After dominating the Georgia Southern Eagles in Statesboro, S.C., the Cougars begin a five-game home streak at the Carolina First Arena starting with Chattanooga Feb. 4 at 7 p.m., followed by Samford Feb. 6 at 4 p.m., The Citadel Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., Elon Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. and Appalachian State Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
Although the Cougars are atop the Southern Conference at 9-2, their performance in these games, as well as the two road games to cap off the season, could be detrimental to their seeding in the Southern Conference Tournament, since all seven remaining games are against conference opponents.
The Cougars’ Jan. 29 win over the Eagles was marked by a second-half surge led by Cougars guard Andrew Goudelock. Goudelock added 20 of his team-leading 23 points in the second half, and also led the team with six assists. Goudelock has scored less than 10 points in only one game this season and has put up at least 22 points in nine of the last 10 games.
Forward Willis Hall and guard Andrew Lawrence both scored high against the Eagles posting career-highs of 18 and 14 points, respectively. The Cougars also shot a season-high 57.9 percent from the field.
Charleston is looking to sweep Chattanooga on the season with another game like their 90-66 Jan. 16 road win against the Mocs. The Mocs have won their last two games, an 85-80 win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers and an 80-67 rout of Western Carolina, who handed the Cougars a 100-90 loss Jan. 25.  Mocs Guard Ty Patterson put up 18 points in the win against the Mountaineers and is averaging more than 15 points per game. Forward Ridge McKeither also posted big numbers in the win over the Mountaineers, with 18 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. The Mocs are hitting just over 40 percent of their field goals this season.
Although there are still plenty of conference games left, it is unlikely that the Mocs can challenge Charleston for the top seed in the Southern Conference tournament with their current 5-5 conference record.
However, Charleston only holds a one-and-a-half game lead over Wofford in the conference’s South Division. Each game in this final stretch is equally important to hold onto a top two seed in the tournament and to gain a first round bye and safety from immediate elimination. The first round bye will be crucial in getting to the NCAA tournament because no team has ever won the Southern Conference Tournament without the first round bye.