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 following is a preview of the second first round matchup of the SoCon Tournament 2010. Please stay tuned as I will be bringing you complete previews of all four opening round games, as well as recaps of all 11 games from Charlotte.

I will also include previews of the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship game, which is slated for Monday evening. Also be on the lookout for some miscellaneous tournament notes as I try to get everyone ready for the 89th renewal of the nation's oldest conference tournament.

 

No. 4 (North) UNC Greensboro (7-22, 6-12 SoCon) vs. No. 5 (South) Furman (13-16, 7-11 SoCon), 4:15 p.m.

Furman and UNC Greensboro will square off in the second first-round matchup of the 2010 SoCon Basketball Tournament, and it will mark the third time the two schools have squared off in the league's postseason tournament.

Furman has won both of the previous meetings, including a 73-71 win over the Spartans in the 2007 tournament, also under the direction of Jeff Jackson, and that also accounts for the last win for the Paladins in the SoCon Tournament.

The winner of the first-round showdown will face No. 1 overall seed Wofford in the quarterfinals on Saturday at approximately the same time.

Furman enters the tournament with an all-time mark of 42-50 in the nation's oldest postseason conference tourney, while the Spartans are 10-10. UNCG last won a game in the tourney in 2008, with a 63-46 win over Appalachian State, before dropping an 82-52 decision to eventual champion Davidson.

Furman and UNCG split the two regular-season games, with UNCG garnering an 88-78 win in the first meeting between the two on Jan. 9 at the Greensboro Coliseum, while the Paladins were able to avenge the earlier setback to the Spartans with a 72-64 win over the Spartans on Feb. 4 at Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University.

The Spartans have played one of the toughest slates in the SoCon this season and their 7-22 record can be quite deceiving, having faced seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams as a part of their non-conference schedule this season.

The Spartans have played especially well down the stretch, having won two out of its final three games in the 2009-10 season, defeating Georgia Southern (81-79) and posting maybe their most-impressive game of the 2009-10 season with a win at The Citadel (59-53), snapping the Bulldogs' six-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Furman has played some solid basketball down the stretch as well, as the Paladins have played particularly well on the defensive end of the floor down the stretch.

Despite losing two of its last three games, Furman continued to amp up the pressure on the defensive end of the floor. The Paladins posted a pair of three point losses down the stretch at Davidson (61-58) and at home against the College of Charleston (69-66) in the regular-season finale.

One of the things that could cause the Paladins problems on Friday afternoon is UNCG's experience. The Spartans will likely start four seniors (Ben Stywall, Mikko Koivisto, Kendall Toney, and Pete Brown). Stywall is a player that has shown he could single-handedly take over a game, as he showed in the regular-season finale against Georgia Southern, scoring 30 points and adding 11 rebounds.

Stywall has simply been amazing this season for the Spartans and has resembled former great Kyle Hines with his performance on the offensive end and on the boards. Stywall, who became the school's all-time career leader in rebounds in the six-point win at The Citadel, enters Friday's first-round affair averaging a double-double (14.5 PPG, league-leading 10.3 RPG).

In the first meeting with the Paladins, which was an 88-78 win for the Spartans, Stywall was able to finish with 11 points and four boards, which are manageable numbers from Furman's standpoint.

In the second meeting between the two, which was a 72-64 win for the Paladins on Feb. 4 at Timmons Arena, Stywall had an effort which has resembled his play for much of the season, posting 13 points and ripping down 10 rebounds to complete one of his league-leading 14 double-doubles this season.

Another player that could play a factor in the 2010 SoCon Tournament in determining how far the Spartans are able to advance is senior Mikko Koivisto (8.7 PPG).

Koivisto, a senior guard from Vantaa, Finland, has caused problems for the Paladins in the past. In the Spartans' victory over the Paladins back on Jan. 9, Koivisto not only scored the 1,000th point of his UNCG career, while also contributing 14 points, doing most of his damage from long range (4-of-4 from three-point range in the win).

Koivisto has traditionally been one of the team's deadliest outside shooters (50-of-162, 30.2 percent), despite seeing his perimeter shooting suffer a little this season as opposed to previous seasons in his career.

Koivisto scored 14 points, including connecting on 4-of-5 triples, in the eight-point loss at Furman back on Feb. 4.

Completing the trio of seniors that is really the heart of this UNCG team is Kendall Toney (7.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG), who will surely be playing in front of family and friends this afternoon, as he hails from Charlotte, N.C.

Toney is a strong, physical guard that possesses excellent range. He led the Spartans with 17 points in the last season with the Paladins, while scoring eight points in the initial meeting between the two.

Two players that have really come in and made an impact in the backcourt this season for the Spartans have been East Carolina transfer Brandon Evans (8.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG) and All-Freshman team candidate Kyle Randall (9.4 PPG, 2.6 APG, 3.0 RPG).

Evans is an athletic two-guard and comes into the tournament as the team's fourth-leading scorer. Evans enjoyed his top outing of the 2009-10 season against Richmond, recording 22 points and seven rebounds in a loss. Evans is one of the team's best athletes and scored 11 points in the first meeting with Furman, but missed the second game in Greenville.

Randall is the team's best freshman and the Spartans' second-leading scorer. He has had a couple of strong performances against the Paladins, scoring 14 and four points, respectively, in the two meetings.

Korey Van Dussen (4.5 PPG, 1.3 APG) rounds out the rotation in the backcourt and the talented freshman backs up Evans at the two-guard position. Van Dussen has enjoyed some moments in his first season as a Spartan, recording his top performance of the season way back in November, with a career-high 13 points and five assists in an 82-61 loss to East Carolina.

Pete Brown (4.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, team-leading 39 blocked shots) and Brian Cole (4.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG) provide the Spartans a solid combination of athleticism and size underneath the basket entering Friday's second first round game.

Cole, a highly-touted 6'8", 220 lb. true freshman from Dacula, GA., had a career effort in the initial meeting with the Paladins, scoring 14 points and adding eight rebounds.

Pete Brown is one of the most athletic players on the UNCG roster and gives the Spartans great size and shot-blocking ability.

Furman counters that rotation with a strong one of its own, and one that enters the tournament as one of the most-athletic rotations.

Furman continues to be led by two of the most-dynamic scorers in the SoCon, in Amu Saaka (15.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, team-leading 37.3 percent from three-point range) and Jordan Miller (14.3 PPG).

Saaka is one of the SoCon's premier athletes and turned in two of his top games of the 2009-10 season against the Spartans, scoring 31 points in the initial meeting with UNCG this season and then turned around and added 22 points in Furman's eight-point win in the second meeting with the Spartans this season.

