Southern Conference Basketball

If a college basketball game was 35 minutes, the College of Charleston would be 10-1 right now. Unfortunately, the games are 40 minutes and the Cougars are 9-2 after squandering a late lead to fourth-ranked Louisville 69-62 in Kentucky.

Bobby Cremins coached a great game, as he was going to force Louisville to beat the Cougars inside but deny them shooting too many three pointers. 

The game started out with Louisville on fire, quickly sprinting to an eight-point lead. Kyle Kuric hit a pair of quick three pointers for the Cardinals, and Gorgui Dieng quickly made his inside presence felt.

The Cougars held a 59-58 lead with 4:03 remaining to play, but Louisville turned up the pressure that really got to the College of Charleston and was just too much for the Cougars.

"It was a heck of a ballgame. Their pressure finally caught up to us down the stretch," Cremins said. "Their pressure is relentless."

The College of Charleston hit 12 three pointers against the Cardinals which usually translates into victories but their youth really showed down the stretch as Louisville proved too formidable an opponent.

Louisville's Kyle Kuric finished with 17 points and Gorgui Dieng, who was a force underneath the basket, added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Antwaine Wiggins scored 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds. 

The Cougars led 37-33 at the half and extended the lead to 46-38 early in the second half. It was only the second time this year Louisville has trailed at halftime. 

Matt Sundberg played his best game as a Cougar with nine points and nine rebounds and clutch three pointers the entire game. 

The one Cougar who had a game he would rather forget is Trent Wiedeman.  He missed two simple layups under the basket that would have kept the game close down the stretch but both rimmed out. Louisville hit a three pointer after one miss and shot free throws after the other to seal the game. 

The lesson for Trent is dunk the ball when you are that close.

The College of Charleston had 21 turnovers which was a season high. 

Bobby Cremins was proud of his team's effort and performance. "It was a heck of a ballgame. Their pressure finally got to us down the stretch. I am really proud of our guys. This is a great learning experience for us. We had a chance there. Coach Pitino is a great coach. They are relentless. Their pressure is relentless. The next game is a big one and different type of game and we will have to be prepared for Coastal".

The College of Charleston doesn't get a long time to dwell on this game. Thursday night they have a big game against Coastal Carolina who is also 9-2 and has beat LSU and Clemson this year.

CLINTON, S.C.—Senior forward Al'onzo Coleman posted a game-high 24 points and Presbyterian connected on all 19 of its second-half charity shots, as the Blue Hose posted their first win over the Furman Paladins since February of 1989, with a 75-71 victory on Tuesday night at Templeton Arena.

With the win, PC improved to 5-5 on the season, while Furman had its three-game winning streak snapped, making them 6-5. Coleman connected on 8-of-12 shots from the field and ripped down 11 rebounds to finish off his double-double effort before fouling out with two minutes to play.

Coleman was also 8-of-9 from the charity stripe on a night when the Blue Hose were a near-flawless 26-of-28 from the free throw line.

It appeared PC was going to run away with a double-digit victory, leading 73-63 with three minutes to play. However, the young Paladins would mount a furious rally.

Furman would reel off eight straight points, to cut the Blue Hose lead to 73-71. Dominic Early started the run by making the first of two free throws.

Brandon Sebirumbi grabbed the rebound on Early's missed second free throw and kicked it out to a wide open Jordan Lloyd, missed a three from the top of the key.

The scrappy Sebirumbi got his second rebound in quick succession off the Lloyd miss and made a short lay-up to cut the Blue Hose lead to seven, at 73-66.

It would be the freshman Lloyd that would come up with a huge play on the defensive end on the ensuing possession, as he stole the ball away from Blue Hose guard Pierre Moore and was fouled.

He stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down both of his double-bonus free throws, cutting the Paladin deficit to five, at 73-68.

The Blue Hose would run the clock on the ensuing possession, milking the shot clock down to nearly zero before Josh Johnson's three-pointer from the top of the key came off the back iron, and the ball went out of bounds in the corner off of the Blue Hose.

On the ensuing Paladin possession, Lloyd would knock down maybe the biggest shot of his young Furman career, stroking a three from the top of the key, which brought the Paladins to within a bucket (73-71) with 43 seconds to play.

After another missed shot underneath the basket, Lloyd would grab the rebound for the Paladins. In an effort to hit a streaking Bobby Austin, who was running free 80 feet down the floor, the ball was over-thrown on the attempted run-out pass and the ball went out of play. Turnover for the Paladins.

The Blue Hose took possession of the basketball on their own end with 5.2 seconds remaining, and Furman was forced to foul speedy PC point guard Eric Washington with 2.3 seconds remaining. T

he true freshman showed plenty of composure in stepping to the charity stripe and knocked down both foul shots ease, delivering the four-point, 75-71, PC win.

It was Furman that controlled the opening half, leading by as many as nine points (37-28), before seeing the Blue Hose usurp the momentum of the basketball game in the final four minutes of the opening frame.

PC would end the half with a 5-0 run, cutting Furman's lead to four (37-33) at the break. That run would continue into the second half, eventually reaching 19-5, in the opening five minutes of the second half, as PC would overtake the Paladins to lead 47-42, with 15:14 to play.

From that point, the Paladins would make a run back at the home-standing Blue Hose, with a 10-4 run of their own, regaining the lead, 52-51, on an old fashioned three-point play from Brandon Sebirumbi with 11:47 to play.

But that would be the last lead the Paladins would enjoy for the remainder of the night, as PC would put together a 10-0 run to take control of the game until the furious Furman rally in the waning moments.

Furman enjoyed its best shooting performance of the season, knocking down 52.2% (24-of-45) of its shots for the game and taking relatively good care of the basketball, turning it over just 14 times in the contest against a tenacious PC defense.

Furman, however, was plagued by foul trouble for most of the evening, especially in the front court.

Furman was able to connect on 70.8% (17-of-24) charity shots, while shooting 46.2% (6-of-13) from three-point range in the contest. Furman was out-rebounded by just one, 24-23.

Furman was led by a pair of players in double figures, as Brandon Sebirumbi led the way with a career-high 20 points, marking the second-straight game Furman's leading scorer has also established a new career-high.

Sebirumbi's 20 points eclipsed his previous career standard of 16 points set nearly a year ago to the day, as he posted that total on Dec. 18 of 2010 in a win at North Florida. Sebirumbi connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field and 6-of-8 shots from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Bryson Barnes was the only other Paladin in double figures, posting 10 points and five boards. Barnes has scored in double figures in both his outings this season. His 10-point effort this evening comes on the heels of a career-high 26-point and 11-rebound effort in the 76-63 win at Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

Lloyd just missed double figures, but the freshman guard from Atlanta established a new career-high with nine points on the evening.

PC's Coleman was joined in double figures by senior guard Khalid Mutakabbir, who added 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.

PC held advantages in points in the paint (40-28) and second chance points (12-6). For the game, the Blue Hose connected on 46.7% (23-of-49) from the field, but were just 23.1% (3-of-13) from three-point range.

The Blue Hose made up for that with there performance at the free throw line.

Furman returns to action on Friday afternoon when they visit the Georgia Bulldogs. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7 p.m.

It will be the first meeting between the Paladins and Bulldogs since Nov. of 2001, as the Paladins dropped a 75-62 decision in the season opener in Athens.

The Paladins are 4-21 all-time against the Bulldogs.

SATURDAY'S SOUTHERN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL PREVIEWS:
FURMAN (5-4, 0-2 Southern Conference) at WESTERN KENTUCKY (4-7, 0-0 Sun Belt)

Introducing The Matchup:

For the first time in school history, Furman heads to Western Kentucky's E.A. Diddle Arena to do battle with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on the hardwood. Furman enters the matchup coming off an 85-79 win over Jacksonville out of the Atlantic Sun, while the Hilltoppers dropped an 84-76 decision to the Summit League's IUPUI Jaguars last Saturday.

