As the calendar year flips to March, more conference tournaments will be held in the wake of the March Madness tournament. In this case, the Southern Conference tournament begins today, March eighth, with Samford as the heavy favorite to win it and get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Bracket

Results

Samford is the favorite to win the conference tournament, winning 15 of 18 conference games, while being undefeated at home. The last time Samford won a conference tournament they were in the Atlantic Sun, in 1999-2000. They have never made it to the second weekend in the NCAA tournament, losing as a 13 and 14 seed in back-to-back years. Aside from Samford, five teams have a legitimate shot at stealing the automatic bid from Samford, including last year’s champion of the conference, the Furman Paladins.

Furman has had a down year in relation to the past two years, but they have shown they can get hot at any time. In both meetings with Samford, they split the series, with both games being tightly contested. Furman was the closest team to almost knock off Samford at home, losing by a basket. The only negative is their defensive capability, ranked 203rd in the country. They can score at will and push the pace, but defensively it is a big question mark.

UNC Greensboro is another team that could be a bid stealer, placing second in the southern conference this year by a game over Chattanooga. They struggled against Samford in both meetings, while also losing to the bottom teams in Mercer and East Tennessee State. If UNC Greensboro can get hot at the right time though, there is no reason they can bid steal. They play at one of the slowest paces in the conference, but that is their only downfall. If they can make their opponent play at their pace, they will be a tough out.

Chattanooga, Western Carolina, and Wofford are the other potential bid stealers in the conference, but we will have to see how this plays out. This is one of the best conference tournaments to watch mid-major wise and should be a photo finish. East Tennessee State and Mercer moved on already, as VMI and the Citadel has been eliminated from contention.

Betting Odds

Samford (+155)

UNC Greensboro (+450)

Furman (+500)

Western Carolina (+500)

Chattanooga (+700)

Wofford (+2000)

East Tennessee State (+2000)

Mercer (+5000)

The Citadel (+15000)

VMI (+25000)

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