Wofford basketball: easy to dislike
Wofford (8-12, 2-5)
College of Charleston (13-7, 5-3)
Ben Johnson Arena
Tipoff at 7pm on ESPN3
Tonight in Spartanburg the College of Charleston will look to snap a three game losing streak against the Wofford Terriers that stretches all the way back to the SoCon Champonship game from 2011 (above). I remember that game vividly- I was on spring break in Florida and threw a TV remote in rage as Noah Dahlman and company Bernie'd their way to another Big Dance appearance. But that is neither here nor there. Even last season the Cougars were swept in the home-and-away by the Terriers.
This is a team that was kryptonite to the Andrew Goudelock/Bobby Cremins teams of yesteryear. Mike Young is a hell of a coach and his teams are always defensively sound and highly intelligent. That never bodes well for a team that relies on perimeter scoring (CofC the past few years and most SoCon teams), especially in postseason play. In order to win tonight the Cougars are going to have to apply their own defensive pressure and have their offense finish with points. The playing style of both teams has me thinking a 34-32 final score is not beyond the realm of possibility.
The guy to key in on is guard Karl Cochran. Last year's SoCon Freshman of the Year is now the teams leading scorer and he is starting to assume that Trevis Simpson-type game. He scores a lot but he also attempts a lot of shots per game. I wouldn't mind Wojcik implementing the same strategy the guys used to shut down Van Scyoc against Cochran. Cochran is joined in the backcourt by Australian point guard Indiana Faithfull, who is worth mentioning here because he has an awesome name.
While the Terriers have had their struggles in league play, Coach Young's defensive strategies and Cochran's ability to get on a hot streak make this a dangerous team. Don't forget that they have one of the SoCon's premier victories on the year when they won at Xavier. The Cougars should control the boards and the paint but getting the offense to score in the half court will be the toughest challenge. I won't be able to watch this one live but I would love to see the Cougars beat the Terriers for the first time as an alumni. Go Cougs!
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