Friday, January 1, 2016

The Road to Asheville (Jan 2, 2016)




The first day of Southern Conference basketball play opens on Saturday, January 2, 2016. All ten team are scheduled for action.

Here's the schedule -

1:00 PM ET  on ESPN3
Chattanooga (11-2, 3-2 away) at The Citadel (7-6, 3-1 home)
In the first game of the day, it's #1 Chattanooga traveling to Charleston to meet current 4th place team, The Citadel. While the Mocs are 11-2 overall, they have a slim 3-2 margin on the road, while the 7-6 Bulldogs are 3-1 at the McAlister Field House. The Mocs bring 5 game win streak to the contest, while the Bulldogs are on a two game sked. Look for the Mocs to win by 10 points

2:00 PM ET on SoCon Digital Network
ETSU (6-6, 1-5 away) at Western Carolina (5-8, 5-0 home)
In the second game of the day, the Bucs of ETSU make their first trip to Cullowhee after being eliminated by the Cats in the 2015 SoCon basketball tournament. The Cats ended a 18 game losing streak to the Bucs with that win. This season, the Cats are 5-0 at home, while the Bucs have had their troubles on the road and will bring a 1-5 road game record to Cullowhee. Look for the Cats to win by 12.

2:00 PM ET  on ESPN3
Samford (9-4, 4-3 away) at Mercer (10-3, 5-0 home)
In the third game of the day, the third place Samford Bulldogs travels to Macon, to meet the second place Mercer Bears. The Bears are 5-0 in home games at Hawkins Arena, while the Bulldogs have a 4-3 road record. Look for the Bears to win by 13 points.

4:00 PM ET  on ESPN3
VMI (5-6, 1-5 away) at Furman (6-7, 4-1 home)
In game #4 of the day, the Keydets of VMI travel to Timmons Arena to meet the Furman Paladins. The Keydets have also had road problems, and bring a 1-5 road record to Greenville, while the Paladins are a respectable 4-1 in Timmons.  Look for the Paladins to win by 5.

7:00 PM ET on SoCon Digital Network
UNCG (4-9, 0-7 away) at Wofford (3-9, 2-1 home)
The fifth and final game of the day, brings together the two current last place teams in the standing. The UNCG Spartans travel to the Benjamin Johnson Arena to meet the Terriers. The Spartans are 0-7 in road games this season, while Wofford is 2-1 at home.  I'll give the edge in this one to Wofford, and expect a 7 point win by the Terriers.

Standings

Basketball (M)ConferenceOverall
Chattanooga0 - 011 - 2
Mercer0 - 010 - 3
Samford0 - 09 - 4
The Citadel0 - 07 - 6
ETSU0 - 06 - 6
Furman0 - 06 - 7
VMI0 - 05 - 6
Western Carolina0 - 05 - 8
UNCG0 - 04 - 9
Wofford0 - 03 - 9


That's how we see them, who do you think will win?

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