Breaking down the Southern Conference basketball tournament schedule

The Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship will be held March 6-9 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina. With the regular season coming down to the wire, the Furman Paladins and East Tennessee State Buccaneers sit atop the standings with the UNC-Greensboro Spartans just behind. The Wofford Terriers won the conference tournament last season, and the league has had different champions in each of the past four seasons.

The first eight games of the nine-game tournament will air on ESPN+ with the conference title game broadcast on ESPN. Let’s dive in for an early look at the Southern Conference schedule and analysis as we get closer to tournament time.

March 6

Game 1: No. 9 VMI 96-78 No. 8 Samford, 5:00 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 10 The Citadel 76-93 No. 7 Wofford, 7:30 p.m. ET

March 7

Game 3: No. 9 VMI 57-70 No. 1 ETSU, 12:00 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 5 Western Carolina 56-70 No. 4 Mercer, 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 5: No. 7 Wofford 77-68 No. 2 Furman, 6:00 p.m. ET
Game 6: No. 6 Chattanooga 78-68 No. 3 UNC-Greensboro 8:30 p.m. ET

March 8

Game 7: Game 3 winner 75-97 Game 4 winner, 4:00 p.m. ET
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6:30 p.m. ET

March 9

Championship: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7:00 p.m. ET

As of right now, the Southern Conference is looking like it has the possibility of being a two-bid league. If you scour the internet for Bracketology updates, it shows Furman and East Tennessee State are at least in contention for the bubble. If someone else was to win the tournament, the SoCon could potentially send a pair of teams. ETSU does have the inside path however with a win at LSU and a 27-4 record overall.