Wofford Basketball

Wofford (13-8, 6-3 in Southern Conference) at College of Charleston (12-8, 4-5 in Southern Conference), 3 p.m.

GAME PREVIEW:

In what was supposed to be a blockbuster matchup and a rematch of the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament title game, the game now takes a different twist with the medical leave of absence taken by legendary College of Charleston head coach Bobby Cremins, which was announced Friday.

Cremins, who took over the College of Charleston program in 2006-07, has compiled a 125-68 record  in six seasons, leading the Cougars to league title games in 2007, '09 and '11. The Cougars lost the 2007 title game to Davidson (72-65), while dropping the '09 title game to Chattanooga (80-69) and the '11 game to Wofford (77-67).

With Cremins stepping aside for an indefinite amount of time, Mark Byington will take over. He inherits a team that is licking its woundst, having lost three straight and eight of its last 10 games. The latest loss was particularly disheartening, as C of C lost to a Furman team it beat by 22 points just a few weeks ago. It was C of C's first loss to the Paladins on its home floor since 1953.

The Cougars will face a particularly tall task on Saturday afternoon when they host Wofford at TD Arena. Most remember the Terriers-Cougars matchup from last season's season Southern Conference Tournament title game, which saw the Terriers take a 77-67 win to end the NCAA dreams of Cremins and star guard Andrew Goudelock.

The Cougars did take both regular-season meetings between the two last season, including a 79-54 regular-season rout at the TD Arena. That win allowed the Cougars and Cremins to win the South Division. And with the league's best record of the two division winners, C of C garnered  an automatic invitation to the National Invitational Tournament.

Saturday afternoon's meeting between the Cougars and Terriers will mark the129th renewal of the Palmetto State rivalry, with Wofford holding a 75-53 all-time series edge. C of C has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two South Division foes.

The Cougars meet a Wofford team that was supposed to be rebuilding this season, but has been on fire as of late. The Terriers have won six of their last eight games, including four straight.

Wofford routed the Cougars 75-58 on Jan. 5. It was the play of Wofford freshman guard Karl Cochran (11.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG) that had most people talking. He posted a career-high 21 points, including an emphatic slam dunk that showcased his overall athleticism.

Cochran will be paired with with veteran point guard Brad Loesing (14.2 PPG, 5.1 APG) in the backcourt. Loesing, has been one of the league's top point guards, if not the best, save maybe Chattanooga's Keegan Bell.

Loesing has stepped up his scoring by eight points per game this season, and he ranks third in the league in assists per game, averaging 5.1 per contest. Loesing also ranks third on the team in three-pointers made, with 36 treys this season.

Another of the key pieces returning for Wofford is its leading scorer, Kevin Giltner (16.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG). Now a full-time starter instead of being one of the league's top sixth men, Giltner ranks third in the league in three-pointers made (57/2.5-per game), while ranking fourth overall in scoring. He is coming off a 15-point performance in Wofford's last game, a 62-55 win over The Citadel, and posted a season-high four steals the last time these two teams met.

The Terriers' starting five will be completed by sophomore forward Aerris Smith (4.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG) and senior forward Drew Crowell (9.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG), who has been huge since stepping in to fill the role left by two-time SoCon Player of the Year Noah Dahlman.

All Crowell has done this season is lead the SoCon in field goal percentage, shooting the ball at a 61.1 percent rate (80-of-131). Crowell, who's from Charleston, scored 2 points in his hometown in the first game of the two-game road set at The Citadel on Thursday night. Lee Skinner (5.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG) leads the club on the boards, and Jarrell Byrd (2.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG) has been a key performer off the bench.

Meanwhile, Byington takes over a Cougars team that has resembled an episode of "MASH" of late, with point guard Anthony Stitt (9.7 PPG,1.6 RPG) out for six weeks with a broken hand, while forward Adejhi Baru (8.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG) has been battling a sprained ankle the past few games. Matt Sundberg (6.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG) has also been battling a slight injury of late and has been less than 100 percent.

Byington, who is one of the top assistants in the SoCon, will be given the reins of a team that still has the potential to win the SoCon this season. One of the reasons for that potential is leftover players from the past few successful seasons.

They are Antwaine Wiggins (16.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG), Trent Wiedeman (10.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG) and Andrew Lawrence (12.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG). Wiggins is still considered one of the best defensive players in the league and has stepped up as a scorer this season.

Wiggins and Lawrence are the team's top two perimeter three-point shooters, having knocked down 39 and 38 triples this season. However, the duo has struggled the past couple of games, connecting on just four of their last 24 shots from the perimeter.

Wiedeman has built off his strong freshman season, which saw him garner All-Freshman honors in the league. However, Wiedeman has had trouble keeping himself out of foul trouble. Since taking over at the point guard position, Nori Johnson (5.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG) has shown flashes of brilliance and is one of the team's best athletes.

A loss Saturday would give Charleston a fourth straight loss to a SoCon foe, which hasn't happened since the 2007-08 season, when the Cougars dropped consecutive games to Furman (74-66), UNC Greensboro (88-71), Davidson (70-58) and Wofford (67-66).

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: WOFFORD 68, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 65

NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

No. 14 Wofford (21-12, 14-4) vs. Brigham Young (30-4, 14-2)

Mar. 18, 2011, Denver Co., The Pepsi Center (17,500), 7 p.m.