It will be the second straight season in which the Paladins have traveled to face an elite foe from the Sun Belt Conference, as the Paladins traveled to Murfreesboro, TN., and got one of their most impressive victories of the 2011-12 season, posting a 76-61 victory over Middle Tennessee State.

Saturday's game against WKU marks just the third time Furman has faced a team from the Sun Belt, also having faced Louisiana-Lafayette in the Watauga Invitational Tournament in 1958. The best player to ever play basketball at Furman, Frank Selvy, was a high school legend in Corbin, KY., in the late 1940s.

A Look At The Hilltoppers:

Traditionally, the Hilltoppers have been one of the powers in the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Kentucky basketball team made plenty of noise in 2008 and '09, winning with an unbelievable triple to beat the buzzer in 2008 to make the "Sweet 16" of the Big Dance in Darin Horn's final season as head coach before he left to become the head coach at South Carolina.

In 2009, the Hilltoppers were seconds away from making it once again in Ken McDonald's first season at the helm. Last season, the Hilltoppers struggled, posting a 16-16 mark and came into the season picked anywhere from third-to-fifth in the Sun Belt's Eastern Division by most publications.

The Hilltoppers are off to a 4-7 start this season, having struggled thus far. However, the Hilltoppers have taken on 2011 Final Four participant VCU, a talented IUPUI team, and recent addition to the Associated Press Top 25 Murray State in the early portion of their 2011-12 slate. WKU's win over Missouri Valley member Southern Illinois (62-55) might be the Hilltoppers' most impressive win of the early going.

The Hilltoppers boast just one player averaging in double figures entering Saturday night's contest against the Paladins, as highly-touted point guard Derrick Gordon (10.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 23 assists), who is part of one of the Sun Belt's top signing classes this season. Gordon set a freshman record in the opening game of the season for the Hilltoppers, posting a freshman record 25 points.

Gordon will be joined in the backcourt by Kahlil McDonald (5.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG) and Kevin Kaspar (7.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG), completing the starting trio in the backcourt. Kaspar, a freshman guard from Istanbul, Turkey, is the team's best shooter, entering the contest with a team-leading 15 triples and is shooting right at 40 percent from downtown this season.

McDonald will now log a majority of the minutes as the 3-guard for the Hilltoppers, with Caden Dickerson being done for the year after having shoulder surgery.

McDonald is an athletic combo guard that can create off the dribble. McDonald is coming off one of his better games of the season, posting 15 points in the loss at IUPUI last Saturday night.

The Hilltopper frontcourt will feature athletic freshman forward George Fant (8.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG) and Oklahoma State transfer Teeng Akol (7.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG) in the middle. Fant was the other major pickup in the most recent recruiting class by head coach Ken McDonald.

Fant is a local product that drew strong interest from several ACC and SEC schools, but decided to stay home and play in front of friends and family. He leads the team on the boards.

Akol is an athletic presence in the post and has seemingly improved with each game. Akol will likely start his fourth straight game against the Paladins, and has been a menacing defender so far this season, as he leads the team with 14 blocks.

Combo guards T.J Price (9.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG) and Jamal Crook (6.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG) are two of the players off the bench, and give the Hilltoppers one of the deepest young backcourts in the Sun Belt.

Price and Crook had 19 and 13 points, respectively, off the bench in the win over IUPUI last week.
As a team, the Hilltoppers are scoring just 59.7 PPG this season, while yielding 66.2 PPG to opponents.

WKU shoots the basketball at a 37.9 percent clip from the field, while connecting on 28.8 percent of its long-range efforts this season. Opponents are connecting on 41.4 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from long-range through the first month of the season.

A Look At The Paladins:

Like Western Kentucky, Furman is primarily a guard-oriented club, with a majority of its scoring punch being focused in the backcourt in 2011-12. Furman posted 22 wins last season, which was the second-most in the Southern Conference last season, but have had to replace four of five starters from that squad.

Through the first month, the Paladins have looked good at times, but inconsistency has been the term to best describe Furman to this point in the campaign. Still, this Paladin team has a chance to be a factor in the South Division race this season, although they have already dropped two league games in the early going.

This is Furman's first trip to the Blue Grass State since the 2002-03 season, when the Paladins dropped a 104-63 decision to Louisville. Like WKU, Furman will feature a three-guard alignment in the backcourt, with Richard Brown (10.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.0 APG), Charlie Reddick (10.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG) and Bobby Austin (8.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG) expected to start in the backcourt on Saturday.

Reddick has been red-hot of late for the Paladins, having posted double figures in each of the past four games, including a career high 23 points against UVA-Wise in an 86-66 a week-and-a-half ago.

In addition to being the team's leading scorer, Reddick also leads Furman in perimeter shooting this season, having canned 20 shots from beyond the three-point arc this season. He is shooting a team-leading 42.6 percent (20-of-47) from three-point range this season.

Brown is probably Furman's best player off the dribble and he has the ability to break down opposing defenses with his quickness, while also being a better than average outside shooter. Austin is a great athlete and might be the best individual defender on the team, as his team-leading six blocks gives credence to both of the aforementioned attributes.

In the post, the Paladins will start Colin Reddick (4.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and Brandon Sebirumbi (7.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG). Reddick already ranks on Furman's career top 10 ledger for blocked shots as a junior. He has blocked 66 shots in his career to rank 10th on Furman's all-time career scroll, and is tied for second on the team in blocks this season, with five swats.

Bryant Irwin (10.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG), Dominic Early (4.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG) and Jordan Lloyd (1.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG) are all significant contributors as newcomers coming off the bench for head coach Jeff Jackson's Paladins.

Irwin, a transfer from Saint Joseph's has been the most impressive in the early going, and the big man has the ability to step out and hit from long range, having connected on 14 triples this season, which is second-most on the team. Irwin is also second on the team in scoring.

As a team, the Paladins are averaging 66.8 PPG, while surrendering 65.7 PPG to opponents. Furman is shooting 40 percent from the field as a team from the field, and 31.4 percent from three. Opponents have connected on 43.9 percent from the field, while hitting shots at a 31.9 percent clip from long range this season.

Final Score Prediction: 70-64 Furman

Appalachian State (4-5, 1-1 SoCon) at No. 6 North Carolina (8-2, 0-0 ACC)

Introducing The Matchup:

No doubt there are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday afternoon's clash between Appalachian State and No. 5 North Carolina, heading into Saturday afternoon's showdown at the Dean E. Smith Center. For starters, Jason Capel, a former player at North Carolina (1998-2002) for Bill Guthridge and Matt Dougherty, will be on the Appalachian State sidelines on Saturday as the head coach of the Mountaineers.

Surprisingly, Saturday's matchup between the two schools will mark just the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Tar Heels holding a 4-0 all-time series edge. The Mountaineers and Tar Heels have not met on the hardwood since the 2000 season, when the Tar Heels came to Boone and handed the Mountaineers a 99-69 defeat in the unkind christening of the brand new Seby Jones Holmes Convocation Center.

That was a Mountaineer team coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and a Southern Conference crown under the direction of another former Tar Heel Buzz Peterson, although Peterson had moved on to Tulsa shortly after the tragic drowning death of Rufus Leach in the summer of 2000.
That would mark the first game for Houston Fancher at the helm of the ASU basketball program. It was also a Tar Heel team that was supposed to be in rebuilding mode itself, but still had the likes of Joe Forte, Julius Peppers and of course McDonalds All-Americans Ronald Curry and current ASU basketball coach Jason Capel.

That game would seemingly start out well for ASU, as 300-pound center Corey Cooper stepped out and drained a three to open the scoring in facility history, but it would be all North Carolina the rest of the way in the 30-point win.

