24 Days until First Pitch - #38 Luke Robinson

It's only 24 days until the Western Carolina Baseball team takes the field at Hennon Stadium for the first pitch against the Chicago State Cougars to open the 2020 baseball season. Let's take this time to meet this season's Cats with Bats.

We will highlight them by class, starting with the seniors and ending with the brand new freshmen Catamounts.


#38 Luke Robinson

POSITION  Catcher
HEIGHT  6-3
WEIGHT  230
CLASS  Senior
HOMETOWN  McLeansville, N.C.
HIGH SCHOOL  Eastern Guilford HS






2019 (Junior): Started all 53 of the team’s games including 29 at first base, 23 at catcher, and one as the designated hitter … Finished the season with a career-best .299 batting average with 60 base hits including 11 doubles, four triples (second on team, tied for fourth in the SoCon), and 11 home runs, the third-most on the team and ranked seventh in the league … Finished seventh in the SoCon in slugging percentage at .557, third on the WCU squad … Drove in 44 runs to rank third on the squad … Added 14 walks and was second on the squad with 15 HBPs – fifth in the SoCon … Recorded 18 multiple hit games including 15, two-hit outings and multiple RBIs 12 times, third on the team … Homered twice with three RBI in a home victory over Oakland (Feb. 16) … Doubled and blasted a grand slam home run as a part of a 3-for-5, career-high six RBI outing at mountain-rival UNC Asheville (March 6) … Collected a career-high four hits including a double and a triple at ETSU (March 22) … Appeared on the initial watch list for the Buster Posey Award given to the NCAA’s top national collegiate catcher.

2018 (Sophomore): Played in 38 games making 37 starts including 28 at first base, eight as the designated hitter, and once behind the plate at catcher … Batted .281 with 39 hits in 139 trips, collecting seven extra-base hits including five doubles and two home runs … Drove in 20 runs while scoring 14 … Had four, multi-RBI outings … Finished with nine, multiple-hit games with seven, two-hit outings and a pair of three-hit games … Put together a career-long, 10-game hitting streak in mid-March that featured six, multiple-hit games including a three-hit outing against Ball State (March 9) … Was sidelined for over a month between April 14 and May 22 – with a fractured hand suffered on an HBP at VMI (April 14) … Returned for the Southern Conference Tournament, going 6-for-24 in his return to the lineup … Will carry a four-game hitting streak into the 2019 season and has an active streak of reaching base safely in 12-straight games; Summer League: Played in two games in the Cape Cod League for the Yarmouth-Denis Red Sox, going 1-for-3 at the plate.

2017 (Freshman): Played in 33 games with 19 games among the starting rotation including 17 starts at catcher and two as the designated hitter ... Batted .218 with 19 hits including four for extra bases in 87 trips ... Had a pair of three-game hitting streaks while reaching base in seven-straight ... Recorded five, two-hit games with five multi-RBI games on the season, recording 17 RBI ... Caught four would-be base stealers from behind the plate, adding 17 assists ... Tallied his first collegiate base hit by legging out a double, diving into second base to avoid the tag in a run-down after slipping rounding first base in the season-opener against St. John's (Feb. 17) in tournament play in Myrtle Beach, S.C. ... Posted a career-high three RBI against Marshall (Feb. 25) and at nationally-ranked North Carolina State (March 6) ... His first multi-hit game came in the Keith LeClair Classic against Appalachian State (March 4); Summer League: Played with the Waynesboro (Va.) Generals in the Valley League where he was named a South Division All-Star, scoring an insurance run in the 5-0 South team's victory ... Played in 30 games on the summer with a .279 batting average, collecting 24 hits with two doubles, a triple, and two home runs ... Both drove-in and scored 13 runs.


Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations

25 Days until First Pitch - #40 Christian Sidoti

It's only 25 days until the Western Carolina Baseball team takes the field at Hennon Stadium for the first pitch against the Chicago State Cougars to open the 2020 baseball season.

Let's take this time to meet this season's Cats with Bats. We will highlight them by class, starting with the seniors and ending with the brand new freshmen Catamounts.


#40 Christian Sidoti

POSITION Right-Handed Pitcher
HEIGHT 6-0
WEIGHT 185
CLASS Senior
HOMETOWN St. Charles, Ill.
COLLEGE  Grand Valley State
HIGH SCHOOL St. Charles North HS

No statistics available for this season.




Prior to WCU:  
2019 (Junior) Grand Valley State University

2018 (Sophomore) Parkland Community College - Posted a 5-1 record with a 1.56 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 2018.

2017 (Freshman) Parkland Community College



Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations

The Road to Asheville (1-18-20) the results

The weekend started with a bang as Wofford knocked off #1 Furman in the Friday night game. Here are Saturday's game recaps.


Furman at Wofford  (Friday)
Wofford's Chevez Goodwin scored 18 points & Nathan Hoover 17 to lead Wofford past Southern Conference leader Furman, 66-52 Friday night. Trevor Stumpe finished with 11 points for the Terriers scored on a putback before the game was a minute old, kicking off a 12-0 opening run, the Terriers led from wire-to-wire. The Terriers held Furman to 32% shooting in the opening period. Furman was scoreless for the first six minutes of the game, as Noah Gurley led the Paladins with15 points and Mike Bothwell added 13. The Paladins leading scorer Jordan Lyons was held to five points, all scored at the free-throw line. Lyons was 0-for-8 from the floor, including 0-for-5 from distance.


ETSU at Western Carolina 
The Bucs' Isaiah Tisdale scored 26 points lead ETSU past the Catamounts 85-66 on Saturday. It was never close as the Bucs lead from tipoff to the final buzzer to maintain the top position in the SoCon. The Buccaneers finished the first half with a 52-34 lead. Tisdale finished with 6 3-pointers in nine attempts beyond the arc and the Bucs were 29- of-58 (50%) shooting and 17 of 22 from the foul line. The Bucs now have won four straight and nine of 10. Western was without the services of their big man, Carlos Dodson due to an injury, and the offense never clicked without his presence inside. Mason Faulkner led the Catamounts (12-5, 4-2) with 18 points, Xavier Cork scored 16 and Matt Halvorsen 11. Western Carolina has dropped back-to-back contests, first to Furman then tonight ETSU, following a five-game win streak.