Opening Tip:

Wofford will travel west to take part in its second NCAA Tournament, as the Terriers are making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance after winning their first Southern Conference Tournament title last season.

The Terriers, who were also No. 14 last season, bowed out in the opening round, but not before putting up a valiant effort in the opening round against Wisconsin. The Terriers would eventually drop a 52-49 decision to the Badgers.

This season, the Terriers will face the runner-up in the Mountain West Conference, in the No. 3 seed Brigham Young University. The Terriers will be meeting the Cougars for just the second time in school history, with the only other meeting between the two schools occurring in 1998, as BYU claimed a 73-67 win over the Terriers.

Brigham Young comes into the tournament with the nation’s most prolific scorer in Jimmer Fredette (28.5 PPG). The Terriers just got finished facing the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, Andrew Goudelock (23.8 PPG), in the Southern Conference title game last Monday night.

The Terriers have played one team—the Air Force Falcons—from the Mountain West Conference over the past couple of seasons. The Terriers are 3-4 all-time against the Mountain West Conference, with all the matchups coming against BYU and Air Force. All three wins have come against Air Force. 

The Cougars were 76-66 winners over the Falcons on their home floor on Jan. 8th, while claiming a resounding 90-52 win at Air Force on Feb. 9th. For the Cougars, they will be making their 26th appearance in the "Big Dance" and fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars enter the tournament with a 12-28 all-time tournament record.

Last season, the Cougars made it to Round 32 after defeating Florida 99-92 in double-overtime last season. BYU was eventually knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by "Elite Eight" participant Kansas State, 84-72, in the second round.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Wofford was the automatic qualifier out of the Southern Conference, defeating Appalachian State (69-56), Western Carolina (86-72) and College of Charleston (77-67) in the SoCon title game. BYU got in as an at-large qualifier out of the Mountain West Conference after finishing the season with a 30-4 record.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS:

By now, unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard of Jimmer Fredette (28.5 PPG, 3.5 PPG). Fredette is the record-breaking guard that has captivated the college basketball world this season by putting up some astounding scoring numbers for BYU, setting new single-season and single-game scoring records.

In addition to his scoring and rebounding numbers, the explosive Fredette is also averaging 4.2 helpers per game. Fredette has scored in double figures in all 34 games so far this season for the Cougars, and he has only been held under 20 points on four occasions this season.

The four teams to actually hold Fredette under 20 points in a game this season are Mississippi Valley State (16 pts.), Creighton (13 pts.), Hawaii (16 pts.) and Fresno Pacific (13 pts.).

Fredette’s season was highlighted by his performance in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals, scoring 52 points in an 87-76 win. In the win over the Lobos, Fredette connected on 22-of-37 shots from the field and was 7-of-14 from behind the three-point line. In a win at Utah in early January, Fredette scored 47 points on 16-of-28 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range in the win.

He has scored 30 or more points in 13 games this season, and he has four games in which he has totaled 40 or more points. Fredette was selected as the MWC Player of the Year for his efforts during the 2010-11 season for the Cougars. Fredette also has no limit to his range as a shooter, coming into this contest connecting at a 40.4 percent from long range.

Fredette’s 112 triples for the Cougars this season are a school record, while his 21 career 30-point games also rank as a school record. Fredette brings a streak of 39 straight games in which he has scored in double figures.

As good as Fredette has been offensively this season for the Cougars, it has been Jackson Emery (12.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG) getting the job done on the defensive end of the floor for BYU. Emery enters the 2011 NCAA Tournament holding the school’s single-season record for steals in a season, recording 94 thefts so far.

Emery’s efforts on the defensive end of the floor this season for BYU prompted the league to name the 6'3", 190 pound senior guard as the Moutain West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Emery also owns the school’s career mark for steals, with 242 thefts so far in his BYU career.

Not only is Emery a menace to foes on the defensive end of the floor, he’s also dangerous on the offensive end of the floor. He enters the 2011 NCAA Tournament having recorded 25 double-figure scoring games this season, including scoring in double digits in 11 of his past 12 outings.

Additionally, Emery has scored 20 or more points in four games this season for the Cougars. His top performance of the 2010-11 season came in a win at Buffalo as he scored 23 points, recorded six steals, six rebounds and six assists in a 90-82 win over the Bulls.

Like his backcourt mate Fredette, Emery is a prolific perimeter shooter, having canned 86 three-pointers on the season. Coming into the NCAA second-round game with Wofford, Emery is connecting on 36.4 percent from long range this season.

Rounding out the starters in the backcourt for the Cougars will be junior Charles Abouo (7.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and freshman Kyle Collinsworth (5.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG). Abouo might be the most athletic performer in the starting lineup for the Cougars, and the 6'5" sophomore junior swingman is a player that came to the BYU program winning the Utah 3A State Player of the Year award after leading Brewster Academy in Logan, UT., to 31-4 records—he isn’t used to losing.

Abouo isn’t known for his scoring prowess, but he serves as the "glue" for this BYU starting five. He does all the little things and is the player that would lead in the "hustle stats" category if they were tabulated. Though he’s not known for his offensive game per se, Abouo can score the basketball if called upon to do so. He has totaled eight double-figure scoring games this season for the Cougars, including scoring a season-high 25 points in a 102-78 win over Wyoming.

