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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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: Nathan Hoover #10 of the Wofford Terriers and Trevor Stumpe #15 of the Wofford Terriers (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: Nathan Hoover #10 of the Wofford Terriers and Trevor Stumpe #15 of the Wofford Terriers (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Key Teams

Team to Beat – ETSU: 27-4, 16-2 in SoCon play

The reason no one on ESTU’s roster was featured in the Key Players section was that they are incredibly deep. They go legit seven deep on guys who can get a bucket when the game is on the line, and most of those players are upperclassmen. The Buccs are a great team, and they have proven it all season. They are the definite favorites in a tough league and might get in the Big Dance even if they lose.

Top Contender – Furman: 25-6, 15-3

Furman has already beaten ETSU once this season, 65-56 at home. But they lost 75-66 at ESTU, so a neutral sight battle in the SoCon title game could be anyone’s game. If the Lyons, Noah Gurley, Clay Mounce trio are all cooking, the Paladins are hard to beat.

Secondary Contender – UNC Greensboro: 23-8, 13-5

Once again, the Spartans find themselves in a tough spot. I almost put them as the top contender, but couldn’t justify based off of one simple, continuing problem: they can’t beat the top team in the league. Last year an 0-3 record against Wofford kept them out of the tournament, this year, a similar 0-3 mark could keep them out again if they were to lose to ETSU in the title game. This is a really good team with scorers and several high-impact defensive playmakers (Miller, James Dickey, Kyrin Galloway), but they have to be able to win the big game.

Dark Horse: Wofford Terriers: 16-15, 8-10

Last season’s champions graduated two of the best players in program history in Fletcher Magee and Cameron Jackson. This year’s squad still has firepower thanks to Nathan Hoover and Storm Murphy. Mercer and WCU are solid teams, but Wofford is the true dark horse in the SoCon.