewer’s thumb injury and bandage is probably keeping his shooting percentage down.

UNCG: 8-4;
RPI 164; KenPom #182 (Off #231; Def #133) 3 OT games

Best win: home vs #98 Vermont 54-51; also @ #196 Northern Kentucky OT 70-69; @ #233 UMBC 62-51
Worst loss: neutral #240 FIU OT 74-71; @ #112 Towson 74-64; neutral vs #132 UMass OT 93-90

Kenpom says it’s a near tie with Wofford for best defense in SoCon – but Spartans have the worst offense! They are a scratch and claw team, with most every game close.

They have the SoCon’s best rebound margin by far at +10.9, 8th in D1

6-4 220 Tr De’Monte Buckingham is a grown man in his 6th collegiate year with his 3rd college, scoring 13.4 ppg on .429 with 4.0 makes from 3 to lead a low scoring, slow paced offense, and 7.8 rebounds. He takes over at crunch time. Baz Leyte with 5.6 rebounds and 9.0 ppg has passed Mohamed Abdulsalam (4.4 rebounds and 7.0 ppg). Khyre Thompson has also made a step forward to 5.5 rebounds and 5.4 ppg.

They are the lowest scoring and lowest tempo team in the SoCon.

Mercer: 7-6
RPI #177 KenPom #217 (Off #148; Def #284)

Best win: @ #199 Coastal Car. 74-69 (the Chanticleers beat Wofford); home vs #143 Georgia St 83-77; home vs #210 Georgia Sthrn 77-68;
Worst loss: Neftali Alvarez to a broken foot against GA Southern!!; also home vs #242 Troy 69-65 (no Glissom); neutral; vs #203 MTSU 82-58; @ #188 FGCU 67-55

This is a different, and weaker, team w/o Neftali Alvarez, but still competitive and talented. They need 6-6 four star athlete Jalen Johnson to regularly show the talent that he rarely showed in stints for UT and Wake Forest, but has displayed at times this year (14.2 ppg, .415 from 3 with 2.6 makes, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals).

6-10 Felipe Haase is the most efficient starter in the SoCon from 3: .500 from 3 with 2.5 makes, 14.5 ppg, 5.8 rebounds.

VMI: 7-5
RPI #232; KenPom #232 (Off #158; Def #294)

Best win: @ #195 Seattle 89-82; @ #281 Portland 90-82; home vs @215 Gardner Webb 65-61; close loss @ Wake Forest 77-70
Worst loss: neutr vs #277 Presby 59-54; @ #277 Presby OT 73-72; @ #305 New Orleans 79-71

#4 in D1 in 3 pt shooting. Disciplined and won’t quit. Always a threat to get hot and come back at you.
Very short on athleticism, which hurt vs Presby – need Trey Bonham in the lineup and off the injury rolls

Samford: 10-2
RPI #236 (Off #196; Def #268)

Best win: @ #110 Ole Miss 75-73; @ #149 Oregon St 78-77
Worst loss: only 2 losses – home vs #55 Belmont 85-73 and @ #32 San Francisco 77-55. But had poor games in wins neutr vs #260 NC A&T 77-75; home vs #337 Alabama A&M 52-50; and home vs #268 Kennesaw St 85-84.

They are a different and more dangerous team with 6-5 all-freshman A.J. Staton-McCray and 6-9 245 Logan Dye back for the first time this season in the last 2 games. Florida Tr Ques Glover 19.3 ppg, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals is a high major talent and team leader.

The Citadel: 6-5
RPI #248 (Off #208; Def #283)

Best win: started the season on the road humiliating a surprisingly weak #181 Pitt team 78-63. Only other D1 wins @ #328 SC State in OT 91-79, and home vs #330 NC Central 80-67
Worst loss: last 2 games, home in rematch vs #328 SC State 74-57 and home vs #243 Manhattan 77-74. Also lost @ #257 Asheville 65-58 and @ Presby in 2OT 74-70.

Hayden Brown 20.1 ppg (2nd in SoCon), 8.2 rebounds (3rd in SoCon)

They miss Kaiden Rice who is averaging 14.5 ppg for Georgetown, and is 2nd in D1 with 4.3 three’s per game on .426. But 6-5 Fr Jason Roche is 7th in D1 and 1st among D1 freshmen in 3 pointers per game.

Western Carolina: 6-7
RPI #298 (Off #219; Def #338)

Best win: home vs #161 Bowling Green OT 79-71. Also @ #194 Longwood 64-53; home vs #276 Tenn Tech OT 74-69. Played @ #186 Georgia tough, losing late 85-79.
Worst loss: only home loss was vs #257 UNC Asheville 73-72 who beat ETSU by 15. Also @ #205 Charlotte 98-82; @ #215 Gardner Webb 87- 59.

6-6 220 Nicholas Robinson is as old and as well traveled as De’monte Buckingham, a graduate transfer with years in at Valpo and St. Joseph’s. He averages 15.0 ppg, 7.6 rebounds.
6-5 208 JUCO Jr. Vonterius Woolbright, 5.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists
6-10 224 Rs-JR Kansas St Tr Joe Petrakis, 7.9 ppg on .393 from 3, 1.5 makes, 3.3 rebounds
Holdover 6-1 187 Jr Travion McCray 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists
6-2 187 Fr (Fork Union) Marcus Banks 8.4 ppg, 2.4 rebounds
6-5 228 Jr Marvin Price 7.6 ppg, 2.7 rebounds,
6-3 178 Gr TR Indiana St, and Md Eastern Shore Cam Bacote 7.1 ppg, 2.0 rebounds
6-7 195 holdover Jr Tyler Harris 6.3 ppg, 3.7 rebounds

6-7 is the worst record in the SoCon, but is still not bad for the lowest ranked team in a conference. With plenty of well-traveled warriors they have been very competitive against the kind of opposition they will face in the SoCon.