Abouo’s physicality and leaping ability has allowed him to be strong on the offensive glass this season. 6'6" freshman guard Kyle Collinsworth rounds out the talented foursome in the backcourt for the Cougars. Collinsworth is the ultimate role player and can be called upon to come up with clutch plays at key moments in a game, both on the offensive end of the floor as well as the defensive end.

Collinsworth is a solid defensive player for the Cougars, as he enters BYU’s second-round contest against the Terriers having posted 31 steals and 15 blocked shots this season. Collinsworth enjoyed his most productive outing of the season against Colorado State as he tallied a season-best 16 points. He has scored in double figures in 10 games this season for the Cougars.

Rounding out the starting five for the Cougars for Thursday afternoon’s NCAA Tournament opener is All-Mountain West Conference Honorable Mention honoree junior forward Noah Hartsock (8.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG). Now that Brandon Davies has been suspended for the remainder of the season, Hartsock now becomes the main force for the Cougars in the low-post heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Though the Cougars aren’t known for their physical nature as a ball club, Hartsock is a player that is a physical performer in the low post, but he needs to step out of foul trouble because of BYU’s lack of depth without Davies to call upon. Hartsock comes into the contest as the Cougars’ leading rebounder this season, and he is connecting on 48.9 percent from the field so far.

Hartsock also has excellent low post moves and comes into the contest having posted his best career effort against Fresno State, scoring 21 points and grabbing five rebounds in a win over the Bulldogs. Hartsock has been strong on the defensive end for the Cougars as well, having blocked a team-best 54 shots this season.

Hartsock has 15 double-figure scoring performances for the Cougars this season. The Cougars, like the Terriers, aren’t the deepest team in the world, but they have a couple of good players coming off the bench. One of Hartsock’s most memorable moments came back on Nov. 26, as his shot at the buzzer delivered a victory for the Cougars over South Florida.

The top player coming off the Cougars' bench is sophomore forward Stephen Rogers (4.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG), who transferred into BYU from Mesa Community College prior to the 2010-11 season. Rogers, a 6'8", 195 pound native of Mesa, AZ, turned in his best performance in a win over Fresno Pacific, tallying 16 points. He also scored 15 points in a win at TCU back on Feb. 19th.

Two other Cougars that will likely log a significant amount of action off the bench on Thursday night will be senior forward Logan Magnusson (1.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG) and junior center James Anderson (1.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG), while sophomore guard Brock Zylstra (1.2 PPG, 0.9 RPG) adds depth in the backcourt.

BYU enters the contest averaging 81.6 PPG and shooting the basketball at a 45.2 percent clip. BYU also connects on 8.3 three-point field goals per game, which is among the best in the nation this season. Defensively this season, the Cougars are holding opponents to 67.5 PPG and 41.3 percent shooting from the field. The Cougars are averaging 38.7 RPG coming in, while opponents are averaging 35.4 RPG.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS:

Two-time defending Southern Conference champion Wofford comes into this contest looking to gain from its NCAA Tournament experience of a year ago, which saw the Terriers take No. 3 seed Wisconsin to the wire before dropping a 53-49 decision to the Badgers.

The Terriers are not a particularly deep team, but they are a team that has four veteran senior starters and have rebounded to play some of their best basketball during the latter part of the season. At one point this season, Wofford stood at just 6-9 through its first 15 games, but rebounded to win 11 of its last 17 games, including riding an eight-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament.

With that eight-game winning streak, not only has Wofford won back-to-back Southern Conference titles, the Terriers have also established back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons. Obviously when you talk about Wofford basketball, you have to begin the discussion with senior forward Noah Dahlman (20.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG).

Dahlman was the Southern Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Performer for the second-straight season and was the SoCon’s Player of the Year last season. Dahlman enters his second-straight NCAA Tournament having scored in double figures in 80 straight games. He is a player that has the fundamentals and is strong on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

Dahlman has enjoyed some outstanding games this season for the Terriers and has of course scored in double figures in all 33 games for Wofford this season. His best performance of the 2010-11 season came against Elon in an early December Southern Conference win, as Dahlman scored a game and career-high 37 points.

Dahlman also enters the NCAA first-round contest with 15 20-point games this season and has a couple of double-doubles. Dahlman is coming off a nice title-game performance against the College of Charleston, as he posted 20 points and had nine rebounds, just missing a double-double performance. He connected on 7-of-15 shots from the field and was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the win.

Part of Dahlman’s effectiveness has been his tremendous ability to find points around the basket. He comes into the contest ranking third in Southern Conference history in career field goal percentage, having connected on 59.9 percent of his shots over his outstanding four-year career.

This season, Dahlman has connected at a 61.2 percent clip to rank sixth nationally coming into the contest. Joining Dahlman underneath the basket for the Terriers will be Tim Johnson (8.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG), who despite being undersized, led the Southern Conference on the backboards once again in the 2010-11 season.

Johnson, a 6'6", 228 pound senior, is a player that brings a physical presence in the paint for Wofford, and he’s a player that knows the intricacies of rebounding, using his physical frame well to box out and get rebounds. Johnson is not necessarily known as a scorer, but he has scored in double figures in five games this season. On the boards, Johnson has been in double figures in rebounds in 11 games this season and has a team-leading four double-doubles this season.

Johnson’s most recent double-double performance came in the final regular season game for the Terriers, as Wofford was able to get a 79-65 win at Furman to clinch a bye for the SoCon Tournament. In the important road win, Johnson totaled 11 points and pulled down 10 boards to help Wofford position itself for a second-straight NCAA Tournament berth.

