The SOCON tournament has the potential to be an intriguing one from the mid-majors. I see two teams that can win this tournament. Here, I’ll break it all down and feed the people a winner.
The Betting Odds
Furman +120
UNC Greensboro +230
Samford +400
Chatanooga +1200
Wofford +1500
Western Carolina +2000
East Tennessee State +2000
Mercer +3500
VMI +40000
The Citadel +40000
The Bracket
UNCG or Furman?
These two teams have the highest odds to win the SOCON tournament. They split the season series and both games were very entertaining from start to finish. Furman leads the conference in points per game (82.2) and is 14th in the nation. UNC Greensboro allows the fewest points in the conference (64.4). Both teams dominate in conference on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Furman is led by the duo of senior guard Mike Bothwell (17.9 ppg) and senior forward Jalen Slawson (15.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg). UNCG is led by the duo of senior guard Keyshaun Langley (14.7 ppg) and senior guard Keondre Kennedy (13.3 ppg and 6.2 rpg). Both of these senior duo led teams aren’t looking to end their senior season with a conference tournament loss. This is a tough call, but I think I trust the better defensive team in the conference over the best offensive team in the conference here.
The Don’s Winner
I have been going back and forth between these two teams. However, I am riding UNC Greensboro +230 in this one. The Spartans are very good defensively and I think they have a real battle path to get to the final. I will trust them to get me over the top to go back to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years.
The Don’s Game By Game Prediction
First Round
8 Mercer over 9 The Citadel
7 Chatanooga over 10 VMI
Quarterfinals
1 Furman over 8 Mercer
5 East Tennessee State over 4 Western Carolina
7 Chatanooga over 2 Samford
3 UNCG over 6 Wofford
Semifinals
1 Furman over 5 East Tennessee State
3 UNCG over 7 Chatanooga
Finals
3 UNCG over 1 Furman