Furman at Charleston Southern | 2:00 PM | ESPN+
The Paladins begin a long stretch away from home by traveling east to Charleston to take on the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern. Furman leads the all time series against CSU 3-1, including, most recently, a 94-47 drubbing in 2019-20. The Paladins come in at 5-0 , feeling good about their recent results after a runaway tune-up victory against Oglethorpe.
Once again, PJay Smith is the story. Through 4 games, Furman’s leading man is averaging 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Smith is shooting 60% from three point range, including a dynamic 15 of 21 from beyond the arc in his last two games. He has led the offense from the point guard spot after playing off-ball last season and has only increased his scoring output. If PJay can continue these performances, he can power Furman to lofty heights, and maybe grab an individual honor as well.
Mason Smith came off the bench against Oglethorpe, and ended with the most minutes played on the team. Despite the level of competition, those minutes can be valuable for younger guys, and Smith’s contributions could allow Bob Richey to play up to 10 guys during the conference season. Smith has contributed in previous games as well, but ended the Oglethorpe outing with 20 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes. Either Mason Smith or Tommy Humphries seem to be who Bob wants to play as the tenth man, and right now it’s been Smith who has made the most of his minutes.
This starting lineup is undefeated, and should have a strong chance to win again in Charleston.
Projected Starting Five:
PJay Smith
Nick Anderson
Ben VanderWal
Garrett Hien
Cooper Bowser
Charleston Southern
Charleston Southern has started out slowly this season, going 1-5 through a tough non-conference schedule. They dropped a game to VMI by 11, but fought hard in a 9 point loss to LSU in their previous game. Southern will come in hungry, looking for a game that can launch a turnaround in the early season.
The Buccaneers rely on an 8 man rotation, who have each scored more than 6 points per game so far. They depend on Taje’ Kelly, a 4th year senior who came up in the CSU program. A 6’7 forward, Kelly averages 16 points and 7.5 rebounds in his 6 games so far. His versatility helps him on the offensive end, but has only shot 3 shots from beyond the arc. He’ll look to get into the post on drives and post-ups. Their leading assist man is RJ Johnson, at 4.7 per game. He’ll be running the offense, but also shoots around 48% from three, proving a dangerous threat on the perimeter.
Projected Starting 5
RJ Johnson: 10.3 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 4.7 APG
Daylen Berry: 12.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.8 APG
Lamar Oden Jr: 7.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.8 APG
Taje’ Kelly: 16.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.0 APG
Reis Jones: 9.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 0.0 APG
Keys to the Game
Post Defense: Taje’ Kelly will take the majority of the shots from the inside, and it will be important for Garrett Hien, Cooper Bowser, and whoever else switches onto him to defend well without fouling.
Keep the shooting going: This team is going to live on shooting. PJay is the man now, but it would be good to build confidence throughout the team and its many capable shooters during this game.
Execute: If the Dins execute on offense and defend to their capabilities, they should walk out with a win.