Tag Archives: Chattanooga

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: Chattanooga 2/27/2012

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It comes down to tonight for the ouright SoCon Championship for the Mountaineer women when they face Chattanooga on the road. Appalachian holds a one game lead in the conference standings and has secured a share of the title with Davidson. However, tonight is all about conference seeding. With an Appalachian win, they secure the first seed in the Southern Conference Tournament and force Chattanooga and Davidson to the other side of the bracket.

In the first meeting this season, Chattanooga led by as many as ten points in the first half before going to the break only up by one point on the Mountaineers. Appalachian went on a 15-6 run in the final 11:55 of the first half. On the opening possession of the second half, Anna Freeman blocked a Whitney Hood shot that led to a layup by Maryah Sydnor. Appalachian took the lead and never relinquished it for the rest of the game in a 62-51 win. When you consider the score with with 11:55 remaining in the first half, Appalachian finished the game outscoring the Mocs by a 49-28 margin over the games final 32 minutes. Appalachian outrebounded the Mocs by a similar margin for the game, 48-25.

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: Samford Postgame and Chattanooga Pregame

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The Lady Mountaineers had to stave off a second half rally from the Samford Bulldogs, but held on down the stretch to win 57-53 on the road. It was Samford’s first conference loss at home all season. The Mountaineers improved to 23-4 on the season and 17-2 in conference play. The Mountaineers dominated the boards with a 45-31 advantage. Maryah Sydnor scored ten points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kelsey Sharkey added seven points, eight rebounds and four assists. Anna Freeman added 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

Later in the day, the Davidson Wildcats lost on the road at Chattanooga, Appalachian’s next opponent, and in turn gave up control of their own destiny. Appalachian has clinched at least a share of the regular season title and can win it outright with a win on Monday evening. The top three seeds in the conference tournament are now determined. Appalachian, Chattanooga and Davidson are the top three seeds, but the order is not set. If Samford and Elon tie, the tiebreaker would go to Samford, so they are locked in as the 4 seed. Elon is locked in as the fifth seed. Regardless of seeding, those two are now guaranteed a matchup in the SoCon tournament in the 4/5 game.

Since Appalachian is guaranteed to be first or second seed, we can now look into potential first round matchups. If Appalachian is the top seed, they will play the winner of the 8/9 game, which could include Charleston, Wofford or Georgia Southern. If Appalachian is the two seed, they will play the winner of the 7/10 game. The seven seed will come down to Monday’s results which will be either Western Carolina or Furman. No matter, the opponent or their seed, Appalachian will have beat their first round opponent twice already this season.

SoCon Standings

App State        17-2        @Chattanooga

Davidson        16-3        @ Samford

Chattanooga     15-4      Appalachian

Samford         12-7           Davidson

Elon                11-8           Western Carolina

Furman          9-10            Ga. Southern

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: 2/22/12 Updated SoCon Standings

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Samford snagged a huge home win over third place Chattanooga that keeps them alive for bye contention going into the conference tournament. From everything that I can see, this officially locks Appalachian and Davidson into the top two seeds in the tournament. Chattanooga can create a two way tie with either Davidson or Appalachian, or a three way tie with both teams, but would lose the tiebreaker in every scenario. Besides the loss the Mocs suffered on the court, the also lost ground in a potential tiebreaker scenario as well. Furman scored a nineteen point win on the road over Wofford which now gives them a 9-9 record in conference play, which is one game behind fifth place Elon, who is 10-8. Furman plays two winnable games as do the Phoenix, but Western Carolina is coming on strong late in the season and could give the Phoenix some trouble. Samford is hoping to tie Chattanooga in the standings and have Furman vault to fifth place in conference to grab the third seed.

Davidson        16-2        @ Chattanooga, @ Samford

App State        16-2        @Samford, @Chattanooga

Chattanooga     14-4      Davidson, Appalachian

Samford         12-6           Appalachian, Davidson

Elon                10-8          Wofford, Western Carolina

Furman          9-9            Charleston, Ga. Southern

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: Appalachian vs. Furman 2/20/2012 Postgame and SoCon Seeding Scenarios

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The Lady Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 21 point lead early in the first half and never really looked back on a night where Appalachian honored four seniors. Both teams shot above 47% but the difference was Appalachian making ten more field goals than the Paladins in an 85-70 victory. Appalachian forced 28 turnovers with 20 of them being steals. Appalachian also recorded ten blocked shots on the evening. “TC” Weldon scored twenty points, grabbed five rebounds and dished six assists in her career finale in the Holmes Center. Maryah Sydnor added 18 points and four rebounds while Anna Freeman scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked six Paladin shots. Raven Gary added a career high 12 points.

A scary moment occured late in the first half when Courtney Freeman had her legs taken out from under her and landed hard on the court. Freeman was holding the back of her head, right where she had her back in a ponytail. Freeman walked off the court under her own power, but did not return to the game.

