SoCon
KenPom has a historical overview page for each conference going back to 1999, lots of interesting stuff in there.
I was just fixin' to post something about the SoCon. Just watched VMI play with Kentucky for 40 mins before losing by 10. VMI shot 50% from 3 19-38. Samford, ETSU, Wofford, UNCG are all looking good in the early going. Citadel, VMI and Mercer look to be middle of the pack with only Western struggling early. Looks like the SoCon could be a war this year.
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VMI's Bubba Parham hit 10-16 three pointers and scored 35. He was a good player last year but may have taken a big jump this year. One to watch. Kentucky won the game by dominating the boards (+21) and hitting 29-35 from the foul line. VMI only went to the line 5 times.
Wofford lead Oklahoma at the half by 1 today but the Sooners tightened up the defense on Fletcher Magee to gradually stretch the margin out to a final 75-64 win. Oklahoma didn't take the lead for good until the 9:45 mark of the second half. Wofford only hit 31% of their threes and their 46% FT shooting didn't help.
Samford is probably the biggest surprise in the conference. They won again to go to 5-0 for the season. Today they went on the road and beat Cleveland State by 13. They lost transfers from last year's team who are now starting for Arizona, Louisville, and N. C. State but have gained transfers from Alabama and South Florida and a juco who are really playing well. The revolving door philosophy working for now.
Sagarin has three SoCon teams in the top 100 - UNCG is #64, Furman #76, and Wofford # 91. ETSU, Samford, and Mercer are a position to move higher from their current mid 100s spots. Those ratings don't include today's games so Samford will probably move higher and Wofford remain the same. Sagarin predicted an 11-12 point Oklahoma win - had it on the nose. VMI will likely move higher despite the loss. They were 30+ point underdogs.
Quite a spread among the various rating systems. Pomeroy has the Paladins rated #118. Wofford is #119. UNCG is #79. Massey has Furman as #33, UNCG #80, ETSU #107, Wofford #129. It depends on how they weight various factors. Pomeroy, for example, still factors in last year's ratings and his pre-season rating until well into January, although the importance of the older numbers declines steadily.
Wofford lead Oklahoma at the half by 1 today but the Sooners tightened up the defense on Fletcher Magee to gradually stretch the margin out to a final 75-64 win. Oklahoma didn't take the lead for good until the 9:45 mark of the second half. Wofford only hit 31% of their threes and their 46% FT shooting didn't help.
Samford is probably the biggest surprise in the conference. They won again to go to 5-0 for the season. Today they went on the road and beat Cleveland State by 13. They lost transfers from last year's team who are now starting for Arizona, Louisville, and N. C. State but have gained transfers from Alabama and South Florida and a juco who are really playing well. The revolving door philosophy working for now.
Sagarin has three SoCon teams in the top 100 - UNCG is #64, Furman #76, and Wofford # 91. ETSU, Samford, and Mercer are a position to move higher from their current mid 100s spots. Those ratings don't include today's games so Samford will probably move higher and Wofford remain the same. Sagarin predicted an 11-12 point Oklahoma win - had it on the nose. VMI will likely move higher despite the loss. They were 30+ point underdogs.
Quite a spread among the various rating systems. Pomeroy has the Paladins rated #118. Wofford is #119. UNCG is #79. Massey has Furman as #33, UNCG #80, ETSU #107, Wofford #129. It depends on how they weight various factors. Pomeroy, for example, still factors in last year's ratings and his pre-season rating until well into January, although the importance of the older numbers declines steadily.