The Citadel at VMI
This game was bound to produce a first conference win for one of the two participants, and just might have been the most exciting contest of the day in the SoCon. The Keydets' Jake Stephens scored 18 points to lead five VMI players in double figures as VMI broke a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs, with an 88-79 win over the Citadel. Kaiden Rice posted 17 points for the Bulldogs, whose losing streak now is at six games.


Mercer at Samford 
Mercer's Ethan Stair scored 26 points to lead the Bears past Samford 90-75 on Saturday, whose losing streak has now reached four games. Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 25 points & Jeff Gary contributed 13 points for Bears, who have now strung two wins back to back. Josh Sharkey, the Bulldogs' leading scorer coming into the game with a 19 point average, failed to make a shot from the floor, going 0 for 6. Robert Allen had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs & J.P. Robinson added 15 points and Brandon Austin 14.


Chattanooga at UNCG
The Spartans' Isaiah Miller scored 26 points leading UNCG over the Mocs 72-52 on Saturday night. Angelo Allegri scored 15 points and had six rebounds as UNCG won their 3d straight game. Ramon Vila scored 15 points to lead the Mocs, as this game broke their 2 game win streak. David Jean-Baptiste scored 10 points and Matt Ryan had nine.



The rankings - (1-17-20)
1. 6-1 ETSU
2. 5-2 Furman (tie)
2. 5-2 UNCG (tie)
4. 4-2 Western (tie)
4. 4-2 Wofford (tie)
6. 3-3 Chattanooga
7. 2-4 Mercer (tie)
7. 2-4 Samford (tie)
9. 1-6 VMI
10. 0-6 Citadel

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26 Days until First Pitch - #36 Andrew Bullock

It's only 26 days until the Western Carolina Baseball team takes the field at Hennon Stadium for the first pitch against the Chicago State Cougars to open the 2020 baseball season.

Let's take this time to meet this season's Cats with Bats.  We will highlight them by class, starting with the seniors and ending with the brand new freshmen Catamounts.


#36 Andrew Bullock

POSITION Infield
HEIGHT 6-2
WEIGHT 230
CLASS Redshirt Senior
HOMETOWN Chesapeake, Va.
HIGH SCHOOL Grassfield HS




2019 (Redshirt Junior): Played in all 53 games with 42 starts including 33 as the designated hitter, five in left field, two in right field, and twice at first base … Finished the season with a .279 batting average with 46 hits including 12 doubles, a triple, and three home runs Scored 24 runs while driving home 27 on the year … Posted 14 multiple-hit games with a pair of 3-hit games and six multiple-RBI outings … Made two pitching appearances on the mound including his collegiate debut against Utah (March 2) at the Keith LeClair Classic, striking out one against a walk in an inning of work … Was touched for three runs on four hits including two doubles in an inning against Wofford (April 5) … Enjoyed a career-long six-game hitting streak in late March … Doubled in six of his final 11 games of the season … Was approved for a medical hardship on Jan. 23, regaining his third year of eligibility … Summer League: Returned to the Fon du Loc Dock Spiders of the Northwoods League.

2018 (Junior): Only saw action in 13 games with 11 starts – eight as the designated hitter, three at first base – before being sidelined with a hand injury … Had surgery on March 26 to repair the injured hamate bone – one of the hand’s eight carpal bones at the base of the hand … Was batting .316 with 12 hits in 38 at bats at the time of his injury … Four of his 12 hits went for extra bases including two doubles and two home runs … Drove in six runs over his 13 games played while also scoring six runs … Though he didn’t return to action on the field, did return to practice late in the 2018 season … Applied for a medical redshirt; Summer League: Won a Northwoods League championship with the Fond du Loc Dock Spiders ... Finished the summer with a .293 batting average (56-of-191) over 56 games with six doubles and two home runs. He drove in 32 runs to finish second on the championship squad on the summer.

2017 (Sophomore): Played in 35 games with 21 games started, each as the designated hitter ... Also saw relief work at first base during the season ... Started the year slowly, with an average below .200 through his first 11 appearances before a 2-for-3 showing at UNCG (March 24) ... Finished the season with a .289 collective batting average, posting 24 hits including four doubles and two home runs ... Had five, multiple-hit games with one multi-RBI outing ... Matched his career-long with a four-game hit streak in mid-March ... Went a career-best, 4-for-4, matching career-highs with two home runs, a double, and three RBI in a win over Wofford (May 7) ... Closed the season with WCU's only multi-hit game in the SoCon Tournament against Samford (May 25), finishing 2-for-3; Summer League: Played in 55 games in the Northwoods League, collecting the first-ever RBI base hit to plate the first-ever run for the expansion Fond Du Loc Dock Spiders ... Batted .322 with 66 hits including 17 doubles and seven home runs, driving in 44 runs on the summer ... Bullock had a RBI double on May 30 ... Bullock also hit the first grand slam in team history in early July in a win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks ... Named Northwoods League Player of the Night on Aug. 3 after going 6-for-6 with two home runs, a double, four runs scored and five RBI.

2016 (Freshman): Played in 36 games with just four official starts, though he was the first guy off the bench in the designated hitter role much of the season as WCU generally pinch hit a placeholder for the DH on the scorecard ... Batted .304 as a freshman, collecting 24 hits in 79 at bats ... Had seven extra-base hits including six home runs and a double ... Recorded 16 RBI ... Tallied his first collegiate base hit on a pinch-hit single against Niagara (March 2) ... Hit his first career home run in a pinch-hit role, a two-run blast at No. 3 North Carolina (March 22) ... Posted a pair of three-hit games against Mercer (May 1) and UNCG (May 14), belting two home runs in the latter ... Homered three times in the UNCG series, collecting SoCon Baseball Player of the Week plaudits with a .545 weekly batting average ... Raised his seasonal batting average 54 points over the final month of the season ... Missed the Southern Conference Tournament after taking a fastball to the head/face on the final weekend of the regular season in a nonconference series at Kent State (May 19) ... Returned to the lineup with a face guard at the NCAA Clemson Regional ... Selected to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team by the league's head coaches ... Recorded a 7-for-21 (.333) batting average as a pinch-hitter. Summer League: Played in 36 games including six in the postseason, posting a .273 batting average with 30 hits in 110 at-bats for the Waynesboro Generals in Virginia in the Valley League ... 11 of his 30 hits went for extra bases including six doubles and five home runs, hitting homers in four-straight games ... Recorded nine, two-hit games over the summer ... Drove in 23 runs while also scoring 23.

