No.3 Texas San-Antonio 74 No.4 Stephen F Austin 70

Southland Conference Player of the Year Leroy Hurd has consistently carried the Texas San-Antonio Roadrunners on his back throughout the season, and in their biggest of the season, the trend continued. Hurd scored 23 points including two free throws with 17 seconds left to ice the Southland Tournament Championship for UTSA and send the Roadrunners back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

UTSA won their three tournament games by a combined 11 points and closed out the tournament on a 7-game winning streak and winners of 10 of their last 11.

“To be able to close out the Tournament in this fashion is a dream come true,” said UTSA coach Tim Carter. “I’m so proud of the effort of these players this season. There has been a lot of sacrifice by players and coaches on this team to help make it successful, and it has paid off. We are going to enjoy this for a couple of days and then start getting ready for next week.”

The Roadrunners started the season at 5-10 before rallying in conference play to win 14 of their last 17 games and a big part of that was balance. Hurd was simply amazing in the title game. Along with his 23 points, he grabbed 9 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and had 2 steals. For his efforts, Hurd was named Tournament MVP. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Justin Harbert and Kurt Attaway. Attaway, the freshman, scored a career-high 24 points in the Roadrunners semi-final victory over Southeastern Louisiana

“This is unbelievable,” said Hurd. “I’m proud of how the team came together late in the year to make this happen. When we stood at 5-10 earlier this season a lot of people counted us out. We hung together and got it done.”

SFA finishes the season at 21-9 and for the second year in a row, they come up short in the Championship game. Marcus Clark and Hank Rivers led the Lumberjacks with 16 points while semi-final hero Antonio Burks added 12.

UTSA appears headed to the NCAA Tournament Play-In game. According to CollegeRPI.com, the Roadrunners have an RPI of 236. They have a 19-13 record, but 3 of those wins have come against Non-Division 1 programs. Against projected 2004 NCAA Tournament teams, UTSA lost by 26 to Illinois-Chicago and by 30 to Oklahoma St. UTSA has played in three overtime games this season and one double overtime contest.

No. 1N East Tennessee State 96 No. 2S Davidson 84
Tim Smith proved once again that he is a big game player and ETSU overcame both foul and injury problems to advance to the SoCon Championship game with a 96-84 victory over Davidson. Smith tied a career-high with 29 points and finished with 9 assists and 5 steals.

“Congratulations to ETSU on a fantastic season,” said Davidson head coach Bob McKillop. “Tim Smith is a guy who can control the game despite his size and he did just that tonight.”

ETSU needed more than just Smith, as the team was riddled with foul trouble (Zakee Wadood, Jerald Fields, and Smith all had 4 fouls) and starting guard James Anthony only logged 7 minutes because of a shoulder injury. Freshman Travis Strong picked up the slack with 17 points, including five three-pointers.

“I’m thankful for Travis Strong,” said ETSU coach Murry Bartow. “We tell the guys to be ready, to stay ready, because you never know when your time will come. Travis deserved what happened.”

The Buccaneers took a 14-point lead into the locker room and moved it up to 18 early in the second half. The Wildcats then made things interesting when bench player Ian Johnson scored nine straight points to cut the lead down to 73-68, he then scored 8 of his team’s next 9 points, but it was not enough as ETSU had too many weapons down the stretch. Johnson finished with a season-high 21 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Wildcats.

“It’s a six point game and we’re on our heels,” said Bartow. “Thankfully, we held our composure. We stepped up, made big stops and got the score back to 10.”

No. 2N Tennessee Chattanooga 90 No. 1S Georgia Southern 87 (OT)
You might as well call Chattanooga the “Comeback Kids.” One night after rallying from 14 down to beat College of Charleston, the Mocs found themselves down 27-8 early on against Georgia Southern, yet they were able to come back and send the game in overtime. Ashley Champion scored 8 of his 20 points in the extra session to push his team to victory and a rematch with ETSU in the SoCon Championship game.

The early 19-point Eagles lead was a product of long-range shooting. Elton Nesbitt nailed three three-pointers in the opening 7 minutes and had 16 first half points, but foul trouble kept him on the bench at key points in the first half.