The Tar Heels were the preseason national title favorites entering the 2011-12 season, returning all five starters from a team that won the ACC regular-season crown and finished 29-8 overall, getting knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Kentucky in the "Elite Eight." Appalachian State, on the other hand, is a team that entered the season as one of the favorites to compete for a SoCon title, with the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year Omar Carter leading the way.

Despite the loss of the school's all-time leading scorer Donald Sims, some think this might be the most talented team since the 2006-07 squad, which won a school-record 25 games. However, ASU has struggled out of the gates this season, losing twice already to East Tennessee State, and were drilled by another Tar Heel State rival, East Carolina (47-67), at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. Still, it's a team that has shown the ability to compete with the "big boys" of college basketball, as the Mountaineers were tied with Minnesota with a little over five minutes to play, before dropping a 70-56 contest to the Golden Gophers.

A Look At The Tar Heels:

North Carolina entered the season with plenty of pressure on it, being the top-ranked team in all of the land, but the Tar Heels have struggled at times in the early going. To their credit however, the Tar Heels have played a brutal schedule and even agreed to play at Big South defending champion and preseason favorite UNC Asheville, as the Bulldogs christened the brand spanking new Kimmel Arena back on Nov. 14. The Tar Heels were eventually able to win going away, but it's a game that they didn't didn't have to play coming off a hard-fought win over Michigan State 67-55 in San Diego, CA., just 48 hours prior in the "Carrier Classic" on Veterans Day.

North Carolina's two defeats this season have come against a pair of league favorites in their own league's, in SEC favorite Kentucky, dropping a 73-72 decision at Rupp Arena a couple of weeks ago and a 90-80 loss at Mountain West Conference league title contender UNLV three weeks ago in Las Vegas. The Tar Heels have won 22-straight games in the friendly confines and have claimed 52-consecutive wins over non-conference foes in the Dean Dome.

The Tar Heels will be led in the backcourt by Kendall Marshall (5.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 102 assists) and Dexter Strickland (7.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG). Marshall is the best true point guard in college basketball. Marshall is averaging 10.2 assists-per-game with an assist-turnover ratio of 3.78 through the first 10 games of the 2011-12 season. He is already on pace to surpass Ty Lawson's career 2.78-career assist-turnover-ratio, and currently ranks ahead of Lawson in career assist-turnover ratio at this point in his career, at 2.79.

Strickland is a serviceable player in the backcourt for the Tar Heels and comes into Saturday night's contest shooting 54.7% from the field this season, but is more of a factor for the Tar Heels on the defensive end of the court, where he might be the Tar Heels best on-the-ball defender.

The strength of this team, however, is within its front court, where Harrison Barnes (17.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG) John Henson (15.0 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 33 blks) and Tyler Zeller (13.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG) form one of the nation's top front lines. Barnes was a preseason All-American and was considered to be the top freshman recruit in college basketball going into 2010-11 season. Barnes has scored at least 14 points in the first 10 games of the 2011-12 season.

Henson is both beneficial on the offensive and defensive ends for the Tar Heels, and ranks second on the club in scoring and leads the team on the backboards. He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 21 of his last 26 games.

He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season for the Tar Heels and is coming off his best performance of the season, having posted 24 points against Long Beach State last time out. His 33 blocks lead the team, with nine of those swats coming in the season opening, 67-55, win over Michigan State. The nine blocks in the opener were a career-high for Henson and were the second-most blocked shots by any Tar Heel player in school history.

Zeller is a scrappy, veteran performer underneath the basket. He comes into Saturday night's showdown with the Mountaineers as the active leading scorer for the Tar Heels, having posted 1,016 points in 89 games. He enjoyed his best performance of the 2011-12 season in the 91-75 win over UNC Asheville, as he posted 27 points on 8-for-13 from the field and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.

The top performers coming off the bench for the Tar Heels are freshmen P.J. Hairston (7.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG) and James Michael McAdoo (5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG), while sophomore Reggie Bullock (9.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG) is right on the cusp of double figures this season and is one of the first players off the bench for the North Carolina. Hairston is an excellent outside shooter coming off the bench for the Tar Heels, ranking second on the team with 18 triples this season. Only Bullock's 20 treys rank high than Hairston's total. Both Bullock and Hairston are shooting over 40% from long-range this season, with Bullock connecting on 45.5% of his downtown efforts this season, while Hairston is connecting on 42.9% from long range this season.

As a team, the Tar Heels enter Saturday night's game with the Mountaineers averaging 84.1 PPG, while surrendering 68.2 PPG to opponents. North Carolina is shooting 48.7% from the field this season, while shooting 42.7% from three. Opponents have connected on 38.6% from the field and are an icy 29.9% from three this season.

A Look At Appalachian State:

Appalachian State comes into the contest needing to find some sort of overall consistency this season. The Mountaineers have been up and down all season, with finding a rhythm or chemistry as a team as of yet, with old players meshing with the new talent. Still, the Mountaineers will likely be a dangerous team when conference play rolls around, and the Black and Gold have as much collective talent on their roster as any of the league's 11 teams, including the league titans Davidson and College of Charleston.

That being said, the Mountaineers have yet to see preseason SoCon Player of the Year Omar Carter (12.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG) live up to expectations as of yet. Carter has started to get his act together lately, and is second-leading scorer entering the contest, just behind Jamaal Trice (12.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG). Carter turned in his top performance of the season against SoCon rival UNC Greensboro, posting 24 points in the 78-64 win.

The 6-5 senior guard has scored in double figures in six of ASU's nine games this season, however, struggled the last time out against East Tennessee State, scoring only four points in the 65-48 home loss. Prior to that performance against the Bucs, Carter had put together three-straight double-figure scoring performances.

Carter's biggest struggles have come in his perimeter shooting, as that was a strength for him last season in his first season with the program after transferring in from Charleston Southern. Carter has connected on just 8-of-29 attempts from downtown, which computes to just 27.6%. Carter has started all nine games for ASU this season.

He will be joined in the backcourt by Gonzaga transfer G.J. Vilarino (4.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG) and leading scorer Trice, who keeps with the theme of an all transfer backcourt, having transferred in from UConn last year. Trice, a 6-6 combo player, is athletic and can score in a variety of ways. With Trice having the ability to play in the backcourt or in the post, it gives ASU the opportunity to force mis-matches in the backcourt, with Carter being 6-5 and Trice standing 6-6. Trice's versatility comes from the fact that he can step out and hit from downtown, leading the team with 23 triples this season.

Trice was outstanding in the first four games of the season, scoring in double figures in the first four games of his ASU career, including a season and career-high 27 points in the loss to East Carolina. However, Trice has struggled to find that same scoring success of late, posting double figures just once in the past five games. He led the Apps with 12 points the last time out in a 17-point loss to East Tennessee State a week ago.

After missing the first part of the season with an ankle injury, Gonzaga transfer G.J. Vilarino has started five of the six games he has been a part of since. Against UNCG, Vilarino saw a season-high 30 minutes, posting four points and dishing out four assists in helping ASU to the 14-point win over the Spartans.

Veterans Andre Williamson (8.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 19 blks) and Isaac Butts (8.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG) were a part of the ASU team that made it all the way to the SoCon title game before losing to Wofford a couple of years ago.

Williamson is one of the team's premier athletes and one of the SoCon's top shot-blockers. The tandem is one of the top starting forward tandems in the SoCon this season.He currently leads the SoCon in blocks-per-game coming into this evening's contest, averaging 2.1 BPG. Butts is a tough matchup in the paint, and the 6-10, 290-pound center will actually matchup pretty well against ASU's huge front line. He has done exceptionally well overcoming an ACL tear he suffered last season, leading the SoCon in field goal percentage, knocking down 67.4% of his shots from the field so far this season.

