SOCon BB games -1/17/19

[tya1]

Some close games so far in the league tonight.

ETSU built an early 20 lead at home versus VMI but had to struggle down the stretch as VMI cut it to 3 with two minutes to go. ETSU held on for a 85-82 victory. VMI must have been playing a tight zone defense, as ETSU's trio of big men only scored 18 points combined.

Samford beat the Citadel by 3 at Samford.

Mercer and Chattanooga are tied at 56 with about 9 minutes to go.

UNCG and Western Carolina are in a back and forth game with 3 minutes to go. UNCG had a 6 point lead at the half, fell behind, but has regained the lead late in the game.

[tya1]

UNCG stretched the final margin to 9 points against Western Carolina. Chattanooga won 73-70. Home teams prevailed, except Western Carolina.

Chattanooga has moved into a tie for 4th with Furman with both at 4-2 in conference games. Samford hanging in at 3-4, Mercer has played close but only has 1 conference win, as does the Citadel. VMI stays winless.

[dinhead]

Thanks for the updates. It's going to be a wide open SoCon tournament. VMI is winless in the conference yet they've played the top 3 teams really close. If they hit their three pointers they can be really dangerous. . They trailed Kentucky by only 6 points with 1:30 left and had a three pointer barely rim out that would have made the margin 3 with little over a minute left. Led UNCG almost the whole game before choking at the end and gave Woffy a huge scare the other night.

The Citadel, coached by former VMI coach Duggar Baucom plays that up tempo press and run jack up the threes style that can drive teams crazy. They could be a nightmare for a top 2 seed that comes out a little nervous in their first tournament game.

WCU is another dangerous tournament floater having taken the Paladins to double OT at Timmons no less. They're always tough in Asheville which is basically a home game for them.