Saaka, a transfer from the University of South Florida, has given the Spartans matchup issues with his athleticism in the previous two meetings this season.

Miller had a strong performance in the first meeting with the Spartans, although it didn't show up in the scoring column on the stats sheet at the end of the night. In the 88-78 win by the Spartans, Miller had eight rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot.

In the second meeting between the two, Miller scored 17 points, pulled down 17 rebounds, and recorded two steals and two blocks.

Miller paced the Paladins with 20 points in a 69-66 loss to College of Charleston last Saturday, and enters Friday's contest leading Furman with 52 triples on the campaign and is shooting 36.1-percent (52-of-144) from three-point range this season.

Joining Miller as a part of the Paladins' backcourt are point guard Darryl Evans (6.6 PPG, team-leading 93 assists) and shooting guard Justin Dehm (8.6 PPG).

Though Evans has had some problems turning the ball over at times this season for Furman, he gives the Paladins scoring ability and quickness on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, which is something the Paladins lacked the previous two seasons. Evans narrowly missed double figures in the second meeting with the Spartans this season, scoring nine points in the 72-64 win by the Paladins.

Dehm is probably the smartest player on the court for the Paladins. The 6'4" guard is one of the team's best shooters and has canned 46 triples this season. Dehm has especially played well down the stretch for the Paladins this season, scoring a season-high of 22 points in the 61-58 loss at Davidson.

Bryson Barnes (7.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 32 blocked shots) has also hit his stride with his play down the stretch for the Paladins and is coming off a superlative effort in the regular-season finale, 69-66, loss to the College of Charleston. In that heartbreaking loss for Furman, Barnes had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the setback.

Barnes had his best performance of the two meetings against UNCG in the initial meeting on the road, as he scored 15 points and pulled down four boards in the losing effort. Barnes also ranks second on the team and sixth in the league in blocked shots this season, with 32 swatted shots on the campaign.

Colin Reddick (4.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and Brandon Sebirumbi (5.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG) are two young players that give the Paladins good size and a physical edge in the paint and both can be factors on both ends of the floor should they be able to stay out of foul trouble.

Reddick started the final two regular-season games for Furman and is playing some of his best basketball of his true freshman season at just the right time. Reddick has started 16 games of the 28 games he's played in this season, and has scored in double figures five times this season, with two double-doubles.

He hasn't played particularly well against the Spartans, scoring a combined five points against UNCG in two meetings. His 35 blocked shots are a team standard and rank him third among the league leaders.

Sebirumbi comes into the tournament as Furman's leader in field goal percentage (51.7 percent, 46-of-89) and recently recorded his best game in a Furman uniform, with 15 points and four rebounds in a 79-77 loss at Georgia Southern. Sebirumbi has only scored in double figures twice this season, but has seen increased minutes as a result of his strong play of late.

Sebirumbi had his best game against the Spartans in the first meeting between the two this season, scoring six points in the loss. Sebirumbi has averaged 8.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG in the final four games of the regular-season.

Chris Toler (2.6 PPG), Neil Duval (2.0 PPG), and Noah States (2.0 PPG) round out the frontcourt rotation for the Paladins. States is the best scorer of the trio and is one of the team's best scorers off of the bench. States can also step out and hit the outside shot.

He had a career-high 10 rebounds in the Furman loss at Georgia Southern on Feb. 17. Toler has shown flashes of promise this season and Duval has also been able to play well at times this season, scoring in double figures once. Like States, Duval is also a player that can step out and hit the trey.

Three of the league's best scorers will be on display in Friday afternoon's second matchup, as Saaka (31 pts. vs UNCG on Jan. 9, 34 points against Davidson on Jan. 13), Miller (31 points vs. UTC on Feb. 13), and Stywall (30 pts. vs. Georgia Southern on Mar. 1) account for four of the league's eight 30-point scoring efforts this season.

If Furman can handle the "junk" defenses the Spartans will employ as well as their overall experience, the Paladins have a great chance to keep their streak intact against the Spartans in tournament play.

On the other hand, Furman has had trouble at times this season on the boards and the Spartans come in to the tournament leading the league in offensive rebounds (14.3) and rank fourth in rebounding margin (+0.8).

However, the difference might just be on the defensive end and Furman (holding opp. to 42.5 percent shooting, fourth in SoCon) has been able to rely on that plenty as it has gained in overall experience this season.

This should be one of the best games of the opening day and Furman survives a gritty UNCG squad.

Nearing the end of the regular season for college basketball, schools use the last home game of the year to reflect upon the accomplishments of their senior players.

While most senior night festivities are filled with joy and celebration, the ceremony at Samford University on Feb. 22 took on more of a somber tone.

Instead of reflecting on the present and what will be, The Pete Hanna Center was filled with images of what could have been and what will never be.

The evening started with usual the elation when senior walk-on Peter Carroll was announced to the crowd.

Carroll, a transfer from Furman University, has helped the team tremendously with his knowledge of the Southern Conference and his positive attitude.

Bryan Friday received applause not only for wearing No. 13, but for his success as a Bulldog. Last season, Friday averaged 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and was Samford's Most Outstanding Player in 2009. This year, his points per game is down to 10.2, but he remains a valuable member of the squad.

Since arriving on campus, Trey Montgomery's career has progressed from redshirting, to barely playing, to being named most improved player, to becoming of the best point guards in Samford history.� He has averaged over 11 points per game and led the Bulldogs in assists the last two seasons and will shortly become the 22nd player in Samford history to score 1,000 points in a career.

Despite the joyous feeling in the arena, the mood was about to become melancholy, as the fourth and final senior was about to be honored. Unlike the other three seniors, forward Jim Griffin's arrival on the court was unusual.

Only Griffin's spirit was present at the ceremony that night.

At first glance, Sept. 7, 2009 was a normal day for Griffin. He returned to his dorm room that day after playing in a pick-up basketball game and lifting some weights. However, unbeknown to Griffin and his friends and family, events in his life were about to take a dramatic turn for the worse.

Griffin died in his sleep that night.� According to the Jefferson County coroner's office in Alabama, he passed away at the age of 23 from a heart ailment that had never been detected.

Griffin will never be remembered for his scoring prowess, having averaged only 1.8 points per game in his career at Samford.� What set him apart from most athletes was his work ethic and his dedication to basketball.�

Griffin never missed a practice and was a recipient in 2009 of Samford's Practice Hard Award.� He set the example for all of his teammates to follow.