ASU has as much or more depth than any team in the SoCon, with the ability to play either a 10 or 11-man rotation. Veterans Nathan Healy (1.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG) and Mitch Woods (1.2 PPG, 0.9 RPG. 4 starts) add depth in the post and at point guard, while newcomers Tab Hamilton (5.4 PPG, 1.4 RPG) and Rodney Milum (10.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG) have helped ASU make up for the loss of Donald Sims in the backcourt. With his ability to shoot from long range, Milum can score points in a hurry, and comes in averaging 2.4 three-point field goals per game. Milum has sunk nine threes in the past two games, and is second on the team with 22 triples this season.

As a team, ASU is averaging 66.4 PPG, while opponents are scoring 66.8 PPG this season. The Apps are shooting the ball at a 43.1% clip from the field this season, while connecting on 35.1% from three-point range. Opponents have connected on 41.3% from the field, while shooting 34.5% from three.

Final Score Prediction: UNC 104, ASU 86

Southern Conference play begins for both Furman and Elon on Wednesday night, as the Paladins open league play with a trip to Alumni Gym to face the Elon Phoenix.

The Paladins last played Friday evening, dropping their second contest of the young season with a 59-49 setback at Clemson.

Furman and Elon both enter the contest with 3-2 records, but Elon has had one of the biggest wins of the SoCon season: a 58-53 victory over South Carolina two weeks ago.

The two Phoenix losses have come on the road: an 85-67 contest at UMass and an 82-67 decision at North Carolina State Friday night. Elon is 3-0 at Alumni Gym, with wins over South Carolina (58-53), Rutgers-Camden (87-53) and Princeton (56-55).

Furman's only loss, besides Clemson, came on its home floor, a 66-46 beatdown by Atlantic Sun member Mercer a couple of weeks ago.

Furman's three victories this season have come against Roanoke College (75-49), Columbia (62-58) and Loyola-Illinois (63-51).

The Paladins and Phoenix will be meeting for the 12th time, with the Phoenix holding a 7-4 all-time series advantage. Furman won last season's meeting 80-65 at Timmons Arena, on the strength of a 24-point effort from Amu Saaka.

Although Furman is just 2-4 all-time in Alumni Gym, the Paladins posted a 53-48 victory over the Phoenix back in January 2010.

Elon is expected to finish fifth in the SoCon's North Division by both the league's coaches and media, while Furman is picked to finish fourth in the South Division.

Scouting the Phoenix

Elon is coached by long-time Davidson assistant coach Matt Matheny, who enters his third season at the helm of the Phoenix basketball program.

Matheny is 1-2 all-time as a head coach against the Paladins, with his only victory over Furman coming in February 2010 when the Phoenix picked up a 66-55 win at Timmons Arena.

Elon was last in action on Friday night in ACC country, just up the road in Raleigh, N.C., as the Phoenix dropped an 82-67 decision to the Wolfpack at Reynolds Coliseum.

Despite the loss, it was Elon forward Lucas Troutman that stole the show, posting a game-high 22 points. In addition, Troutman snagged seven rebounds. Sebastian Koch and Jack Isenbarger contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.

The Phoenix shot 40.7% (24-of-59) from the field for the game, including connecting on 31.7% (7-of-22) from three-point range. Elon was out-rebounded 49-33 by the Wolfpack.

Elon will likely use Austin Hamilton (9.6 PPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 RPG) and Drew Spradlin (11.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG) as starters in the backcourt against the Paladins. Hamilton has been one of the best newcomers in the SoCon so far this year, and the Phoenix have missed little with the graduation of Chris Long, who manned the point for the past four seasons.

Austin Hamilton has scored in double figures three times in his five games as a college basketball player, including a pair of 12-point performances against UMass and South Carolina.

Spradlin, a preseason All-SoCon selection, is the best all-around player for the Phoenix and the best pure scorer in the lineup. He comes in averaging 11.2 PPG, and the senior has started all five games this season.

Spradlin also has three double-digit scoring efforts in five outings, including posting a season-high 14 points against both UMass and Rutgers-Camden.

In last season's meeting with the Paladins, Spradlin posted 22 points in the 80-65 away loss, connecting on 7-of-10 shots from the field, including a a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Spradlin is also an excellent outside shooter, and coming into Wednesday night, he has knocked down nine triples this season, going 9-of-19 (.474).

His nine threes this season rank him second among the Phoenix, behind only Sebastian Koch's 14 triples in the first five games.

The Phoenix have depth in the backcourt, with sophomore sensation Jack Isenbarger (5.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG) continuing in his role as one of the league's top sixth men.

Isenbarger has struggled shooting the basketball out of the gates this season, especially from the perimeter, as he has connected on just 4-of-16 shots from long range so far.

However, he's still considered one of the team's best pure shooters from long range, and he'll likely find his shooting touch from the perimeter at some point this year. Isenbarger has battled some injuries this season, which forced him to miss a couple of games, but posted his first double-figure scoring performance, 11, last week at NC State.

Sebastian Koch (10.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, 45.2% from 3-point range) is a player that causes matchup problems in the backcourt because of his size and his ability to step out and hit the outside shot. Koch's 14 triples lead the Phoenix this season, and he's a player that gives Matheny instant offense coming off the bench.

He's Elon's third-leading scorer, and one of three Phoenix averaging in double figures, at 10.8 PPG. Koch enjoyed his best performance of the season so far against Rutgers-Camden, scoring 20 points in the 87-53 win. He's now scored in double figures in three straight games.

Starting in the frontcourt for Elon this season have been Lucas Troutman (14.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG) and Ryley Beaumont (4.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG).

Troutman has a good inside-outside game and has proven to be Elon's go-to-player early on in the campaign. He's coming off his best game of the season, as he posted a team season-high 22 points in the 82-67 loss at NC State on Friday night.

Troutman also recorded seven rebounds in the loss in Raleigh. Beaumont is not a player the Phoenix rely on for point production, but he's proven to be a solid physical presence in the paint.

Coming off the bench in the frontcourt have been Brett Ervin (3.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG) and Egheosa Edomwonyi (3.8 PPG, 1.8 RPG). Both are scrappy players and have provided good minutes off the bench for Matheny this season, with Ervin providing a key nine points in Elon's big win over South Carolina.

Elon enters their SoCon opener ranking fifth in the conference in scoring offense (67.0 PPG), tied for fourth in scoring defense (64.6 PPG), eighth in field goal percentage (41.5%), first in field goal percentage defense (37.6%), second in three-point field goal percentage shooting (35.7%), first in three-point field goal percentage defense (25.6%), ninth in rebounding margin (-1.6) and second in three-point field goals made (41 threes, 8.2 three-point FGs per game).

Scouting the Paladins

Furman has had to replace four starters from a team that last season won 20 games for the first time in two decades..

To their credit, the Paladins have done a nice job early on of managing the massive losses, getting excellent play out of players that mostly saw action as reserves last season.

They were by no means bad players, but Furman was just that deep last year.

The Paladins, off to a 3-2 start this season, have played well on the defensive end of the floor, but have struggled to find their shooting touch through the first five ball games.

Furman was last in action on Friday night, dropping a 59-49 decision at Clemson, in a game that saw the Paladins race out to a 9-0 lead. However, a Clemson 23-6 run, from 6:30 in the first half to 14:28 in the second, helped the Tigers take control of the game en route to a 10-point win. 

Furman was led by junior forward Bryant Irwin, who posted 13 points and seven boards in the effort. He was the only Paladin in double figures.

Furman shot the basketball at a 41.5% clip (17-of-41) from the field, while connecting on 35.7% (5-of-14) from three-point range. Furman was out-rebounded, 32-25, by Clemson.

