SoCon Weekend Recap: Furman's Big Weekend

Weekend Scores

Saturday

ETSU 101, The Citadel 92 (OT)

Furman 63, Wofford 62

Sunday

Western Carolina 86, Mercer 80 (2OT)

UNCG 86, Samford 78

Monday

Furman 68, VMI 56

Standings

Chattanooga 6-1

ETSU 6-1

Furman 5-3

Mercer 4-3

Wofford 4-3

Western Carolina 3-4

UNCG 3-4

The Citadel 2-5

Samford 2-6

VMI 1-6

Thoughts

--Since it was an odd weekend with a lot of scheduling changes, I am going away from my normal format, but this should still work as a summary for the weekend.

--Furman has some magic going. Stephen Croone made the game winning shot against Wofford on Saturday and scored 18 at VMI on Monday. He is a special talent that is having a solid final season in Greenville. The Paladins are 5-3 in SoCon play and are all alone in third place. They have a chance to keep that run going this weekend as they host Western Carolina and then ETSU. With the right results, they could find themselves in second by the end of the weekend. That's a really impressive turnaround from the out of conference schedule.

--The league leading Mocs did not play this weekend due to weather. Their game at VMI was postponed. The Mocs also do not play Thursday. There could be some rust when they visit Samford on Saturday.

--The wild Saturday and Sunday produced lots of great finishes, and wound up leading to losses by Wofford and Mercer, two teams perceived as two of the top four teams. This changed a lot. Suddenly, Furman finds themselves in third place, and Chattanooga and ETSU have created some separation and are up by two losses. Mercer and Wofford are in a battle for a bye. Mercer is certainly good enough to finish in the top three still, without a doubt. Wofford has more questions. They have lost a pair of heart breaking games in their last two (to Mercer and Furman). The Terriers are probably one of the five best teams, but it is far from guaranteed.

--Speaking of Wofford, their game at home against ETSU could go a long way to determining both teams fate. The Bucs are tied with the Mocs and Chattanooga is not playing on Thursday. So ETSU could be in the lead if they win. That would also put Wofford in a spot where they may find themselves not in the top six anymore. However, a Wofford win would help establish their standing, and would keep ETSU from jumping to first. Should be a very interesting contest.

--The SoCon has had 11 of their 36 conference games decided by one possession or in overtime. That is good for the third highest percentage in the country. In other words, lots of really exciting SoCon games this season.

--Thursday's games most important game might be ETSU-Wofford, but UNCG-The Citadel and Western Carolina-Furman are critical as well. The Spartans or Bulldogs could find themselves in very good bye position with wins. Something that is shocking given the way The Citadel started conference play and the way that UNCG has played on the road this year. The Spartans still haven't won a road game. Can they win one at The Citadel?