Furman travels to Spartanburg to face Wofford in a game that will essentially decide if the Paladins can breathe easy heading into Asheville or if they’ll be forced into the Friday games.
The first meeting on January 17th was a microcosm of Furman’s season: they led by 13 points with under 10 minutes to play, only to suffer a scoreless drought of nearly seven minutes as the Terriers stormed back for a 74-70 win. Tonight is about finishing what they started and stopping the late-game bleeding that has defined their recent slump.
Can the Dins Outlast the Terriers?
Furman is healthy, but they are looking for their first true “complete” game since the rotation stabilized.
Alex Wilkins: The freshman standout is coming off a 21-point effort against ETSU. He has to limit the high-risk passes late in the game that led to Wofford’s transition points in the first meeting.
Asa Thomas: Thomas had 13 points against ETSU. Wofford’s Nils Machowski will likely be glued to him, which should create more room for Cooper Bowser to operate inside.
Cooper Bowser: Bowser is still shooting a ridiculous 78.6% from the field. In the first meeting, Furman went away from the interior during the collapse. Tonight, the offense has to run through the paint when the perimeter shots aren’t falling.
Charles Johnston: Johnston is a double-double threat every night. He’ll be tasked with neutralizing Wofford’s Brian Sumpter, who grabbed 14 rebounds against the Dins in January.
Scouting the Terriers
The Terriers have found their rhythm, winning seven of their last ten games. They currently sit in 2nd place in the SoCon and are looking to sweep the Paladins for the first time in years.
Kahmare Holmes (19.1 PPG): Holmes is the most dangerous scorer on the floor tonight. He’s coming off a 22-point performance against VMI and is a master at getting to the free-throw line.
Nils Machowski (16.8 PPG): A sharpshooter who averages nearly three triples per game. He was the catalyst for the comeback in Greenville, scoring 20 points and hitting the go-ahead shots.
Chace Watley (9.9 PPG): The glue guy who put away Furman in the first meeting with clutch free throws. He thrives on the energy of the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
Conference Seeding
The SoCon Tournament in Asheville (March 6-9) gives a bye to the top six teams. The 7th through 10th seeds have to play an extra game on Friday.
Furman is currently 8-7 in conference, sitting in a precarious tie for 5th/6th place.
A loss tonight, combined with the way the tiebreakers are shaking out with Samford and Mercer, could realistically slide the Paladins into that Friday play-in territory.
A win tonight splits the season series with Wofford and virtually locks Furman into a Saturday start in Asheville.
Three Keys to the Game
1. The 10-Minute Mark Poise In both the first Wofford game and the recent ETSU game, Furman had leads inside 10 minutes and stopped scoring. If the Dins can maintain their ball movement in the final media timeout stretch, they win.
2. Contain the Holmes-Machowski Duo These two account for nearly 40% of Wofford’s scoring. Furman’s guards have to be elite on the perimeter to prevent Wofford from getting the crowd involved with early threes.
3. Points in the Paint In the first meeting, Wofford actually outscored Furman 44-26 in the paint. That shouldn’t happen with Bowser and Johnston on the floor. Furman needs to capitalize on their size advantage and force Wofford’s bigs into foul trouble early.
The Outlook
Rivalry games in Spartanburg are never easy, but Furman is the more desperate team tonight. They have the talent to win this game by double digits if they play a focused 40 minutes, but the “mental hurdle” of closing out games is the biggest opponent they face.