Busting Brackets
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SoCon Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Logan Butts

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - NOVEMBER 19: Lucas N'Guessan #25 of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers lays the ball up against Silvio De Sousa #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on November 19, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - NOVEMBER 19: Lucas N'Guessan #25 of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers lays the ball up against Silvio De Sousa #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on November 19, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, VA – JANUARY 10: Jordan Lyons #23 of the Furman Paladins (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, VA – JANUARY 10: Jordan Lyons #23 of the Furman Paladins (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Key Players

Isaiah Miller | UNC Greensboro | 17.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.7 steals

If the Spartans are going to do what they couldn’t last year haven’t been able to do so far this year, which is knock off the top team in the conference, then Miller will have to perform like the best player in the SoCon. And he’s capable of it. In a league full of two-way contributors, he might be the most balanced one.

Josh Sharkey | Samford | 18.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.7 steals

Sharkey is potentially the most underrated player in the country. The senior leads the SoCon in points, assists, and steals and is sixth in the country in each of the latter two categories. But because he’s on the eighth-place team in a mid-major conference, no one has noticed.

Jordan Lyons | Furman | 16.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals

If anyone is going to pull a Kemba Walker and go on a scoring binge in the SoCon Tournament, it’s Lyons. Not that Furman necessarily needs him to, they are a good team that could win the tournament, but to get through ETSU and UNC G, they might need a Kemba-esque performance from Lyons.

Mason Faulkner | Western Carolina | 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists

If Western Carolina is going to make noise in the tournament, then they will need a lot from Faulkner and Carlos Dotson. The inside-out duo has led the team to arguably the best resume outside of the big three, but if the Catamounts are going to pull off any upsets then Faulkner will need to have some big games.