In the season-opening loss at Minnesota, Johnson pulled down 13 rebounds and scored 10 points in the losing effort for the Terriers. The Terrier backcourt has been outstanding down the stretch this season and is one of the reasons Wofford finds itself in a second straight NCAA Tournament.

Leading the way in the backcourt this season has been Cameron Rundles (14.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG). Rundles is a player that took over for Junior Salters in the starting lineup this season and has been a player that has stepped up and been a real impact player for the Terriers.

Rundles has excelled as a perimeter shooter this season and enters the NCAA Tournament as Wofford’s most prolific perimeter shooter, having gathered 74 triples,  connecting from long-range at a 43.6 percent (71-of-174) clip and has been one of centerpieces of the Terrier offense.

He has had several outstanding performances for the Terriers, however. Rundles recorded his top performance of the season in the win over George Mason, as he scored 26 points in helping the Terriers to one of their biggest victories. Rundles' 26 points was a career-high. 

In a late season win at Chattanooga, Rundles was simply on fire as he connected on 7-of-14 shots from the field, including going 5-of-7 from three-point range to help lead the Terriers to a 97-58 demolition of the Mocs. He enters the tournament having posted 25 double-figure scoring games this season, including having totaled double digits in each of the last 10 games for the Terriers.

He has eight 20-point scoring performances this season, with his last coming in the SoCon championship game win over the College of Charleston, as he posted 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Rundles, a native of Minneapolis, MN, transferred into the Wofford basketball program from the University of Montana three years ago.

Rundles was the Big Sky’s Freshman of the Year in 2007. Another key piece to the Terriers’ SoCon championship puzzle each of the past two seasons has been Jamar Diggs (12.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG). Diggs might be the best all-around performer the Terriers have when you take into account his production on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

He is likely the SoCon’s top defensive player and will draw the unenviable task of marking BYU’s sharp-shooting guard Jimmer Fredette in Thursday night’s second-round contest with the Cougars. Diggs is a defender that is comparable to former San Antonio standout defender Bruce Bowen. He’s rangy for his 6'2" frame with long arms.

He also has a physical nature to him, much the same as Bowen, and is one of Wofford’s most explosive athletes. He’s the complete package as a defender and comes into the NCAA showdown with the BYU Cougars having faced some of the nation’s better scorers in his own conference over the past two seasons, including College of Charleston’s Andrew Goudelock, who ranks fourth in the nation in scoring average this season (23.8 PPG).

Though Goudelock ultimately finished with a game-high 25 points in the SoCon championship game, he had to work extremely hard for his points in the title game. Fredette may have a big night scoring the basketball for the Cougars, but he will have to work for every point he scores.

Diggs is also a solid scoring threat on the offensive end. Diggs posted his best game for the Terriers (24 points) in a 88-56 home win over Chattanooga. So far this season, Diggs has tallied double-digit scoring efforts in 25 games while posting four 20-point scoring efforts on the campaign. Diggs is not known for his perimeter shooting but does possess the ability to step out and hit the long-range shot.

He has connected on 42.7 percent of his downtown efforts this season. Diggs also distributes the basketball extremely well, entering the contest with 101 helpers on the campaign. Giving credence to his ability as a defender, Diggs leads the team in both steals (57) and blocked shots (25) this season. The fact that a guard leads the team in blocked shots on the season is a stat rarely seen.

Rounding out the starting five for the Terriers heading into Thursday night’s NCAA second-round game with the BYU Cougars, is junior point guard Brad Loesing (6.2 PPG, 3.2 APG). Loesing is a player that isn’t noticed much in the headlines when mentioning the Terriers accolades over the past couple of seasons, but his distribution and leadership from the point guard position have been every bit, if not more important, as those headliners.

Loesing comes into the NCAA Tournament having started all 68 games for the Terriers at the point guard position over the past couple of seasons. That in itself gives you a gauge of how important Loesing is to this team. In his 98 career games as a Terrier, Loesing has started 97 of them and was named to the SoCon’s All-Freshman team back in 2008-09.

He leads the Terriers in assists coming into Thursday night’s contest with BYU, having dished out a total of 107 assists on the season. Loesing has posted double-figure scoring games in seven contests this season, scoring a season-high 14 points against both Georgetown and Clemson. He is a player that can step up and hit the perimeter jumper, having connected on 44.8 percent (30-of-68) of his long-range efforts this season.

He recorded a season-high eight assists on a couple of occasions this season, posting eight helpers in an early December loss at South Carolina. He also posted the same total in a late January win at Appalachian State. Wofford does not have a deep bench, but look for Terry Martin (5.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG) and Kevin Giltner (6.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG) to see the most extensive action off of the bench for Wofford in Thursday night’s NCAA second-round contest.

Giltner can be a prolific scorer for the Terriers and excels as a perimeter shooter. He’s a 6'7" post player that plays like a guard. He’ll force BYU’s bigs to come out and guard him on the perimeter. So far this season, Giltner is second on the team with 52 triples and is connecting from long range at a 41.6 percent (52-of-125) clip. Look for Nathan Parker (2.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG) and Drew Crowell (1.5 PPG, 1.0 RPG) to also see action in the post against the Cougars.

