College Hoops tonight and we will see the College of Charleston Cougars take on the top seed Davidson Wildcats in the Finals of the Southern Conference Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN 2. Currently the Odds for the game have Gonzaga favored by 7 points while the total sits at 128.
Analysis: Coach Doug Wojcik's first year at the helm of the Cougars' program has already been a success, as he has led it to 24 wins that includes decisions over Boston College, Baylor and Vermont. He has a chance to become an instant hero in the Charleston community on Monday, as it has been 14 years since the Cougars last went dancing. Charleston upset the second-seeded Elon Phoenix, 68-60, on Sunday to advance to the title game. Andrew Lawrence scored 19 points and Willis Hall registered a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for CofC against Elon. The Cougars held Elon to just eight field goals on 29.6 percent shooting in the first half to build an early lead before shooting 52 percent from the floor themselves after the break to seal the deal. Charleston is just a middle of the road team offensively with an average of 65.6 ppg, however it is very adept on the other end of the floor where it allows only 61.3 ppg. Lawrence, who played with and against some of the world's top players prior to this season as a member of Great Britain's senior national team in the most recent Summer Olympics, paces the squad with 13.3 points, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per tilt.
Davidson needed to stage a second half comeback on Sunday against Appalachian State, but did so successfully to defeat the Mountaineers, 65-62. It was the 451st career win for coach Bob McKillop and the 16th straight for the team. The Wildcats' winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation. During the regular season, Davidson defeated the Cougars, 77-68 on Jan 19, at home and 75-59 on Feb. 14, in Charleston. The Wildcats own a sizeable, 52-13 all-time series edge. Davidson is outscoring opponents by 18.4 points per game during its current winning streak, while holding its opposition to 39.7 percent shooting from the floor. Forward Jake Cohen was named SoCon Player of the Year last week after posting 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season. His outside shooting ability, combined with the slashing of De'Mon Brooks (13.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) helped make Davidson the highest scoring team in the conference this season at 73.7 ppg. Cohen and Brooks combined for 33 points in Sunday's victory over ASU.
Pick: These teams met twice this year and 134 and 145 points were scored in those games. Neither team is are high tempo teams, but Charleston has averaged 66.1 ppg, while Davidson has averaged 73.1 ppg on the year. Charleston's last 5 games have averaged just 122.4 ppg, but let's dig a bit deeper on that. 3 of those games were vs slow down teams that are 216th, 316th and 336th in scoring in the nation and in those games the Cougars allowed just 51.6 ppg in those 3 games, with those games averaging just 112 ppg. Now once the tourney started they have faced the 124th and 125th scoring offenses in the nation and their defense allowed 65 ppg , while those two games have averaged 138 ppg. The Cougars have averaged 73.3 ppg in their last 3 games, while Davidson has averaged 76.3 ppg during their 16 game winning streak and have hit at least 68 points in 15 of those games. Their defense is tough, but I feel that Charleston can get at least 65 points, while Davidson should put up at least 70 of their own. This one should easily make at least 130 points.
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