The Paladins have been led by their floor general, Richard Brown (10.0 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 12 Assists, 13 TOs), through the early part of the schedule. Brown’s quickness has been a real benefit to their backcourt, and his ability to create off the dribble with that quickness gives the Paladins versatility on offense. 

Brown consistently caused problems for Clemson’s stingy matchup zone defense, as he was able to penetrate and break down the zone early, by either getting layups or kicking it out for three-point opportunities.

Brown played very sparingly as the backup point guard for Furman last season, but he's been one of the real impact players this season. He enjoyed his best game this year against Columbia in the 62-58 road win, scoring a career-high 15 points.

Joining him as a starter on the backcourt tonight will be Bobby Austin (8.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG). Austin has battled injuries throughout his career, and the once highly-sought-after recruit is back to 100% for his senior season.

Austin is a good athlete and strong on the defensive end of the floor. At times, he's been effective at shooting the outside shot, but he's most effective as an offensive threat, as a slasher. 

Austin has reached double figures twice this season, posting a season-high 13 points in the win at Columbia and scoring 10 points in the win over Loyola of Chicago. He's one of the better rebounding guards on the Paladins' roster, recording a season-high seven boards in the opening win over Roanoke. 

The Paladins have some solid backcourt depth off the bench, with Charlie Reddick (5.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG), David Brown (3.8 PPG, 0.8 APG) and Jordan Lloyd (2.0 RPG) the main understudies this season.

With Lloyd and Brown battling injuries early in the season, the Paladins have been a little thin in the backcourt, but they should be at full strength tonight. Charlie Reddick had three triples in the loss to Clemson, a career high for him.

Furman’s depth and strength this season might be in its frontcourt. Leading the way in the paint is junior Bryant Irwin (10.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG). He transferred into Furman from St. Joseph's, and has led the Paladins in scoring and rebounding so far this year.

Irwin has scored in double figures in four out of five games for the Paladins, with his best performance coming in a 66-46 home loss to Mercer, where he scored 11 points and grabbed 11 boards. In Furman’s most recent outing, Irwin led them again in scoring, posting 13 points and seven boards. He scored his season and career highs in the season opener against Roanoke College.

Irwin has a nice inside-outside game, and comes into tonight’s league clash having connected on 9-of-31 (29.0%) from three-point range so far this season.

He'll be joined down low by veterans Brandon Sebirumbi (9.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG) and Chris Toler (5.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG), with Colin Reddick (4.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG) coming off the bench. Sebirumbi was last year's top returning scorer, averaging 7.5 PPG. He's played well early on this year, but he's been limited by foul trouble.

Sebirumbi was saddled with two quick fouls in the first 45 seconds in the 59-49 loss to Clemson, and he ended up fouling out with 4:45 remaining in the game.

Sebirumbi has committed at least four fouls in four of five games this season. He has two double-figure scoring efforts so far, posting 15 points and grabbing 11 boards in the opener against Roanoke, while scoring 14 points and grabbing seven boards in the win over Loyola of Chicago. Sebirumbi is connecting on 41.4% (12-of-21) from the field so far this season.

Chris Toler was another experienced player for the Paladins last season, as they claimed the second-most wins in their history. Toler is not a player that Furman is going to rely on for scoring purposes, but he's a scrappy performer for the Paladins and does all the dirty work down in the paint. 

Reddick is a big physical presence, too, in the paint and on the defensive end, both as a rebounder and a shot-blocker. Reddick also passes the ball well out of the post, as evidenced by his four assists in the Roanoke win.

Dominic Early (2.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG) is another guy who's seen minutes this season underneath for the Paladins, and is a rangy, athletic player who's especially beneficial on the defensive end of the floor. 

Coming into the SoCon opener tonight, the Paladins rank 11th out of 12 teams in scoring offense (59.0 PPG), first in scoring defense (56.6 PPG), 11th in field goal percentage (37.5%), fourth in field goal percentage defense (39.3%), 10th in 3-pt. FG% (29.5%), fifth in 3-pt. FG% defense (28.9%), fourth in rebounding margin (+2.4), second blocked shots (3.8 BPG) and 11th in three-pointers made (28, 5.6 PG).

Final Score Prediction

Elon 72, Furman 66.

You could almost see the youth in the College of Charleston today as the senior-laden Knights of Central Florida beat the Cougars in the Battle 4 Atlantis, 74-63.

The young Cougars didn't have that guy to step up big when they needed it most. It was a bad day for Antwaine Wiggins, who scored only two points on 1-of-6 shooting while going 0-for-3 from the free-throw line. 

The Cougars were pretty good from the free-throw line in the first half, but couldn't seem to get the clutch free throws down the stretch. Central Florida was absolutely horrible from the line, shooting a morbid 13-of-27. 

That didn't matter much as the Knights were too strong on the rebounds and got too much from the senior maturity. All five starters were back from last year's team, and it showed as they never lost their composure—even down seven points in the second half.

Marcus Jordan, son of Michael Jordan, played a strong game with 17 points and six assists, but the real star for the Knights was Keith Clanton. He had a career day with 28 points and 14 rebounds, and the Cougars couldn't find an answer for him.

Sophmore Trent Wiedeman had a strong day with 19 points and junior guard Andrew Lawrence had 14 points for the College of Charleston. Wiedeman was frustrated most of the day as he seemed to be frazzled by the referees most of the day. 

Head coach Bobby Cremins couldn't help but shake his head in the second half as his young team turned the ball over on several crucial possessions. The Cougars fell to 3-1 and await the loser of the UNC Asheville - Connecticut game. 

It was a tough loss for the Cougars but a good learning experience. With such a young team, the College of Charleston has yet to identify who they are going to be. In all of their games, they have started out fast and hung on to win. Today, they didn't get that strong start so had to play a solid 40 minutes today.

When you have a 20-point lead, you can afford to make an error or two without it coming back to haunt you. Today, there was no 20-point lead.  

There is definitely talent on the Cougars team, and they had a rare awful day from Antwaine Wiggins. Don't expect him to be that awful very often and had he played even a tad stronger, the Cougars couldn't have stole this game.

All is not lost for them in this tournament. They still can use the rest of the games to get ready for conference play which starts next week along with SEC foe Tennessee and Big East power and 8th ranked Louisville on the December slate.

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. 

To the casual college basketball fan, SoCon Saturdays on Fox Sports South may sound about as appealing as a full day of window shopping with the wife and her friends. But there are actually plenty of reasons to skip the shopping trip and the inevitable triple Maker's Mark that is sure to follow. 

Number one on that list plays for the College of Charleston and his name is Andrew Goudelock.

Saturday the Charleston Cougars hosted The Citadel Bulldogs and their stud point guard (ahem, and Houston native) Cameron Wells. Goudelock and the Cougars struggled in the first half to solve the Bulldogs' match-up zone, allowing the 5-12 Bulldogs to stay within striking range.

The second half, however, would be a totally different story.  

Goudelock went into the lockers with only seven points but emerged determined to prove he was the best player on the floor.

The Charleston PG went to work as soon as the half started, firing threes from beyond NBA range and shooting the Bulldogs out of their zone defense.

Once The Citadel went to a man-to-man, it was all over.

The Bulldogs tried 6'4" swingman Austin Dahn first. Goudelock responded by getting into the lane at will and picking the defense apart on his way to seven assists. Dahn had no chance to stay in front of Goudelock, whether it was off screens or on isolation plays at the top of the key.

As a good leader should, Cameron Wells decided he wanted to take on the challenge. That may not have been the best idea.

Goudelock immediately recognized that, at 6'1", Wells was much too short to stop him from shooting over the top whenever he liked. Goudelock is only an inch taller than Wells but he gets great elevation on his jump shot and has a high release point—even from 26 feet.

Goudelock repeatedly toyed with Wells with pull-up jumpers right in his face. He took Wells off pick-and-rolls, isolated him up top and even freed himself via a couple of dribble hand-offs.