“So many things went on in this game,” said Georgia Southern coach Jeff Price. “We missed 16 or 17 free-throw attempts and you can’t do that in a tournament game. When we made shots early, we didn’t stop, but we knew that that pace would not keep up for the entire game.”

“I’m proud of out effort,” said Chattanooga coach Jeff Lebo. “We were down by 19 at one point. We didn’t panic. We’ve been there before.”

Chattanooga got help from its usual cast of characters with Champion strapping the team on his back in overtime, yet in regulation, it was Chris Brown who did most of the damage. Brown finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, including 8 straight points late in the second half that kept UTC in the game.

“We had key shots by Chris Brown,” Lebo added. “Our bench play was terrific.”

ETSU and UTC will meet at 1:00 EST on ESPN2 in what will be the first conference tournament of the 2003-2004 season to hold their championship game.

No. 1N East Tennessee State vs. No. 2 N Chattanooga
It’s fitting that the oldest NCAA conference tournament is going to be the first conference tournament to hold their championship game and thus have the first team to get their dance card punched, and it’s fitting that the two teams, ETSU and UTC, will be meeting in the finals for the 5th time in the last 24 years, and the second time in as many seasons.

This championship game has a different feel from last season’s, and it’s mainly for matters off the court. Chattanooga accepted a move into the North Division this season to help the transition of Elon coming into the league and VMI exiting. ETSU is sort of a “lame-duck” champion, as they do not even belong in the SoCon. After dropping their football program, they were given an extension to find a new conference, and will join the Atlantic Sun in the 2005-2006 season.

On the court, this game has all the makings of a classic. The teams met twice this season, with the Buccaneers winning both contests, en route to a 15-1 regular season. The first game was an 82-80 thriller at UTC that was won when SoCon Player of the Year Zakee Wadood blocked the game-winning shot and came up with a steal to secure the victory. That victory gave ETSU the North Division championship. Two weeks later, Tim Smith’s 27 points led the Bucs to an 84-72 victory in the final home game for seniors Wadood and Jerald Fields.

The Mocs have had a tougher road in the tournament so far. Their quarterfinals match-up was against perennial league favorite, College of Charleston. They overcame a 14-point deficit to advance to the Semi’s, where they did themselves one step better and overcame a 19-point deficit to defeat Georgia Southern. Ashley Champion had led the way for his squad, averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds a game in the tournament.

ETSU was able to survive a scare from Furman in the quarterfinals and then overcome foul trouble and an injury to defeat Davidson in the semi’s. The foul trouble from Friday’s game may come as a blessing in disguise.

In a tournament where you are playing three games in three days, by the third day, the legs start to go. Minutes become something that the coaches need to take a look at, and with Wadood being saddled with foul trouble in the semi-final victory, he only played 24 minutes. On the other side of that, Champion played all 40 minutes in their quarterfinal victory, and then played 32 minutes in Friday night’s overtime victory. With the game going into overtime, that leaves UTC will approximately 14 hours of turn around time from one game to the next. 14 hours to prepare for the biggest game of their careers. They call it March Madness for a reason.

No. 1N East Tennessee State 78 No. 2N Chattanooga 62
Championship games have a tendency to bring out the best in a player. They say that “Big time players make big time plays in big time games,” and that is what makes a champion.”

Introducing Tim Smith.

For the second year in a row, the sophomore guard from ETSU was voted the SoCon Tournament MVP as he led the Buccaneers back to the NCAA Tournament by helping to defeat Chattanooga 78-62. Smith finished the game with 25 points and 6 rebounds, and on the tournament averaged 25.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. Smith was voted Tournament MVP on every ballot that was turned in.

“Timmy is a big game player,” said ETSU coach Murry Bartow. “He just loves to play. He’s at his best on a big stage.”

Smith wasn’t the only player whose performance mattered in this Championship game, the 5th time in 24 years that ETSU and UTC have met to decide the SoCon championship.