People were told ahead of time to wear their Griffin "Sixth-Man tee shirts to Senior Night. However, those is attendance had no idea of what was about to happen next.

After a brief description of Griffin's achievements at Samford, it was announced that his No. 3 jersey will be permanently retired by the Bulldogs. It was hard to find a dry eye when members of Griffin's family held up his jersey enclosed in a glass case. Griffin's jesery number becomes the first one ever to be retired by the basketball program.

Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs struggled to focus on attempting to defeat the Georgia Southern Eagles. Samford missed easy lay-ups at the beginning of the game and found it difficult to defend Georgia Sothern's three-point shooters.

The Eagles defeated the Bullogs 83-73, but the Samford players made Griffin proud by never giving up and rallying several times to keep the game competitive.

After having endured so much adversity throughout the season, losing a basketball game is about as painful as a bee sting. If the death of a teammate wasn't enough, the team had to endure seeing Coach Jimmy Tillette suffer a seizure during a game on the road against UNC Greensboro.

I don't believe that the life lessons learned over the last few months by members of the basketball team were the ones described to them during the recruitment process.

As the 20th anniversary of the death of Hank Gathers, a former star basketball player for Loyola Marymount, nears, it is refreshing to see that at Samford the character of a player matters as much, if not more, than his athletic accomplishments.

With his number now retired, Griffin will be remembered by all who visit the the Pete Hanna Center for years to come. However, no length of time will every explain how the organ who defined an athlete's desire to compete is the same one that caused his life to end so prematurely.

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Photo Credit: ABC3340.com

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On a night where Kentucky convincingly got their revenge on South Carolina, other teams were in action as well.

Who made the best of Thursday night? Who missed a late season opportunity?

Winners

Kentucky (27-1, 12-1)

Devan Downey had 26 points, but it was all about the Wildcats at Rupp last night. An 82-61 victory over the Gamecocks helped avenge their only loss of the season.

Northwestern (18-10, 7-9)

It was a night to remember for Northwestern. Their 74-57 victory over Iowa last night was their 18th win of the season and a new school record for wins in a single season.

Wofford (22-8, 14-3)

Wofford’s win over Charleston last night put them one game up with one game to go in the Southern Conference. They won 74-68 at home.

Morehead State (20-9, 14-3)

Nothing like finally handing Murray State their first loss in the OVC. Kenneth Faried recorded a double-double in the win.

Gonzaga (23-5, 11-2)

The Zags clinched at least a share of their 10th straight West Coast Conference regular season title with an 88-51 thumping of Santa Clara.

Losers

Tulsa (19-9, 8-5)

A non-conference game in late February at Duke? It probably would have been a huge boost if they had won, but they were never really in it, and it came at a point where the Golden Hurricanes need the Ws.

Indiana (9-18, 3-12)

Even playing at home against a ranked opponent isn’t enough to get Indiana playing well. They were smacked at Assembly Hall by 32 last night by Wisconsin.

College of Charleston (19-10, 13-4)

With the regular season conference championship up for grabs, the Cougars couldn’t win at Wofford. They will seek revenge in the Southern Conference Tournament.

Murray State (26-4, 16-1)

They probably didn’t have much of a chance for an at-large bid anyway, but now there is absolutely zero chance after they lost to Morehead State last night. They will have to earn their NCAA bid despite 26 wins.

Over the next three weeks, I will take an in-depth look at each team in the SoCon heading down the stretch to help you, the Southern Conference hoops fan, get ready for the 89th renewal of the nation's oldest basketball tournament to take place in Charlotte, N.C., March 5-8.

In the information included below, I'll take a look at the North Division notes in this particular article and the South Division notes will be included in tomorrow's article. Also, I'll give you my best my best picks for the three All-SoCon teams and three All-SoCon all-decade teams.

RANDOM NOTES

First Time For Everything

Both Western Carolina and Wofford have notched identical 19-8 records, which are to be noted as not only the league's standard for overall wins, but the 19 wins also match or set a season standard for both programs as Division I basketball program members.

With its 75-70 win at UNC Greensboro on Monday evening, Western Carolina matched the Division I program standard for wins with its 19th win of the 2009-10 season, tying Steve Cotrell's 1981-82 club, which also won 19 games. The Catamounts joined the Division I ranks in 1976-77.

The Terriers, who have won 12 of their last 13 games, notched their 19th win with a 59-54 win at Samford on Saturday night. The seven-straight wins also broke a team record for consecutive wins as a Division I member, set earlier this season at six games. The Terriers joined the Division I basketball ranks in 1995-96.

Buzz Remembers

Buzz Peterson probably has a special place in his memory for the College of Charleston, as he led Appalachian State to a 68-56 victory over the Cougars in the Southern Conference Tournament Championship victory on Mar. 5, 2000 at the Bi-LO Center in Greenville, S.C., to lead the Mountaineers to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1979.

In his first season back at the helm of the program, Peterson has led the Black and Gold to the top of the North Division, and has the Mountaineers in prime position to claim their first outright North Division Title since 2006-07. The Mountaineers will square off with the South Division-leading Cougars on Wednesday night.

CofC leads the all-time series, 14-9 and the Cougars have won the last three encounters against ASU.

 

Sims vs. Goudelock

Another one of the intriguing individual storylines heading into Wednesday night's matchup between the two divisional titans is it will allow SoCon hoops fans an opportunity to see the league's No. 1 and No. 2 leading scorers square off against each other.

Appalachian State's Donald Sims, who was the SoCon's Player of the Week last week, was able to overtake the College of Charleston's Andrew Goudelock in ASU's 111-84 win over Georgia Southern at the Holmes Center. With Goudelock and the Cougars enjoying the rare night off, Sims had a huge night, scoring 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field.

In his last two outings against Davidson and Georgia Southern, Sims has scored a combined total of 55 points. Sims enters Wednesday evening's contest averaging 19.8 PPG., while Goudelock is adding 19.4 PPG.

With the league's Player of the Year award reduced to a mere formality the previous two seasons with Stephen Curry at Davidson, it should be interesting to see how the voting shakes out between Sims and Goudelock this season.

 

Quite a Night for Shooting the Rock

On Saturday evening, seemingly every team that won produced a blistering, season-high shooting percentage. No performance exemplified that more than Appalachian State did in its 111-84 win over Georgia Southern.

In the fourth-straight victory for the Mountaineers, ASU used a sizzling shooting performance in the opening half to take a 57-54 lead to the halftime locker room. The Mountaineers shot an amazing 77.8 percent from the field in the opening frame and scored a season-high of 57 points in a single half of play.