He finished the game with six three-pointers on 11 tries as he rolled to 22 points in the first 16:00 of play in the second half.

This is no disrespect to Wells, who will most likely be collecting a check to play basketball somewhere when he finishes school, but the few times Wells was able to keep Goudelock from getting a good look from deep, he used clever handles and some brilliant hesitation moves to get into the lane and draw fouls.

Goudelock finished the game with 29 points on 10/18 shooting, including 6/11 from deep. But this wasn't the first time he was unguardable.

On the season, Goudelock is averaging 23.4 points per game which is good for figth in the country in scoring. What's even more impressive is that he is doing it on 49.0 percent shooting from the floor and 43 percent from the three.

Kemba Walker may average two more points per contest but he is shooting a lower percentage from the field and a much, much lower percentage from beyond the arc (36.6 percent).

While it is true that Walker is a junior and Goudelock is a senior, the Charleston product has never shot lower than 39.3 percent from deep in his career. He also has four games with four made treys, two games with five and two more games with six in this season alone.

Walker has never made more than four and he's only accomplished that three times in his entire career at UConn.

But Goudelock is not only a scorer.

As I've already mentioned, he assists at a decent rate (4.3 per game) but he also grabs over four rebounds per game and swipes a steal per contest.

With all that being said, I will openly admit that I prefer "shooters who can score" to "scorers who can shoot"—so that may factor in to my opinion that Goudelock is better than Walker.

I can guarantee you though that there is not a coach in the NCAA who wants to see this guy get hot in a Tournament game. He's the type of player who could single-handedly lift his team to the Sweet 16, a' la Jeremy Arceneaux a few years back.

If you don't believe me, check out their match-up with UT-Chattanooga, who is also undefeated in SoCon play, tomorrow (Monday) at 7:00 on CSS.

Trust me, Goudelock won't disappoint.

Either that or have fun holding bags at the mall. I'm sure she looks great in every one of those 11 new pairs of jeans.    

2. College of Charleston (22-12, 13-3 SoCon)

Bobby Cremins enters his fifth year in Charleston still in search of his first Southern Conference title and NCAA Tournament berth.

The Cougars lasted tasted the success of a berth to the NCAA postseason back in 1999, when the Cougars went through the league unscathed with an 18-0 mark in their inaugural season as members in the league, forging one of the most-dominant seasons in the history of Southern Conference hoops.

Cremins might have his most dominant team in his five years in the Low Country this season, returning three starters from a team that knocked off 10th-ranked North Carolina in early January and one that made it to the SoCon semifinals and won 22 games last season.

The Cougars will again be a factor in the SoCon’s South Division and might be the second-most talented team in the league behind league favorite Wofford.

If the Cougars want to get back to the "Big Dance," they’ll need to find a way to improve on the defensive end of the floor.

Last season, the Cougars finished the 2009-10 season, ranking 11th out of the league’s 12 teams in scoring defense (73.3 PPG) and ninth in field goal percentage defense (44.8 PCT).

However, the Cougars did do a good job in and around the paint, utilizing their athleticism to rank second in the league in blocked shots (4.8 BPG).

One other improvement that also must be made is in rebounding the basketball, as the Cougars ranked in the bottom three of the league’s statistical columns concerning rebounding, including ranking dead last in rebounding margin (-8.9).

It was a record-breaking season shooting the ball from the perimeter for the Cougars, who led the league in three pointers made per game last season (9.6 3PT. PG). In fact, the Cougars’ 326 triples made last season set a new school standard.

Cremins should have a team more than capable of eclipsing the 20-win plateau for the fourth-consecutive season, and one that, with arguably the league’s best backcourt, has a chance to claim its first league and punch its first NCAA Tournament berth in 12 years.

The Backcourt

The College of Charleston has established quite a tradition of great backcourts since joining the SoCon back in 1998. The Cougars have showcased the likes of Jermel President, the late Jeff Bolton, Tony Williams, Dontaye Draper and Troy Wheless just to name a few.

Now you can add junior two-guard Andrew Goudelock (19.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 131 assists, 97 threes, 39.3 3PT. FG%) to that star-studded list, and Goudelock might be the best of that illustrious list.

Goudelock should become the school’s all-time leading scorer this season, and will be asked to handle even more of the leadership role with the graduation of all-league guard Tony White, Jr.

Goudelock is one of the most versatile guards in the SoCon, as he can play either the one or two positions in the backcourt.

Goudelock was absolutely sensational in CofC’s triumph over the Tar Heels last season, as Goudelock turned in an effort worthy of his projected SoCon Player of the Year status, scoring 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, including going 4-of-8 from three-point range in the win.

Joining Goudelock as a starter in the Charleston backcourt entering the 2010-11 season will be Donovan Monroe (12.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 69 assists, 45 steals). Monroe is a physical guard, and is maybe the best athlete on the team.

He is also strong on the glass, as he is the Cougars’ best rebounding guard. Monroe will take on a bigger leadership role this season for the Maroon and Gold, with the graduation of Tony White, Jr. in the CofC backcourt.

Monroe was a preseason All-SoCon selection and enters the 2010-11 season just 77 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau for his career.

Two of the difference-makers off of the bench for the Cougars last season, were Andrew Lawrence (4.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.1 APG) and redshirt freshman Jordan Scott. Lawrence was a clutch perimeter shooter in his first season as a Cougar last season, coming off the bench to knock down 36-of-103 (35.0 PCT) triples last season.

Scott was a player who red-shirted last season and was a talented player at Darlington High School prior to coming to the Low Country, averaging 15.6 PPG and shot 35.5 PCT from three-point range.

Scott will likely serve in back-up role behind Goudelock at the point, while Lawrence will likely serve in a back-up role at the two guard behind Monroe.

The Frontcourt

Two years ago, Wiggins was regarded as the league’s top defender, and no one will forget the nickname he earned during that campaign, as the "Steph-Stopper" for his performances against Davidson’s All-American guard, Stephen Curry.

It was Wiggins’ perimeter defense that allowed the Cougars to shock the Wildcats, knocking Davidson from the SoCon Tournament in the semifinals a couple of years ago.

Wiggins has 68 career steals and has started in all but one game he has ever started in (68-of-69 games) as a Cougar.

Joining Wiggins in the Cougars’ frontcourt will be one of mid-major basketball’s top centers, in Jeremy Simmons (11.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 59.7 FG%, 56 blocks).

Simmons is one of the most explosive leapers in the SoCon, and is one of the primary reasons the Cougars were ranked second in the SoCon in blocked shots last season.

His 544 rebounds rank him fifth on CofC’s rebounding charts, since joining the Division I ranks.

Simmons is a preseason All-SoCon selection and came up big in the stunning win over North Carolina last season, as he scored 13 points, blocked four shots and had a career-high four assists in the overtime victory.

He’ll be a key ingredient in CofC’s title hopes once again this season.

One of the positives heading into the 2010-11 season for the College of Charleston should be the frontcourt, which returns Antwaine Wiggins (8.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG in ‘08-09) after missing the entire 2009-10 season after tearing his ACL only a few seasons prior to the start of the season. 

Willis Hall (5.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 51.3 FG%) was one of the pleasant surprises for the Cougars last season, and he returns in an expected starting role underneath for the Cougars heading into the 2010-11 season.

Hall played in all 34 games for the Cougars last season, starting seven of those contests in his freshman season in the Low Country. For his efforts last season, Hall was selected to the SoCon’s All-Freshman team.

Matt Sundberg (3.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG) is a talented perimeter shooter and frontcourt player who will once again come off of the bench for the Cougars this season.

Sundberg, a 6’8", 210-pound junior from Kennessaw, GA, and saw action in 26 games for the Maroon and Gold last season, Sundberg connected on 20-of-53 three-point field goals, which equates to 37.7 PCT from three-point range.

