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SoCon men’s basketball tournament bracket set
The Samford Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed for first time since joining the conference
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Regular-season Southern Conference champion Samford is the No. 1 seed in the Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, which takes place March 8-11 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina.
The tournament begins Friday, March 8, with a pair of first-round games. Four quarterfinal games follow on Saturday, March 9, with the semifinals on Sunday, March 10, and the title game on Monday, March 11, at 7 p.m. The semifinals will air on ESPNU, while Monday’s championship game will air live on ESPN or ESPN2. The other six games will air on ESPN+, with Saturday’s quarterfinals also appearing on select Nexstar affiliates.
Samford locked up its first outright title and No. 1 seed since joining the SoCon in 2008 with an 87-71 win against ETSU on Feb. 24. The Bulldogs’ win over the Buccaneers to clinch the regular-season crown was the team’s 25th victory of the season, which established a new program record for wins in a season. Samford enters postseason play with a 26-5 overall record and a 15-3 mark in SoCon play, giving the Bulldogs 15 wins in conference play for the second straight season. Three wins in Asheville will give Samford its first SoCon Tournament title.
Samford opens play Saturday, March 9, at noon, where it will face either No. 8 seed Mercer or No. 9 seed The Citadel, who will square off in the first round on Friday at 5 p.m. This is the second straight season the Bears and the Bulldogs will face off the first round, with the Bears winning the 2023 tournament matchup 66-41. Mercer (15-16, 8-10) enters the conference tournament as the hottest team in the field, winning four of its last five games including victories over the top two seeds. The Citadel finished the regular season 11-20 overall and 3-15 in league play.
Friday’s second contest will see No. 7 seed ETSU (16-15, 8-10) take on No. 10 seed VMI (4-27, 1-17) at 7: 30 p.m. The Buccaneers closed the season with a dramatic 66-65 win over UNCG on Saturday to clinch the seventh seed. ETSU was victorious over VMI in both contests during the regular season, but the two teams’ Jan. 24 meeting in Lexington was a one-point affair, with the Bucs coming out on top 74-73.
The winner of that contest will advance to face No. 2 seed UNCG on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Spartans, who turned in their second straight 20-win season at 21-10 overall and 12-6 in SoCon play, split with their games during the season with ETSU and won both games versus VMI. UNCG will be looking for its first conference tournament title since 2021.
Saturday’s third game will see No. 3 seed Chattanooga (20-11, 12-6) take on No. 6 seed Wofford (17-14, 10-8) at 6 p.m. The Mocs and the Terriers each finished two spots ahead of where they were predicted in the preseason polls. Chattanooga won both regular season meetings this season and hold a 3-2 advantage against Wofford in SoCon tournament play, including topping the Terriers in the semifinals in 2022 and 2023. The Mocs, the 2022 tournament champions, will be looking for their third straight championship game appearance, while the Terriers look to make the championship game for the first time since 2020.
No. 4 seed Western Carolina (22-9, 11-7), who are the fourth seed for the second season in a row, will take on No. 5 seed Furman (16-15, 10-8), the defending tournament champions, in the final quarterfinal game on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The Catamounts and Paladins split their two contests during the regular season. Furman has won all five matchups between the two teams in the SoCon tournament. The two teams played the only overtime game during the 2023 SoCon Tournament, a contest that saw the Paladins prevail, 83-80, en route to the tournament title. It has been 10 years since the Catamounts made the title game and they will be looking for their first tournament title since 1996.
2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 8 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) Mercer vs. (9) The Citadel, 5 p.m.
Game 2 - (7) ETSU vs. (10) VMI, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 9 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Samford vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 4 - (2) UNCG vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 - (3) Chattanooga vs. (6) Wofford, 6 p.m.
Game 6 - (4) Western Carolina vs. (5) Furman, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 10 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 11 (ESPN or ESPN2)
Championship game, 7 p.m.
The tournament begins Friday, March 8, with a pair of first-round games. Four quarterfinal games follow on Saturday, March 9, with the semifinals on Sunday, March 10, and the title game on Monday, March 11, at 7 p.m. The semifinals will air on ESPNU, while Monday’s championship game will air live on ESPN or ESPN2. The other six games will air on ESPN+, with Saturday’s quarterfinals also appearing on select Nexstar affiliates.
Samford locked up its first outright title and No. 1 seed since joining the SoCon in 2008 with an 87-71 win against ETSU on Feb. 24. The Bulldogs’ win over the Buccaneers to clinch the regular-season crown was the team’s 25th victory of the season, which established a new program record for wins in a season. Samford enters postseason play with a 26-5 overall record and a 15-3 mark in SoCon play, giving the Bulldogs 15 wins in conference play for the second straight season. Three wins in Asheville will give Samford its first SoCon Tournament title.
Samford opens play Saturday, March 9, at noon, where it will face either No. 8 seed Mercer or No. 9 seed The Citadel, who will square off in the first round on Friday at 5 p.m. This is the second straight season the Bears and the Bulldogs will face off the first round, with the Bears winning the 2023 tournament matchup 66-41. Mercer (15-16, 8-10) enters the conference tournament as the hottest team in the field, winning four of its last five games including victories over the top two seeds. The Citadel finished the regular season 11-20 overall and 3-15 in league play.
Friday’s second contest will see No. 7 seed ETSU (16-15, 8-10) take on No. 10 seed VMI (4-27, 1-17) at 7: 30 p.m. The Buccaneers closed the season with a dramatic 66-65 win over UNCG on Saturday to clinch the seventh seed. ETSU was victorious over VMI in both contests during the regular season, but the two teams’ Jan. 24 meeting in Lexington was a one-point affair, with the Bucs coming out on top 74-73.
The winner of that contest will advance to face No. 2 seed UNCG on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Spartans, who turned in their second straight 20-win season at 21-10 overall and 12-6 in SoCon play, split with their games during the season with ETSU and won both games versus VMI. UNCG will be looking for its first conference tournament title since 2021.
Saturday’s third game will see No. 3 seed Chattanooga (20-11, 12-6) take on No. 6 seed Wofford (17-14, 10-8) at 6 p.m. The Mocs and the Terriers each finished two spots ahead of where they were predicted in the preseason polls. Chattanooga won both regular season meetings this season and hold a 3-2 advantage against Wofford in SoCon tournament play, including topping the Terriers in the semifinals in 2022 and 2023. The Mocs, the 2022 tournament champions, will be looking for their third straight championship game appearance, while the Terriers look to make the championship game for the first time since 2020.
No. 4 seed Western Carolina (22-9, 11-7), who are the fourth seed for the second season in a row, will take on No. 5 seed Furman (16-15, 10-8), the defending tournament champions, in the final quarterfinal game on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The Catamounts and Paladins split their two contests during the regular season. Furman has won all five matchups between the two teams in the SoCon tournament. The two teams played the only overtime game during the 2023 SoCon Tournament, a contest that saw the Paladins prevail, 83-80, en route to the tournament title. It has been 10 years since the Catamounts made the title game and they will be looking for their first tournament title since 1996.
2024 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 8 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (8) Mercer vs. (9) The Citadel, 5 p.m.
Game 2 - (7) ETSU vs. (10) VMI, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 9 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) Samford vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 4 - (2) UNCG vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 - (3) Chattanooga vs. (6) Wofford, 6 p.m.
Game 6 - (4) Western Carolina vs. (5) Furman, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 10 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 11 (ESPN or ESPN2)
Championship game, 7 p.m.