Bracketology 2023: 5 key mid-major games as the season winds down

Mar 5, 2022; St. Louis, MO, USA; Drake Bulldogs guard Tucker Devries (12) celebrates with fans after scoring the game winning point in overtime against the Missouri State Bears in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

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Bracketology Furman Paladins forward Jalen Slawson Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Furman Paladins 23-7 (14-3) at Samford Bulldogs 21-9 (15-2)

Saturday, February 25, Homewood, AL, 2:00 PM ET, CBS Sports Network

Every year the Southern Conference tournament is one of the most exciting to watch and this year’s edition should be no different. With one day left in the regular season, three teams, Samford, Furman, and UNC-Greensboro find themselves all within a game of each other. Two of those teams, Furman and Samford battle in Homewood, Alabama on Saturday where a No. 1 tournament seed will be decided, either outright or by abacus-worthy tiebreakers.

The first meeting between the two teams saw Furman come away with a hard-fought home win 91-84 in overtime led by Jalen Slawson who had 26 points and 22 rebounds. The senior forward spent the night at the free throw line, knocking down 13-15 while Samford as a team shot 13-19. The loss to Furman was followed by a loss at Wofford, but since then the Bulldogs have won seven straight coming into this one and now find themselves one game away from their first SoCon regular season title.

Furman is a game back coming into the finale and a sweep of Samford would give the Paladins the top seed in the conference tournament and their first regular-season title since 2017. There is a chance that UNC-Greensboro has a say in who wins the crown, but odds are whoever leaves Alabama with a win will be the top seed in the SoCon tournament.

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