Twenty of Sundberg’s 30 field goals last season were triples.  

The Newcomers

College of Charleston’s top incoming talent from Cremins’ latest recruiting class is forward James Carlton. Carlton might even be the top newcomer of the year in Southern Conference basketball and he comes to CofC from Winterville, N.C., where he starred for South Central High School.

Carlton was rated a 3-star prospect at the power forward position by Rivals.com. He averaged 15 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks as a senior.

Joining Carlton as a talented newcomer for the Cougars will be Nori Johnson, who spent a season at Fork Union Military Academy before joining Cremins’ College of Charleston club.

The 6’5" swingman is an excellent athlete and put up good numbers during his prep career at Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., averaging 20.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, two steals and 1.4 assists per game as a senior.

During his one season at Fork Union, Johnson helped lead the Blue Devils to a 22-6 record, while averaging 14 points and six boards per game.

Adding even more depth and size to the frontcourt is Trent Wiedeman, who should also see some quality minutes this season for the Cougars. Wiedeman, a 6’8", 240-pound product of Greater Atlanta Christian in Suwanee, GA., is another highly recording prospect.

According to ESPN College Basketball Recruiting Rankings, he is rated as the No. 63 prospect in the nation.

He averaged 15.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game as a senior, helping lead the Spartans to a state championship title and 32-1 record.

Final Prediction

College of Charleston probably has a more talented team than the one that finished 22-10 last season. The Cougars will not only be Wofford’s primary contender in the SoCon South Division, they will also be one of the favorites to punch an NCAA Tournament ticket in 2010-11.

Preview of College of Charleston vs. Maryland

Opening Tip: Tonight’s meeting between the College of Charleston and Maryland Terrapins in the 2K Sports Classic directed towards Coaches vs. Cancer , marks only the second all-time meeting between the two teams.

As a Trans America Athletic Conference member, College of Charleston claimed one of the school’s greatest athletic accomplishments in the only other meeting between the two, as the Cougars stunned Maryland, knocking off the 22nd-ranked Terps, 75-66, in the 1997 NCAA Southeast Regional first-round matchup. The win still remains CofC’s only Division I NCAA Tournament win.

Game Preview: Coming off a 22-10 campaign, College of Charleston heads to the Comcast Center to take on a Maryland club that claimed a share of the regular-season ACC Title and finished the season with a 24-9 final record, after being ousted in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, as a result of a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas.

Despite losing the services of ACC Player of the Year Greivis Vasquez to graduation, the Terps should be in the thick of the ACC race once again this season, returning junior All-American guard Sean Mosley (10.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG) and one of the ACC’s top big men, in 6’10" sophomore Jordan Williams (9.6 PPG, 8.6 ). Senior point guard Adrian Bowie will have the unenviable task of replacing Vasquez at the point this season.

The Terps were a team that loved to push the basketball last season, averaging a league-best 79.7 PPG, which also ranked 12th nationally.

College of Charleston will look to junior guard Andrew Goudelock (19.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 131 assists, 97 threes, 39.3 3PT. FG%), who Cremins has frequently called one of the best players he has ever coached, for leadership and scoring tonight if the Cougars want to spring the upset.

One of the matchups to watch entering the contest this evening will be between Maryland’s All-ACC center Williams and CofC’s All-SoCon center Jeremy Simmons (11.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 59.7 FG%, 56 blocks). Look for Antwaine Wiggins to draw the assignment of trying to shut down Maryland’s leading returning scorer Mosley.

South Division Predictions

1. Wofford

2. College of Charleston

3. Davidson

4. Furman

5. The Citadel

6. Georgia Southern

All-SoCon Predictions: First Team

G: Donald Sims (Appalachian State)

G: Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston)

G: Amu Saaka (Furman)

G: Cameron Wells (The Citadel)

F: Noah Dahlman (Wofford)

Second Team

G: Jamar Diggs (Wofford)

G: J.P. Kuhlman (Davidon)

G: Jordan Miller (Furman)

C: Jake Cohen (Davidson)

F: Jeremy Simmons (CofC)

Player of the Year: Donald Sims, Appalachian State

Newcomer of the Year: Jelani Hewitt, Georgia Southern

Previewing 2010-11

With four starters returning off its first Southern Conference title team and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth, the Wofford Terriers look like the team to beat once again, with challengers to the Terriers crown being Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Western Carolina, Chattanooga and Davidson, all looking capable of putting together a strong conference title run in the 2010-11 season.

The following article will take an in-depth look at all six teams from each of the SoCon’s two divisions and make predictions for the upcoming campaign.

Will this be the year the Southern Conference gets two teams to the Big Dance? It won’t be long until we are able to answer that question. This has all the makings of a breakthrough season for the league as a whole.

The 2010-11 Southern Conference basketball season is here and, as a whole, the conference looks as strong as it has been in quite sometime.

Predicting The South Division

1. Wofford (26-9, 15-3 SoCon in 2009-10)

Unfortunately for Wofford, its stay in the NCAA Tournament wasn’t an extended one, as the Terriers were knocked from the postseason by the Wisconsin Badgers, 59-54, in a hard-fought opening round matchup between a couple teams that have similar styles of play.

After an 0-2 start, Wofford got its act together and reeled off 19 wins in its last 20 games, including a school-record 13-straight victories, to storm to its first NCAA Tournament berth and garnered the top overall seed for the Southern Conference Tournament.

The Terriers opened the Tournament with a hard-fought win over UNC Greensboro (59-47), before avenging both of their Southern Conference regular-season losses, getting a 77-58 win over Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament semifinals and a 56-51 victory over Appalachian State in the SoCon title game, punching its inaugural ticket to the Big Dance.

The Frontcourt

If things are going to fall into place once again for the Terriers this season, they must get a performance from 2009-10 SoCon Player of the Year, Noah Dahlman (16.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG), similar to those he put forth in his previous two seasons as a Terrier.

The 6'6", 215-pound native of Braham, Minn., has scored in double figures in 48 straight games, and enters his senior season ranked 18th on the school’s all-time scoring ledger, having poured in 1,331 career points. Dahlman finished the season knocking down 57.9 percent of his shots from the field, ranking 10th in the nation.

Joining Dahlman in the post is Tim Johnson (6.1 PPG, 7.9 PPG), who was one of the league’s premier rebounders a year ago. Johnson is a great complement to Dahlman underneath the basket, as he offsets Dahlman’s shooting ability and knack for getting points around the basket with strength and power. Johnson was particularly beneficial on the offensive glass last season for the Terriers, who entered the season with lack of size being the perceived weakness.

However, the 6'6", 228-pound senior was strong and active around the hoop, oftentimes keeping the ball alive and giving the Terriers a chance for a second or third tip underneath the bucket. Johnson had a solid athletic presence under the basket and was a nice asset on the defensive end of the floor for Wofford. But it’s his tenacity and work ethic that make Johnson the player he is.

One of the top options off the Wofford bench in the frontcourt is Terry Martin (4.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG in ‘09). Martin is a player who was a boost off the bench, and like Johnson, he’s active beneath the basket with a unique ability to keep offensive rebounding opportunities alive with his hard work off the glass. Martin played a big role in the Terriers’ Southern Conference Tournament Championship win over Appalachian State, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in Wofford's 56-51 victory.

The Terriers also have Kevin Giltner (3.5 PPG, 0.9 RPG) returning, but he plays more of a 2 guard role, rather than a post coming off the bench. Still, at 6'6", 200 pounds, Giltner is a proficient outside shooter and forces opposing perimeter players to come out and guard him, which takes defenders away from the basket. Giltner knocked down 24 trifectas last season, and shot 38.7 percent from long range last season.