As a team, the Terriers enter the contest averaging 73.8 PPG and shot the ball at a 47.9 percent clip through the first 33 games of the season. Defensively for the season, Wofford yields 67.8 PPG and holds opponents to a 44.7 percent shooting clip. The Terriers are shooting the three-pointer at a 40.7 percent clip this season, while holding opponents to a paltry 35.1 percent from long-range entering the matchup. The Terriers’ 40.7 percent from downtown this season ranks as the top mark among the 12 SoCon members.

FINAL PREDICTION:

Much has been made about Jimmer Fredette and how he can change a game with his ability to pull up and shoot from anywhere. Wofford knows that he (Fredette) will score his points on Thursday night. But, Mike Young’s Terriers have played tenacious defense all season; Fredette will have to work for his points.

I remember thinking how much I disliked Wofford’s matchup last season heading into the NCAA Tournament because of the size of Wisconsin’s post players. If you look at the teams that have given the Terriers the most issues this season, it has been teams that have size in the low post.

Two teams coming to mind that challenged the Terriers in that area are Furman and Georgetown. Had BYU’s Brandon Davies not gotten suspended, I probably would pick the Cougars. However, as good as Fredette is, one player has rarely been able to beat the Terriers. Consequently, I don’t expect that to be the case on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center, as Wofford shocks BYU.

Wofford was supposed to be a top mid-major this season, but after a 2-5 start to the season, the Terriers were wiped off the national stage. They then got off to a solid start in SoCon play, but Charleston had been leading the conference all year.

Then, Wofford finally started playing as so many anticipated in the preseason, ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak. 

And when SoCon tournament time came around, Wofford did not let up.

The Terriers won all three of their tournament games by double digits, including a 77-67 win over Charleston on Monday night to claim a bid to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

The game stayed neck-and-neck from the start, with no team leading by more than six points through the first 32 minutes of play.

Near the end of the first half, with Charleston up by three points, Charleston star Andrew Goudelock picked up his first foul. The No. 4 scorer in the nation had to sit out the rest of the first half and then be much less physical early in the second half.

Wofford took advantage, taking a a 59-53 lead in the final eight minutes on a pair of Terry Martin free throws. From there on out, Charleston was playing catch up.

The Cougars cut the lead to as little as four in the late minutes, but they could never get over the hump.

Wofford played good defense and made free throws down the stretch to survive and advance with a 77-67 win.

With that win, Wofford heads to the NCAA tournament with an automatic bid. Last year, the Terriers went to the NCAA tournament as a No. 13 seed and lost a close game to Wisconsin in the first round.

This year, the Terriers have slim chances of being seeded as high as a No. 13 seed, but most likely they will be a No. 14 seed.

In the SoCon championship, Cameron Rundles led the Terriers with 21 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

Noah Dahlman fell one rebound shy of the a double-double, scoring 20 points with nine rebounds, but he still walks away from Chattanooga with the Most Outstanding Player award.

Jamar Diggs was the only other Terrier in double digits. Diggs had 17 points and six rebounds.

Senior Tim Johnson also turned in a very strong game with nine points.

For Charleston, Goudelock, who is No. 4 in scoring in the nation, led the Cougars with 25 points, while Donavan Monroe backed him up with 19 points of his own.

Watch out for Wofford. The Terriers could be a potentially dangerous squad for a high-seeded opponent next week.

Follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer for more college basketball news and information. 

There is nothing like a 10-win improvement and a first NCAA Tournament bid. Wofford and head coach Mike Young accomplished both last year, finishing with an overall record of 26-9 and a near upset over No. 5 seed Wisconsin in the first round.

Mike Young is back for his ninth season, leading the Terriers into what will be their first Southern Conference title defense and a search for back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

The key for Wofford last season and again this upcoming season will be stud senior forward Noah Dahlman.

Dahlman, an Honorable Mention AP All-American a season ago, and the brother of former Michigan State guard Isaiah Dahlman, returns for his final year as a Terrier with the goal of going back to the Big Dance.

Dahlman led Wofford in minutes per game and points per game en route to earning the Southern Conference Player of the Year award. Young followed suit, being named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year.

The two will be back, along with a roster that returns six of the seven leading scorers from a season ago and a program that lost only two seniors from their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Freshmen Josh Corry and Aerris Smith join the program this season, but the Terriers will likely rely on a more veteran and experienced lineup in their quest for back-to-back conference championships.

Alongside Dahlman, Wofford returns guards Jamar Diggs and Cameron Rundles in the backcourt, along with the team's leading rebounder, Tim Johnson.

Young wants to test his Terrier squad and they will be tested early, with matchups at Minnesota and at Clemson to open the season before an appearance in the Charleston Classic, which includes the likes of Georgetown.

Wofford's schedule also notes road games at both Xaiver and South Carolina as part of their non-conference campaign.

Dahlman will return in search of his second consecutive Player of the Year award, but more importantly a shot at another appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Possibly the most experienced and most talented team in school history will embark on yet another season in search of more success and exposure.

Can the Wofford Terriers dance again in 2010-2011?

This article was also featured on The Arena Pulse and Collegiate Hoops.

The 2010 Southern Conference champion Wofford will challenge #4 seed Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville, FL at the 15,000 seat Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday, March 19th.

Wofford players, fans, and alumni celebrated Selection Sunday at Wofford's Leonard Auditorium. The City of Spartanburg also held a parade for the Southern Conference Champs.

The white-hot Terriers rolled over Appalachian State 56-51 on Monday in Charlotte, to guarantee the school's first bid to the Tournament and also won their 13th straight game.

