SoCon Basketball: 2021 Conference Tournament preview and predictions

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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Chattanooga Mocs David Jean-Baptiste Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 6th GAME 3: #1 UNCG vs. #9 Western Carolina

UNCG, looking for their third conference championship, will look for revenge against Western Carolina after losing by one point on February 24th. UNCG’s combination of solid offense and above-average defense will easily handle Western Carolina.

UNCG 79, Western Carolina 71

Saturday, March 6th GAME 4: #4 Chattanooga vs. #5 ETSU

With two wins during the regular season against ETSU, Chattanooga will be entering their first game of the tournament with supreme confidence. Each game, however, was only decided by two points and this game will be no different. ETSU will come out on top because determination and self-pride are going to be the factor in this game.

ETSU 64, Chattanooga 62

Saturday, March 6th GAME 5: #2 Wofford vs. #7 Mercer

Wofford will use its high-powered offense against Mercer to complete their season sweep. Previously, Wofford has beaten Mercer by 13 points and 3 points respectively. Mercer’s defense is subpar at best with a 102.1 DRtg. Combined with Wofford’s above-average offense (109.8 ORtg) and this is a recipe for disaster for Mercer.

Wofford 79, Mercer 69

Saturday, March 6th GAME 6: #3 Furman vs. #6 VMI

An early battle between the dark horse in the tournament (VMI) and one of the favorites (Furman). In their only matchup of the season, VMI was the victor by one point. Furman is coming off of a season finale loss against Wofford while dealing with the expectations of a number three seed. VMI, on the other hand, is a talented team with nothing to lose.

VMI 79, Furman 78