Not to be out-done, Georgia Southern put together an impressive opening half of their own, as the Eagles connected on 58.8 percent (21-of-27) of their shots from the field, producing one of their best performances for a single half this season. For the game, the Mountaineers connected on an unheard of 67.2 percent (38-of-59), while the Eagles finished the game shooting an impressive 52.5 percent (31-of-59).

Meanwhile, Furman was lighting up the nets in an 87-78 win over Chattanooga. The Paladins shot a season-high 63.0 percent (17-of-27) en route to scoring a season-standard 55 second half points to walk away from the "Roundhouse" with their third win in the last five trips to what was once referred to as the third-toughest to play in Division I college basketball in the mid-1990s in an article by Sports Illustrated.

For the game, the Paladins connected on an impressive 53.7 percent (29-of-54) to post one of its best all-around shooting performances of the 2009-10 season.

In The Citadel's 77-72 win at Elon on Saturday evening, the Bulldogs were also blistering hot from the field, as the Bulldogs were able to connect on 53.2 percent (25-of-47) of their shots from the field, including connecting on an impressive 62.5 percent (15-of-24) in the second half to garner the victory.

 

Unfamiliar Territory

For Davidson and Chattanooga, playing on March 5 (play-in round) might seem unfamiliar to both schools, who have won a combined 19 league tournament titles, including nine titles since the implementation of the play-in round in the 1992-93 season.

The two teams have combined to have only had to play in the play-in round of the tournament on just four occasions (Chattanooga: 2000, '02 and '07; Davidson: '01). Although three teams have made it from the opening round to the championship round (Furman: '02, Elon: '08, and College of Charleston: '09), no team has managed to reel of four consecutive victories after playing on the opening day.

With both Davidson and Chattanooga currently sitting in third-place in their respective divisions, both are on track to be a big draw to the Queen City on the tourney's opening day, especially Davidson, which is only a few miles north of Charlotte and always draws well at more distant destinations.

The Mocs currently are three games out of a bye in the North with five games to play, while Davidson has a doable task, trailing second-place Wofford by two games and first-place College of Charleston by just two-and-a-half games with five games remaining, heading into Wednesday night's contest, which interestingly enough, is against Wofford.

If Davidson does not win the South in 2009-10, it will snap a streak of three-straight divisional titles by the Wildcats. Either Chattanooga or Davidson have appeared in nine-consecutive league championship games, dating back to the 2000 game between Appalachian State and College of Charleston.

Davidson or Chattanooga have appeared in 14-of-16 title games, dating back to the inception of the play-in game in 1993-94. The only seasons in which Davidson or Chattanooga has not appeared in a title game was in back-to-back seasons, as Appalachian State faced College of Charleston in both 1999 and 2000.

 

Quick Look at Wednesday Night's Showdown Between Division Leaders

Appalachian State and College of Charleston face each other on Wednesday night and at least on paper, this sets up as truly a mouth-watering affair if you're a fan of points.

We've already alluded to the fact that the mid-week matchup will feature the SoCon's two top individual scorers. However, it will also be a matchup between two of the league's highest scoring clubs, as ASU enters the contest averaging 75.5 PPG, which ranks second in the league, while CofC's 74.5 PPG as a team ranks them just behind the Mountaineers in third.

The Cougars have been deadly shooting the basketball from distance this season, ranking among the NCAA's top five for much of the campaign in three-pointers made per game, knocking down 9.4. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers top the league's statistical chart in team three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 37.8 of their shots from deep per outing.

On the other hand, no team does a better job at defending the trifecta than the Cougars, who are holding opponents to 30.8 percent shooting from the field this season. Appalachian State enters the matchup leading the SoCon in field goal percentage shooting, at 48.0 percent, while the Cougars are not that far behind, connecting on 46.3 percent of their shots from the field to rank second in the league in shooting percentage.

The biggest discrepancy between the two league powers is in the rebounding department. The Apps lead the league in both rebounding offense (38.2 RPG) and rebounding defense (31.2 RPG) and thus, lead the league in rebounding margin (+7.0).

If there's been one chink in the armour of Bobby Cremins' club this season, it has been rebounding the basketball. The Cougars enter Wednesday evening's match up ranking 10th on the statistical ledger in rebounding offense (31.6 RPG), while placing dead last among the 12 league members in rebounding defense (41.0 RPG).

Putting two-and-two together, you might have been able to guess that the Cougars average out to the worst rebounding margin (-9.3) in the league. The Cougars have been effective effecting shots on the defensive end of the floor this season, ranking second in the conference in blocked shots (5.2 BPG) per game.

 

My All-SoCon Team (First Team)

G-Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston)

G-Donald Sims (Appalachian State)

G-Cameron Wells (The Citadel)

F-Noah Dahlman (Wofford)

F-Amu Saaka (Furman)

G-Brandon Giles (Western Carolina)

 

Second Team

G-Tony White, Jr. (College of Charleston)

G-Ty Patterson, (Chattanooga)

G-Willie Powers III (Georgia Southern)

G-Donovan Monroe (College of Charleston)

F-Ben Stywall (UNC Greensboro)

G-Drew Spradlin (Elon)

 

Third Team

G-Kellen Brand (Appalachian State)

G-Jordan Miller (Furman)

G-Josh Davis (Samford)

F-Jake Cohen (Davidson)

F-Adam Constantine (Elon)

F-Jake Robinson (Western Carolina)

 

All-Freshman Team

G-J.P. Kuhlman (Davidson)

F-Harrison DuPont (The Citadel)

F-Colin Reddick (Furman)

F-Josh Odem (Chattanooga)

F-Jake Cohen (Davidson)

 

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Jake Cohen (Davidson)

 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Donald Sims (Appalachian State)

 

COACH OF THE YEAR

Buzz Peterson (Appalachian State)

 

ALL DECADE TEAMS (2000-2010)

 

First Team

G-Kevin Martin (Western Carolina, 2001-04)

G-Stephen Curry (Davidson, 2006-09)

G-Tim Smith (East Tennessee State, 2003-05)

G-Elton Nesbitt (Georgia Southern, 2004-06)

F-Brendan Winters (Davidson, 2003-06)

F-Kyle Hines (UNC Greensboro, 2004-08)

 

Second Team

G-Jason Richards (Davidson, 2004-08)

G-Julius Jenkins (Georgia Southern, 1999-03)

G-Andrew Goudelock (College of Charleston, 2008-present)