Prior to Western Carolina: Three-time first team All-Region and two-time All-Monitor Merrimac Conference selection and a team MVP honor as a senior ... Batted over .400 in each of his final three seasons as a prep including a career-high .472 average as a junior ... Twice led Grassfield High to regional play with three-straight winning seasons his final three years ... High school coach was Gary Spedden.

Personal: Full name is Lewin Andrew Bullock ... Is the son of Lewin and Pam Bullock ... Has two siblings, Ashley and Austin ... His father, Lewin, played college football at Elon College.


Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations

Pack the RAC on Saturday night

Catamount Nation, @WCU_MBB is back in the Ramsey Center in just under 24 hour to face off against @ETSU_MBB. Help us #PackTheRAC & protect our 7-0 record on the home hardwood. See you tomorrow in #CatamountCountry! pic.twitter.com/kYTwK5dVuJ

— Catamount Athletics (@Catamounts) January 18, 2020

Game #17 - ETSU Bucs

The #1 Buccaneers travel to Cullowhee to face the #2 Catamounts in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week that will be broadcast by the Nexstar stations, as well as, on ESPN+. The Bucs are ranked #6 in the Mid-Major Top 25, while the Cats are receiving votes and are #30.



Game #17 - ETSU Bucs 

When: Saturday, January 18, 2020, at 7:00 pm
Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
-announcer: Gary Ayers, play by play - Daniel Hooker, color
TV/video: Nexstar / ESPN+
-TV announcer: Pete Yanity - play-by-play and Dean Keener - analyst
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
Fan Message Board: Buccaneer Nation
The Series: The Cats are 24-52 against the Bucs, and are currently on an eight-game slide against ETSU. The Cats are 14-23 against the Bucs in Cullowhee.

ETSU's 2019-20 record: 16-3 overall, 5-1 SoCon, 5-3 away games this season

The Bucs and Cats both have one loss in conference play, and that loss is to the same team, Furman. Western is coming off a road loss to Furman, while the Bucs have a road loss against the Paladins earlier in January.

In their first five SoCon games of 2020, ETSU’s defense has been stifling. The Bucs are holding opponents to 56.2 points per game while forcing 16.3 turnovers and limiting them to a 30.7 shooting clip from three (23-75). On the flip side, ETSU is averaging over 81 points and shooting at nearly the 50 percent clip in its first 14 games – has been held to 57.5 points, while shooting 38 percent from the field and 23 percent from beyond the arc (19-84).

In this week's mid-major top 25 poll, the Bucs are the SoCon top-ranked team, coming in at #6, while the Cats are in the "others receiving votes" (#30). The Bucs top this week's SoCon power ranking, while the Cats come in at #4. Western leads the league in scoring offense at 82.2 ppg, while the Bucs come in at #4 scoring an average of 76.7 ppg. The big factor in this game will be defense, the Bucs specialty. ETSU is holding teams to an average of 61.6 ppg, while the Cats are giving up 73.6 ppg. Western's 7 game home win streak is on the line, but Massey project the home-court advantage will not be enough to overcome the Bucs defensive efforts and projects a 76-72 road win for ETSU.

The Bucs have three player averaging double-digit points this season, Tray Boyd with 13.3 ppg, Bo Hodges with 12.7 and Jeromy Rodriguez with 10.7 ppg.


Probable ETSU starters:
Bo Hodges, Guard Jr. 6-5 210 - 12.7 ppg
Patrick Good, Guard Jr. 6-0 175 - 8.7 ppg
Isaiah Tisdale, Guard Sr. 6-1 195 - 7.3 ppg
Vonnie Patterson, Forward Jr. 6-4 200 - 3.2 ppg
Lucas N’Guessan, Center Sr. 7-0 230 - 7.5 ppg

 

The Road to Asheville (1-18-20)

Week eleven action continues ON Friday, with an early weekend game as the Paladins visit the Terriers Friday night. In Saturday's normal action, the remaining eight teams square off, starting at 1:00 pm.


Furman at Wofford  (Friday)
The Paladins (5-1), currently tied for #1 in the SoCon travels down I-85 for the short trip to Spartanburg to face the currently tied for #5 position in conference rankings, Wofford Terriers (3-2). The Paladins are ranked this week at #7 in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll, while Wofford lands in the "others receiving votes".  The Paladins are #3 in this week's power poll rankings, with Wofford coming in at #5.  In scoring offense, the Paladins are in 3d place with a 78.1 average, while giving up 66.1 ppg. The Terriers are in 7th place in scoring at 73.1 ppg and giving up 68.8 ppg. Wofford is 7-1 at home this season, but Massey does not project the home-court advantage for a win over the Paladins, Massey projects a narrow 73-71 win for the Paladins.


ETSU at Western Carolina  (SoCon Game of the Week)  
The first place ETSU Bucs (5-1) makes the short trip over the mountains to visit Cullwhee and face the #3 Catamounts (4-1) in the Ramsey Center. In this week's mid-major top 25 poll, the Bucs are the SoCon top-ranked team, coming in at #6, while the Cats are in the "others receiving votes" (#30). The Bucs top this week's SoCon power ranking, while the Cats come in at #4.  Western leads the league in scoring offense at 82.2 ppg, while the Bucs come in at #4 scoring an average of 76.7 ppg. The big factor in this game will be defense, the Bucs specialty.  ETSU is holding teams to an average of 61.6 ppg, while the Cats are giving up 73.6 ppg. Western's 7 game home win streak is on the line, but Massey project the home-court advantage will not be enough to overcome the Bucs defensive efforts and projects a 76-72 road win for ETSU.     


The Citadel at VMI
In this military school clash, the ninth-placed The Citadel (0-5) travels to Lexington to face their biggest rival, tenth place, VMI (0-6). The Bulldogs are ranked 8th in this week's power rankings and the Keydets come in at #10.  Not only is this a sometimes bitter rivalry, but Saturday's battle will also provide one of the two schools their first conference victory of the season. The Citadel is currently second in offensive scoring at 81.9 ppg, while VMI is eighth at 72.7 ppg. Generally, you can throw out the record book when these two teams play each other, but Massey projects the home court advantage come into play for the Keydets, as VMI pulls off a narrow 82-80 victory over the Bulldogs.


