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Insider Southern Conference preview: Chattanooga has best chance to give SoCon a tourney win

Chattanooga forward Justin Tuoyo should help the Mocs down low as he blocked 3.3 shots per game last season. Icon Sportswire/AP Images

The Southern Conference hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since Stephen Curry and Davidson were still members in good standing, and, no, Mercer doesn't count. When the Bears shocked the world by defeating Duke in the 2014 round of 64, Bob Hoffman's team was still in the Atlantic Sun.

Mercer fared well (12-6) in its initial season in the SoCon in 2014-15, but Hoffman then lost T.J. Hallice and Darious Moten to graduation and Ike Nwamu to the transfer market (namely UNLV). Newly eligible South Carolina transfer Desmond Ringer will supply some help, but the Bears appear to be at least a year away from their first SoCon title.