The biggest performance for a Chattanooga player might have been his lack of performance. Ashley Champion, the senior 1st-Team All-Conference forward, sprained his left ankle two minutes into the game and could not return, although not without his trying. Champion, truly made with the heart of a champion, repeatedly returned to the locker room to try and work out the ankle, but it was to no avail. Watching Champion grimace with every step as he walked through the line congratulating the ETSU players was difficult, knowing that he will forever remember his last game as the chance that got away. To their credit, the older ETSU players, Zakee Wadood and Jerald Fields, each pulled Champion tight, as if to say “we respect you.” A brief pause, and then their celebration continued.

After Champion’s injury, ETSU, still adjusting to playing without injured starter James Anthony, tried to take the Mocs out of the game early. Smith had 13 first-half points and went over the 1,000-point plateau in only his second season. The Bucs took a 43-35 lead into the break. Playing their third game in three days, ETSU did the opposite of what most teams have done, and they shortened their bench. Only three bench players saw action, and only two of them played more than 5 minutes.

In Champion’s absence, Alphonso Pugh stepped up to lead Chattanooga with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Chris Brown was the only other Moc in double figures with 10 points. UTC shot 34 percent from the field and an abysmal 19.4 from beyond the arc.

ETSU looked in control of the game, up 16 with 12:00 left, but in true Chattanooga fashion, having already survived deficits of 14 and 19 this tournament, they got right back in the game. Bryan Richardson nailed three three-pointers and Pugh added a long-distance shot to cut the lead to 5 at 63-58. But then Smith took over with the play of the game. With the shot clock at 1, Smith fumbled the ball 20 feet from the basket, picked it up and heaved it…count it. Several possessions later, Wadood also nailed a three-pointer from the top of they key, and the Buccaneers dance card was punched.

“I’m obviously very proud of our guys,” said Bartow. “They have been incredibly level-headed all year and have had their eyes on this moment all season. We think we can continue on and maybe have some success (in the NCAA Tournament).”

Smith, Fields, and Wadood were all named to the All-Tournament team for ETSU, while Champion and Pugh made it from UTC. Chattanooga finishes the season with a record 19-11 and loses three seniors, all starters in Champion, Ray Trowell, and Jason Rogan.

“I’m proud of my team,” said Chattanooga coach Jeff Lebo. “We had a chance to win the game without our leader. Champion is our only all-conference player and he is our leader. We played one of our best defensive battles all night. Tim Smith had that phenomenal play. With the shot clock at one second, he bobbled the ball, threw it and it went in.”

ETSU (27-5) heads off to the NCAA Tournament with hopes of a 13 or 14 seed based on their high RPI for a mid-major (projected to be in the 70′s or 80′s). It is the 6th conference title for the Buccaneers and their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

On paper, in every conference tournament, you’d expect the number one and number two seeds to advance to the championship, and for the first 39 minutes in both Southland Conference Semi-Final contests, it appeared as if that perception would be reality. But that’s why the games are 40 minutes.

No. 3 Texas San-Antonio 87, No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana 85
With 25 seconds left in the game, Southeastern Louisiana was rolling, up 85-81 over Texas-San Antonio. Freshman Kurt Attaway then scored two of his career-high 24 points to pull the Roadrunners to within two at 85-83. Amir Abdur-Rahim was then whistled for a push off foul and the ball was given back to UTSA. Abdur-Rahim then committed his second foul in as many possessions as he fouled Justin Harbert during a three-point attempt. Harbert connected on all three free throws to give UTSA a 86-85 lead, their first lead of the second half, and a lead they would not relinquish. The Lions Jonathon Walker was then fouled, but missed both free throws with 3 seconds left, and after a Harbert free throw, Nate Lofton, who had 15 points and 22 rebounds for the Lions, missed a 10-foot bank shot and the Roadrunners advanced to the Southland Championship game.

“I told the guys in the locker room that great character always finds a way to win, and I believe that,” said UTSA coach Tim Carter. “There were so many plays that could have gone the other way tonight but didn’t. Somehow we found a way to win.”

The Lions were playing in their first Southland Tournament since joining the conference in 1997-98 and completed their best season in 30 years at 20-9.

“For 39 minutes, we played really well,” Southeastern head coach Billy Kennedy said. “Like I told our guys, unfortunately it’s a valuable lesson we had to learn off the floor … ‘life is not fair.’ To play 39 minutes so well, and then for one minute we didn’t.”

