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The SoCon is a one-bid league in 2022, but there will be plenty of great basketball to be played at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina later this week.
The regular-season winner has gone home with the trophy in this tournament the last seven years, which gives the UT-Chattanooga Mocs the inside track to be the team in The Big Dance. The Wofford Terriers won a game over Seton Hall in the 2019 bracket, and whoever wins this league will be a mid-major no one wants to play on opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
2022 Southern Conference Tournament Bracket: Date, time, TV, live stream
All Times ET
Friday, March 4
Game 1: No. 9 The Citadel 84, No. 8 ETSU 76 (OT)
Game 2: No. 10 Western Carolina 53, No. 7 Mercer 81
Saturday, March 5
Game 3: No. 9 The Citadel 66, No. 1 Chattanooga 71
Game 4: No. 5 VMI 66, No. 4 Wofford 68
Game 5: No. 7 Mercer 66, No. 2 Furman, 80
Game 6: No. 6 UNC-Greensboro 64, No. 3 Samford, 66
Sunday, March 6
Game 7: No. 1 Chattanooga 79, No. 4 Wofford 56
Game 8: No. 2 Furman 71, No. 3 Samford 68
Monday, March 7 Final
Game 9: No. 2 Furman vs. No. 1 Chattanooga, 7:00 p.m., ESPN
Who are the favorites?
Chattanooga finished the regular season holding a two-game lead after the home-and-home full schedule, so they enter as the favorites. With a record of 24-7, 14-4 in the SoCon, Malachi Smith was the best player in the league this season. If the Mocs are to win, they’ll have done it via the double for the second-straight time, as they swept both the regular season and the league title in 2016.
The No. 2 team are the Furman Paladins, with the senior duo of Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson are some of the most efficient scorers in the league. If you want a sleeper, Samford had won six in a row before capping the season with a loss at Chattanooga. The Bulldogs struggle to get stops, but if they can lock it in defensively, they can score enough to make themselves a tough out.
Odds to win SOCon Tournament on DraftKings Sportsbook
Furman +140
Chattanooga +200
Wofford +500
UNC Greensboro +1500
Samford +2000
VMI +2000
ETSU +4000
Mercer +5000
Western Carolina +10000
The Citadel +10000
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