SoCon Standings

Davidson        16-2        @ Chattanooga, @ Samford

App State        16-2        @Samford, @Chattanooga

Chattanooga     14-3     @Samford, Davidson, Appalachian

Samford         11-6          Chattanooga, Appalachian, Davidson

I dont know if I have ever seen anything like this. In the fight for the third seed, if Samford ran the table, and Chattanooga lost the rest of their games, the teams would be tied with a conference recored of 14-6. In that situation, Samford and Chattanooga would have 1-1 records against Davidson and Appalachian. The tie would be broken by going to current fifth place team Elon, and Chattanooga would win the tie breaker by sweeping the Phoenix, while Samford split with the Paladins. If Furman were to grab the fifth seed, which is possible, Samford would win the tiebreaker with a sweep, while Chattanooga only beat the Paladins once. Althought the loss Samford suffered tonight to Western Carolina seems detrimental, they are still not technically out of the running for the third seed. All of the tiebreakers would become irrelevant if Chattanooga were to beat Samford on Wednesday. In that case, Samford is locked into the 4 seed, and Chattanooga would stay alive for the 1 seed, but face Appalachian and Davidson in the final two games of the regular season. In the event of a three way tie at the top, with Chattanooga winning out and Davidson and Appalachin both beating Samford, Davidson would win the tiebreaker with the better record against the tied schools. In that case Appalachian would earn the 2 seed with a sweep over Furman, whether they finished fifth or sixth, while Chattanooga lost to Furman. As was mentioned earlier, this race will become much clearer, or muddier, depending on Wednesday’s game between Samford and Chattanooga.

Appalachian State Basketball: Appalachian @ The Citadel 2/22/2012

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2/19/2012

I believe Appalachian will be favored in this game by 3 points. The Bulldogs have not been favored all season long, and have not played a team with a likeness of Appalachian at home in a couple weeks. The Bulldogs had lost 11 in a row before winning on the road in Chattanooga on Saturday. The Citadel is 5-2 at home this season ATS versus conference opponents, with those covers coming against Davidson, Georgia Southern, Wofford, Greensboro and Samford. Their losses are to Elon and Furman. Appalachian is 3-4 ATS on the road this season against the SoCon. Their wins were over Furman, Samford and Chattanooga.

02/22/2012

I was a little off here, but still very close to nailing the spread. Appalachian opened as four point favorites. In the last week or so, the lines in Appalachian games have moved around a bit. I could see this sneaking up to the 4.5 to 5 point range. The Citadel is not a good team, but they got off the snide with their win at Chattanooga. I like the even number here because it brings a push into play. One website posts that 64% of the action is heading Appalachian’s direction. I like the Mountaineers as well. They should dominate in the rebounding category. The Citadel is last in the conference in rebounding margin, and just gave up over twenty offensive rebounds to Western Carolina last week, and thirteen to Chattanooga on Saturday. That should lead to plenty easy buckets on the offensive end for the Mountaineers.

Postgame:

The Mountaineers were able to dictate their pace for the first eight minutes of the ball game before The Citadel took control of the tempo and cruised to a 62-51 win. Appalachian was crushed on the boards, and shot terribly from behind the arc. The loss moves my record to 10-13 on the season.

Appalachian State Women’s Basketball: Appalachian @ Davidson 2/18/2012 Postgame & Appalachian vs. Furman 2/20/2012 Pregame

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Appalachian suffered it’s most detrimental loss on the season on Saturday. The Apps shot 33% from the field for the game, and only attempted eight free throws. The Mountaineers shot 24 times more than the Wildcats and were called for 19 fouls to only eight for Davidson. Maryah Sydnor notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Chakeitha Weldon scored 6 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and added 4 steals in the losing effort.

Davidson now sits in the catbird seat by tying Appalachian with a 15-2 record in the SoCon North, but Davidson currently holds the tiebreaker with the season sweep over the Mountaineers. Both teams face Samford and Chattanooga on the road in the season’s final weekend, and both teams host games on Monday Night. Davidson other two losses on the season came to teams they have to play a second time, Wofford and Samford.

SoCon Standings

Davidson        15-2        Wofford, @ Chattanooga, @ Samford

App State        15-2        Furman, @Samford, @Chattanooga

Chattanooga     14-3     @Samford, Davidson, Appalachian

Samford         11-5        @WCU, Chattanooga, Appalachian, Davidson

 

In order for Appalachian to win the 1 seed for the tournament, they must finish a game in front of Davidson. Both Appalachian and Davidson are guaranteed to finish in the top 3 of the conference. Chattanooga still has the opportunity to win the championship, or finish fourth, and could create a three way tie if they were to win out. At this point, working out a three way tiebreaker has endless possibilities with each team in the top 4 playing each other at least twice.

