Wofford Terriers
Southern (20-12, 11-5)
Wofford was a bit fortunate to avoid Davidson and Chattanooga in the Southern Conference tournament. The Terriers lost to the Wildcats and Mocs twice each during the regular season. But those top two seeded teams lost earlier than expected in the conference tournament and Wofford had a pretty easy time beating the teams that beat Davidson and Chattanooga. But regardless, Coach Mike Young’s team beat who they had to beat.
Big Wins: 12/21 at Winthrop (62-56), 2/27 at Elon (63-59), 3/10 vs Western Carolina (56-53)
Bad Losses: 11/24 at High Point (56-66), 1/18 Chattanooga (57-71), 3/1 UNC Greensboro (71-73)
Coach: Mike Young (12 seasons at Wofford)
Why They Can Surprise:
Wofford is not the kind of team that is going to blow anybody away with their athleticism. The Terriers play tough defense and make their opponents work for every point. Karl Cochran leads a backcourt that does a decent job of keeping their turnovers down. That is especially impressive since underclassmen Eric Garcia, Jaylen Allen and Spencer Collins join Cochran on the perimeter. Cochran is a dynamic scorer too. He averages 15.7 points per game and knocks down 39.7 percent of his attempts from long range. Garcia is an even more efficient outside shooter and Collins is often the secondary scorer behind Cochran.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Wofford’s tough defense does continue in the paint, but neither Lee Skinner nor C.J. Neumann are shot blocking threats and that has made it easy at times for the opposition to finish in the paint. Skinner is a beast on the glass and a versatile scoring threat and his importance to this team should not be understated. However, teams with big, athletic forwards who can get to the rim can score against the Terriers. Coach Young has now led Wofford to four postseason appearances in the last five years, but all have ended in a first round loss. That trend will likely continue.
Probable Starters:
Eric Garcia, Freshman, Guard, 7.4 ppg, 2.6 apg
Karl Cochran, Junior, Guard, 15.7 ppg, 3.0 apg, 5.0 rpg
Spencer Collins, Sophomore, Guard, 12.8 ppg, 1.3 apg
Lee Skinner, Junior, Forward, 11.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg
C.J. Neumann, Sophomore, Forward, 4.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Jaylen Allen, Freshman, Guard, 5.3 ppg
Justin Gordon, Sophomore, Forward, 5.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg
John Swinton, Junior, Guard, 1.8 ppg, 1.0 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.0 (254th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.7 (30, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.3 (123, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.5 (217, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.1 (184, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.3 (61, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.8 (266, 9)
Rebound Margin: 1.7 (134, 2)
Assists Per Game: 12.9 (155, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.9 (52, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2012 CBI First Round loss to Pittsburgh
2011 NCAA Round of 64 loss to BYU
2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Wisconsin
*all team stats through 3/9
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
