NCAA Tournament March Madness

#243 Samford

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Projected seed: 15 (automatic qualifier)

Samford’s résumé reads like a team with offensive pop and clear moments of competitiveness but not enough top-end victories to quiet concerns, driven by a gritty performance in a true road test at Arkansas that showed it can hang on the road and by solid scoring nights at home such as the win over Cornell and the road wins at TX Southern and Central Arkansas. The damage comes from lop-sided setbacks in neutral and hostile environments, most notably the loss at Utah Valley and the tough trip to VCU, which exposed defensive inconsistency and makes the committee question how the program fares against quality opponents. The nonconference slate included a handful of manageable wins that help overall numbers but carry limited weight because they did not come against established high-level teams, so resume-building opportunities will hinge on upcoming league road games at VMI, UNC Greensboro and Wofford and on home chances against Furman, Chattanooga and ETSU. If Samford can turn one of those league road tests into a signature win or put together a streak in the conference tournament, the perception of its season will shift; without that, the profile looks like an offensively intriguing mid-major with glaring defensive questions and an uneven ledger versus Quadrant-worthy rivals.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3@Tulane187L85-72
11/7S Carolina St361W82-72
11/12@TX Southern315W93-90
11/14@Arkansas29L79-75
11/16@Cent Arkansas261W84-77
11/19FGCU170L77-62
11/21@New Mexico St133L81-72
11/25(N)Georgia St338W78-63
11/26(N)Utah Valley85L89-45
12/5@VCU43L83-57
12/7Cornell168W93-90
1/1@VMI33160%
1/3@UNC Greensboro27444%
1/7W Carolina27666%
1/10@Chattanooga22336%
1/14Furman15544%
1/17ETSU11131%
1/21@Wofford25340%
1/24Chattanooga22358%
1/29@Furman15523%
1/31@W Carolina27644%
2/5Citadel36290%
2/7Mercer16948%
2/11Wofford25362%
2/14@ETSU11114%
2/19@Citadel36276%
2/21@Mercer16927%
2/26VMI33179%
2/28UNC Greensboro27466%