CBB: SOCON Conference Tournament Preview

Favorites (odds below +500)

Samford Bulldogs (+155): Samford is one of the most exciting squads around this year. Bucky McMillan’s team pressures opponents relentlessly to force turnovers, and it’s tough to prepare for, every once in a while they can fall victim to an off night but when they’re on they are a hassle to play. Samford needs to avoid those down nights in the tournament, they dropped a couple games recently to teams seeded low in the conference tournament. This is the team you want to see win if you want to see an upset in the tournament.

UNC Greensboro Spartans (+450): UNC Greensboro captured headlines early in the season when they rolled into Bud Walton arena and came out with a win over Arkansas (in hindsight not much of a big deal), but they’ve been very solid overall. The Spartans can easily go on a run but they need to see the consistency on both sides of the ball.

Sleepers (+500 or above)

Western Carolina Catamounts (+500): Western Carolina has one of the most dangerous teams in the conference, they can light it up on offense from time to time. Through Mid January they were right up there with Samford as one of the best teams in this conference. Western Carolina went on a slide after and it really included a lot of close losses. They did get back on the right track late winning 4 of their last 5.

Furman Paladins (+500): Furman is the defending conference tournament champ so they’ve been here before. This was a tumultuous season for the Paladins who battled through injuries during the year, but they can put that all behind them in the conference tournament. They split games with both Western Carolina and Samford, overall giving Samford a tough time each time they faced them. That could prompt them to go on a run.

Chattanooga Mocs (+700): Chattanooga is always a factor in the SOCON. The Mocs have a very solid 20 win team. They managed to beat Louisville early in the year which got their name in the headlines. Chattanooga went on a run from mid Jan to mid Feb where they looked like one of the best teams in the conference they did slip a little bit late, but what helps them is they’re seemingly in the less chaotic side of the bracket.

Mercer Bears (+5000): You want a real longshot? Mercer might just be your team. The Bears have struggled a lot of this season but they may have figured something out at the right time. They finished the regular season winning 4 of 5 games, including wins over the top 3 favorites per Vegas. Overall the Bears swept UNC Greensboro which is very random.

My Pick:

Samford Bulldogs (+155): I really like this Samford team, they are especially hard to prepare for in a tournament setting. Their side of the bracket is a bit more chaotic but I believe this tournament will either be won by Samford or a complete wildcard.