March 03, 2010 Alex Brown

d.alex.brown@gmail.com

    The brackets are set. It’s SoCon tournament time in Charlotte.
    For one-bid conferences like the Southern Conference, these next few days mean everything to the teams involved. Powerhouses have high hopes of making the NCAA tournament field while the Cinderellas are hoping the slipper fits this season.
    Georgia Southern’s men would fit into the latter category. Finishing the regular season at 9-22, the Eagles are hardly a favorite to bring home the title. However, all year long Southern has proven that it can play with anybody in the league.
    The Eagles boast wins over the top two seeds from the North division. The top seed from the South barely escaped Hanner with an overtime win and Georgia Southern had Charleston, the South’s number two seed, dead to rights on their home floor back in December before letting them off the hook.
    CY’s squad plays a relentless style of basketball that no team enjoys having to face. The Eagles will open the tournament Friday night against the #3 seed from the North, Chattanooga. In their only meeting of the season, the Mocs defeated the Eagles 75-63 in Statesboro. The winner of Friday’s game will move on to face #2 seeded College of Charleston Saturday night.
    If Southern can advance past Saturday, they will play Sunday at 8:30 p.m. on SportSouth and then the championship game will be Monday at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. It sure would be fun to see the guys surprise some people.
    It wouldn’t be the biggest upset in sports history by any means if the Lady Eagles were to win it all this weekend, but no. 1 seed and perennial power Chattanooga has to be the favorite. However, Georgia Southern is very capable of putting together a run.
    The Lady Eagles earned a first round bye and the no. 5 seed after defeating Appalachian State Saturday. Southern will open the tournament Friday at 9 a.m. against no. 4 seed College of Charleston. If the ladies can win Friday, the will move on to face the winner of the Chattanooga vs. Western Carolina/UNC Greensboro game.
    Sunday’s semifinal action will be televised on SportSouth and if the Lady Eagles make it, they will play at noon. The women’s championship game is Monday at 5 p.m. on SportSouth.
    Charlotte is only a little over three hours away. So grab some friends and make the trip. It’s hard to beat college basketball in March—especially if you have the opportunity to see it in person.
    On the diamond, the baseball Eagles didn’t quite get off to the start they hoped for. After losing two of three to Tennessee Tech to start the season, the Eagles faced Georgia Tech last week and lost both games. On Tuesday night, the second largest crowd in the history of J.I. Clements Stadium – almost 2,800 people – watched the Yellow Jackets defeat the Eagles 10-0. Wednesday night went a little better for Georgia Southern, but Tech was still able to sweep the two game series with an 8-5 win.
    Holy Cross came to town over the weekend and the Eagle offense finally came to life. Southern scored 32 runs in its two wins on Saturday and Sunday. However, the Crusaders rode a strong pitching effort from Nate Koneski to a 3-2 win Monday night.
    So Georgia Southern stands at 3-5 on this young season. Rodney Hennon’s guys traditionally get better as the weather gets warmer, so let’s be patient. And take into account the Eagles had to replace their entire outfield and all-everything catcher Griffin Benedict.
    But this roster is filled with talent. It will be fun to watch things come together. For the sake of an at-large bid, hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

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