2014–15 Southern Conference men's basketball season

2014–15 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)ESPN, ASN
Regular Season
Season championsWofford
Season MVPKarl Cochran
Top scorerJalen Riley
Tournament
ChampionsWofford
  Runners-upFurman
Finals MVPLee Skinner
Basketball seasons
← 13–14
15–16 →
2014–15 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wofford 16 2   .889 28 7   .800
Chattanooga 15 3   .833 22 10   .688
Mercer 12 6   .667 19 16   .543
Western Carolina 9 9   .500 15 17   .469
East Tennessee State 8 10   .444 16 14   .533
VMI 7 11   .389 11 19   .367
Samford 6 12   .333 13 19   .406
The Citadel 6 12   .333 11 19   .367
UNC Greensboro 6 12   .333 11 22   .333
Furman 5 13   .278 11 22   .333
2015 SoCon Tournament winner

The 2014–15 Southern Conference men's basketball season began on November 14, 2014, and concluded in March with the 2015 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament played at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Following the previous season's departure of Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Davidson, and Elon from the league, three new members were added - East Tennessee State, Mercer, and VMI. Both ETSU and VMI had previously competed in the SoCon, as the Buccaneers left for the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2005, while VMI spent eleven years in the Big South. Mercer came from the Atlantic Sun as well. With ten league members, the conference schedule featured a full round-robin with two games against every opponent, totaling eighteen, up from sixteen the previous season.

Wofford, the preseason favorites, cruised through the SoCon regular season with a 16–2 conference record en route to their second straight conference tournament title. Wofford senior guard Karl Cochran was named Player of the Year, while fellow Terrier Lee Skinner was named tournament MVP.

Awards and honors

  • Player of the Year: Karl Cochran, Wofford
  • Freshman of the Year: Devin Sibley, Furman
  • Defense Player of the Year: Justin Tuoyo, Chattanooga
  • Coach of the Year: Mike Young, Wofford

All–SoCon Teams

All-Conference Team

Name School Pos. Year
Ashton Moore The Citadel G Senior
Jalen Riley East Tenn. State G Senior
Stephen Croone Furman G Junior
Darious Moten Mercer F Senior
Ike Nwamu Mercer G Junior
Casey Jones Chattanooga G Junior
Justin Tuoyo Chattanooga F Sophomore
James Sinclair Western Carolina G Senior
Karl Cochran Wofford G Senior
Lee Skinner Wofford F Senior

All-Freshman

Name School Pos.
Jake Wright The Citadel G
Devin Sibley Furman G
Christen Cunningham Samford G
Daniel Fowler Furman G
Stephon Jelks Mercer F

[1]

Postseason

SoCon tournament

2015 SoCon Men's Basketball Tournament Seeds and Results
Seed School Conference Overall Tiebreaker First round
March 5
Quarterfinals
March 7
Semifinals
March 8
Championship
March 9
1 Wofford 16–2 25–6 BYE #8 UNC Greensboro #4 Western Carolina #10 Furman
2 Chattanooga 15–3 22–9 BYE #10 Furman
3 Mercer 12–6 17–14 BYE #6 VMI #10 Furman
4 Western Carolina 9–9 14–16 BYE #5 ETSU #1 Wofford
5 East Tenn. State 8–10 16–13 BYE #4 Western Carolina
6 VMI 7–11 11–18 BYE #3 Mercer
7 The Citadel 6–12 11–18 3–1 vs. UNCG, Samford #10 Furman
8 UNC Greensboro 6–12 10–21 2–2 vs. Citadel, Samford #9 Samford #1 Wofford
9 Samford 6–12 13–18 1–3 vs. Citadel, UNCG #9 UNC Greensboro
10 Furman 5–13 8–21 #7 The Citadel #2 Chattanooga #3 Mercer #1 Wofford
‡ – SoCon regular season champions.
Overall records are as of the end of the regular season.

Bracket

[2]

First round
Friday, March 6
Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 7
Semifinals
Sunday, March 8
Championship
Monday, March 9
            
1 Wofford 70
8 UNC Greensboro 52
8 UNC Greensboro 81
9 Samford 76
1 Wofford 73
4 Western Carolina 61
4 Western Carolina 67*
5 East Tennessee State 61
1 Wofford 67
10 Furman 64
2 Chattanooga 67
10 Furman 69
7 The Citadel 56
10 Furman 73
10 Furman 52
3 Mercer 49
3 Mercer 89
6 VMI 61

* denotes overtime period

NCAA tournament

Seed Region School Second round Third round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship
12 West Wofford L Arkansas 56–53
1 bid 0–1 .000 0–0 – 0–0 – 0–0 – 0–0 – TOTAL: 0–1 .000

College Basketball Invitational

Seed Bracket School First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
Mercer W Stony Brook 72–70 L UL Monroe 71–69
1 bid 1–0 1.000 0–1 .000 0–0 – TOTAL: 1–1 .500

Head coaches

References

  1. ^ "Men's Basketball Awards Announced". SoConSports.com. March 3, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "2015 SoCon Men's tournament bracket" (PDF). Southern Conference. Retrieved December 8, 2014.