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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East Tennessee State Buccaneers (22-4, 11-2)

The team with the best case for an at-large berth from the Southern Conference is likely current co-leader, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. Steve Forbes has his team at 22-4 and 11-2 in the conference. Since losing their first meeting with Furman, the Buccaneers have won nine of 10, but the loss could be a stinger, falling by 16 to Mercer, who is just 7-6 in the conference.

The guard combo of Tray Boyd III and Bo Hodges lead the team offensively with 27 points per game while forward Jeromy Rodriguez is the team’s top forwards with his 10.7 points and team-leading 7.9 rebounds per game. On the other side of the floor, the Buccaneers are a stingy team that gives up just 62.6 points per game, in fact, since the start of conference play they have given up over 65 points just once.

Before conference play, they had two chances for a marquee win, first against Kansas where they lost by 12, then they went into Baton Rouge and left with an 11-point win over LSU, a win that looks better and better every day. ESTSU ranks 41 in the NET and is 2-2 in quad 1 games with a chance for another one when they finish their season series with Furman.

Mid-major power rankings. dark. Next

If the Bucs can finish strong and not get tripped up early in the SoCon tournament, they should get serious consideration for an at-large berth and if they don’t win the title, a two-bid Southern Conference could become a reality.