G-Cameron Wells (The Citadel, 2007-present)

F-Mindaugas Katelynas (Chattanooga, 2004-05)

F-Zakee Wadood (East Tennessee State, 2003-05)

 

Third Team

G-Dontaye Draper (College of Charleston, 2004-07)

G-Stephen McDowell (Chattanooga, 2007-09)

G-Ricky Hickman, (UNC Greensboro, 2004-08)

G-D.J. Thompson (Appalachian State, 2003-07)

F-Louis Graham (Georgia Southern, 2004-08)

F-Ashley Champion (Chattanooga, 2001-03)

 

HONORABLE MENTION

G-Donald Sims (Appalachian State, 2008-present)

G-Jay Joseph (UNC Greensboro, 2000-04)

G-Guilherme Da Luz (Furman, 1999-03)

F-Karim Souchu (Furman, 1999-03)

F-Thomas Mobley (College of Charleston, 2003-05)

F-Howard Wilkerson (Wofford, 2002-06)

 

PLAYER OF THE DECADE

Stephen Curry (Davidson, 2006-09)

 

COACH OF THE DECADE

Bob McKillop (Davidson)

 

TEAM OF THE DECADE

Davidson

 

TEAM NOTES (North Division)

 

1. Appalachian State (16-10, 10-4)

Appalachian State enters Wednesday night's game with College of Charleston winners of four straight, which is a season-best winning streak.

The Mountaineers have continued to get "lights out" shooting from Donald Sims, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week. In two games this past week, Sims scored a combined 55 points (30 vs. Georgia Southern, 25 vs. Davidson). Sims was able to garner SoCon Player of the Week plaudits for the second straight week, as he averaged 27.5 PPG from Feb. 9-15 and shot better than 70 percent from the field last week. Sims became just the 17th player in school history to score 500 or more points in a single season.

With ASU's 66-56 win over Davidson on Thursday night at the Holmes Center, the Mountaineers claimed their first regular-season sweep of the Wildcats since the 2001-02 campaign. With its 111-84 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday night, the Apps prevented Georgia Southern from earning the season sweep.

The win over the Eagles also ensured the Apps a first-round bye in the upcoming league tournament to be played in Charlotte, N.C., from March 5-8. ASU was the first team to garner one of the top four seeds for the league tournament. ASU has now earned a bye in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament three of the past four seasons, with the only year that ASU missed that mark being last season, when the Apps finished fourth in the North.

Appalachian State will play three of its last four games at the Holmes Center, including Saturday afternoon's "Bracket Buster's" showdown with Tennessee Tech.

 

2. Western Carolina (19-8, 9-6)

Western Carolina got a much-needed 75-70 win over UNC Greensboro on Monday evening to snap a season-long three-game losing streak. It was a big night for senior Brandon Giles, who scored 12 of his 20 points in the opening half, while center Richie Gordon added all 11 of his points in the second half to help catapult WCU to the five-point road win.

The win followed three-consecutive setbacks to Davidson (75-72), Appalachian State (89-77), and Elon (81-76). The Catamounts, however, have reached uncharted territory in recent memory with its 19th win of the 2009-10 season, which as was mentioned earlier, matches the 1981-82 team's 19 victories, which is the only other team in the Division I era to win as many games on the hardwood.

With the win over the Spartans on Monday evening, it marked the Catamounts' fourth straight win over the in-state rival Spartans. With WCU's struggles of late, however, the Catamounts took a nose dive in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-major poll ,which came out a few hours before the Catamounts' win over the Spartans on Monday, as WCU slipped from 13th to 20th in the latest released poll.

The Catamounts, despite the struggles, appear to still be in good position to gain their second straight first-round tournament bye. The Catamounts will close the 2009-10 regular-season with two more road games against red-hot The Citadel on Thursday night and a Bracket Busters road contest at Kent State on Saturday, before closing the season with two-consecutive home affairs against Samford (Feb. 25) and Chattanooga (Feb.27).

 

3. Chattanooga (13-14, 5-9)

It's been one of the stranger seasons in the history of the tradition-rich Chattanooga basketball program, as the Mocs won six straight games at one point this season and are now currently embroiled in a five game losing streak.

The Mocs hosted a mini, two-game homestand this past week, in which they dropped back-to-back games to Samford (78-54) and Furman (87-78), which has to be of particular concern to Chattanooga head coach John Shulman, despite the overall youth of this basketball team.

This team resembles one of Shulman's predecessors' teams, Henry Dickerson, who had several teams stacked with JUCO talent, but those squads lacked the chemistry and hustle to ever get over the hump during his short tenure as head coach.

Now Shulman, a much better coach, is now encountering the same problem that ultimately led to the demise of Dickerson. It will be interesting to see how Shulman and his staff, one of the best young staffs in the league, approaches this problem the rest of the way.

One of the bright spots this season has been the play of the Mocs on the defensive end of the floor. The Mocs rank third in the league in field goal percentage defense (42.0 percent) this season, despite allowing the Paladins to have one of their best shooting efforts of the 2009-10 campaign on Saturday night, as the Paladins connected on 53.7 percent (29-of-54) of its shots from the field.

The Mocs continue to get exceptional play from swing man Ty Patterson, who has scored in double figures in 15 of the 19 games he has played in this season. The senior wing continues to lead the Mocs in scoring, at 15.6 PPG. and is averaging 5.1 RPG.

The Mocs, who trail the Catamounts by three games for the final bye in the SoCon North, will not hit the hardwood again until Saturday, making the short trip to Birmingham, AL., looking to avenge the 24-point loss they suffered on their home floor to Samford last week. Samford's win over the Mocs snapped a 10-game losing streak by the Bulldogs to the Mocs.

The Mocs will celebrate Senior Night on Feb. 22, hosting Davidson, and will finish the 2009-10 regular-season with games at Appalachian State (Feb. 25) and Western Carolina (Feb. 27).

 

4. UNC Greensboro (5-20, 4-10)

Despite four straight losses of its own, the UNC Greensboro Spartans remain tied for fourth place in the North Division with both Elon and Samford in the standings.

Coming off a 75-70 loss to Western Carolina on Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum, the Spartans have a huge game coming up on Wednesday night against I-40 rival Elon at Alumni Gym. With its 62-55 win over the Phoenix earlier this season at the Coliseum, the Spartans have now won eight consecutive wins over Elon, dating back to the 2006 SoCon Tournament, when the Phoenix claimed a 64-61 quarterfinal win over the Spartans.

