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The Southern Conference Embarks On Their Most Competitive Men’s Basketball Season In History
Or let’s say recent history, as the conference celebrates its 100th season.
Is the Southern Conference about to become a two-bid mid-major men’s basketball conference?
Perhaps it’s still a long shot, but incredibly the SoCon is the only Division I men’s basketball conference to see all of their teams post .500 or better records out of conference.
Yes, part of that is schedule padding. When Samford scores 65 points to squeak by lowly Kennesaw State in one game and then scores 133 two days later against Division III Belhaven, rest assured the Bulldogs lofty scoring statistics are accumulated because the Blazers may not have a single player who could make a Division I roster.
But in a season of every man for himself when it comes to scheduling, 7–2 Mercer was able to defeat Georgia Tech 83–73 at the start of the season, keeping in the SoCon’s recent tradition of defeating Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conference teams in the early going.
What made the Bears victory so satisfying is not so much it came against a team from a major conference with a 4–3 record currently, but it came against Bubba Parham.
