Perhaps the biggest difference between last season’s Southern Conference in basketball and this season has been in the seats.
According to the numbers, there haven’t been as many empty ones in the arenas.
Attendance at both home and away games has gone up this year, in part due to the additions of East Tennessee State, Mercer and Virginia Military Institute. The three new programs have combined to average 2,718 fans per game this season, which has helped the average attendance around the league increase by 137 fans per game.
Wofford’s success last season has helped the Terriers, who’ve had an increase of more than 600 fans at home games from last season to this. The Terriers returned everybody from an NCAA tournament team, which squarely put the target on their backs prior to the season.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Mercer, ETSU and Western Carolina have been improved, competitive programs, and the five teams at the top of the conference standings have beaten up on each other throughout the season.