Mercer at Samford 
The 8th place Mercer Bears (1-4) travels to Birmingham to face the 7th place Samford Bulldogs (2-3) in the Hanna Center. In this week's power rankings, Samford is ranked #7 while the Bears come in at #9.  Samford is 6-2 this season at home, but is 2-11 against the Bears overall, and are 1-6 in games against Mercer played in the Hanna Center, but the Bulldogs have won the last two games between these two teams.  Again, Massey projects a home-court advantage, this time projecting a 4 point win for Samford over the Bears, 77-73 final score.


Chattanooga at UNCG
The 5th place team in the SoCon, the Chattanooga Mocs (3-2) travels to Greensboro to face the current 4th place team, the UNCG Spartans (4-2). The Spartans are ranked #9 in the current Mid-Major Top 25 poll, while the Mocs are unranked. This week's power poll ranks UNCG at #2 in the conference, and the Mocs at #6 in the ranking. The home-standing Spartans are 9-3 this season in games played in Greensboro, and rank #6 in scoring offense at 73.7 ppg, while the Mocs are in ninth position, scoring 72.1 ppg.  Massey give the Spartans a big home-court advantage, projecting a 10 point win for the Spartans, 70-60.


The rankings - (1-17-20)

1. 5-1 ETSU (tie)
1. 5-1 Furman (tie)
3. 4-1 Western

4. 4-2 UNCG

5. 3-2 Wofford(tie)

5. 3-2 Chattanooga (tie)

7. 2-3 Samford (tie)

8. 1-4 Mercer

9. 0-5 Citadel (tie)

10. 0-6 VMI

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Pack the RAC - Saturday night.

The Road to Asheville - Wed. Results (1-15-20)

Here's a look at the results of  Wednesday night's conference action. The Western/Furman contest did not disappoint, as it was an all-out fight to the end.


Western Carolina at Furman
Furman's Jordan Lyons scored 20 points to lead Furman past Western Carolina 83-79.  Late in the game, Lyons made 4 of 5 free throws and Clay Mounce added another to make it 79-71 with less than a minute to go. Alex Hunter made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to offset a couple 3-pointers. Carlos Dotson scored 21 points on 10 of 14 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for Western Carolina Matt Halvorsen and Onno Steger scored 14 points apiece and Faulker had 12 points and 10 assists. To know the real story of this game, just look at the free-throw totals. Furman went to the line for 25 attempts, making 19 points, while the Catamounts were held to just 8 total attempts for the entire ball game. This is one game the SoCon head of officials should seriously review, no wonder Furman wins in the Timmons Arena.


Wofford at Chattanooga
In the surprise of the night, Chattanooga's David Jean-Baptiste scored 18 points and Matt Ryan had 17 points as Chattanooga rolled past Wofford 72-59. Ramon Vila added 14 points for the Mocs, who up their conference record to 3-2. Nathan Hoover had 20 points for the Terriers and Storm Murphy added six assists. Chattanooga scored the first 10 points and never fell behind the entire game. The Mocs shot 53% and made 7 of 14 3-pointers in the first half. Wofford shot 31% and made only eight field goals in the first half.


UNCG at The Citadel
The Spartan's James Dickey posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead UNCG over the Citadel, 79-69. Isaiah Miller had 14 points for the Spartans and Angelo Allegri added 13 points. Fletcher Abee put up 20 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs, whose losing streak now stretches to five games. Brady Spence added 17 points. Kaiden Rice had 13 points and six rebounds.



Samford at ETSU
The Bucs' Tray Boyd scored 16 points off the bench to lead ETSU to an 88-63 win over Samford. This win increased the Buc's home victory streak to 11 straight wins in the Freedom Center. Joe Hugley had 14 points for ETSU and Lucas N'Guessan added 12 points and Daivien Williamson had 11. Josh Sharkey had 18 points and three assists for the Bulldogs and Robert Allen added 12 points. Jalen Dupree had seven rebounds.



VMI at Mercer
Mercer's Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 26 points as Mercer picked up their first conference win as they defeated VMI 73-62. Ethan Stair had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the Bears. Jeff Gary added 11 points. Travis Evee put up 17 points for the Keydets whose losing streak has now stretched to 7 games. Greg Parham added 13 points. Jake Stephens had 12 points.




The rankings -
1.  5-1 ETSU (tie)
1.  5-1 Furman (tie)
3.  4-1 Western Carolina
4.  4-2 UNCG
5.  3-2 Chattanooga (tie)
5.  3-2 Wofford (tie)
7.  2-3 Samford
8.  1-4 Mercer
9.  0-5 Citadel
10. 0-6 VMI

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Game #16 - at Furman

In the sixteenth game of the season, the Catamounts travel to Travelers Rest to face the Furman Paladins who are currently tied for second place in the conference standings with ETSU after the Paladins were defeated in Greenville on Saturday night.


Game #16 - Furman Paladins

When: Wednesday, January 15, 2020, at 7:00 pm
Where: Timmons Arena (3,500)
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
-announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP)
TV/video: ESPN+
-announcer: Dan Scott (PxP), Bryant Lambert (color)
Live Stats: Furman Live Stats
Fan Message Board: GoPaladins.com
The Series: The series between Western and the Paladins started back in 1977 and trail 29-46 in the series against Furman. Western owns a 9-27 record against the Paladins in games played at Furman.
Furman's 2019-20 record: 14-4 overall, 7-1 home, 4-1 SoCon

Furman was tabbed to finish third in preseason polling of the SoCon’s coaches and media but has led the conference this season, until their defeat by UNCG Saturday night. The Paladins are 62-23 under the direction of third-year head coach Bob Richey.

Furman's seven-game winning streak and their perfect start in league play ended Saturday night with UNCG's 86-73 win over the Paladins. Furman had moved up to No. 3 in last week’s College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 following their victory over ETSU last weekend. Furman sports a 58-12 overall home record and 32-6 mark versus SoCon opposition at home since the beginning of the 2015-16 season. Furman has won 15 straight regular-season non-conference games at Timmons Arena and 17 of its last 18 non-conference clashes in that facility.

