Play 10 games over four days at the U.S. Cellular Center ? three opening-round match-ups Friday (the other two games start at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.), four quarterfinal games starting at noon Saturday, semifinals at 6 p.m. and 8:30 Sunday and Monday?s 9 p.m. title game.
Can anybody beat Davidson?
The Davidson men (19-11) took the regular season with a 15-1 SoCon record and are 54-4 against conference opponents the past three seasons, including tournament titles each of the past two years in Asheville.
Despite losing three starters off a 26-8 team that went 20-1 against the SoCon last year, the Wildcats didn?t miss a beat in league play under veteran coach Bob McKillop, who has won 75 percent of his league games over 22 seasons (278-88) in the SoCon and claimed 16 SoCon titles (nine division, one overall regular-season, six tourneys) since 2002.
But...
Beware the 2-5 seeds
Davidson?s domination has been pretty complete ? 13 of the 15 conference wins have been by double digits and the Wildcats bring a 12-game winning streak into the tournament.
But there is hope. No. 2 seed Chattanooga, followed by Wofford, Elon and Western Carolina, all have between 17 and 19 wins and are capable of scaring if not beating the Wildcats.
Who's hot, and who's not?
Unfortunately for those who love underdogs, nobody but the favorites.
After Davidson, the other 10 men?s teams enter the tourney on losing or winning streaks of two games or less.
Parting gifts?
Four of the 11 schools are playing in the tournament for the last time.
Davidson is leaving for the Atlantic 10, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are departing for the Sun Belt and Elon is bolting for the Colonial Athletic Association.
Just a guess here, but SoCon officials would probably prefer to hand out trophies Monday night to teams that don?t have a car idling out back.
WCU lost by five points to Davidson in their only meeting and Elon (87-85 on Jan. 16) is the only team to beat the Wildcats.
Can anybody beat Davidson?
The Davidson men (19-11) took the regular season with a 15-1 SoCon record and are 54-4 against conference opponents the past three seasons, including tournament titles each of the past two years in Asheville.
Despite losing three starters off a 26-8 team that went 20-1 against the SoCon last year, the Wildcats didn?t miss a beat in league play under veteran coach Bob McKillop, who has won 75 percent of his league games over 22 seasons (278-88) in the SoCon and claimed 16 SoCon titles (nine division, one overall regular-season, six tourneys) since 2002.
But...
Beware the 2-5 seeds
Davidson?s domination has been pretty complete ? 13 of the 15 conference wins have been by double digits and the Wildcats bring a 12-game winning streak into the tournament.
But there is hope. No. 2 seed Chattanooga, followed by Wofford, Elon and Western Carolina, all have between 17 and 19 wins and are capable of scaring if not beating the Wildcats.
Who's hot, and who's not?
Unfortunately for those who love underdogs, nobody but the favorites.
After Davidson, the other 10 men?s teams enter the tourney on losing or winning streaks of two games or less.
Parting gifts?
Four of the 11 schools are playing in the tournament for the last time.
Davidson is leaving for the Atlantic 10, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern are departing for the Sun Belt and Elon is bolting for the Colonial Athletic Association.
Just a guess here, but SoCon officials would probably prefer to hand out trophies Monday night to teams that don?t have a car idling out back.
WCU lost by five points to Davidson in their only meeting and Elon (87-85 on Jan. 16) is the only team to beat the Wildcats.
