Southern Conference Quarterfinals: Who advanced, who is left in semis

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Four teams remain in the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament. Although the season was a little disappointing considering the league’s drop in overall strength, the tournament has once again lived up to the hype in terms of excitement. Of the six games played thus far, five have been decided by 10 points or less, including three by five points or less.

Following Saturday’s action, the two semifinal matchups will see No. 1 East Tennessee State take on No. 5 Western Carolina in the opening game of Sunday’s semifinal action, slated for 4 p.m. EST, while the second semifinal contest will feature No. 7 seed UNC Greensboro vs. No. 6 Furman, beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST.

It will mark the second-straight season that the No. 1, No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 seeds remain in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. Wofford’s 75-72 loss to No. 7 UNCG also means that for an 11th-straight Southern Conference Tournament, we will not have a repeat SoCon champion. The Terriers became the first No. 6 seed to ever win the SoCon Tournament last March, when the Terriers knocked off Furman, 92-85, in the championship game.

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The magic of the No. 7 seed continued in the Southern Conference Tournament, as for the fifth time in the past six tournaments, the No. 7 knocked off the No. 2 seed in the tournament to reach at least the semifinals of the tournament.

The second day opened with top-seeded East Tennessee State pulling away from No. 9 The Citadel in the second half. This was thanks to a solid day shooting the ball from the perimeter (10-of-26/38.5%) and strong individual performance from Blake Barkley, who connected on 10-of-11 shots from the field. Barkley led four ETSU players in double figures, with 24 points, as the Bucs moved on to the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals with an 83-76 win over the Bulldogs.

It was the Bucs’ ninth-straight win in the series, including their seventh under the direction of Brooks Savage. With the…

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Publish date : 2026-03-08 19:41:00

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