College of Charleston and UNC Greensboro Picked to Win Men’s Basketball Division Crowns

GREENVILLE, S.C. --- The College of Charleston and UNC Greensboro are the favorites to win the Southern Conference’s divisional men’s basketball titles this year, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.

The College of Charleston (60 total votes) is the unanimous choice of the coaches to capture the South Division title, earning 10 first-place votes. Following the College of Charleston are Furman (one first place, 48 total votes), Georgia Southern (42), defending league champion Davidson (32), Wofford (24) and The Citadel (14).

UNC Greensboro earned four first place and a total of 44 votes to edge Appalachian State (two first place and 40 total votes) as the favorite in the North Division. Elon (33) and Chattanooga (29) received two first place votes each and Western Carolina (14) was picked for fifth place.

Dontaye Draper of the College of Charleston and UNCG’s Kyle Hines head the preseason All-Southern Conference team. Each received 94 total votes. The College of Charleston, Furman, Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro each placed two players on the 10-man preseason squad. Appalachian State and Elon landed one player each on the All-SoCon squad.

Other members of the preseason team include D.J. Thompson (Appalachian State), Ricky Hickman (UNC Greensboro), Robby Bostain (Furman), Chris Chalko (Elon), Louis Graham (Georgia Southern), Josh Jackson (College of Charleston), Moussa Diagne (Furman) and Donte Gennie (Georgia Southern).

The 2006-07 season begins Nov. 10 when Davidson plays Eastern Michigan in the John Thompson Foundation Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich., Wofford tangles with North Carolina State, Ohio Valley is at The Citadel and Elon plays at Georgia Tech.

The 2007 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is scheduled from Wednesday, Feb. 28 through Saturday, March 3 at the North Charleston Coliseum. It marks the fifth time in the past six seasons that the conference tournament has been held at the facility. The Southern Conference Tournament is the oldest tournament in the nation. The first league tournament was held in 1922.

2006-07 Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish

North Division