The East Tennessee State University men's basketball team entered Tuesday night's home game against The Citadel needing only a win to clinch a share of the Southern Conference regular-season championship.
ETSU exited the game in the same position.
ETSU's Desonta Bradford (1) shoots over UTC's Makale Foreman (0) and Rodney Chatman (1). The East Tennessee State University Buccaneers visited the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Mocs in Southern Conference men's basketball action at McKenzie Arena on January 6, 2018. The Citadel connected on 13 3-pointers and was able to hold off the Buccaneers for an 84-82 win that at least delayed the title celebration in Johnson City. ETSU - which was without SoCon player of the year candidate Desonta Bradford on Tuesday - can still earn the title outright with wins over Wofford and Furman in the final weekend before next week's SoCon tournament in Asheville, N.C.
The Bucs (23-6, 14-2) hold a one-game advantage over UNC Greensboro (22-7, 13-3), which beat Wofford on Tuesday, but no position in the league standings is final yet.
ETSU and UNCG are locked into the top two spots, though their order has to be settled and they could wind up tied - and they already split their season series. Furman, which has won four straight games, is third with an 11-5 league record, a game ahead of Wofford. The Terriers have a one-game lead over Mercer - the hottest team in the league, with a six-game winning streak - which has moved into fifth with a 9-7 record but can't finish any higher than fourth, having been swept by Furman but also having earned a split with Wofford. Mercer can clinch at least the fifth seed in next week's SoCon tournament with a win this weekend over either The Citadel or Wofford.
Western Carolina is sixth at 7-9 in the league and can clinch that spot with a win over Furman or The Citadel this weekend.
The Citadel is just 5-11 in league play but has wins over ETSU, Furman, Wofford and Mercer, which are a combined 44-20 against SoCon competition. Samford is also 5-11 but holds a tiebreaker edge based off a season sweep of The Citadel. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - which has already beaten Friday's opponent, UNCG, once this season - and Virginia Military Institute are 3-13 and will meet in the regular-season finale. The Keydets won their first meeting of the season in Chattanooga.
Women's picture clearer
Mercer's women have clinched a share of the regular-season championship heading into the final weekend, and they can clinch the top seed for next week's league tournament in Asheville, N.C. with either a win over UTC tonight or ETSU on Saturday. Both games are in Macon, Ga.
ETSU, at 10-2 in the SoCon, has clinched one of the top two seeds regardless of what happens this weekend.
UTC, at 7-5, is a game ahead of Samford and hold a 1 1/2-game lead over Furman. The Mocs can clinch the No. 3 seed with a win over Mercer or Samford, but they would fall below Furman in the event the two are tied - Furman swept the season series with UTC.
UNCG is a game behind Furman with only a game against last-place Western Carolina remaining. Wofford is 3-10 and locked into the seventh seed.
Wofford's Fletcher Magee (3) dribbles inside UTC's Nat Dixon (5). The Wofford Terriers visited the Chattanooga Mocs in Southern Conference basketball action at McKenzie Arena on February 17, 2018. Players of the week
Wofford's Fletcher Magee and ETSU's Erica Haynes-Overton are the SoCon players of the week.
Magee averaged 33 points in last week's games, including a career-high 45 in a 74-64 win Saturday at UTC. He made 11 3-pointers, which tied a school record and was the second-best single-game mark in SoCon history.
Haynes-Overton averaged 16 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals while shooting 52 percent from the floor as the Bucs beat Wofford and Furman.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.