Wofford will be one of the smallest colleges in the history of the Big Dance with an approximate student enrollment of 1,100. Wofford boasts a higher average SAT (1,239), than enrollment (1,100), according to the Wofford Basketball Media Guide. Benjamin Johnson Arena holds 3,500 fans.

The small Terriers have enjoyed large success and surprised everyone this season in making their first appearance to the Big Dance in 2010. Coach Mike Young led Wofford to a 15-3 record in SOCON play this year. The Dogs' upset local SEC schools South Carolina and Georgia in what has turned out to be a special season in 2010.

6-6 All-SOCON Foward Noah Dahlman protects the Terriers, while other contributors include Junior Salters, Jamar Diggs, Cameron Rundles, Brad Loesing, and Tim Johnson. Wofford finished the season with a 26-8 record and a 15-3 mark in SOCON play.

Wofford will be heavy underdogs  to the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday. The Badgers finished the regular season with a 23-8 tally, going 13-5 in Big 10 play. Wofford's total odds of winning the tournament according to Sheridan’s odds are 50 million to one . Instate neighbor Winthrop is given a 1gogolplex to one chance in the Tournament. Nevertheless, the pesky Terriers will fight on.

 

George Mason, where are you?

In my efforts to maximize technology to get an edge on probable outcomes of the current NCAA conference tournaments, I saw an online ad for an application called “Bracketcaster” on Accuscore.com .

I contacted the powers that be at Accuscore to tell them I was curious about their product, and wanted to write a piece on their site and the Bracketcaster. Accuscore was quite accommodating, and provided me with access to its myriad of handicapping tools for a variety of sports, including college basketball's Bracketcaster. 

For those completely unfamiliar with Accuscore, it calls itself “the sports industry’s premiere pre-game resource for the serious sports fans and is dedicated to forecasting sports through entertaining programming that analyzes and accurately forecasts everything that could happen for every game on every day.   Powered by a patent pending simulation engine, AccuScore plays each game play-by-play 10,000 times providing sports fans with unprecedented insight into each match-up.”

So, I logged on and tinkered with Bracketcaster. The simulation basically consists of my clicking on matchups that their system has already predetermined in the familiar tournament bracket format, based on the play of each college program thus far. Here’s Accuscore’s description of Bracketcaster:

“Each week we will use ESPN’s Bracketology projection to fill out a preliminary bracket. We simulate every possible pairing to determine the exact probability each team has of beating every other team in the tournament. Each time you simulate the tournament you will get a slightly or very different picture of what might happen. For example, if Syracuse has a 96% chance of winning their first round match-up a vast majority of simulations will have Syracuse advancing, but once every 25 times or so you will see a major simulated upset. If you want to see the results of 50,000 tournament simulations click on the ROUND-BY-ROUND link under the TOOLS menu to see your favorite team’s chances of advancing in each round. If you interested in a particular potential match-up you can use the HEAD-TO-HEAD tool and find the result for any possible tournament match-up.”

Even though the conference tournaments have not yet concluded and Selection Sunday is still a few days away, Accuscore somehow knows who Duke will play in the first round, and whether a mid-major underdog like Sam Houston State will earn a trip to the Big Dance. 

Suspending all disbelief, I decided to just roll with their predictions. Here’s what my first simulation spit out:

Final Four: 

Duke (1)

Maryland (5)

Cal (7)

And, of course, the NBA basketball factory...

Oakland-Michigan (14)

Championship Game : Maryland vs. Cal

Champs : Maryland Terrapins

Some other highlights from simulated Big Dance:

• Syracuse (1) chokes in first round to Quinnipiac.

• Morgan State (15) beats Ohio St (2) in first round.

• Oakland-Michigan (14) beats Texas (3) in first round.

• Morgan State (15) advances to Sweet 16, only to lose to Oakland-Michigan (14).

• Cal beats Georgetown to advance to Elite Eight—chalk one up for the Pac-10!

Naturally, I shook my head at the possibility of a mass-Orange suicide should Syracuse lose to Quinnipiac in the first round. After reaching out to my contact at Accuscore about the rampant upsets that Bracketcaster had predicted, I was told the following:

“We added a random element that does advance lower seeds in some instances because we wanted the users to see all the potential match-ups that could exist. The tournament has always been about upsets, so we tried to capture that with the Bracketcaster.”

Okay, that’s great for Quinnipiac and Oakland-Michigan fans, but what about people who are looking for an edge when filling out their own bracket?

“They should continue to use the Bracketcaster, but manually advance the teams they think will win to simulate what they feel will be more realistic match-ups in the later rounds.  Additionally, on Monday we are publishing a cheat sheet that provides all 65-team’s round-by-round probability, who is on upset watch, which schools that could turn into “Cinderella”, the highest probability bracket, the AccuScore expert  bracket and statistical profile’s on each team that identifies their strengths and weaknesses.”

Um, okay, so just dismiss the ridiculous upsets and manually advance the Syracuses and Kentuckys against No. 15 and 16 seeds? Naturally, I was a tad skeptical about the Bracketcaster technology after this explanation, but decided to give the tournament simulator another shot. Take 2:

Final Four:

Pittsburgh (3)

Michigan State (3)

Florida State (9)

And of course, what would a NCAA Tournament be without a Final Four visit from 14th-seeded Wofford?

