SoCon Basketball Tournament: Schedule, Odds, Predictions

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Samford guard Garrett Hicks (10) plays against Purdue during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind., Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Chase Kiddy @chaseakiddy Mar 07, 2024, 7:06 PM
  • The SoCon Tournament will run March 8-11 in Asheville.
  • No. 1 seed Samford (+150) is favored to win.
  • The No. 1 seed has won the tournament for six straight seasons.

Over the last few years, the Southern Conference has consistently produced scary NCAA Tournament teams. Its growing power in mid-major circles has made it one of the more fun NCAA conference basketball tournaments to watch.ย 

Naturally, BetMGM has college basketball odds and futures for every upcoming tournament, including this one.ย 

Southern Conference Tournament Schedule

The SoCon Tournament runs March 8-11 at Harrahโ€™s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.ย 

  • Game 1: No. 8 Mercer vs. No. 9 The Citadel
  • Game 2: No. 7 East Tennessee State vs. No. 10 VMI
  • Game 3: No. 1 Samford vs. Game 1 Winner
  • Game 4: No. 2 UNC Greensboro vs. Game 2 Winner
  • Game 5: No. 3 Chattanooga vs. No. 6 Wofford
  • Game 6: No. 4 Western Carolina vs. No. 5 Furman
  • Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner
  • Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
  • Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner

Southern Conference Tournament Odds

TeamOdds
Samford+150
UNC Greensboro+425
Western Carolina+500
Chattanooga+550
Furman+700
Wofford+2000
East Tennessee State +2000
Mercer+5000
The Citadel+10000
VMI+20000

Southern Conference Tournament Prediction

Samford (+150) will win the Southern Conference Tournament and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

A Decade of Hits

The SoCon is a beloved mid-major thatโ€™s had several quality teams at the top of the bracket for quite a few years now. Because of that, you may be surprised to learn that the No. 1 seed has had quite the grip on the SoCon.

The No. 1 seed has won the Southern Conference Tournament every year since 2017. Even that winner was No. 3 seed ETSU, which had a 14-4 conference record that was identical to No. 2 Furman and No. 1 UNC Greensboro. The Bucs only were the No. 3 seed on tiebreakers.ย 

You have to go back to 2014 to find a conventional upset scenario, where No. 3 seed Wofford (20-13, 11-5) won the tournament. No. 1 Davidson (20-13, 15-1) was upset by No. 5 Western Carolina (19-15, 10-6) in the semifinals in a 99-97 overtime shootout, and the Terriers won the title game.

Perhaps a decade of chalk is baked into the price here in Samfordโ€™s +150 price. At +425, No. 2 UNC Greensboro is priced much closer to No. 4 Western Carolina (+500) than it is the top of the market.

Samford isnโ€™t a lottery ticket, but the history here clearly says to take the top seed. Perhaps there are systemic advantages in how this specific tournament bracket suppresses the mid-table teams.

