SoCon Parity

[Jasper]

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

[gman]

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

[MNORM]

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

Agreed. To me, the biggest difference in the last two games has been the fact that both teams played a zone defense the entire game in an effort to slow us down and limit our length and athletic advantage. To some it may appear that we just stood around on offense...fact is, beating a zone press defense is not the same as playing against a man.
I'm confident CBR took this past week to work with our guys on adjusting to the zone. Having Andrew Brown's 3-pt threat back will discourage many teams from running a zone.

[edwards555]

Compared to the two or more bid leagues (Power 5, Big East, AAA) there is little parity in the Southern. BPI ratings as of 11/28
Wof 51 ETSU 113 Sam 229 Chat 312
UNCG 55 Cit 161 WC 298 VMI 319
Fur 73 Mer 186

You can disagree with the ratings, however you will generally not find teams in the top conferences below 150. Yes, bottom 6 teams in our league will win some games against the top 4. That's luck, not parity. Remember Wofford beat UNC last year and finished 5th in conference play. Maybe a 2-3 loss team who has away wins like ours this year gets a look at tournament time but there has not been one of those in a long time.

[Jasper]

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

I guess we watched different games then. We shall see.

[DungeonRealm]

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

I guess we watched different games then. We shall see.

I get your skepticism its only natural given FU's basketball history since the early 80's, and we are not completely destroying people, but I don't think we are necessarily built to do that nor has anyone said we are going 30-0 or anything close to that.
Pretty sure NOBODY thought we would be sitting at 7-0 after losing the 4 seniors from last year either, especially if you would have told us we would be without Andrew Brown as well to this point (can't wait to get him back!)
But we have a lot to be thankful for so far this year with tons to still play for!

[fufanatic]

Compared to the two or more bid leagues (Power 5, Big East, AAA) there is little parity in the Southern. BPI ratings as of 11/28
Wof 51 ETSU 113 Sam 229 Chat 312
UNCG 55 Cit 161 WC 298 VMI 319
Fur 73 Mer 186

You can disagree with the ratings, however you will generally not find teams in the top conferences below 150. Yes, bottom 6 teams in our league will win some games against the top 4. That's luck, not parity. Remember Wofford beat UNC last year and finished 5th in conference play. Maybe a 2-3 loss team who has away wins like ours this year gets a look at tournament time but there has not been one of those in a long time.

Great points. The sad truth is that Furman (or another SoCon team) would have to go about 30-3 or so to get at-large consideration. If Furman can somehow go 11-1 or 12-0 in non-conference action and then go anywhere from 15-3 to 14-4 in conference play, win the regular season title and lose in a close finals game to another solid team, we would probably have a decent shot. But I would still be sweating bullets on Selection Sunday.

[Paul C]

Back to parity, I think Furman, Wofford, ETSU and UNCG are the top 4 and all very good.

Samford, Citadel and VMI are much improved over last year won't be easy outs. Mercer is probably going to struggle a bit and UTC....well, they seem to be the bottom dweller.

Here is my SoCon "Power Ratings"....based on actual play and not preseason perceptions:

1. Furman
2. Wofford
3. UNCG
4. ETSU
5. Samford
6. Citadel
7. Mercer
8. VMI
9. Western Carolina
10. Chattanooga

[DungeonRealm]

SoCon just about tied for 12th best league in Sagarin with A10 (out of 32)
http://sagarin.com/sports/cbsend.htm

[Paul C]

I don't think I've ever seen the SoCon with FOUR teams ranked in the top 100, and SIX teams in the top 1/2 of D1....it's usually 1 or 2 in the top 100...and some years none. The top of the conference is stronger than it's been, maybe ever...and the middle is solid too.

65 UNC-G
76 Wofford
89 ETSU
93 Furman
132 Mercer
147 Samford
175 Citadel
314 Chattanooga
322 Western Carolina
323 VMI

If this becomes the "new normal" rather than a short term anomaly we could see an at-large bid one of these days. Will still be very difficult but possible.

[Paul C]

just for kicks and giggles here is how KenPom has the SoCon

SoCon - 17th overall (just a shade below the SunBelt and CAA

65 UNC-G
95 Wofford
112 Furman
123 ETSU
174 Mercer
200 Citadel
226 Samford
311 VMI
318 Western Carolina
323 Chattanooga

I think Ken Pom's preseason perception lingers a little longer. He told someone a few weeks ago the preseason ranking influence is out of his calculation by mid-Jan....

[fufanatic]

I don't think I've ever seen the SoCon with FOUR teams ranked in the top 100, and SIX teams in the top 1/2 of D1....it's usually 1 or 2 in the top 100...and some years none. The top of the conference is stronger than it's been, maybe ever...and the middle is solid too.

65 UNC-G
76 Wofford
89 ETSU
93 Furman
132 Mercer
147 Samford
175 Citadel
314 Chattanooga
322 Western Carolina
323 VMI

If this becomes the "new normal" rather than a short term anomaly we could see an at-large bid one of these days. Will still be very difficult but possible.

I agree on all of that. I still think the SoCon has to get these teams out of the 300s before the conference can really be taken seriously for at-large spots. 347 teams and we have 33% of our schools in the bottom 33. Seven of 10 in top 200 is such a big improvement though. The conference should be commended for that.

[cavedweller2]

Mercer at the bellhops and ETSU at Wofford tomorrow as well as our opener with WCU. UNCG visits Kentucky. It will be interesting to see how these turn out.

[gman]

UNCG @ Kentucky on now. ESPN2. UNCG up 3 at half. Alanso has 19 points. They are good.

[cavedweller2]

UNCG 40- UK 37. At the half.