Though they failed to capture the overall regular season league title by virtue of a Feb. 6 62-47 loss at the Mini-Dome, the Cougars are still the prohibitive favorites to win the SoCon tournament and the automatic NCAA berth.
One of the reasons for this are the league’s stingiest scoring defense, giving up only 60.1 points per game. The other is history, as the Cougars have become the poster-children for small-conference success in recent years.
However, it would be foolish for the rest of the SoCon to ignore their offense in the here and now. Nobody shoots a higher percentage that the Cougars’ team mark of 45.9 percent.
Behind this has been center Jody Lumpkin, the league’s fourth-leader scorer (17 points per game), rebounder (7.6 rpg) and third-leading shooter (59.3 percent). Jeff Bolton (16.5 ppg) has been the reliable second option.
Any team capable of ripping off 14 wins out of 15 games, with the only loss coming by four to North Carolina, ought to be feared in March.
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