etsu @ mercer: what a difference a few weeks make. back on 1/24, mercer dropped a 2 pt decision to etsu in Johnson city as a 2- pt dog in a battle between league contenders. 4 weeks later, mercer has lost 4 in a row s/u and ats after the shooting death of one teammate and the suspension of two starters. in that span, the bears have gone from a solid 2nd place in the socon to a slim 1 game edge over western carolina and uncg for 6th place and the last socon tournament bye.meanwhile. etsu has won 5 of 6 , losing only to league-leading utc, and remains in contention for 2nd in the regular season standings. with mercer trying to limp through the remainder of the season, i'll play the streaking bucs plus the 3- to put the bears into a play -in game in the tournament.
socon saturday
- Thread starter loophole
- Start date
western carolina @ the citadel: the catamounts have been on of the hottest socon teams of late, going 5-1 s/u and 6-0 ats over the last couple of weeks. meanwhile, the bulldogs have 8 of their last 9 (2-7 ats) while contuing to adapt to their new coach's run and gun tempo. however, 1 of their 3 conference wins was in Cullowhee, where they outran western 92-91. that game broke an 8 game catamount winning streak vs the bulldogs. now western arrives in Charleston in the thick of the battle for the last socon tourney bye; trouble is, this is the cats' 5th game in 10 days and , significantly, their 3rd road game in 6 days. its a long trek by bus from Cullowhee to macon to Charleston; I know these are kids but the schedule has to be taking a toll. this is senior night at the citadel. that still means something at a military school who's team will, more than likely, be 1 and done in the conference tourney. the entire corps of cadets will turn out in uniform tonight and set the stage for a bulldog upset. i'll take the 3- and also split my bet on the bulldog moneyline.
Last edited:
furman @ wofford: this is the marquee socon game of the day. these two perennial socon powers are real rivals, with a long history and separated by about 30 miles. the paladins have been rolling - they've had a week off after winning 8 of their last 9, beginning with a last-second tip-in win over Wofford after rallying from 8 pts down with less than 4 minutes to play. that snapped a 6 game terrier win streak in the series. all bulldog good right? maybe not. closer examination reveals furman only 3-9 in road games this year, with only conference wins @ league bottom-dwellers samford and vmi. add to that paladins are 1-8 in their last 9 trips to Spartanburg, average margin of loss -19 pts. this is a hard one to call, the week off for furman could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how coach handles it. I see this game line has already retreated a half point to Wofford -2- in what appears to be reverse movement. this is a rare situation where the short line could come into play. i'll wait and take the terriers if the line falls to -2 or better.
vmi @ samford: fishy line of the day play between the 9th and 10 place teams in the league. bulldogs lost @ vmi 1/21 as 6- pt favorites. understandably, they've been underdogs most of the year, but did cover the citadel as 10- pt favorites back in early January. have a hunch the bulldogs' are doubly motivated to avoid the socon cellar and avenge the earlier loss in Lexington and actually cover this dd line. keydets have to be looking ahead to next Saturday's game against their conference archrival citadel, who are now coached by their former coach baucom, who left vmi last year to coach @ citadel. lay the 10.
uncg @ utc: hardest socon game of the day to call. both teams should be highly motivated. utc is the class of the conference and a win today will clinch sole possession of 1st place in the conference. uncg is still in the running for 6th place and a 1st round tourney bye. mocs are superior to uncg at every position and should cover easily, but a backdoor cover is not out of the question. I'm laying off this one.
Thanks for posting Loophole...I look for your name. I appreciate, not just the tip, but the studied breakdowns and the reasoning attached. I'm slowly but surely learning how to "play" college hoops..
Outcome has only been decided by 14 or more once out of the last ten meetings between these two and that was three years ago almost to the day. However, uncg faces the rigors of the road again after coming off a hard fought, ot win / cover @ Samford. Fourteen looks tempting. So do a lot of other things that aren't good for you.
