Post by Cujo on Feb 25, 2024 12:43:46 GMT -5
Here are my unsolicited and probably unwanted thoughts on the tournament after watching more SoCon basketball than I have in the past decade plus.
My list of teams with zero chance to win the tournament:
1. VMI—why do they even field a team. My daughter called the house yesterday and my wife told her we were watching the game. Of course, the next question was the score. My wife relayed it and the next thing I heard my wife say was “no, we are not playing VMI”. I was proud of my daughter’s basketball ball knowledge and struck that VMI is synonymous with blow out. (Btw, she is a former Samford dance team member and has been attending games since she was born—apparently a lot of it stuck).
2. Citadel—see VMI, but with teeth. Ask UTC. They remind me of Hickory High and every player his Joey Chitwood, except they are not playing in 1948 anymore.
3. ETSU—just don’t have the dogs to run with the leaders. They could win a game, but I can’t see them pulling off 4 wins in 4 days.
4. Wofford—they are a gritty, tenacious bunch who have probably overachieved. They would have to have a lot of luck in the scheduling, match ups, and then more luck on top of that.
5. WCU—this pick probably guarantees they will win it all, but they just don’t have the inside game or the bench to win 3 in 3 days in my humble opinion. It helps that they are playing in their backyard and they are, along with Furman, the effective hosts of the tournament, but I don’t think the fan support can will them across the line.
6. UTC—inconsistency is this teams Achilles heel. They can get hot and go off on any team in the conference, but they don’t have the depth to win it all. They probably have on avg a 50/50 chance against any team they play. The odds will catch up to them.
My top 4 teams (in no particular order):
4. Furman—as much as I don’t like saying it, they have a good team and a good coach and a better than average shot against any match up. Pegues is an equalizer for any shortcomings in their roster or depth. They are dangerous.
3. Mercer—coming into its own late in the season. Capable of beating any of the top 4 teams in the league. They are like a cockroach or a rat. They seem to live on the underside of a piece of discarded plywood. They are like pirates. They are a collection of outlaws at an outlaw school who have underachieved, but they seems to be figuring out how to play at theme for the year here. I think they would like nothing more than to steal the show as a dark horse. They haven’t won 4 games in a row yet, but this team is capable of doing the unprecedented at tourney time. I think can do it simply because most folks say they can’t. I suspect this team smokes cigarettes and drinks black coffee for their pregame meal. They are the old Oakland Raiders.
2. UNCG—they have the starting talent to be #1. But, this team seems to lack a soul. It lacks the it factor. On paper, this team should be #1 or 2 in the conference. On paper, it should be in the conversation as the front runner. So, I’m going with paper, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have reservations. A collection of renegades is still a collection of quality players.
1. Samford—tell me of a team that can have this many injuries and keep winning. Seriously, a lot of teams have excuses for their record due to injury, but Samford doesn’t have an excuse for winning. Take out 40% of the starting lineup and then beat FU and ETSU by an average margin of victory in the double digits. Not unbeatable, but if focused and healthy, very capable of taking care of business. What UNCG lacks in soul, Samford makes up for.
My list of teams with zero chance to win the tournament:
1. VMI—why do they even field a team. My daughter called the house yesterday and my wife told her we were watching the game. Of course, the next question was the score. My wife relayed it and the next thing I heard my wife say was “no, we are not playing VMI”. I was proud of my daughter’s basketball ball knowledge and struck that VMI is synonymous with blow out. (Btw, she is a former Samford dance team member and has been attending games since she was born—apparently a lot of it stuck).
2. Citadel—see VMI, but with teeth. Ask UTC. They remind me of Hickory High and every player his Joey Chitwood, except they are not playing in 1948 anymore.
3. ETSU—just don’t have the dogs to run with the leaders. They could win a game, but I can’t see them pulling off 4 wins in 4 days.
4. Wofford—they are a gritty, tenacious bunch who have probably overachieved. They would have to have a lot of luck in the scheduling, match ups, and then more luck on top of that.
5. WCU—this pick probably guarantees they will win it all, but they just don’t have the inside game or the bench to win 3 in 3 days in my humble opinion. It helps that they are playing in their backyard and they are, along with Furman, the effective hosts of the tournament, but I don’t think the fan support can will them across the line.
6. UTC—inconsistency is this teams Achilles heel. They can get hot and go off on any team in the conference, but they don’t have the depth to win it all. They probably have on avg a 50/50 chance against any team they play. The odds will catch up to them.
My top 4 teams (in no particular order):
4. Furman—as much as I don’t like saying it, they have a good team and a good coach and a better than average shot against any match up. Pegues is an equalizer for any shortcomings in their roster or depth. They are dangerous.
3. Mercer—coming into its own late in the season. Capable of beating any of the top 4 teams in the league. They are like a cockroach or a rat. They seem to live on the underside of a piece of discarded plywood. They are like pirates. They are a collection of outlaws at an outlaw school who have underachieved, but they seems to be figuring out how to play at theme for the year here. I think they would like nothing more than to steal the show as a dark horse. They haven’t won 4 games in a row yet, but this team is capable of doing the unprecedented at tourney time. I think can do it simply because most folks say they can’t. I suspect this team smokes cigarettes and drinks black coffee for their pregame meal. They are the old Oakland Raiders.
2. UNCG—they have the starting talent to be #1. But, this team seems to lack a soul. It lacks the it factor. On paper, this team should be #1 or 2 in the conference. On paper, it should be in the conversation as the front runner. So, I’m going with paper, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have reservations. A collection of renegades is still a collection of quality players.
1. Samford—tell me of a team that can have this many injuries and keep winning. Seriously, a lot of teams have excuses for their record due to injury, but Samford doesn’t have an excuse for winning. Take out 40% of the starting lineup and then beat FU and ETSU by an average margin of victory in the double digits. Not unbeatable, but if focused and healthy, very capable of taking care of business. What UNCG lacks in soul, Samford makes up for.