  • 2023-24 SoCon Standings
    Team Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Win Pct. Total Wins Total Losses Win Pct.
    Samford 15 3 .833 26 5 .839
    UNCG 12 6 .667 21 10 .677
    Chattanooga 12 6 .667 20 11 .645
    W. Carolina 11 7 .611 22 9 .710
    Wofford 10 8 .556 17 14 .548
    Furman 10 8 .556 16 15 .516
    ETSU 8 10 .444 16 15 .516
    Mercer 8 10 .444 15 16 .484
    The Citadel 3 15 .167 11 20 .355
    VMI 1 17 .056 4 27 .129
  • SoCon Tournament Champions
    Year Champion Runner-Up Score
    1921โ€“22 North Carolina Mercer 40โ€“25
    1922โ€“23 Mississippi State Chattanooga 31โ€“21
    1923โ€“24 North Carolina Alabama 26โ€“18
    1924โ€“25 North Carolina Tulane 36โ€“28
    1925โ€“26 North Carolina Mississippi State 37โ€“23
    1926โ€“27 Vanderbilt Georgia 46โ€“44
    1927โ€“28 Mississippi Auburn 31โ€“30
    1928โ€“29 NC State Duke 44โ€“35
    1929โ€“30 Alabama Duke 31โ€“24
    1930โ€“31 Maryland Kentucky 29โ€“27
    1931โ€“32 Georgia Duke 26โ€“24
    1932โ€“33 South Carolina Duke 33โ€“21
    1933โ€“34 Washington & Lee Duke 30โ€“29
    1934โ€“35 North Carolina Washington & Lee 35โ€“27
    1935โ€“36 North Carolina Washington & Lee 50โ€“45
    1936โ€“37 Washington & Lee North Carolina 44โ€“33
    1937โ€“38 Duke Clemson 40โ€“30
    1938โ€“39 Clemson Maryland 39โ€“27
    1939โ€“40 North Carolina Duke 43โ€“23
    1940โ€“41 Duke South Carolina 53โ€“30
    1941โ€“42 Duke NC State 45โ€“34
    1942โ€“43 George Washington Duke 56โ€“40
    1943โ€“44 Duke North Carolina 44โ€“27
    1944โ€“45 North Carolina Duke 49โ€“48
    1945โ€“46 Duke Wake Forest 49โ€“30
    1946โ€“47 NC State North Carolina 50โ€“48
    1947โ€“48 NC State Duke 58โ€“50
    1948โ€“49 NC State George Washington 55โ€“39
    1949โ€“50 NC State Duke 67โ€“47
    1950โ€“51 NC State Duke 67โ€“63
    1951โ€“52 NC State Duke 77โ€“68
    1952โ€“53 Wake Forest NC State 71โ€“70
    1953โ€“54 George Washington Richmond 83โ€“70
    1954โ€“55 West Virginia George Washington 58โ€“48
    1955โ€“56 West Virginia Richmond 58โ€“56
    1956โ€“57 West Virginia Washington & Lee 67โ€“52
    1957โ€“58 West Virginia William & Mary 74โ€“58
    1958โ€“59 West Virginia The Citadel 85โ€“66
    1959โ€“60 West Virginia Virginia Tech 82โ€“72
    1960โ€“61 George Washington William & Mary 93โ€“82
    1961โ€“62 West Virginia Virginia Tech 88โ€“72
    1962โ€“63 West Virginia Davidson 79โ€“74
    1963โ€“64 VMI George Washington 61โ€“56
    1964โ€“65 West Virginia William & Mary 70โ€“67
    1965โ€“66 Davidson West Virginia 80โ€“69
    1966โ€“67 West Virginia Davidson 81โ€“65
    1967โ€“68 Davidson West Virginia 87โ€“70
    1968โ€“69 Davidson East Carolina 102โ€“76
    1969โ€“70 Davidson Richmond 81โ€“61
    1970โ€“71 Furman Richmond 68โ€“61
    1971โ€“72 East Carolina Furman 77โ€“75
    1972โ€“73 Furman Davidson 99โ€“81
    1973โ€“74 Furman Richmond 62โ€“60
    1974โ€“75 Furman William & Mary 66โ€“55
    1975โ€“76 VMI Richmond 41โ€“33
    1976โ€“77 VMI Appalachian State 69โ€“67
    1977โ€“78 Furman Marshall 69โ€“53
    1978โ€“79 Appalachian State Furman 86โ€“83
    1979โ€“80 Furman Marshall 80โ€“62
    1980โ€“81 Chattanooga Appalachian State 59โ€“55
    1981โ€“82 Chattanooga Davidson 69โ€“58
    1982โ€“83 Chattanooga East Tennessee State 70โ€“62
    1983โ€“84 Marshall Chattanooga 111โ€“107
    1994โ€“95 Chattanooga Chattanooga 11โ€“3
    1995โ€“96 Western Carolina Western Carolina 10โ€“4
    1996โ€“97 Chattanooga Marshall 71โ€“70
    1997โ€“98 Davidson Appalachian State 66โ€“62
    1998โ€“99 College of Charleston College of Charleston 16โ€“0
    1999โ€“2000 College of Charleston Appalachian State 13โ€“3
    2000โ€“01 College of Charleston UNC Greensboro 12โ€“4
    2001โ€“02 Davidson Furman 62โ€“57
    2002โ€“03 East Tennessee State Chattanooga 97โ€“90
    2003โ€“04 East Tennessee State Chattanooga 78โ€“62
    2004โ€“05 Davidson Chattanooga 16โ€“0
    2005โ€“06 Georgia Southern Davidson 11โ€“4
    2006โ€“07 Davidson Davidson 17โ€“1
    2007โ€“08 Davidson Elon 65โ€“49
    2008โ€“09 Chattanooga College of Charleston 80โ€“69
    2009โ€“10 Wofford Wofford 15โ€“3
    2010โ€“11 Wofford College of Charleston 77โ€“67
    2011โ€“12 Davidson Davidson 16โ€“2
    2012โ€“13 Davidson Davidson 17โ€“1
    2013โ€“14 Wofford Western Carolina 56โ€“53
    2014โ€“15 Wofford Furman 67โ€“64
    2015โ€“16 Chattanooga East Tennessee State 73โ€“67
    2016โ€“17 East Tennessee State UNC Greensboro 79โ€“74
    2017โ€“18 UNC Greensboro East Tennessee State 62โ€“47
    2018โ€“19 Wofford UNC Greensboro 70โ€“58
    2019โ€“20 East Tennessee State Wofford 72โ€“58
    2020โ€“21 UNC Greensboro Mercer 69โ€“61
    2021โ€“22 Chattanooga Furman 64โ€“63
    2022โ€“23 Furman Chattanooga 88โ€“79
  • Most SoCon Tournament Championships
    Team Championships Years
    Chattanooga 12 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009, 2016, 2022
    Davidson 12 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013
    West Virginia 10 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967
    East Tennessee State 8 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2017, 2020
    North Carolina 8 1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1945
    Furman 7 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1980, 2023
    NC State 7 1929, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952
    Wofford 5 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2019
    Duke 5 1938, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1946
    VMI 3 1964, 1976, 1977
    UNC Greensboro 3 2001, 2018, 2021
    George Washington 3 1943, 1954, 1961
    Marshall 3 1984, 1985, 1987
    Appalachian State 2 1979, 2000
    Washington & Lee 2 1934, 1937
    Western Carolina 1 1996
    Alabama 1 1930
    Clemson 1 1939
    College of Charleston[a] 1 1999
    East Carolina 1 1972
    Georgia 1 1932
    Maryland 1 1931
    Mississippi State 1 1923
    Ole Miss 1 1928
    South Carolina 1 1933
    Vanderbilt 1 1927
    Wake Forest 1 1953

Conference Tournament Previews & Predictions

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About the Author

Chase Kiddy

Read More @chaseakiddy

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.