Current Covid Policy.

The other kicker is the Covid situation, which has already postponed our game with Western Carolina, as well as basketball games for Wofford, VMI and Duke. Current SoCon Covid policy is this:

“Under the newly approved measures, if a team does not have a minimum of seven healthy scholarship players and one full-time coach available for a game, it will be considered a no contest. If a team does have at least seven healthy scholarship players and one full-time coach available but elects not to play, that game will be considered a forfeit.” https://www.etsubucs.com/mbasketball/news/2021-22/18403/socon-alters-covid-rescheduling-policies-for-basketball/

This is a country where in some areas, like our own, half the population is militantly unvaccinated and opposed to health measures like masking or social distancing as a matter of ‘political correctness’. Tennessee is currently 4th highest among the states in per capita Covid cases and 7th highest in per capita Covid deaths. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ It is tied for 5th in lowest percentage of fully vaccinated at 51%. And restaurants and bars are packed, and public gatherings going on with few restrictions as infections climb.

Covid cases peaked around mid-January this past year, so they’ll probably continue to rise for a while this year, especially with the omicron variant. Of course this past year there were still restrictions on public gatherings which no longer seem politically possible.

Virginia, Boston College and Boise State have canceled their bowl games. NFL and NBA teams are playing games with playoff spots at stake without multiple key players, starting hapless 4th string rookie quarterbacks (Ian Book???) and linemen fresh off the practice squad – or off the street!

Get ready for a January-February struggle against Covid as much as against SoCon opponents. Teams which can keep their squads together and healthy will have a big advantage.

(12-29-2021 12:15 PM)DaBuc Brass Wrote:  What happened to Alvarez with Mercer?

(12-29-2021 01:09 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(12-29-2021 12:15 PM)DaBuc Brass Wrote:  What happened to Alvarez with Mercer?

MercerFan clued us in on that. See posts #80 and #85 in the "First Three Weeks......" thread:

https://www.csnbbs.com/search.php?action=results&sid=388c129b4ea222471b25d4c3886f18c4&sortby=dateline&order=desc

(12-30-2021 06:57 PM)MercerFan Wrote:  I’m guessing that Mercer is having covid protocol issues. Since both games vs Citadel and Chattanooga have been postponed. ETSU is playing Chattanooga in about 5 minutes, so that’s reasonable logic that it’s mercers fault.

(12-30-2021 10:50 AM)squeak Wrote:  ''This is a country where in some areas, like our own, half the population is militantly unvaccinated and opposed to health measures like masking or social distancing as a matter of ‘political correctness.''

Like clockwork, you have to inject your politics. Pun intended.

(12-30-2021 09:04 PM)shampoo Wrote:  

(12-30-2021 10:50 AM)squeak Wrote:  ''This is a country where in some areas, like our own, half the population is militantly unvaccinated and opposed to health measures like masking or social distancing as a matter of ‘political correctness.''

Like clockwork, you have to inject your politics. Pun intended.

I assume you're quoting the doctor guy, lol. His wordiness sure has gotten old, but he's not wrong about the virus. We are watching this season start to unravel again, and cases are pretty damn bad again in JC.

Are you vaccinated, squeak? Do you wear a mask when prudent?

I'm fully vaccinated. My son has received his first shot, finally. It sure disappoints me how piss poor scientific literacy and concern for our fellow man is in the red south and elsewhere. Donald Trump now gets booed for doing the right thing and supporting the vaccine and boosters. If you told these same people you could kill the virus with a gun, the NRA would be making recommendations.

Too political for ya? Not sure if the politics are worse than the ETSU basketball team this year.

(01-05-2022 09:27 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Mercer subdues Sammie by 3 in another close game.

The SoCon is *balanced* - with the possible exception of Chatt-town.

(01-06-2022 11:35 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  

(01-05-2022 09:27 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Mercer subdues Sammie by 3 in another close game.

The SoCon is *balanced* - with the possible exception of Chatt-town.

Mercer played without second leading scorer Jalen Johnson (14.2 ppg and 5.3 rebounds) and of course without Neftali Alvarez. Samford had Ques Glover back, but was without A.J. Staton-McCray, who admittedly hasn’t been able to do much this year (3 games, 17.7 minutes, 4.7 ppg, 2.7 rebounds) with his injury problems. With Glover (23 points, 6 assists, 3 steals) Logan Dye (20 points and 8 rebounds) and 6-6 225 Jermaine Marshall (24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals) available, the Bulldogs are a tough out. Any night Ques Glover misses, they will struggle, as in their 81-49 loss at Furman.

So far Chattanooga is indeed the big exception to a balanced SoCon. They are finally shooting up the SoCon rankings to 69th. No other SoCon team is above 118 (Furman). Let's see if the Mocs play a little more consistently in conference than they did OOC (blowing a lead to lose at home to Charleston, and struggling against Asheville 78-73 and Tennessee Tech 69-62).