Southern Conference Notebook
After three consecutive close-but-no-cigar losses to Massachusetts, Seton Hall and Princeton, the Davidson Wildcats have run off six straight conference victories and are sitting pretty atop the Southern Conference’s Southern Division. Leading the charge for the Wildcats (11-7, 7-0) is Brendan Winters. The junior forward from Denver is averaging nearly 16 points per game, including 17 in Davidson’s Jan. 23 win against Furman.
Following closely behind Davidson in the SoCon’s South Division is Georgia Southern. The Eagles are 5-2 in conference play and are coming off a 72-64 win against Elon. The Eagles feature the Southern Conference’s leading scorer, Elton Nesbitt, who is averaging 19.7 points per game.
Over in the North Division, Tennessee-Chattanooga and UNC-Greensboro are locked in what looks to be a two-team race. The Mocs and Spartans are both 5-1, good for a three-game lead over second-place Appalachian State. Although anything can happen in the conference tournament, it looks like Davidson, Georgia Southern, UNC-G and Chattanooga will all figure prominently in the race for the SoCon’s precious automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Player of the Week
Travis Smith. The Citadel guard hit seven three-pointers and scored 25 points in the Bulldogs’ win against Wofford.
Player of the Week
None other than the aforementioned Travis Smith.
Team of the Week
Davidson – The Wildcats ran their win streak to six and sit atop the Southern Conference.
Team Reports
North Division
UT-Chattanooga (12-4, 5-1)
The Mocs fell victim to a Southern Conference record 22 three-pointers by Georgia Southern during a 107-84 loss to the Eagles Jan. 17. However, the week was not a total loss, as the Mocs finished 2-1 with blowout wins over East Tennessee State and Wofford. Chattanooga guard Casey Long enjoyed a good week, averaging 14.5 points per game in the Mocs’ two wins.
Up Next: The Moccasins will find out just how good they are as they prepare to face Davidson and UNC-G during the coming week.
UNC-Greensboro (12-5, 5-1)
The Spartans capped off a strong week with a 78-68 win over The Citadel. During that game, all five UNC-G starters scored in double figures. Earlier in the week, the Spartans defeated Western Carolina and East Tennessee State.
Up Next: The Spartans look to take down Chattanooga for sole possession of the SoCon’s North Division.
Appalachian State (8-8, 3-4)
The plucky Mountaineers shrugged off a tough loss to Georgia Southern Jan. 15 and reeled off two straight victories over Elon and College of Charleston. Noah Brown leads ASU in scoring this season. The senior guard is averaging 12.7 points per game.
Up Next: The Mountaineers look to upend North Division-leading Chattanooga on Jan. 24.
East Tennessee State (6-11, 2-5)
The Buccaneers have struggled thus far in the 2004-05 campaign. After the team’s Jan. 15 win against Elon, ETSU had a chance to go toe to toe against the North Division’s top two clubs. Unfortunately for the Bucs, they came up short in both contests. Although they played UNC-G close, losing 79-76, the Bucs were throttled by Chattanooga, 93-59. The lone bright spot in the loss to Chattanooga was junior guard Tim Smith, who scored 16 points in the loss.
Up Next: The Bucs face another stiff challenge in conference foe Davidson on Jan. 26.
Western Carolina (6-14, 1-6)
The Catamounts broke an eight-game losing streak, five of those losses coming in conference play, Jan. 22 with a 80-75 win over Wofford. Trey Hopkins and Antonio Russell each scored 17 points to lead the Catamounts.
Up Next: Western Carolina looks to improve its conference standing with home game on against Wofford and Elon.
Elon (2-17, 0-6)
After a season-opening win against Farleigh Dickinson, the Phoenix have dropped 16 of their past 17 games. Currently, they are in the midst of a 12-game losing streak. Despite its poor record, Elon has shown resolve, playing the likes of Georgia Southern and Davidson tough. Jackson Atoyebi has been a bright spot for Elon, averaging 14 points per game.
Up Next: Elon looks for its first conference win with road games against Furman and Western Carolina.
Southern Division
Davidson (11-7, 7-0)
The red-hot Wildcats upped their conference-leading winning streak to seven with a 68-61 win over Furman Jan. 22. Earlier in the week, Davidson defeated College of Charleston and Western Carolina.
Up Next: The Wildcats look to continue their conference domination with games against East Tennessee and The Citadel.
Georgia Southern (11-7, 5-2)
After dropping its first two conference games, GSU has run off five straight victories. During the past week, the Eagles have flown by Appalachian State, Chattanooga and Elon. Jean Francois scored a team-high 19 points in the Eagles’ win versus Elon.
Up Next: The Eagles look to keep pace with Davidson with games against Wofford and College of Charleston.
College of Charleston (11-6, 4-3)
C of C struggled during the past week, dropping two of three games. However, the Cougars still have a winning conference record and looked good in a 67-53 win over Furman Jan. 17. Bernard Jackson and Tony Mitchell each scored 14 points in the Cougars’ win against the Paladins.
Up Next: The Cougars take on UNC-G and Georgia Southern in the coming week.
The Citadel (11-5, 3-3)
The Bulldogs played UNC-G tough Jan. 22 but fell to the Spartans 78-68. The loss came on the heels of The Citadel’s 76-74 win against Wofford Jan. 17. In that game, freshman guard Travis Smith buried seven three-pointers and racked up 25 points, all in the second half.
Up Next: The Bulldogs take on East Tennessee State and Davidson in the coming week.
Furman (10-8, 3-3)
The Paladins took it to conference-leading Davidson Jan. 22 but lost to the Wildcats 68-61. Although the game was tied at halftime, Furman could not do enough to avoid its 16th straight loss to the Wildcats. The loss was the Paladins second of the past week. Earlier in the week, Furman clobbered the Citadel 83-59.
Up Next: Furman looks to rack up two wins against two of the Southern Conference’s weakest teams, Elon and Wofford.
Wofford (8-9, 1-5)
The Terriers, losers of five straight, have Elon to thank for not being the conference’s worst club. If not for Elon’s 0-6 record, Wofford’s 1-5 mark would be good enough for last. Senior guard Greg Taylor scored 14 points in the Terriers’ last loss, which came at the hands to Western Carolina.
Up Next: The Terriers look to add to their win total with games against Georgia Southern and Furman.