No. 4 Stephen F. Austin 69, No. 1 Texas-Arlington 68
For the second year in a row, the Lumberjacks from SFA are heading back to the SLC Tournament Championship game, but for a while, it didn’t appear that it was going to happen. Down 5 points in the final :22 seconds, the Lumberjacks went to the long ball to pull out the victory.

Sophomore Marcus Clark nailed a three pointer with 22 seconds left to cut the lead to 68-66, and after the Mavericks Jarret Howell missed the front-end of a one-in-one, the Lumberjacks Dedrick Sanders grabbed the rebound, raced up the court, dishing it off to the nation’s second leading three-point shooter, Antonio Burks, who calmly sank a shot with 4.9 seconds left to give SFA the 69-68 advantage. UTA was unable to get a shot off in the final seconds.

“I thought it was a great college basketball game,” said SFA coach Danny Kaspar. “There were a lot of experienced seniors on the floor at the end of the game and both teams gave everything they had to win the game. We were able to get the ball to Antonio’s hands and he made a great play to win.”

SFA was led by Sanders with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Derrick Obasohan, who missed a half-court shot at the buzzer, led all scorers with 22 points for the Mavericks. Burks’ game-winning shot was his 76th three pointer of the year, tying SFA’s single-season record.

#1N East Tennessee State 94 #4S Furman 84
Tim Smith picked up right where he left off from last season’s SoCon Tournament. The 2003 MVP scored a team-high 24 points and had 4 steals to lead ETSU to a 94-84 victory over Furman. The “Furman Freshman” were fabulous again as Eric Webb led all scorers with 28 points, including 6 three-pointers in the first half and Robby Bostain added 12.

The Paladins took a 49-47 lead at the half after being down 10 early and continued to build the lead up to 9 with 14:17 left in the game. The Smith went to work, scoring 8 points during a 17-2 run. Furman got as close as 1 points with four minutes remaining before Jerald Fields stepped up, scoring 9 of his 15 points in the final five minutes.

“Over the final 10 minutes we stepped up on defense,” said ETSU coach Murry Bartow. “We really feed off our defense. In one stretch, (Furman) was scoring at will, but our guys remained calm.”

Furman’s Maleye Ndoye ended his collegiate career with 22 points and 6 rebounds. The future is bright for the Paladins who have the most talented freshman of any team in the SoCon.

“That was a heck of a basketball game,” said Furman coach Larry Davis. “If that had been on TV, it would have shown how great the Southern Conference is. We laid everything on the line and played hard. The key of the game was our turnovers. We had 20. You can’t turn the ball over against a team like ETSU and expect to win.”

#2S Davidson 68 #3N Elon 61
It looked for more than 30 minutes that Elon would become the Cinderella of their first SoCon tournament. Having rallied late in the season to secure the 3 seed in the North, the Phoenix then moved past The Citadel and appears to have Davidson’s number in their Quarterfinal contest. With 12:14 left in the game, the Wildcats were down 41-33, but after 4 points and 3 steals by Terrell Ivory and a 3-pointer by Matt McKillop, they were only 1 point, a mere 83 seconds later.

Elon was able to keep Davidson at bay for a while longer, but were never able to deliver the knockout punch and with 3:07 remaining, Ian Johnson hit a lay-up that gave Davidson the lead for good. McKillop, the coach’s son, finished off the game with 6 of his 12 points in the final 3 minutes. Brendan Winters, a 1st team All-Conference player, was held to 9 points, the first time since the season opener he did not reach double figures. But for Davidson, Ivory clearly stepped up his game.

“I wasn’t ready to go home today,” said Ivory. “This was a similar situation to last year [quarterfinal loss to VMI]. We played out of our game at the beginning, but I think we learned out lessons from playing the tough early schedule. So we were able to pull out the victory. Coaches have been telling me all year to bring energy to the floor, so that’s what I tried to do.”

Elon’s Jackson Atoyebi led the team with a double double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Phoenix finish at 12-18 in their first season in the Southern Conference.