Wait, it gets better…

Championship Game:

Pittsburgh vs. Wofford

Bracketcaster’s 2010 National Champions:

Your Terriers of Wofford College!

Upsets are what make the Big Dance exciting, as George Mason University proved back in 2006. Just because Bracketcaster is bold enough to predict a few shocking outcomes, does it mean we should simply dismiss their predictions because it looks funny on paper?

Then again, I’m all for having fun with bold predictions. But putting my money where Bracketcaster’s mouth is? Um, maybe Monopoly money, unless Accuscore proves me wrong.

Wofford plus the points…

Wofford, UCLA, and UConn.

In all likelihood only one of those three schools will be heading to the NCAA tournament this year.

It’s not the California school that has won a record 11 NCAA championships, been to three of the last four Final Fours, and has an enrollment of over 25,000 undergraduates.

Nor is it the Big East school that has been to five Elite Eights in the last nine years, has missed the NCAA tournament only three times in the last 20 years, and has an enrollment of more than 20,000 undergraduates.

Both UCLA and UConn will miss out on this year’s Big Dance, barring a surprising run through their difficult conference tournaments to secure an automatic bid.

It is Wofford that will still be on the basketball court two weeks from now, likely playing in the biggest arena and in front of more fans than the team ever has in school history.

A small liberal arts school in Spartanburg, South Carolina with an enrollment of around 1,500 students, Wofford has never made it to the NCAA tournament before.

That all changed last night when the Wofford Terriers’ men’s basketball team toppled Appalachian State in the Southern Conference Tournament championship game 56-51, thus securing the small conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

While many college basketball fans will turn their eyes to Madison Square Garden today for the beginning of the Big East Tournament, or to Greensboro, North Carolina later in the week for the ACC Tournament in order to watch some of the titans of college basketball battle it out before the NCAA tournament, the truly compelling stories of this week come from the small gyms across America where fans storm the court after schools like Wofford accomplish new athletic heights for their colleges and universities.

Most experts project that at least eight teams from the Big East and as many as seven from the ACC will be selected to play in the field of 65 NCAA tournament teams next week.

For most of the small and mid-major conferences in college basketball only one team will reach the NCAA tournament—whichever team secures the automatic bid from the conference by winning the year end conference tournament.

So while there may be something at stake for the teams in the Big East Tournament, the top teams in that league have already known for a month that they will be heading to a place that they have been before, regardless of what they do in the conference tournament this week.

The top teams in the small and mid-major conferences across the country, meanwhile, are playing for absolutely everything this week with a chance in some cases to get somewhere they never expected to be and have never been before.

Even for some of the top teams from smaller conferences that have aspirations beyond simply making it back to the NCAA tournament, like newly crowned MAAC champion Siena, which clinched its third straight NCAA tournament bid last night, the entire season rests on this week.

Siena has the potential to win games in the NCAA tournament next week—it did so a year ago in upsetting Ohio State in double overtime in the first round and pushing one  seed Louisville to its limit in the second round. Additionally, its resume over the course of this season was worthy of consideration for an at-large bid into the March Madness bracket, but in all likelihood a lack of national exposure and a weak schedule would have denied the Saints a chance to return to the tournament had they lost last night.

Even though Siena was clearly the class of the MAAC conference this year, it was far from a formality that they would triumph in their conference tournament. The Saints trailed by 15 points in the second half last night to Fairfield and had to pull out the game in overtime. Fairfield had a shot at the buzzer of regulation to win the game and missed off the front of the rim—just like that Siena’s impressive season and dreams of pulling another upset or two in the NCAA tournament could have come to an end.

Maybe if you go to the Big East Tournament this week at Madison Square Garden you’ll get to see as many as two or three of the teams that will make up the Final Four in April in action, but you won’t get the kind of drama that fans watching the Siena-Fairfield MAAC title game or the Wofford-Appalachian St. Southern Conference title game got last night. 

In less than two weeks' time, the NCAA tournament field will have been whittled down to 16 teams. Barring a March Madness miracle, Wofford’s season will be over, perhaps having lost to a Duke or a Kansas in the first round after keeping the game close for a half—an accomplishment, second only to making the tournament, that would be remembered at the school for years to come. Siena might still be hanging around if it can manage a couple of upsets over power conference teams and make a bit of a Cinderella run. But chances are that the season will be over for the Saints as well.

At that point, we can—and will—turn our attention to the very best teams of the college basketball world—the teams that will be playing in the Big East, ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and Big XII tournaments this week—but this week should belong to the Woffords of the basketball universe and the teams from small conferences that have absolutely everything to play for.

You might even get to see a team that will pull off a miracle run in the NCAA tournament in a few weeks like George Mason of the CAA did several years ago in making it all the way to the Final Four.

But in all likelihood, you will just get to see teams like Siena, which have to win to make their season a success, and teams like Wofford, which in winning achieve a piece of school history that is more meaningful to them than a Final Four run is to UConn or UCLA.

Wofford started off the 2009-10 season with a tough, heart-breaking loss on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Wofford kept the game tied into the final three minutes, but the Panthers proved to be the superior team as they took the lead and went on to win 63-60.

On November 17—despite playing a team a step lower than Pitt—Wofford pulled off an upset, this time on top by three points, down south in Georgia. Similarly to their meeting with Pitt, they stayed right with Georgia the entire game. This time, they were the ones able to pull away at the end. 