Currently, Furman ranks third in scoring offense, right behind the Catamounts, scoring an average of 77.8 points per game (ppg), and comes in third in scoring defense, giving up 65.4 ppg. The Paladins have 4 players scoring in double figures. Led by Jordan Lyons, hitting 16.8 ppg, then Noah Gurley at 14.2 ppg, followed by Clay Mounce with 13.5, and finally Mike Bothwell with 10.2 ppg.


Furman Probable Starters
Senior/Guard - Jordan Lyons, 5'11"  190
Junior/Guard - Alex Hunter, 5'11"  185

Junior/Forward - Clay Mounce, 6'7"  205

Soph/Forward - Noah Gurley,  6'8"  210
Soph/Forward - Jalen Slawson,  6'7"  210

SoCon Power Rankings (1-13-20)

Monday, January 13, 2020

This is the fifth power ranking of the season, after the second full week of conference action and 10 weeks of SoCon basketball.



1. (3) ETSU

2. (4) UNCG

3. (1) Furman

4. (5) Western Carolina

5. (2) Wofford

6. (7) Chattanooga

7. (6) Samford

8. (8) The Citadel

9. (10) Mercer

10. (9) VMI

Last week's ranking in parentheses

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The Road to Asheville (1-15-20)

Week eleven action tips off on Wednesday night, with five conference games on the schedule. For the first time this season, all ten teams will have a mid-week conference game.  The big game for the night will be in Timmons Arean, as the Catamounts take their first-place record to Travelers Rest to meet the second-place Furman Paladins.


Western Carolina at Furman
The SoCon's first & second place teams face off in Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University.  The Catamounts bring their 4-0 conference record into the game, the last undefeated team in conference play in the SoCon. Furman holds down the #3 position in last week's mid-major top 25 poll, while the Cats are listed in the others receiving points. Furman holds down the number one position on last week's power ranking, while the Cats come in at 5th place. The Paladins are coming off their first loss in conference play, against UNCG last Saturday in Greenville's downtown area, while the Cats extended their winning streak to 5 games and a perfect 4-0 conference record. Western Carolina comes into the game in second place in scoring offense with 82.4 points per game (ppg), while Furman comes in at third place with 77.8 ppg.  Massey projects a home-court advantage for the Paladins where they are 7-1 this season, final score 82-73 over the Cats.


Wofford at Chattanooga
The #4 Wofford Terriers travel to Chattanooga and the Roundhouse to face #6 Chattanooga. The Terriers are 3-1, with their only conference loss coming at the hands of ETSU in Johnson City, while the Mocs bring a 2-2 conference record, with losses to Furman and Western Carolina. The Terriers are listed as #2 on last week's power ranking, while Chattanooga comes in at #7. Wofford is #6 in the conference standing for offensive scoring, averaging 73.9 ppg, and fifth in scoring defense, give up 68.6 ppg. The Mocs come in at 9th place in scoring offense with 72.1 ppg and 4th in scoring defense, giving up only 66.3 ppg. Chattanooga is 6-1 at home this season, while the Terriers 4-5 on the road. This game is almost a toss-up, but Massey gives the edge to the visiting Terriers and projects a 70-69 win for the visiting team.


UNCG at The Citadel
The #5 UNCG Spartans travel to the SC Lowcountry to face the #8 Citadel Bulldogs in McAlister Field House. The Spartans are ranked #9 on last week's mid-major top 25 rankings. UNCG is coming off a huge win over the Furman Paladins last Saturday, and are now 3-2 in conference play. The Spartans have losses to Wofford and ETSU. The Bulldogs come into the game winless in conference action with a 0-4 conference record.  UNCG comes in 9th in the mid-major top 25 rankings, with the Bulldogs unranked in that poll. The Spartans are 4th in our conference power poll last week, while the Bulldogs come in at 8th place. The Citadel ranks #1 in the conference in scoring offense, posting 82.8 ppg, but comes in last in the standing for scoring defense, giving up 78,5 ppg.  Massey projects an 81-70 victory for the Spartans in Charleston.


Samford at ETSU
The #6 Samford Bulldogs travel to Johnson City, Tennessee to meet the 2d place ETSU Bucs in the Freedom Center where ETSU as ha perfect 10-0 record this season. The Bucs are 4-1 in conference action, with the only loss at the hands of Furman, while the Bulldogs are 2-2 in conference play, with losses to Wofford and Chattanooga. ETSU is ranked #7 in last week's mid-major top 25 poll, and Samford is unranked. In our conference power poll, ETSU is #3 in the rankings, while Samford comes in at #6. ETSU comes in 4th in the conference in scoring offense with 76.1 ppg, and second in scoring defense, giving up only 61.6 ppg, while Samford is 5th in scoring at 75.9 and 9th in defense, giving up 77.8 ppg. I'm not sure anyone in the conference will come out of the Freedom Center with a win this season, at least in the game Massey agrees with me, projecting a 78-62 Bucs win over the Bulldogs.


VMI at Mercer
In what may be one of the more interesting games of the night, last place VMI travels to 8th place, Mercer.  Both teams are winless in conference action, with VMI at 0-5 and Mercer at 0-4. The Bears are 4-4 at home this season, and VMI is 0-7 in road games. In last week's power ranking, the Keydets come in at #9, while the Bears are #10 in the ranking. Mercer ranks last in points at 71.1 ppg while giving up 72.5 places them at #7 in scoring defense. The Keydets are ranked 8th in scoring offense at 73.3 ppg, and 6th in scoring defense, giving up 68.8 ppg.  Massey projects a 76-71 win for the Bears at home over VMI. Someone will have a conference win after this game.


The rankings -
1.  4-0 Western
2.  4-1 Furman (tie)
2.  4-1 ETSU (tie)
4.  3-1 Wofford
5.  3-2 UNCG
6.  2-2 Samford (tie)
6.  2-2 Chattanooga (tie)
8.  0-4 Citadel (tie)
8.  0-4 Mercer (tie)
10. 0-5 VMI

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The Road to Asheville - Saturday results (1-11-20)

And then, there was one, that's one undefeated team in conference action, and that team is the Catamounts.

Week ten action produced one big surprise, the upset of the league-leading Furman Paladins. Western Carolina is now on top of the conference standings, at least until Wednesday night when the Cats visit Timmons arena to face some angry Paladins.