#1S Georgia Southern 82 #5S Wofford 69
Wofford ran through UNC Greensboro in overtime on Wednesday night and on Thursday night, they ran straight into a very tough Georgia Southern defense.

“We wanted to play tough full-court, man-to-man defense tonight and I thought we did that well right from the beginning,” Georgia Southern coach Jeff Price said. “That set the stage of how we were going to play.”

The Eagles did just that, holding the Terriers to a season-low 33.8 field goal percentage and 17.8 three-point percentage. On offense, the Eagles featured a strong balance with Elton Nesbitt leading the way with 17 points. Adrien Borders led all scorers with 23 points for Wofford, the second best scoring output of his career, seconded only by the 27 points her scored against Georgia Southern earlier this season. Wofford surprised a lot of people by defeating UNC Greensboro in the opening round before falling to the Eagles.

“I tip my hat to Georgia Southern. Their speed and quickness is something that I marvel at,” remarked Wofford coach Mike Young. “We played really hard but couldn’t get over the hump. We grew up a lot as a team over the two days here at the tournament.

#2N Chattanooga 89 #3S Charleston 79
Although it won’t go in the books as an upset, very few people in North Charleston expected the College of Charleston to be going home in the Quarterfinals of the 2004 SoCon Tournament, the first time since 2001 they will not make the semi-finals.

Chattanooga, down 7 at the break, outscored the Cougars 54-36 in the second half, and they did so with a three-point barrage. The two teams combined for 25 three-pointers, and Alphonso Pugh had 5 three’s to go along with his 21 points to push the Mocs towards the victory. Pugh made three straight three-pointers to give the Mocs a 10-point lead with 1:53 left in the game.

“It was a game of runs,” said Chattanooga coach Jeff Lebo. “Charleston shot extremely well early and got us down 14. When our team gets down like that, we tend to get down even further. Instead, we battled back, held our composure and started making plays.”

Ashley Champion led all scorers with 26 points for UTC. For the Cougars, Mike Benton had a double double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Thomas Mobley led the team with 21 points. The Cougars, who finished the year at lose 7 seniors next season including 4 starters.

No. 1N East Tennessee State vs. No. 2S Davidson
Tim Smith and company look to keep their dream rolling of getting back to the NCAA Tournament as they take on Davidson in the semi-finals of the SoCon Tournament. While Smith, the point guard, is the leader of the team, Zakee Wadood is probably the most talented. The 2003-2004 SoCon Player of the Year scored 25 points against the Wildcats in a 75-70 victory for ETSU in their only meeting of the season. Matt McKillop led Davidson with 19 points. A key match-up in this game will be Smith matching up with Brendan Winters. On paper it appears that ETSU has too much talent for Davidson to overtake.

No. 1S Georgia Southern vs. No. 2N Tennessee-Chattanooga
Tennessee-Chattanooga looks to return to the SoCon Championship game for the second straight year, but first must get through Georgia Southern, a team they lost to at home earlier this season. The Eagles jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead and held all 5 of the Chattanooga starters to single digits in points. The one player they could not contain was Alphonso Pugh who led all scorers with 27 points. It was Pugh who pushed forward the Mocs in their Quarterfinal victory over Charleston. In the early-season match-up with UTC, Frank Bennett had a career-high 26 points. Georgia Southern should have fresher legs, having played earlier and going relatively untested against Wofford.

No. 4S Furman 73, No. 5N Western Carolina 68

Maleye Ndoye scored 25 points, including 5 three-pointers, to lead Furman to a 73-68 opening round victory over Western Carolina. The Paladins built their largest lead at 60-42 with 9:16 remaining, but a 22-4 run by the Catamounts tied the game with 4:07 left in the contest. Once the game was tied, the Furman freshman stepped up with Robby Bostain hitting a runner in the lane, and SoCon Freshman of the Year Quan Prowell tipped in a basket while getting fouled. He made the ensuing free throw and clinched the victory for the Paladins.

“It was a great blend of the old and the new,” said Furman coach Larry Davis. “Ndoye led us in scoring and the freshmen scored the last nine points of the game.”

SoCon leading scorer Kevin Martin was held to 18 points, 8 points below his season average for Western Carolina who finish their season at 13-15.