Despite the Spartans' struggles of late, forward Ben Stywall has continued to assert himself as one of the SoCon's premier big men. Stywall is just the third player in Spartan history to record 250 or more rebounds in three straight seasons, joining some pretty exclusive company in former greats Kyle Hines and Eric Cuthrell.

Stywall not only leads the club in scoring average (14.0 PPG), he also leads the SoCon in rebounding, ripping down 10.4 caroms per contest. Stywall's 14 double-doubles this season also represent a SoCon 2009-10 standard.

The Spartans sit just a game back with Chattanooga with four games remaining; however, three of their last four regular-season contests are on the road, beginning with a three-game trip that begins with Wednesday night's short trip to Elon. The Spartans will close the regular-season on March 1, hosting Georgia Southern on Senior Night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

5. Samford (10-16, 4-10)

Samford was able to bring a resounding end to its five game losing streak last Wednesday night, handing Chattanooga a 24-point (78-54) home loss to snap a 10-game skid to the Mocs.

The Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaking, 59-54, decision to the Wofford Terriers on Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center. In that contest, the Terriers overcame a halftime deficit and out-scored the Bulldogs 35-22 in the second half to go on to the victory.

This season, the Bulldogs have attempted 27 more shots from three-point range than they have from two-point range this season. The Bulldogs have taken a total of 1,129 shots from the field, with 578 of those shots coming from beyond the three-point arc. The Bulldogs are shooting 56.3 percent from two-point range and 36 percent from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs have made at least one three-point field goal in 559 consecutive games.

The Bulldogs got one of their best individual performances last week against Chattanooga, as Josh Davis scored 30 points, connecting on 10-of-17 shots from the field, including going 7-of-13 from three-point range, producing one of the best individual performances of the season for a Bulldog player.

Davis continues to lead the Bulldogs in scoring this season, coming into Saturday's showdown against those same Chattanooga Mocs at the Pete Hanna Center, averaging 12.8 PPG, while Trey Montogomery adds 10.8 PPG and Bryan Friday rounds out the double figure scorers, at 10.2 PPG.

The Bulldogs continue to have one of the top defensive teams in the country in terms of scoring defense, entering this weekend's action leading the SoCon and ranking 10th nationally in scoring defense, yielding just 59.5 PPG. In field goal percentage defense, the Bulldogs continue to lead the league, limiting opponents to just 40.9 percent shooting from the field.

The Bulldogs, who sit just one game behind Chattanooga for third place in the North standings will host the Mocs in a key North Division battle on Saturday night, before closing out a three-game home-stand against Georgia Southern on Feb. 22.

The Bulldogs will close the season with two-straight road games at Western Carolina (Feb.25) and at Appalachian State (Feb.27).

6. Elon (6-19, 4-10)

Despite its record, Elon is one of those teams that has been playing some competitive basketball of late. After its first two game winning streak last week, Elon dropped a couple of heartbreaking decisions within a 48-hour period, with an 80-77 setback at College of Charleston and a 77-72 loss at home to The Citadel on Saturday evening in a game in which the Phoenix held a lead at halftime.

One of the reasons for Elon's strong play of late has been directly related to the play of Adam Constantine. In both disappointing setbacks last week, Constantine recorded his seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season. In the 80-77 loss at the College of Charleston, Constantine scored 24 points and grabbed 14 boards in the losing effort, before turning around and providing 25 points and 15 rebounds two nights later in another heartbreaking setback to the Bulldogs.

Another player that has seen a steady rise in production of late is senior forward T.J. Douglas, knocking down four three-point field goals last week in those two losing efforts. Douglas is currently tied for tenth in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.0) and is connecting on better than 37 percent of his three-point field goal attempts this season.

Sophomore guard Drew Spradlin continues to lead Elon's scoring efforts this season, averaging 13.1 PPG., while Adam Constantine is adding 12.0 PPG. and leads the team on the backboards, ripping down 8.2 rebounds per game to rank second in the league in rebounding. Constantine is also connecting on 58.2 percent (121-of-208) of his shots from the field to rank fourth in the league in field goal percentage shooting.

The Phoenix have a legitimate shot at finishing third in the league, owning the tiebreaker against Chattanooga, should the Mocs and Phoenix finished tied with each other in the North Division standings. Elon has defeated the Mocs in both meetings this season.

Elon, however, has dropped both meetings to Samford this season and have a huge game coming up later this evening against UNC Greensboro, looking to snap an eight game losing streak to the Spartans. The Phoenix will travel to play Gardner-Webb on Saturday for a "Bracket Busters" game and will return home to face North Division leader Appalachian State on Feb. 22.

Elon will play its final road game on Feb.25 at Georgia Southern and the Phoenix will celebrate Senior Day on Feb. 27 by hosting Davidson.

Going into the first round of the big dance, Connecticut still has some questions to be answered. Injured player Jerome Dyson is gone for good, and the Huskies have struggled so far in trying to replace him.

Connecticut was the last No. 1 seed to experience a scare from a No. 16 seed. In 2006 the No. 1 Huskies trailed the Albany Great Danes by as much as 12 points midway through the second half. In fact, Albany still led by two with six-and-a-half minutes left before Connecticut tied and then took the lead for good, winning by 13.

Will this year be the same?

(1) Connecticut Huskies vs. (16) UT-Chattanooga Moccasins

Connecticut comes into this game having lost three of its last six games, mostly because of injured player Jerome Dyson. Chattanooga gives up the three at an alarming rate, but with A.J. Price as the Huskies' only outside threat since the departure of Dyson, the Mocs hope they can defend the three better.

Chattanooga can shoot the three as much as they give it up. Senior Stephen McDowell is second in the nation in three-pointers made.

However, the inside presence of Hasheem Thabeet may be too much for the Mocs to overcome. Forwards Nicchaeus Doaks, Kevin Goffney, and Khalil Hartwell lead the team in rebounding and must hold their own down low if the Mocs want to keep it close.

The best thing going for Chattanooga is their experience. Five of the six leading scorers for the Mocs are seniors. Since the 2006 season, they are 6-3 in postseason play in the Southern Conference tournament.

On Connecticut's side, this team is much older than it has been the past two seasons, but the Huskies have yet to win a postseason game of any type since their Elite Eight run in 2006. Since then they are 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament and 0-3 in the Big East Tournament.

But, Connecticut is a much better team and is obviously more talented. They score 77 points per game, and Chattanooga gives up just as much as they score; however, anything can happen.

The Mocs have played three ranked teams this season as well as Davidson twice. They played well in two of those five matchups, but this matchup may be too much.  It will be closer than the Louisville-Morehead State game, but not close enough.