Appalachian State Basketball: Appalachian vs. Chattanooga 2/15/2012 Postgame

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Appalachian played a very smart game and rolled to an easier than it appears nine point win over Chattanooga. Mike Neal had a career high with 23 points, while Isaac Butts chipped in six points and grabbed a season high 16 rebounds. As big as the win was, it was almost equally important the losses Elon and Samford suffered on Wednesday Night. Appalachian gained a full game on the standings on both teams and really tightened up the race for the second seed in the conference tournament. Listed below are the teams records and remaining conference games.

UNCG         10-5   @GSU, Woff, @Elon  Clinched top 2 seed

Elon             8-7     WCU, @Dav, UNCG

Samford       7-8     Furman, @WCU, @UTC

App St          7-9     @Cit, @WCU

Obviously, Appalachian needs to get to 9-9 in conference play. The Mountaineers cannot afford another conference loss, because Elon already has 8 wins. Elon’s chances of getting to 9-9 are pretty high with a home game against Western Carolina, but getting a tenth conference win is unlikely with games at Davidson and home to UNCG. Samford will probably get a 8th win among their remaining games, but a lengthy road trip on the final weekend of the season could create trouble. Appalachian has the easiest remaining schedule of the three teams still fighting for a bye. If there were a three way tiebreaker, Appalachian would lose, but if Appalachian tied with either Samford or Elon, the Mountaineers would win and get the bye in both scenarios. Unfortunately, Appalachian does not control its own destiny as this point in time and will have to scoreboard watch this Saturday to know their fate.

Appalachian State Basketball: Appalachian vs. Chattanooga 2/15/2012

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In terms of conference tournament seeding, this game is as big as it gets for Appalachian. Chattanooga has already been eliminated from bye contention, while Appalachian needs a win tonight to keep their slim hopes alive. A Mountaineer loss assures a game on the tournament’s first day. Along with Appalachian needing a win, the teams they are chasing, Elon and Samford face tough games this evening on the road. Samford travels to SoCon South leader Davidson where they are a 17.5 point underdog, while Elon visits Wofford, who is favored by nine points. Elon losing is as important to the Mountaineers as winning themselves tonight.

Appalachian held a double digit lead in the second half at Chattanooga earlier this season but allowed the Mocs to slowly climb back into the game before a key possession by the Mountaineers with under a minute to go allowed the Mocs to score the go ahead basket.

Appalachian State Basketball: Appalachian vs. Chattanooga 2/15/2012

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2/13/2012

This is a long range guess, but I am expecting Appalachian to be favored here by 2.5 points. Should be a very close game and picking this spread will be extremely tough.y

2/15/2012

The line opened this morning with Appalachian being listed as a 4.5 point favorite. I am surprised as both of these teams are fairly equal, besides Chattanooga being 0-12 on the road this season. Not only is Chattanooga winless on the road, their offensive and defensive numbers also decline when they leave the Volunteer State. The Mocs only average 30 points in the first half in road games, while giving up close to 35 points. Their defense gets progressively worse as the game goes, giving up close to 45 points in the second half, for a total of 79.7 points per game on the road. Oddly enough, Appalachian plays better defense at home, and especially in the second half. Both teams are near the bottom of the conference in free throw shooting, and that was difference the first time these two teams played. Chattanooga was a six point favorite at home but was fortunate enough to capture a two point win.

I am taking the Mountaineers. I think they are due, and the team has played better in its last two games. Chattanooga, once again has yet to win this season on the road.

2/16/2012

Appalachian cruised to a nine point win over the Mocs after leading by as many as 22 points in the second half. I finally snapped my losing streak and improved to 9-12 on the season.

Appalachian State Basketball: Appalachian vs. Wofford 2/11/2012 Postgame and Appalachian vs. Chattanooga 2/15/2012 Pregame

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Appalachian lost to Wofford 66-64 on a cold and snowy Saturday in Boone. With the loss, Appalachian has been eliminated from winning the SoCon North Division. However, all is not lost on the season. The second seed in the SoCon Tournament is still up for grabs, but the Mountaineers must win and get some help from Samford and Elon. Applachian hosts Chattanooga on Wednesday while Elon and Samford but have tough tests on the road. Chattanooga still has not won a road game this season. Appalachian lost a heartbreaker to Chattanooga in January with the Mocs hitting a late layup after costly possession by Appalachian where Omar Carter shot too early in the shot clock. The game clock and shot clock were almost synced while Carter shot a long three pointer with 9 seconds left on the shot clock. The rebound was long and Chattanooga picked up the ball and sprinted the distance for the go ahead layup. A very similar scenraio nearly played out this past Saturday as the Mountaineers had a baseline inbound with just over four seconds remaining in the game. Carter received the inbound and immediately took an off balalanced shot that fell short.

SoCon North Standings

UNCG          9-5

Elon          8-6

Samford         7-7

App St          6-9

UTC          4-10

WCU         4-10