“We expended energy, but we got stopped three times after tying the game,” said Western Carolina coach Steve Shurina. “They were good at keeping us at bay. Good teams will let you come back but not overtake you. That’s what they did.”

No. 3N Elon 66 vs. No. 6S The Citadel 56

The magic ran out for The Citadel in their opening round game against Elon. Heading into the SoCon tournament, the Bulldogs had won two in a row…their only two conference wins of the season. Jackson Atoyebi and Matt Nowlin had other ideas in Elon’s first ever SoCon Tournament. Atoyebi led the Phoenix with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Matt Nowlin went 5 of 11 (all from three-point range) to finish with 15 points en route to a 10-point victory.

“We’re very pleased to win the game,” said Elon coach Ernie Nestor. “It’s our first Southern Conference tournament. It’s a good win for us although we didn’t play very well. I have to give The Citadel credit. We couldn’t get the tempo where we wanted it.”

The Bulldogs got scoring from only four players and were led by Senior Max Mombollet with 22 points and Kevin Hammack with 20. The Citadel finishes their season at 6-22.

“We don’t have any size underneath,” said Citadel coach Pat Dennis. “When we lost Max to foul trouble, it hurt us. Jackson played very well for them, so it was a struggle to lose our inside presence.”

No. 5S Wofford 85 vs. No. 4N UNC Greensboro 82 (OT)

Wofford entered the SoCon tournament on the losing end of 10 of their last 12 games. The put those losing demons to rest, but it took more than just regulation to do so. UNC Greensboro, losers of a triple overtime game this past Saturday, watched helplessly as the Terriers battled back from a 5-point deficit with 1:18 left in regulation. Byron Fields scored on a lay-up at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and to add to his career night. Fields finished the game with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals.

Wofford took a 83-75 lead in the extra session before Ronnie Taylor scored 6 points, grabbed 2 steals and helped to cut the lead down to 84-82 with 15 seconds left. After a Terrier free throw, the favored Spartans had one last chance to tie the game, but Taylor missed three-pointer with 3 seconds remaining.

“I am elated for our team and players,” Wofford coach Mike Young said. “Byron Fields was phenomenal. He was as good a quarterback through both halves today as he has been all year. He handled the ball well and showed some real leadership.”

Fields was complimented by Howard Wilkerson who led the Terriers with 19 points and 9 rebounds. The Spartans (11-17) were led by senior Jay Joseph with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Joseph, who attempted 24 shots, finishes his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer.

“I am proud of our team’s effort and fight tonight,” said UNCG coach Fran McCaffrey. Our execution was fine, although the last play didn’t go as we had hoped.”

No. 3S Charleston 71 vs. No. 6N Appalachian State 61

Following the first upset of the tournament, Appalachian State took the court with designs on creating the second of the night, and for a half they did nearly that. On a three-pointer by D.J. Thompson with 6:02 left in the first half, the Mountaineers had a 27-15 lead en route to an 8-point halftime lead. They trailed only once in the first half.

But for Charleston, this game was a tale of two halves. It took 9 minutes, but after a Thomas Mobley three-pointer, the Cougars tied the game and 27 seconds later, fellow All-Conference player Tony Mitchell nailed a three-pointer to give Charleston a lead they would never lose. During the Charleston run, ASU went scoreless for 5:36. Charleston outscored ASU 45-27 in the second half. Bernard Jackson had a double double for the Cougars with 12 points and 15 rebounds, 11 of them on the offensive glass.

“Bernard Jackson was spectacular,” said Charleston coach Tom Herrion. “Good things happen to good people. He kept us in the game with his hustle.”

Mobley led all scorers with 20 points, and Thompson finished with 16 to pace Appalachian State, who finishes the season 9-21.

The 2003-2004 Southern Conference Tournament gets underway Wednesday in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is the 83rd edition of this post-season tournament, and it represents the longest running conference tournament in the nation.

Entering the tournament, there has been a lot of talk from the league coaches whether or not utilizing a conference tournament to decide it’s NCAA Tournament representative is the right thing to do. In the wake of their loss to Charleston, regular season conference champion ETSU has exhausted any chance they would have had to get an NCAA At-Large bid if they do not win the SoCon tournament. A 26-6 team not making the NCAA Tournament is a real possibility.