Samford at Chattanooga
Chattanooga's Ramon Vila scored a career-high 24 points as Chattanooga rolled over Samford 105-67 on Saturday. Matt Ryan added 20 points for the Mocs and had seven rebounds and six assists. David Jean-Baptiste had 19 points and eight assists for Chattanooga. Chattanooga shot 17 of 31 from the arc. Ryan was 6 of 7 from the arc and Kenic made all five of his three-pointers. Josh Sharkey had 21 points and five steals for the Bulldogs, both teams are now 2-2 in the conference.


VMI at ETSU
ETSU's Patrick Good scored 12 points to lead the Bucs past VMI, 61-55. The Bucs now have a 10 game winning streak in the Freedom Center this season. Vonnie Patterson, Lucas N'Guessan and Tray Boyd III all scored 11 for the Bucs who shot just 35% from the floor and 25% from 3-point range. ETSU made 20 of 31 free throws (64.5%). Travis Evee had 13 points for the Keydets, who drop to 0-5 in conference games. Greg Parham added 12 points and Garrett Gilkesonadded 10 rebounds for the Keydets. VMI made just 19 of 48 shots overall (40%) and 7 of 21 from beyond the arc. The Keydets sank 10 of 11 at the foul line.


Mercer at Western Carolina
Western's Mason Faulkner scored a team-high 18 points, making 6 of 8 free throws in the final 34 seconds, the Cats extended their winning streak to five with a 79-71 win over Mercer. Matt Halvorsen added 16 points and Carlos Dotson added 12 points. Djordje Dimitrijevic scored a game and career-high 34 points for the Bears, making 10 of 19 field goals and 12 of 14 free throws almost single-handedly keeping the Bears in the game. Maciej Bender added 13 rebounds and three blocks for Mercer in the losing effort. Western is now the only undefeated team in conference play and now sits atop the conference standings.


The Citadel at Wofford
Citadel's Nathan Hoover scored 19 points to lead Wofford to 2 point victory over The Citadel, 73-71. Tray Hollowell added  12 points for the Terriers as they won their fifth straight home victory. Kaelon Harris scored a career-high 32 points for the Bulldogs in their losing effort on the road. The Bulldogs have lost four straight games, and are now 0-4 in the conference. Kaiden Rice, the Bulldogs' leading scorer scored only 3 points.


UNCG at Furman
UNCG's Isaiah Miller led five Spartan players in double figures as UNCG upset the number #1 Furman Paladins 86-73 in Greenville's downtown arena, breaking the Paladins seven-game win streak. Scoring in double figures for UNCG was Miller with 18 points, Kaleb Hunter with 15 points, Michael Hueitt Jr. put up 13, Angelo Allegri hit 11 and Mohammed Abdulsalam contributed 10 for the Spartans. Noah Gurley posted a game-high 27 points and 8 rebounds for the Paladins, as Mike Bothwell and Clay Mounce each added 13 points. It seems that UNCG's Coach Miller was much calmer this game, but did not sit out a suspension after being ejected from UNCG's game with ETSU on Wednesday night.


The rankings -
1. 4-0 Western
2. 4-1 Furman (tie)
2. 4-1 ETSU (tie)
4. 3-1 Wofford
5. 3-2 UNCG
6. 2-2 Samford (tie)
6. 2-2 Chattanooga (tie)
8. 0-4 Citadel (tie)
8. 0-4 Mercer (tie)
10. 0-5 VMI


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WCU Player of the Game (Mercer)

Purple & Gold's Player of the Game for the Mercer game is..........  

Xavier Cork

                                                                       

Freshman forward Xavier Cork came off the bench when Carolos Dotson was injured early in the first half of the Mercer game. Dodson came out of the game and to the locker room for the rest of the first half. Xavier played for 22 minutes replacing Dotson, scoring  8 points, hitting 4 of 6 field goals, pulled down 8 rebounds, 4 offensive and 4 defensive. Xavier also had 2 assists and 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.  

Honorable mention in the Mercer game goes to Mason Faulkner with 18 points, Matt Haverson with 16 points & Carlos Dotson with 12 points.  

Thanks to all the entire Catamount team for giving us a game to remember

Purple & Gold congratulates Xavier Cork on his accomplishments in Mercer game. We look forward to many more player of the game opportunities for you. 


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Game #15 - Mercer in "Pack the RAC Day"

In the fifteenth game of the season, the Catamounts return to Cullowhee and the Ramsey Center where they are undefeated and own a 6-0 record this season. The Cats also bring in a 4 game winning streak, having just earned two road victories over The Citadel and VMI.


Game #15 - Mercer Bears

When: Saturday, January 11, 2020, at 5:00 pm
Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
-announcer: Gary Ayers (PxP)
TV/video: ESPN+
-announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP), Jeff Bryson (analyst)
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
Fan Message Board: MU Bear Down
The Series: The series between Western and the Mercer started back in 1978 and Western owns an 8-9 overall record against the Bears. The two teams are tied 5-5 in conference play since 2015 when the Bears joined the Southern Conference. The Cats own a 4-3 record in games played in Cullowhee.
VMI's 2019-20 record: 6-10 overall, 2-4 away, 0-3 SoCon

Head Coach Greg Gary, in his first season at the helm of the Bears, had only two starters return from last season's 11-20 team. Not only did the Bears lose two seniors from last season, but they also lost 5 freshmen and one sophomore from that roster, possibly due to the coaching change.

So far this season, the Bears rank #9 in the SoCon in scoring offense, with 71.1 points per game (ppg), and number #7 in scoring defense, giving up 72.1 ppg. Senior Ethan Stair leads the squad in scoring (16.8) and is second in the SoCon in rebounding (8.9). He's shooting 47.2 percent overall including 39.6 percent from 3pt range, along with an 88.9 percent success rate at the free-throw line. - Djordje Dimitrijevic (14.6) and Jeff Gary (10.2) also average in double digits.

In SoCon play, the Bears are 0-3, but with close losses at home to Furman (64-62) and Chattanooga (61-70) and on the road at UNCG (72-63).  Mercer comes into the Ramsey Center with 2 straight losses.

This will be the second game of a doubleheader for the Catamounts, as the women's team faces ETSU at 2:00 pm.

So, it's "Pack the RAC" day in Cullowhee.  Come out and see the new digital scoreboard in the Ramsey Activity Center.

