Samford Reaches New Heights, Wins Outright Title
Yet another record day for Samford basketball as they secure the number one overall seed in the Southern Conference Tournament after a 87-71 win over ETSU. This is the first time since joining the conference in 2008 that Samford will be the number one seed. Today was also Samford’s 25th win which is a school record.
Thanks to The Citadel and Mercer, Samford is already officially the outright SoCon regular season champion.
Samford knows what lies ahead in the SoCon tournament but this week will be one to remember. Fresh off of the exhilarating win over Furman, Samford made this win easier on the heart. Down two starters, Samford controlled this game from start to finish.
Jaden Campbell continues his tear through the SoCon with a career-high 28 points as he was lethal from behind the three-point line. Rylan Jones also had 19 points to go along with five assists. Jones continues to play unselfish basketball while also getting big baskets when his team needs them the most.
Samford head coach Bucky McMillan told a great story in his postgame opening statement about his recruitment of Jones. McMillan knew that Jones could do something great leading this team and remembered exactly what he told him.
“How great would it be if you came here, put a school on the basketball map and accomplished things here at a university that have never been done before. That is truly being great. Accomplishing things at places where it has been done is a great thing as well. To see Rylan Jones come here and be the head of this team to take Samford to the highest levels, I am really happy for him.”
McMillan also said one more thing that stuck out. “Championships are won by champions. I have coached a long time and I do not know many players who are more of a champion than Rylan Jones. That is a player who deserved it.”
Jones continues to be a great leader for this team. He remembered that phone call with him that happened at 11:00pm Pacific time where he was located. “He envisioned this exact thing,” said Jones.
In this game specifically, it was Samford’s bench that was the story of the first half. To start out, eight straight minutes were played without a stoppage. Jones said after it is a good thing that Samford prepares for that.
If you have followed McMillan’s Mountain Brook teams, he was notorious for having a starting five then having a whole new five ready to subbed in at any moment.. That is what today felt like. The second unit of Samford was a big reason why Samford went on a 21-3 scoring run in the first half to extend the lead. In lieu of Achor Achor’s absence, Baylor transfer Zach Loveday played great minutes finishing with two blocks.
Samford Scoop asked McMillan about that run and how good it was to see Loveday out there contributing.
“I thought Zach was awesome, he has not had a lot of game reps. He has never let his foot off the gas in practice. He has played at Baylor and played for a national championship. I was proud of him. He really affected the game defensively blocking shots. That is why you recruit 13 scholarship players so that you have an opportunity to overcome adversity with injuries.”
That is really what makes this program great. Being able to recruit at an extremely high level is a major reason why this team has been successful. You do not win 25 games, currently, without high level players. This team and this program are at levels that have never been seen before. That is the Bucky Ball effect.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein said it perfectly.
We will see what happens in the unpredictable Southern Conference Tournament. We do know one thing, Samford will have to battle their way to an NCAA Tournament berth. It will not be easy. However, this team is better prepared than any before it.
Samford has a great leader as their coach, the players are tough and are ready for the challenge. We will find out, it’s a movement.