“As a league you want to have your best representative win,” said UTC head coach Jeff Lebo. “I’ve always been a proponent that the regular season has to mean something, more than just seeding.”

Seeding is one of the main issues in this tournament, but perhaps a bigger issue is having a first-round bye. Something that not only league champion ETSU has, but Chattanooga, Georgia Southern, and Davidson do as well. While ETSU defeated all three of those teams (UTC twice), all four get the same reward for finishing high in the standings and the only difference is who they are scheduled to play in the second round, which may not be a reward for any of the teams with a bye.

“There are no bottom teams in this conference,” remarks UNC Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery. “I think that’s what will make this tournament interesting, is that there are no bad teams, and anybody can beat anybody and that’s what’s going to happen over these next four days and that’s what makes it exciting.

Lebo adds “I’m almost a propend that if there is a regular season winner and a different winner in the conference tournament, then they play each other to decide who goes to the NCAA.”

While getting to the Big Dance is the ultimate goal for all 12 SoCon head coaches, it’s time to sit back, grab your brackets, and start filling out the dance cards, because March Madness is underway.

No. 4S Furman vs. No. 5N Western Carolina
The first game of the 2003-2004 SoCon Tournament features some of the best young talent in the conference. Furman placed three players on the All-Freshman team including Freshman of the Year Quan Prowell. Prowell came off the bench to score 12 points and grab 6 rebounds in a 72-63 victory at Western on February 16th. Part of the key to the Paladins success was the ability to shut down playmaker and big-time scorer Kevin Martin. Martin finished with just 12 points and the Catamounts only shot 26.5&No. 37; in the first half. All-Conference player Maleye Ndoye led Furman with 19 points, including four from beyond the arc. The winner gets the unenviable task of taking on regular season champs, East Tennessee State.

No. 3N Elon vs. No. 6S The Citadel
What looked like a walk in the park a week ago for Elon has now turned into a sort of creepy nightmare. The Citadel have won two games in a row and are playing their best basketball of the season, keeping tight composure in the second half, instead of collapsing down the stretch. The Phoenix also have the question of health as Montell Watson, who scored a career-high 23 points in the triple OT victory over UNC Greensboro, has a sprained ankle that is keeping his status up in the air. Matt Nowlin, runner-up for Conference Freshman of the Year led all scorers with 20 points in the meeting between the two schools earlier this season. The Phoenix defense kept every starter for the Bulldogs in single digits. Only Dante Terry scored 10 points for the Citadel. Davidson meets the winner of the Phoenix and the Bulldogs.

No. 4N UNC Greensboro vs. No. 5S Wofford
Wofford has been playing like a demoralized team, having lost 10 of their last 12, including a game to The Citadel. Across the line, the Spartans from UNC Greensboro had won 5 of their last 7 before dropping a triple overtime contest to Elon. Jay Joseph looks to close out his record-setting career in style in the 2003-2004 SoCon tournament. He is complimented by Ronnie Burrell who scored 24 points against the Terriers in an 85-80 victory in early February. Howard Wilkerson led all players with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Wilkerson is the key to the Terriers attack, and a strong Spartans defense would provide fits for the Wofford offense. Georgia Southern awaits the victor of this contest.

No. 3S College of Charleston vs. No. 6N Appalachian State
The Cougars had a much-needed victory over ETSU last Saturday, but they also needed a Davidson loss to get a first round bye, an amenity that Charleston had grown quite used to in the conference tournament. Unfortunately for Tom Herrion’s bunch, the Wildcats were victorious and now they get the bye. What they find waiting for them is a hungry Appalachian State team that nearly defeated Charleston at John Kresse Arena earlier this season. Had it no been for a 13-6 Cougar run over the last four and a half minutes, the Mountaineers would’ve had the game. Charleston only shot 28&No. 37; in the first half, a number they nearly doubled in the second half en route to their comeback. If Charleston can get by the pesky Mountaineers, then they get a shot at Tennessee-Chattanooga.