The Road to Asheville (1-11-20)

Week ten games continue on Saturday, with all ten teams playing in conference action.  At this point in the season, we have only two teams with no conference losses, Furman at 4-0, and WCU at 3-0, and three teams without a conference win, the Citadel & Mercer at 0-3 and VMI at 0-4. The day tips off at 2 pm and finishes up with two games starting at 7 pm.


Samford at Chattanooga
The day starts with the #4 Bulldogs paying a visit to the Roundhouse in Chattanooga, Tenn. to face the #7 Mocs. Samford is currently 2-1 on the season, with a loss to Wofford, while the Mocs are 1-2 in conference play with losses to Furman and Western Carolina. The Bulldogs come in at #6 in our power poll, while Chattanooga holds down the #7 position. The Bulldogs hold down the number 5 spot in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 76.5 points per game (ppg) but are giving up 76.2 ppg in scoring defense for 9th place. The Mocs are averaging 70.1 ppg, good for 10th place in the conference and are giving up an average of 66.2 ppg, good enough for 4th place. Samford is led by Josh Sharkey, averaging 18.6 ppg, good enough for 2d place in conference scoring, while the Mocs are led by Matt Ryan, with 14.1 ppg. Massey gives the Mocs a big home-court advantage and projects a 74-67 win by the Mocs over the Bulldogs.


VMI at ETSU
At 4 pm, the last place Keydets will face the 3d place Bucs in Johnson City, Tenn. The Bucs are owners of a 9 game home winning streak, and the Freedom Hall has become one of the, if not the toughest places in the SoCon to play for a visiting team. After a loss to Furman last Saturday, the Bucs traveled to Greensboro on Wednesday, where they beat the Spartans. ETSU currently comes in at #7 in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll, and us #3 in our conference power ranking. The Keydets are not ranked in the Mid-Major poll and holds down the #10 position in our power ranking. ETSU is currently in 4th place in the conference in scoring offense, posting 77 ppg, while giving up 61.9 ppg, for 2d place in scoring defense.  VMI is scoring 74.4 ppg (6th place) but is giving up 69.3 ppg (6th place). Massey projects an 82-59 win by the home team.


Mercer at Western Carolina
Mercer visits Cullowhee to face the Catamounts at 5 pm. The Bears are currently tied for 8th place in the conference standings with an 0-3 conference record, while the Cats are in 2d place with a 3-0 conference record. Currently, Western is in 5th place in the power rankings, while the Bears are in 10th place in those same rankings. Western holds the second place in scoring offense averaging 82.6 ppg, and 8th place in scoring defense, giving up 73.1 ppg. Mercer is in 9th place in scoring, at 71.1 ppg and 7th place in scoring defense, giving up 72.1 ppg. The Cats are also perfect at home this season, with a 6-0 home record, the Cats are also on a 4 game winning streak, while the Bears have lost 4 of their last 5 games and are on a two-game slide coming into the Ramsey. Massey projects an 83-72 win for the Cats.


The Citadel at Wofford
In the first of two evening games, the Bulldogs will travel to Spartanburg to face the Terriers. Wofford is currently tied for 4th place in the conference with a 2-1 record, while the Citadel, at 0-3 is ranked tied for 8th place. In this week's power ranking, Wofford comes at #2 while the Citadel comes in at #8. The Terriers are currently in 7th place in the conference in offensive scoring, averaging 74 ppg, and are #5 in scoring defense, giving up 69.4 ppg.  The Bulldogs are #1 in scoring offense, posting 83.6 ppg, and 10th in scoring defense, giving up 78.9 ppg. Should the visiting Bulldog, get hot with the three-point shot, anything can happen, however, Massey projects the Terriers defend the home court and pick up a 90-74 win over the Bulldogs.


UNCG at Furman
The second of the two evening games may well be the most anticipated of the day. Conference leader Furman, hosts the current #6 team in the conference rankings, UNCG. Both teams are in the top 25 of the Mid-Major Top 25 rankings, with Furman coming in at #3 and the Spartans at #9.  In our conference power rankings, Furman is also ranked #1, and UNCG ranked at #4. The Paladins are also undefeated at home this season, currently at 7-0, and bring in a 7 game win streak, while the Spartans are 2-2 in conference play, having dropped games to Wofford and ETSU. Massey projects a 69-63 win for the Paladin in Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Faulkner named to Lou Henson Award Watch List

Western Carolina redshirt junior forward Mason Faulkner was named to the Lou Henson Award mid-season watch list, it was announced by CollegeInsider.com on Thursday.
The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player.

Faulkner, ETSU's Jeromy Rodriguez, Furman's Jordan Lyons and Samford's Josh Sharkey are the only SoCon student-athletes on the list which consists of 50 mid-major players in 22 conferences as well as independents.

The Road to Asheville - Wed. results

Lots of action in tonight's games, with the one big surprise in Wednesday's action, as UNCG's head coach is hit with two technical fouls and ejected from the game, possibly/probably costing the Spartans a victory or at least a chance to win.



ETSU at UNCG
In a game that could have gone either way, and with the score ETSU 58 - UNCG 57 and 23.8 seconds remaining on the clock, the Spartans have the ball, and as UNCG's Isaiah Miller drives for the basket a somewhat controversial call of offensive charging was made against Miller. ETSU immediately in-bounds the ball and calls a timeout. During the time out, Coach Miller approaches one of the referees during the time out, says a few words, then turns to walk away, as he turns he throws his clipboard to the floor and is immediately tagged with a technical. ETSU makes one of the two technical free throws, so the score now is 59-57 and as the ball is being walked back to the other end of the court for an in-bounds play by ETSU, Coach Miller is hit with the second technical and tossed from the game, there is still 23.8 seconds on the clock. ETSU hits the next two technical free throws and is give the ball at the far end of the court for the in-bounds play (it's 61-57) and the Spartans can not recover from the technical free throws, Bucs win 64-57.


Western Carolina at VMI
Mason Faulkner, Carlos Dotson, and Matt Halvorsen all three scores 20 points as the Cats beat VMI 97-85 for their second straight road victory. Faulkner also had 10 rebounds and nine assists just missing his second triple-double of the season, as Dotson grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double this season. Halvorsen made four of WCU's 11 3-pointers and Faulkner added three. Tyler Harris had 13 points for the Cats, now 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the Southern Conference. WCU totaled 59 second-half points, a season-high for the team.


