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, KY – DECEMBER 01: Isaiah Miller #1 of the UNC-Greensboro Spartans (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – DECEMBER 01: Isaiah Miller #1 of the UNC-Greensboro Spartans (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Tournament Predictions

First Round

No. 8 Samford over 9. VMI

No. 7 Wofford over 10. The Citadel

Weirdly, these are two of the easiest games to pick. Wofford is several levels better than the Citadel, one of the worst teams in Division I, and even though Samford and VMI have similar records the Bulldogs have Josh Sharkey.

Quarterfinals

No.1 ETSU over No. 8 Samford

No. 5 Western Carolina over No. 4 Mercer

No. 2 Furman over No. 7 Wofford

No. 3 UNC G over No. 6 Chattanooga

For a mid-major league, this is a pretty competitive quarterfinals. I don’t know that any of these are going to be a walk in the park. ETSU-Samford might end up that way, but all the other teams will be in for a tough matchup.

Semifinals

No. 1 ETSU over No. 5 Western Carolina

No. 3 UNC G over No. 2 Furman

For WCU, reaching the semifinals will be a victory. I don’t think they have a chance against ESTU. Furman and UNC G will be a bloodbath to see who gets a shot at taking down the top-seeded Buccs. I think the Spartans will prevail thanks to a more balanced roster.

Next. Ranking all 32 conference tournaments. dark

Final

No. 1 ETSU over No. 3 UNC G

ETSU has been on a mission to make the NCAA Tournament this season, and I don’t think it’s going to end here as much as I would love to see a two-bid SoCon.