Wofford lost to Pitt because they did not have a balanced scoring attack against. On the contrary, they had four players in double digits against Georgia. 

Through the first two games, the Terriers' leading scorer is Noah Dahlman with 15.5 ppg. Corey Godzinski follows him with 13 points. Then Dawson with 7.5, and Diggs with 6.

But, the average do lie. Both Dawson and Diggs struggled against Pitt, scoring 3 and 2 points respectively, thus lowering their season average.

Both of them scored in double digits on Tuesday night. Dawson had 12, and Diggs had 10. Having four different players being able to put points on the board is what allowed them to be able to pick up a win in Georgia.

Wofford still plays two more BCS teams in their non-conference schedule. On November 24 they play at Illinois; On December 4 at Michigan State. Michigan State might be too good for it to be fair to judge them, but if Wofford is in fact worthy of any talk this season, they should be able to put up a good fight against Illinois.

Unfortunately for Wofford, most likely, only one team from the SoCon will make the NCAA tournament. Davidson proved that are on track again this season despite losing Stephen Curry after playing well against Butler. The College of Charleston has their two leading scorers, Andrew Goudelock and Tony White Jr., returning this season. In addition, Chattanooga, the winners of last years SoCon tournament, are 2-0 and could be a threat to other teams in the conference this season.

Wofford's next game is Thursday against Lees-McRae. Their next game against a Division I opponent is November against Bradley (1-1).

Wofford Terriers (14-12, 10-7) at College of Charleston Cougars (21-7, 13-5)

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009 – 7:00 PM EST

 

The Wofford Terriers, fresh off of a 15-point pounding of Western Carolina, travel to Charleston on Thursday night seeking to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Cougars.

With a win, Charleston will sweep the season series from the Terriers—they won a tightly contested contest, 65-63, back in January.

The loser of tonight’s contest will have a winning streak snapped.

Both teams have won three straight and five of their last six.

Charleston stands a half game behind The Citadel for second place in the South Division although the Bulldogs hold the tie-breaker over the Cougars after sweeping both games this season.

Andrew Goudelock (10 points), Dustin Scott (12 points, seven rebounds), and Donavan Monroe (10 points) paced the offense for the Cougars. Jeremy Simmons chipped in eight points and a team high nine rebounds.

For the Terriers, Tim Johnson had a monster game scoring 21 points and hauling in 17 rebounds. Noah Dahlman was right behind Johnson with 19 points and seven boards while Jason Dawson had 16 points and four steals.

With the exception of field goal percentage—Charleston shot it better, 49.1-to-40.3—the stats for this game were all relatively even except for one.

Wofford missed eight of their 16 free throw attempts. In what turned out to be a two-point game, the Terriers left a win at the free throw line.

 

Current line: Charleston -8.5

 

Wofford has a record of 11-10-1 against the spread with a mark of 8-5 as an underdog.

 

Charleston is 10-10 against the spread with a mark of 6-8 as a favorite.

Charleston needs this game just a bit more. And besides, they’ll have the home crowd behind them. The Cougars will get the win but they won’t cover.

Steve’s pick: Wofford +8.5

Try telling the Davidson Wildcats that streaks are meant to be broken, and you’ll probably receive a rather cold reception.

Davidson had been cruising along in Southern Conference play this season—with an unblemished record of 13-0—up until last Saturday, when the College of Charleston Cougars paid a visit.

After Davidson defeated the Cougs by four on the road earlier in the season, Charleston had payback on their minds. Not only did they hand Davidson its first conference loss on its home court, but they also ended the Wildcats’ 43-game league winning streak.

The Wildcats will be looking to rinse the taste of defeat from their mouths when they travel to Wofford this evening. Davidson handed the Terriers a 23-point drubbing in the first meeting of the season back in January

Davidson’s success starts and ends with Stephen Curry. While assuming the role of point guard this year, the junior is averaging 28.7 ppg while dishing out 6.2 apg.

Curry doesn’t have to do it all by himself, though. Senior Andrew Lovedale scores 12.3 ppg and averages 8.8 rpg up front, while Steve Rossiter helps out on the glass to the tune of 6.3 rpg.

Besides unleashing Curry on helpless opponents, Davidson also shoots it from behind the arc quite well.

The Wildcats have four players (Curry, Will Archambualt, Brendan McKillop, and Bryant Barr) shooting better than 37 percent on triples. McKillop leads the way at 40.7 percent.

The Wofford Terriers are led by the two-man punch of Junior Salters (16.6 ppg) and Noah Dahlman (16.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg).

In addition to being the Terriers' leading scorer, Salters (44.3 percent) is lethal from three-point land. But he isn’t the only marksman for Wofford. Jason Dawson, Kevin Giltner, and Brad Loesing all shoot better than 37 percent from three.

Tim Johnson (10.1 ppg), despite only being 6’5”, is Wofford’s leading rebounder with nine caroms per contest.

Current line: Davidson -12.0

Davidson is only 10-11-1 against the spread on the season, but they’ve been favored by double digits 17 times this year. In those games, they are 9-8. However, they’ve failed to cover three of the last four after covering four straight.

Wofford is 10-8 against the spread but 8-4 as an underdog, with a mark of 3-2 as a double-digit underdog.

Davidson will bring its A-game in an attempt to remind the rest of the league that despite the loss to Charleston, they are still the cream of the crop.

Steve’s pick: Davidson -12.0