Final Score: Connecticut 79, UT-Chattanooga 59

No. 16 Chattanooga Mocs at No. 1 Connecticut Huskies

NCAA Tournament, First Round—West Region
Thursday, Mar. 19—3:00 PM EST on CBS

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Preview

March is by far the best sports time of the year. College basketball is in full swing, and there is nothing like March Madness in any other sport. You've got your dominant teams, Cinderella stories, bubble teams, and all of the Dance-junkie writers who haven't written a single college basketball article all season but claim to know all.

Now, I'm not claiming that I know everything or that I'm going to get all of my picks right during the Big Dance, but I will point out that I have written almost 200 college basketball articles this season, and have gotten more than half of them right against the spread.

But that's neither here nor there at this point—let's take each pick one at a time, starting with Chattanooga at UConn.

The Mocs finished the regular season equivalent to fifth in the Southern Conference, five games behind Davidson. They were first in the SoCon North, but four of the six teams in the South had better division records (three of them had better overall records). They made an unlikely run through the conference tournament (they were fortunate enough to face Charleston and not Davidson in the finals) to get the automatic bid to the Big Dance.

The Huskies, on the other hand, have been dominant all season. They have been in the top national spot on more than one occasion and have been put through every sort of stress-test the Big East can offer.

UConn was knocked out of the Big East tournament in their only game after receiving a double-bye for finishing in the top four. One game seems like somewhat of an understatement, though, considering they lost in the sixth overtime against Syracuse.

The Huskies squad features co-Big East Player of the Year Hasheem Thabeet, who is averaging a double-double on top of 4.6 blocks per game. The other Husky in the frontcourt, Jeff Adrien, is also averaging a double-double.

With two dominant scorers and rebounders under the basket, the Mocs are going to have their work cut out for them. Will they be able to pull off the first 1-16 upset that the tournament has ever seen, or will their unlikely run have finished with the Southern Conference Tournament?

By the Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Chattanooga	18-16	11-9	8-12	147	177	76.8	76.0
Connecticut	27-4	15-3	12-14	8	29	77.3	64.0

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG	BPG
Chattanooga	44.4	43.8	35.7	36.6	65.5	43.1	6.3	13.7	15.6	2.3
Connecticut	47.0	37.7	34.7	31.3	67.7	45.4	5.8	15.4	12.7	8.0

Stats Leaders

	Chattanooga	Connecticut
PPG	S. McDowell - 18.6	A. Price - 14.0
	N. Doaks - 13.9	H. Thabeet - 13.7
	K. Goffney - 13.3	J. Adrien - 13.6
RPG	N. Doaks - 8.7	H. Thabeet - 10.9
APG	K. Sheard - 3.8	A. Price - 4.7
SPG	K. sheard - 1.6	K. Walker - 1.1
BPG	N. Doaks - 1.0	H. Thabeet - 4.6

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Prediction

Want to finish reading the article and see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread? Please check out CBBPlace.com!

You might be wondering why this particular picture graces the top of this article.

It might bring back memories of a boycotted Olympics, back when the U.S.S.R. had missiles pointed directly at the largest city near you.

For followers of Morehead State University, it may even bring back a college basketball memory; 1984 was the last year that the Eagles clawed their way into the NCAA tournament.

Shocking UT-Martin, Austin Peay, and the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference, Morehead State will dance with the big boys for the first time in a quarter-century.

Though only a few qualifiers have been decided, I wanted to take a brief look at the schools that are in so far and their probable seeding. When you only get "40 minutes of fame" every 25 years, it can't hurt to have your name mentioned as often as possible.

1. Morehead State Eagles (19-15, 12-6 Ohio Valley)

The Eagles beat two of the OVC's best in UT-Martin and Austin Peay after taking care of Eastern Kentucky in the first round. Their almost-certain reward? A matchup with a No. 1 seed, and they will be fortunate if they don't have to deal with a play-in game in Dayton first.

Not only has Morehead State been locked out since 1984, they have only been to the NCAA Tournament once since the 1950s, in 1983. That year, as a No. 11 seed, they were taken out by the Orangemen of Syracuse 74-59, back when the Orange were still men.

In 1984, their seed was a No. 12, and the tournament worked a bit differently.  There were four "play-in" games that resulted in a 48-team field. Morehead St. won the play-in game by defeating Greensboro's North Carolina A&T in a 70-69 thriller.

They then faced the No. 5 seed Louisville Cardinals and lost 72-59. So, how off could I be if I predict that they draw a Big East No. 1 seed and score 59 points against them?

MSU's motto is Lux (Latin for light), but the light at the end of their NCAA tunnel is likely to be an oncoming freight train. There is one little bragging point for this Kentucky team located near Lexington. They are now the most likely "Big Blue" to be dancing this year.

Projected Seed: No. 16, Play-in game

2. Cornell Big Red (21-9, 11-3 Ivy League)

As one of the few remaining conferences without a season-ending tournament, Cornell earned their bid by winning the Ivy League regular season title. Until last year, they too had not been to the NCAA tournament in over 20 years, last seeing the Big Dance in 1988 and 2008.

Their first dance partner was an unkind No. 1 seed, Arizona, who crushed (chewed?) the Red 90-50. By 1988, there was a 64-team field, so no play-in game was necessary.

Last year, it was another Pac-10 team, Stanford, that dropped the hammer and spit out the Big Red.

Like Morehead St., Cornell's only other NCAA appearance came during the 1950s.

Cornell shouldn't have it quite as bad as Morehead St. in terms of seeding, though they are unlikely to inspire the fear that past Ivy League champions Princeton and Penn have throughout much of the last 20 years.

The Big Red actually played an extraordinarly challenging non-conference slate and notched a couple of mildly impressive wins over La Salle and Boston University.

Still, if you're looking to find that rare No. 15 to take out a No. 2, I advise continuing to scan the bracket, as Cornell was drilled by every quality opponent they faced.

Projected Seed: No. 15

3. East Tennessee State Buccaneers (23-10, 14-6 Atlantic Sun)

"Eagles, and Buccaneers, and Big Red, oh my!" just doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, but here we are. ETSU is the most dangerous of the teams listed thus far, having taken out Belmont and Jacksonville on their way to the Atlantic Sun championship.

The Bucs last danced in both 2003 and 2004, losing thrillers to Wake Forest 76-73 and Cincinnati 80-77, respectively. Their greatest tournament moment came in 1992, when they shocked No. 3 seed Arizona before falling by just 12 to a Michigan Wolverines squad that made it to the National Championship game.

