Deep Three
Candidates to dance
1. The front-runner: Wofford. The Terriers won more games in the conference season (15) and the regular season (23) and are riding a 10-game winning streak into the tournament. Five players were nominated for All-SoCon consideration so they're not a one-man team, although most of the offense and defense is funneled through Noah Dahlman. But the Terriers haven't reached the semifinals since 2000, so they don't have a good tournament track record.
2. A solid second: Appalachian State. Sometimes, having the best scorer in the league can lead to a conference championship. Guard Donald Sims leads the SoCon with an average of 20.4 points per game, leads the nation in free-throw percentage and is second in the SoCon shooting 43 percent from the arc. But one bad night from him could send the Mountaineers back up the mountain.
3. The long shot: Samford is the sentimental pick with forward Jim Griffin having died before the season and coach Jimmy Tillette having suffered a seizure during the Bulldogs' game at UNC Greensboro. Their Princeton-style offense is tough to prepare for in 24 hours, and any lead they get seems twice as big because of their slow pace. But they could lack depth and experience to make the run.
SoCon Standings
Men's Standings
North Division SoCon All
Appalachian State 13-5 722 20-11 .645
Western Carolina 11-7 .611 21-10 .677
UTC 6-12 .333 14-17 .452
UNC Greensboro 6-12 .333 7-22 .241
Samford 5-13 .278 11-19 .367
Elon 5-13 .278 8-22 .267
South Division SoCon All
Wofford 15-3 .833 23-8 .742
Coll. of Charleston 14-4 .778 20-10 .667
Davidson 11-7 .611 16-14 .533
The Citadel 9-9 .500 15-15 .500
Furman 7-11 .389 13-16 .448
Georgia Southern 6-12 .333 9-22 .290
Women's Standings
UTC 16-4 .800 21-8 .724
Samford 14-6 .700 20-9 .690
Appalachian State 14-6 .700 20-9 .690
Coll. of Charleston 13-7 .650 19-10 .655
Georgia Southern 13-7 .650 18-11 .621
Davidson 12-8 .600 14-14 .500
Elon 6-14 .300 11-18 .379
UNC Greensboro 6-14 .300 9-19 .321
Wofford 6-14 .300 8-20 .286
Western Carolina 6-14 .300 7-22 .241
Furman 4-16 .200 6-23 .207
SoCon Tournament Daily Schedule
Thursday, March 4
Bojangles Coliseum
Women's Game 1: No. 7 Wofford vs. No. 10 Elon, 1 p.m.
Women's Game 2: No. 8 Western Carolina vs. No. 9 UNC Greensboro, 30 minutes after Game 1
Women's Game 3: No. 6 Davidson vs. No. 11 Furman, 30 minutes after Game 2
Friday, March 5
Bojangles Coliseum
Women's game 4: No. 2 Samford vs. winner of Game 1, 9 a.m.
Women's Game 5: No. 1 UTC vs. winner of Game 2, 30 minutes after Game 4
Men's Game 1: (3S) Davidson vs. (6N) Elon, 2 p.m.
Men's Game 2: (4N) UNC Greensboro vs. (5S) Furman, 30 minutes following first game
Men's Game 3: (4S) The Citadel vs. (5N) Samford, 7 p.m.
Men's Game 4: (3N) UTC vs. (6S) Georgia Southern, 30 minutes following Game 3.
Saturday, March 6
Bojangles Coliseum
Women's Game 6: No. 4 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Georgia Southern, 9 a.m.
Women's Game 7: No. 3 Appalachian State vs. winner of Game 3, 30 minutes after Game 6
Men's Game 5: (2N) Western Carolina vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m.
Men's Game 6: (1S) Wofford vs. Game 2 winner, 30 minutes following first game
Men's Game 7: (1N) Appalachian State vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Men's Game 8: (2S) College of Charleston vs. Game 4 winner, 30 minutes following Game 7
Sunday, March 7
Time Warner Cable Arena
Women's Semifinal 1: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, noon
Women's Semifinal 2: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 7, 2:30 p.m.
Men's Semifinal 1: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 6 p.m.
Men's Semifinal 2: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 30 minutes following first semifinal
Monday, March 8
Time Warner Cable Arena
Women's Championship game: 5 p.m.
Men's Championship Game: 9 p.m.