SoCon Basketball: Can this be a two-bid league in 2019-20 season?

LEXINGTON, VA - JANUARY 10: The Southern Conference logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Furman Paladins and the Virginia Military Keydets at Cameron Hall on January 10, 2019 in Lexington, Virginia. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 23: Nathan Hoover #10 of the Wofford Terriers (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Wofford Terriers (16-10, 8-5)

Let’s start with a look at the reigning Southern Conference champions, the Wofford Terriers. Gone is star Fletcher Magee and coach Mike Young, but new coach Jay McAuley has the Terriers playing well with just five games remaining for them before the conference tournament. Wofford’s 16-10 record and 8-5 conference mark have them fourth in the conference, three and a half games behind the leaders.

With Magee gone the team is now led by the backcourt of junior Storm Murphy and senior Nathan Hoover who have combined to net 27.6 points per game and with McAuley being promoted from Young’s staff the style of play hasn’t changed, the three-point shot is vital for the Terriers and as a team they shoot 35% and have three players that have attempted at least 100, with Murphy and Hoover hoisting 329 and making 35% of them.

In terms of at-large consideration, that went by the wayside fairly early on, despite knocking off North Carolina, that win doesn’t look nearly as good as it did two months ago. With no other significant non-conference wins to speak of and a current NET ranking of 158, it looks like the only way Wofford earns back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances would be by winning the conference tournament.