Feb. 23, 2006
Feb. 23, 2006
2006 Southern Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tourney Info
Western Carolina SoCon Tournament Inforamtion - From the Catamount Club
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's and women's basketball teams both conclude the regular season this Saturday, February 25 on the road. The Lady Catamounts will look to avenge a nine-point loss suffered at home to UNC Greensboro, visiting the Spartans at Fleming Gymnasium at 4:00 pm, while the Catamount men visit Chattanooga, a team in which they trounced by 18 in Cullowhee on Jan. 14, in a 7:00 pm affair in the McKenzie Arena.
Seeding scenarios for the upcoming Southern Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in Charleston, S.C., have become a little clearer, but there are still too many variables to have a clear cut picture on both sides.
With one game remaining league-wide, only two seeds in the women's bracket have been set for the rapidly approaching tourney with Chattanooga entering as the league's regular season champion and number one seed and Wofford rounding out the field in 10th. Unbeaten in league play, Chattanooga holds the head-to-head sweep of every team in the SoCon, minus Wofford which is the Lady Mocs opponent on Saturday. The remainder of the SoCon remains a log jam with multiple possible finishes.
The Lady Catamounts can finish as high as fifth-place in the SoCon, garnering the fifth seed and an opening day bye, with a win at UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm. According to calculations, WCU can also finish sixth, the last transfer position for not playing on Thursday, and no lower than seventh in the final rankings.
If Western falls at UNCG on Saturday and both Elon wins at home versus Appalachian State AND the College of Charleston wins at Georgia Southern, there will be a three-way tie for fifth place with identical 8-10 league records. In SoCon 3-way tiebreaker fashion, one team is eliminated from the tie and then head-to-head tiebreaking policies are in effect. The head-to-head tiebreaker looks at seasonal match-ups, then seasonal match-ups with the highest ranking team NOT involved in the tie. In that particular instance, Elon went 3-1 versus both WCU and CofC to take fifth out of the three-way lockup. In the tie between Charleston and Western, the two split the seasonal meetings so it reverts to the seasonal match-ups between the highest ranking teams not in the tie. Both squads were swept by UTC and Davidson, while CofC split with UNC Greensboro and Western would have been swept by the Spartans, giving sixth and the final transfer spot to the Cougars, relegating WCU to seventh.
If both Western and the College of Charleston lose on Saturday and Elon wins, WCU and Elon will be tied for fifth at 8-10, while CofC is out of the race for fifth with a 7-11 record and would be tied for seventh with Georgia Southern, who they would have lost to on Saturday. With both WCU and Elon swept by UNCG and Davidson, Western Carolina would win the tiebreaker over Elon by virtue of its seasonal sweep of Appalachian State to be the fifth seed and Elon would be sixth.
If both Western and Elon lose while the College of Charleston wins, WCU and CofC would be tied for fifth, again at 8-10 and Elon would be seventh out right at 7-11. The aforementioned tiebreaker between Western and Charleston would be in effect, with the Cougars earning the edge because of their seasonal split with UNC Greensboro.
Western's opponent on Saturday, the UNCG Spartans will be playing for a second place tie and a chance at the number two seed. Two additional teams - the Davidson Wildcats and Appalachian State Mountaineers - each have a shot at second, as well. Depending upon what happens at the top and middle of the conference will affect how the lower seedings will be handed out.
In men's action, the top five teams based upon conference winning percentage will receive a first-round bye and will not play on Thursday. Four of the five byes have already been solidified, with South Division-leading Georgia Southern, College of Charleston, Davidson, and North Division champion, Elon, moving out of the opening day match-ups. The final transfer spot can be taken by one of three teams, including Western Carolina, its Saturday opponent Chattanooga, and the Furman Paladins.
If Western, who will be without senior David Berghoefer as per SoCon rules for being ejected, were to win on Saturday at Chattanooga (7:00 pm tip-off in the McKenzie Arena), the Mocs would be eliminated from first-round bye contention, propelling the Catamounts to 8-6 in the SoCon with a winning percentage of .571 while UTC would drop to 7-7 (.500). The Catamounts would then need Furman to lose to Georgia Southern in Greenville, S.C. on Sunday, Feb. 26 to drop the Paladins to 8-7, or a .533 winning percentage.
If Furman wins, the Paladins will be the fifth with a 9-6 record (.600) and will receive the final first-round bye giving the South Division four teams not playing on the opening day of the SoCon tournament. Coupled with a Western Carolina win, Chattanooga will again be relegated to seventh because of its .500 winning percentage with the Catamounts pegged sixth with a .571 percentage and playing on Thursday. The roles would be reversed if Western loses at Chattanooga and Furman wins as UTC would be sixth and WCU in at number seven.
If both Western and Furman lose, meaning a Chattanooga win, the Mocs would earn the bye in fifth, with Furman finishing in sixth with a 8-7 record (.533) and WCU would be seventh at 7-7 (.500).
The Citadel is currently locked into the 11th seed for the tournament, with Appalachian State, UNC Greensboro and Wofford fighting for eighth through 10th.
The final seeds and pairings for both the men's and women's tournaments will not be announced until after Sunday's conference finales as Furman hosts Georgia Southern in men's action at 2:00 pm and Davidson hosts Furman at 3:00 pm on the women's side.
2005-06 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Standings (As of Feb. 22)
Remaining SoCon Women's Basketball Games:
Saturday, February 25
Appalachian State at Elon, 2:00 pm
College of Charleston at Georgia Southern, 3:00 pm
Western Carolina at UNC Greensboro, 4:00 pm
Chattanooga at Wofford, 5:00 pm
Sunday, February 26
Georgia Southern at Furman, 2:00 pm
2005-06 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Standings (As of Feb. 22)
Remaining SoCon Men's Basketball Games:
Thursday, February 23
UNC Greensboro at Appalachian State, 7:00 pm
Saturday, February 25
College of Charleston at Davidson, Noon (ESPN2)
Elon at UNC Greensboro, Noon (FSN South)
The Citadel at Wofford, 2:00 pm (ETV)
Western Carolina at Chattanooga, 7:00 pm
Sunday, February 26
Georgia Southern at Furman, 2:00 pm
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