Furman at Chattanooga
Furman's Mike Bothwell scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Paladins to their seventh consecutive win, topping the Mocs, 73-66 in Chattanooga. Furman held Chattanooga scoreless for nearly nine minutes in the second half as it turned a 50-47 deficit into a 61-50 lead. Jordan Lyons scored 16 points for Furman. Stefan Kenic had 15 points for the Mocs, whose four-game winning streak ended. Matt Ryan added 13 points, and Rod Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.


Wofford at Samford
Wofford's Nathan Hoover scored 22 points to lead the Terriers to a 67-62 win over Samford. After falling behind 35-32 at halftime, the Terriers outscored Samford 35-27 in the second half as they scored the game's last six points for the win. The game was tied 10 times in the second half, and the final period was a one-possession game until the very end. Samford only scored 27 second-half points, which was a season-low for the Bulldogs.


The rankings
1. 4-0 Furman
2. 3-0 Western
3. 3-1 ETSU
4. 2-1 Samford
4. 2-1 Wofford
6. 2-2 UNCG
7. 1-2 Chattanooga
8. 0-3 Citadel
8. 0-3 Mercer
10.0-4 VMI


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WCU Player of the Game (VMI)

Purple & Gold's Players of the Game for VMI are..........  

                                          

             

Matt Halvorsen 

Mason Faulkner

Carlos Dotson

Tonight it's a three-way tie for "player of the game" as Mason Faulkner, Carlos Dotson, and Matt Halvorsen each scored 20 points as the Cats beat VMI 97-85 for their fourth straight win, and second straight road win.

Junior guard Mason Faulkner scored 20 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, just one assist short of his second triple-double this season. 

Senior forward Carlos Dotson scored 20 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, and 3 assists for his seventh double-double of the season. 

Junior guard Matt Halvorsen scored 20 points, pulled down 4 rebounds, and 2 assists and 2 steals.  

Thanks to all three of these Catamounts for giving us a game to remember.

Purple & Gold congratulates Mason Faulkner, Carlos Dotson, & Matt Halvorsen on their accomplishments in VMI game.


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The Road to Asheville (1-8-20)

Week ten action continues on Wednesday night, with four conference games on the schedule.  At this point in the season, we have three teams with no conference losses, Furman at 3-0, and WCU/Samford at 2-0. Probably the most anticipated game of the four is between two teams with one loss each, which would be ETSU at UNCG.  All four games tip-off at 7 pm



ETSU at UNCG
Interestingly, these two teams are currently tied for fourth place in the conference standings, something neither team expected this early in the season.  ETSU is currently ranked 7th and UNCG 9th in the most recent mid-major top 25 poll and they ranked 3d & 4th respectively in our most recent power poll.  In scoring, ETSU is in 4th place with 77.8 ppg, and second in defense, giving up only 62.2 ppg, while the Spartans are ranked at 8th in scoring at 73.7 ppg and 1st in scoring defense, giving up only 57.ppg. UNCG is 14-16 against the Bucs all-time, but have won their past four meetings. Massey projects a home-court advantage for the Spartans with a 65-62 win over the Bucs.


Western Carolina at VMI
The Catamounts are seeking to improve their conference record to 3-0, as the #2 (tied) Cats travel to Lexington to face the #9 (tied) Keydets. VMI is one of the three teams that are currently 0-3 in conference play. The Cats are now receiving votes in the mid-major top 25 poll (13 points/38th) and the Keydets are unranked. WCU comes in at #5 in the current power rankings, while the Keydets are 9th in that ranking. The Cats are #2 in the conference in scoring offense with 81.5 ppg and 8th in scoring defense giving up 72.2, while VMI ranks 7th in scoring at 73.7 ppg and ranks 5th in scoring defense, giving up 67.6 ppg. WCU and VMI are two of the better 3=point shooting teams, ranking 2d and 3rd respectively, so a hot hand shooting the threes many well determine the outcome of this game. This will be the 61st meeting between the schools with WCU holding a 34-26 advantage, but the Keydets swept the Cats last season with three wins. Excluding a hot hand on the three-point shooting by the Keydets, Massey projects the Cats to win, 81-75 on the road.


Furman at Chattanooga
League-leading Furman travels to Chattanooga to face the #6 Mocs as two of the remaining undefeated teams in conference play will meet in the Round House.  The Paladins are ranked #3 in the most recent mid-major top 25, Chattanooga is unranked in this poll. The Paladins take the top spot in the most recent conference power poll while Chattanooga comes in at #7. The Paladins are currently 3d in scoring in the conference at 78.4 ppg and 3d in scoring defense, giving up 64.1 ppg, while the Mocs rank 10th in scoring at 70.3 ppg and 4th in scoring defense giving up 65.8 ppg.  The Paladins bring a 6 game win streak into the contest and are 5-3 on the road, with 3 OOC losses, while the home-standing Mocs bring a 4 game win streak to the contest, and are 5-0 at home this season. Chattanooga holds a 54-34 lead in the series between the schools, but Furman has won the last five meetings. Massey does not show that home court love for the Mocs and projects a 70-64 victory to the Paladins.


Wofford at Samford
The sixth-place (tied) Terriers travel to Birmingham to meet the second place (tied) Bulldogs in Wednesday night's fourth and final game. The Terriers are receiving votes in the mid-major top 25, as well as, the number two team in this week's power rankings, while Samford comes in at number 6 in that poll. The Terriers are 1-1 in the SoCon, having dropped a 1 point game to ETSU in Johnson City, then rebounded to pick up a  two overtime win over UNCG in Spartanburg. While Samford is 2-0 in conference play, the wins are against two of three last-place teams in the conference, so we don't know how they will fare against the top tier. Wofford is currently 6th in the conference in scoring offense at 74.5 ppg and 6th in scoring defense, giving up 68.9 ppg. Samford comes in 5th in scoring with 77.4 ppg and 9th in scoring defense, giving up 76.8 ppg. Massey projects a road win for Wofford, 81-74 over the Bulldogs.


The rankings
3-0  Furman
2-0  Western
2-0  Samford
2-1  ETSU
2-1  UNCG
1-1  Wofford
1-1  Chattanooga
0-3  Citadel
0-3  VMI
0-3  Mercer

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