The 2021–22 Southern Conference men's basketball season started non-conference play on November 9, 2021, and began conference play on December 29, 2021. The regular season ended on February 27, 2022, setting up the 2022 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament from March 4 to March 7.
Conference Schedule Each team is scheduled to play 18 conference games. Each team will play every team twice, once at home and once on the road.
Head coaches
Coach Changes East Tennessee State hired Desmond Oliver to replace Jason Shay who left for Wake Forest to become an assistant.
UNC Greensboro hired Mike Jones to replace Wes Miller who left for Cincinnati to become head coach.
Western Carolina hired Justin Gray to replace Mark Prosser who left for Winthrop to become head coach.
Coaches TeamHead CoachPrevious JobYears At SchoolRecord at SchoolSoCon RecordSoCon TitlesNCAA TournamentsChattanoogaLamont ParisWisconsin (Assistant)560-6329-4100The CitadelDuggar BaucomVMI764-11821-8500East Tennessee StateDesmond OliverTennessee (Assistant)10-00-000FurmanBob RicheyFurman (Assistant)589-3551-1800MercerGreg GaryPurdue (Assistant)333-2519-1600SamfordBucky McMillanMountain Brook HS26-132-900UNC GreensboroMike JonesRadford10-00-000VMIDan EarlNavy (Associate HC)757-12325-7900Western CarolinaJustin GrayWinthrop (Assistant)10-00-000WoffordJay McAuleyWofford (Assistant)334-2420-1500 Notes:
Year at school includes 2021–22 season. Overall and SoCon records are from the time at current school and are through the end of the 2020–21 season. NCAA Tournament appearances are from the time at current school only.
Preseason Awards The Preseason Southern Conference men's basketball polls was released on October 26, 2021.
Preseason men's basketball polls First Place Votes in Parentheses
Coaches Poll
Chattanooga (7) - 77 Furman (2) - 71 East Tennessee State - 59 Mercer (1) - 58 Wofford - 49 UNC Greensboro - 45 VMI - 32 Samford - 24 The Citadel - 23 Western Carolina - 12
Media Poll
Chattanooga (18) - 254 Furman (3) - 220 Wofford (1) - 191 Mercer (2) - 190 East Tennessee State - 186 UNC Greensboro (3) - 160 VMI - 104 The Citadel - 74 Samford - 57 Western Carolina - 49
Preseason Honors HonorRecipientPreseason Player of the YearHayden Brown, The CitadelPreseason All-Southern Conference TeamHayden Brown, The CitadelLedarrius Brewer, East Tennessee StateDavid Sloan, East Tennessee StateMike Bothwell, FurmanAlex Hunter, FurmanNeftali Alvarez, MercerFelipe Haase, MercerDavid Jean-Baptiste, ChattanoogaMalachi Smith, ChattanoogaJake Stephens, VMI
Regular season Source:
Conference standings ConferenceOverallRankTeamRecordPercentRecordPercentTiebreaker1Chattanooga14-4.77824-7.7742Furman12-6.66720-11.6453Samford10-8.55620-10.6671-1 vs Chattanooga4Wofford10-8.55618-12.6000-2 vs Chattanooga5VMI9-9.50016-14.5331-1 vs Mercer6UNC Greensboro9-9.50017-13.5670-2 vs Mercer7Mercer8-10.44415-16.5848East Tennessee State7-11.38915-16.4849The Citadel6-12.33312-17.48410Western Carolina5-13.27811-20.355
Conference Matrix ChattanoogaThe CitadelEast Tennessee StateFurmanMercerSamfordUNC GreensboroVMIWestern CarolinaWoffordvs. Chattanooga–0-20-20-20-21-11-11-11-10-1vs. The Citadel2-0–1-12-01-11-11-11-11-12-0vs. East Tennessee State2-01-1–1-11-11-11-11-11-12-0vs. Furman2-00-21-1–0-21-11-11-10-20-2vs. Mercer2-01-11-12-0–1-10-21-11-11-1vs. Samford1-11-11-11-11-1–1-11-10-21-1vs. UNC Greensboro1-11-11-11-12-01-1–1-10-21-1vs. VMI1-11-11-11-11-11-11-1–1-11-1vs. Western Carolina1-11-11-12-01-12-02-01-1–2-0vs. Wofford2-00-20-22-01-11-11-11-10-2–
Players of the Week WeekPlayer(s) of the WeekSchoolNov. 15Mike BothwellFurmanNov. 22Malachi SmithChattanoogaNov. 29Max KlesmitWoffordDec. 6Jalen SlawsonFurman (2)Dec. 13Jake StephensVMIDec. 20Malachi Smith (2)Chattanooga (2)Dec. 27Ques GloverSamfordJan. 3Jake Stephens (2)VMI (2)Jan. 10Malachi Smith (3)Chattanooga (3)Jan. 17Jake Stephens (3)VMI (3)Jan. 24Malachi Smith (4)Chattanooga (4)Jan. 31Jordan KingETSUFeb. 7Nicholas RobinsonWestern CarolinaFeb. 14Jake Stephens (4)VMI (4)Feb. 21Trey BonhamVMI (5)Feb. 28Hayden BrownThe Citadel
Players of the Month MonthPlayer(s) of the WeekSchoolNovemberHayden BrownThe CitadelDecemberJacksen GrecoMercerJanuaryMalachi SmithChattanoogaFebruaryJake StephensVMI
Records against other conferences Power 7 ConferencesRecordPower 7 ConferencesRecordACC2-5American0-1Big EastNoneBig TenNoneBig 12NonePac-121-0SEC3-6Power 7 Total6-12Other Division I ConferencesRecordOther Division I ConferencesRecordAmerica East2-1Atlantic 101-3ASUN5-1Big SkyNoneBig South15-10Big WestNoneColonial2-2Conference USA1-4Horizon League2-0Ivy LeagueNoneMAAC0-2MAC2-0MEAC3-1MVC1-0MWCNoneNECNoneOVC5-4Patriot League2-1Southland1-1SWAC2-0Summit LeagueNoneSun Belt5-3WAC1-0WCC2-1Other Division I Total52-34NCAA Division I Total58-46NCAA Division II Total4-0NCAA Division III Total8-0NAIA Total6-0NCCAA Total2-0Total Non-Conference Record78-46
Conference Tournament The 2022 Ingles SoCon Tournament will be held in Asheville, North Carolina at Harrah's Cherokee Center from March 4 to March 7.
References