ETSU is never an easy out, and the 2009 version has more raw talent than the 2004 team. The duo of F Kevin Tiggs and sharpshooting G Mike Smith may very well cause a giant headache for an unsuspecting No. 2 or No. 3 seed.

Projected Seed: No. 15

4. Chattanooga Mocs (19-16, 11-9 Southern Conference)

This one is a double-shocker. This was supposed to be "Davidson's Conference."

First, Davidson got knocked off by College of Charleston, sending Stephen Curry to the NIT, barring a drug-induced pick by the Selection Committee. Then, in almost equally shocking fashion, the Mocs knocked off Charleston to secure their second bid of the decade (the last was in 2005).

Keep in mind that this is a team that had lost its last three regular season SoCon games, including one to Charleston at home, giving up an average of 87 points in the process.

The Mocs barely escaped the first round of the SoCon Tourney, beating Elon by just one, but now they have landed in the NCAAs.

Many aficionados still remember the stunners pulled off by Chattanooga in the 1997 tournament.  They took out Tubby Smith's No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and sent No. 6 seed Illinois packing, though Lon Kruger's hair did not move in the loss. When faced with a far lower seed in the Sweet 16, the Mocs lost a close one to Pete Gillen's No. 10 Providence Friars.

This year's team bears little resemblance to the 1997 squad that scored Chattanooga's only NCAA tournament wins in history outside of a 1982 victory over Jim Valvano's N.C. State Wolfpack.

That's quite a lineup of coaches they've taken out over the years, but the Mocs are an almost certain No. 16 seed unless the lower-tier conference upsets continue.

They can thank a home win over Niagara for avoiding the play-in game. A loss at ETSU may actually be important in seeding this team, as they will almost certainly be within one seed line of the Bucs. I don't know if it makes them feel any better, but they may very well be the best of the No. 16 seeds.

Projected Seed: No. 16

5. Northern Iowa Panthers (23-10, 14-4 Missouri Valley Conference)

Northern Iowa surprised many of the preseason prognosticators by taking a share of the regular-season title and winning the MVC Tourney.

The Panthers missed a golden opportunity to improve their seeding when they lost a close game at Siena (part of a devastating three-game losing streak in late February), but still should fare decently and present some significant challenges in a first-round game.

UNI is no stranger to the NCAA tournament in this decade, making the field (and losing in the first round) in three consecutive seasons (2004-2006). Their highest seed in that span was a No. 10 in 2006, when Georgetown fought them off. Oddly enough, in each of their three appearances this decade, they have lost the game by five points.

In their only NCAA tournament win, the No. 14 seeded Panthers shocked Missouri by three in 1990 before losing (by three, of course) to Minnesota. The numerologists should have a field day with this team.

An early-season home win over Auburn and a road win over Creighton pads their resume, but some bracketologists are being overly optimistic when projecting this team as a No. 12 seed.

Projected Seed: No. 13

6. Radford Highlanders (21-11, 15-3 Big South)

This is also not much of a surprise, as Radford dominated the regular season in one of the weakest conferences in the nation. Only VMI was expected to pose a challenge with their high-octane offense, and the title game didn't disappoint. Radford outran VMI and won 108-94.

The reward will be a certain meeting with a No. 1 seed, and Radford may become a fashionable choice to be the first No. 16 to beat a No. 1. Although the Highlanders have won 12 of 13 and 17 of 19, I wouldn't drink the Kool-Aid.

Radford was competitive at Virginia early in the year (when the Cavaliers were doing their best impression of a high school team) but were easily handled by every other decent team they faced.

Radford's only previous NCAA bid was in 1998, when they were hammered by No. 1 seed Duke 99-63.

Projected Seed: No. 16

7. Virginia Commonwealth Rams (24-9, 14-4 Colonial Athletic Association)

VCU got it together just in time and hammered George Mason to take the CAA title. This team is all about PG Eric Maynor and will go as far as he can carry them. He has the potential to be "this year's Stephen Curry," but the fact that I will probably hear that at least 50 times in the next two weeks leads me to believe it won't come to fruition.

The Rams managed home wins against the Citadel and New Mexico, though their most impressive road win was at Richmond. They did hang tough at Rhode Island and Vanderbilt, but have been inconsistent late in the season.

VCU lost 81-70 at Oklahoma, so if Maynor is on, the Rams could certainly be a tough out.

The Rams have won an impressive five first-round games since 1981, the most recent being an upset that humbled Duke in 2007. They have never made it to the Sweet 16, though Maynor will make them a trendy pick.

The CAA's relative strength in comparison to other low-major conferences, coupled with VCU's regular season and tournament championships, should result in a decent seed.

Projected Seed: No. 13

Already, even before the NCAA tournament has begun, some great story lines have begun to develop. The next two weeks will only continue to stoke the "Madness" that takes hold of so many this time of year.

[Editor's note: Since the writing of this article, Gonzaga has also qualified by winning the West Coast Conference Tourney. Their projected seed is a No. 4.]

One week ago today, if anyone told you that a dude named Stephen was going to win the Southern Conference Tournament MOP, and first team all-tournament honors the easy guess would have been Stephen Curry of Davidson.

A strange thing happened on the way to the finals though. Curry and his Wildcats got shown the door by the College of Charleston Cougars.

On this championship Monday, it would be another Stephen who would steal the show.

Stephen McDowell led the host Chattanooga Mocs to their 10th SoCon Tournament Championship overall, and their first since 2005.

This Stephen has been Chattanooga's the leader on the floor all season long.

He didn't have the most points in this championship game. However, the 5'11" senior led the Mocs in rebounds, and assists.

He also threw in 15 points just for good measure to defeat College of Charleston and send the Mocs to the Big Dance to face, in all likelihood, a No. 1 seed. 

In three tournament games, this Stephen scored 64 points, had 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Still, this was not the Stephen that ESPN wanted to highlight in this game. That Stephen went home yesterday.

The game was a battle royale in the first half, as the teams were notted up at 34 going into the break.

But Chattanooga opened up the second half with a 20-0 run. That was followed by a 12-0 Charleston run.

The Cougars brought it to within five with about 10 minutes remaining, but playing on their home floor in front of a decidedly home crowd these Mocs, led by McDowell would not be denied.

The Mocs won 80-69, and will await selection Sunday to see which No. 1 or No. 2 seed they will play in the first round of the Big Dance.

One thing is certain; Stephen is dancing, it's just not the same Stephen everyone thought it would be.