Domas Rinksalis (1.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG) and Joseph Tecklenberg (0.7 PPG, 0.4 RPG) round out the frontcourt contributors, and both will hope to see their minutes increase this season.

Nathan Parker (2.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG) is one of the best athletes on the roster for the Terriers, and he could be a significant impact player off the bench this season. The 6'6", 200-pound sophomore from Knoxville, TN., should see some quality minutes this season, especially with the graduation of Corey Godzinski (3.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG), who was a significant contributor off the bench for Wofford last season.

  The Terriers finished third in the league in rebounding margin last season (plus-2.9), and a strong frontcourt had plenty to do with that, especially with players like Johnson, Dahlman and Martin keeping the ball alive underneath the basket, despite being undersized.

If the scrappy Terriers keep that kind of intensity on the glass this season, especially on the offensive end of the floor, there’s a real good chance they will be cutting down the nets the first weekend of March once again.

Despite losing sharp-shooting four-year starter Junior Salters (7.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, team-leading 68 three-point FGs, 37.4 percent) to graduation, the Terriers appear to be in excellent shape in the backcourt once again heading into the 2010-11 season.

The point guard responsibilities will once again be handled by Brad Loesing (5.9 PPG, 3.0 APG, 27 steals), who enters his junior season as one of the league’s more underrated point guards.

Loesing was a SoCon All-Freshman selection two years ago, and he’s coming off a season in which he maintained that strong level of play that he established as a freshman, especially as a distributor. Loesing completed the 2009-10 season with 104 assists and only 50 turnovers, helping the team post a plus-2.14 turnover margin, which was second in the SoCon and 45th nationally.

One of the additions who helped the Terriers break through and claim that inaugural league title last season was Jamar Diggs (9.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 90 assists, 37 steals), who was one of the best individual defensive guards in the SoCon last season. He was a player who could take the opposing team’s top scoring guard completely out of the game with his athleticism and length.

Diggs transferred into the program after garnering Freshman of the Year honors at Division II Wayne State a couple years ago. He has been an asset more on the defensive end of the floor than even as an offensive weapon for the Terriers.

Diggs’ defense was most impressive in the SoCon Tournament Championship game, as he matched up with Appalachian State’s dynamic scoring presence, Donald Sims. In that title contest, Diggs limited the league’s leading scorer to nine points (11 points under his scoring average coming in) and just 2-of-15 shooting from the field. Diggs joined Dahlman on the All-SoCon Tournament First Team last March.

When Cameron Rundles (6.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 49 assists) joined the program a couple years ago, coaches immediately began envisioning the future success of the Terrier basketball program.

The transfer guard from the University of Montana came in and was an immediate impact player for the Terriers last season. Most noticed how clutch a player Rundles was in the early-season 60-57 win at Georgia last season, as the Big Sky All-Freshman selection hit two clutch free throws in the waning moments to help the Terriers claim their first significant win of the 2009-10 season.  

It was the type of play that would come to define Rundles’ inaugural season in the Old Gold and Black, and his clutch play on both ends of the floor would play a major role in allowing Wofford claim its inaugural SoCon regular-season and tournament titles, while subsequently punching the school’s first postseason ticket. It was Rundles’ play in the SoCon title game that most fans will remember, as he scored a game-high 20 points, which allowed the Terriers to cut down the nets with a 56-51 championship win over Appalachian State.

Sophomore Taylor Wagener (0.6 PPG, 0.7 RPG) and junior Matt Steelman (1.2 PPG, 0.3 RPG) saw only limited action in the backcourt last season in reserve roles, and both are expected to contribute more this season. Wagener and Steelman both saw mop-up minutes in nine games in the backcourt last season for the Terriers.

Overall, Wofford again appears to have one of the better backcourts in the league heading into the 2010-11 campaign. With that year of experience under the belts of both Rundles and Diggs, this team should be able to overcome the losses of Junior Salters and Jason Dawson. The Terriers will actually have more talented depth in the backcourt; however, it will be less experienced depth.

The Newcomers

As a result of the Southern Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance, Wofford head coach Mike Young, who’s already considered one of the league’s best recruiters, looked as if he had brought in one of his best recruiting classes in his 11 years as head coach; however, the Terriers were dealt a tough blow three weeks ago when it was learned that Josh Corry would be leaving school.

With Corry’s potential as a pure perimeter shooter and ability to score in bunches, the depth in the backcourt certainly took a hit. Corry, who averaged 21.2 PPG in his senior season at nearby Gaffney HS, decided to leave for another school in early October.

There was some good news, as Wofford brought in a couple of talented post players in Charlotte products Aerris Smith and Cameron McQueen.

Smith, a 6'8", 260-pound product of Butler High School, certainly addresses the frontcourt size issue that many thought might hinder Wofford last season. McQueen, a 6'8", 240-pound product of Ardrey Kell HS, is a walk-on. He performed well in the Terriers trip to Brazil in the summer.

The Schedule

As usual, Wofford will face a challenging slate as it looks to hang another SoCon Championship and NCAA Tournament banner from the rafters of Benjamin Johnson Arena.

The Terriers open the season on Nov. 11 against a Big Ten opponent, traveling to face Tubby Smith’s Minnesota Golden Gophers. It will be a homecoming game for senior forward Noah Dahlman (Braham, Minn.) and senior guard Cameron Rundles (Minneapolis, Minn.), as the Terriers face a Minnesota club coming off a 21-14 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Golden Gophers will give the Terriers a good test from the start, and it’s a game that, despite being at one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten, serves as a winnable game for the Terriers. Wofford will see one of the best pure shooters in the Big Ten in Minnesota guard Blake Hoffarber (10.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG in 2009-10).

Another exciting non-conference game will be against NCAA Tournament qualifiers Clemson (Nov. 15) at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Terriers stand a good chance of facing Georgetown (Nov. 19) in the second round of the Charleston Classic, assuming both the Terriers and Hoyas win their first-round games against Coastal Carolina and USC Upstate, respectively.

Rounding out the NCAA Tournament opponents in the non-conference slate is a post-Thanksgiving trip to face Xavier (Nov.27), who’s fresh off an NCAA "Sweet 16" appearance and matched Wofford’s 26-9 record. The Musketeers enter the campaign with a 24-game winning streak at the Cintas Center, which is the third-longest active streak in the nation.

The Terriers open conference play on the road at Alumni Gym on Dec. 4, facing Matt Matheny’s Elon Phoenix. After traveling to South Carolina in search of a second-straight win over the Gamecocks on Dec.11 and participating in the VCU Tournament at the end of the month, the Terriers begin league play in earnest, hosting league and Palmetto State rivals back-to-back in The Citadel (Jan. 6) and College of Charleston (Jan. 8). Trips to Davidson (Jan. 15) and Appalachian State (Jan. 27) also highlight conference matchups in January.

Five of Wofford’s last seven games of the season, not including a Bracket Buster Matchup (TBA in late January) will take place away from Benjamin Johnson Arena. The most intriguing matchups are at the end of the season, as the Terriers travel to Chattanooga (Feb. 23) and Furman (Feb. 26), before heading to Chattanooga’s Mackenzie Arena (March 4-7) for the 2010-11 SoCon Tournament.

Final Prediction

It’s hard to imagine the Terriers being anything other than the favorites this season in the Southern Conference South Division race, as well as the preseason tournament title pick.

The Terriers defense was the one thing that allowed them to break through and put together that magical 2009-10 season in which they notched a 26-9 mark, SoCon South Division Title, tournament title and inaugural NCAA Tournament ticket.

Wofford finished the season ranking third in scoring defense (61.0 PPG), first in field goal percentage defense (.417 PCT), first in three-point field goal percentage defense (.306 PCT) and third in steals (6.9 SPG).

If the Terriers can approach that type of play again this season on the defensive end of the floor, Wofford should be dancing once again.

The Backcourt: