SoCon Test No. 7: Furman Heads to Bitter Rival The Citadel for Mid-Week SoCon Showdown

SoCon's Oldest Hardwood Rivalry Set for 224th Renewal Wednesday Night

The Game: Furman (13-6, 4-2 SoCon) at The Citadel (5-14, 2-4 SoCon)
THE VENUE AND PLACE:   MCALISTER FIELD HOUSE (6,000)/CHARLESTON, S.C.

HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+/7 p.m. EST

SERIES: 224th meeting/Furman leads the all-time series 135-88

CHALRESTON, S.C.--Furman and The Citadel represent the oldest battle in the Southern Conference, and this season's meeting in Charleston comes at a particular crucial time for both programs, as The Citadel comes in playing some of its best basketball of the season, while the Paladins arrive in Charleston for Wednesday night's league showdown as the walking wounded.

Both the Bulldogs and Paladins were in action against bitter rivals last time out, with The Citadel going on the road to pull off an 82-68 win over VMI, while Furman blew a 13-point second-half lead, and Wofford used a 17-0 run late in the game to shock the Paladins, 74-70, in Greenville. It marked Furman's second home loss in league play this season, as well as its third loss at the refurbished Timmons Arena.

Head coach Bob Richey (194-87/9th year at Furman) will hope to get one or two of his injured players back for Wednesday night's contest in Charleston, while The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy (80-158/8th yr at The Citadel) hopes to see his team continue to find its rhythm, playing some of its basketball of the season when the Bulldogs host the Paladins before what should be a rowdy corps of cadets Wednesday evening. 

One of the interesting sidebars to the matchup is that like with the matchup at Samford last week, there is some connection between the two programs when it comes to assistant coaches, as first-year assistant and former Paladin, Brady Schuck.

Schuck has brought a winning background as both a coach and player back to the Low Country where he grew up. Prior to his first season at The Citadel, Schuck spent the past two seasons as an assistant at the NCAA Division II level at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL, as he was part of a pair of winning seasons during his stint with highly-successful Saints basketball program, which included a 2023-24 season that saw the Saints win 20 games and make it to the championship game of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. 

Schuck has brought a wealth of knowledge about Southern Conference basketball in his first year with the Bulldogs, having spent time playing at Furman University for Niko Medved and Bob Richey as a part of the Paladins' highly successful program. 

He was a part of a 2016-17 Paladins team that shared the Southern Conference regular-season title with UNCG and ETSU, winning 23 games in the process. In the 2018-19 season, Schuck's Furman team garnered its first-ever AP Top 25 ranking, knocking off both Loyola-Chicago and defending national champion Villanova as a part of a historic 12-0 start to that season. 

The Paladins have won 78 road games over the past 11 seasons, which ranks the Paladins fifth nationally in road wins over that duration, with only Belmont (93), Vermont (90), UC Irvine (82), and Gonzaga (79) totaling more. For the Bulldogs, their impressive 14-point road win was their first SoCon road triumph since Jan. 25, 2023, when the Bulldogs were able to knock off Western Carolina, 81-70, in Cullowhee. 

The Paladins are 4-1 in true road games so far this season, while having posted a 1-2 mark in neutral court games, with losses on neutral floors to both Illinois State (L, 65-72/State Farm Fieldhouse/ESPNEvents Invitational Imagination Bracket Championship Game) and High Point (L, 71-97 in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon at the Rock Hill Sports Complex in Rock Hill, S.C.) in the 2025-26 season opener. 

Speaking of the Catamounts, that's who the other SoCon win has come against this season, as the Bulldogs claimed a 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina on Jan. 10. Interestingly, that win over the Catamounts came a week after the Catamounts had gone to Greenville and stunned Furman, with an 80-77 overtime win over Furman. That overtime win back on Jan. 10 by the Bulldogs snapped a streak of 37-straight losses to NCAA Division I foes. 

The Bulldogs have now won two of their past three and looked like they might have a three-game winning streak coming into Wednesday's contest, however, UNCG would overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to eventually come up with a 69-66 setback to the Spartans. The Citadel has been in four of its six Southern Conference games to this point, with the lone exceptions being a 74-49 home loss on New Year's Eve against East Tennessee State and a 101-63 setback on the road to league title contender Mercer back on Jan. 7. The Bulldogs also dropped a home contest to Wofford (L, 86-95). 

The Paladins and Bulldogs also have a pair of common non-conference foes this season, in Charleston Southern and Richmond. The Bulldogs dropped a 96-89 early November home contest to Charleston Southern, while dropping an 80-56 contest just before Christmas at Richmond. 

The Paladins, meanwhile, knocked off Charleston Southern, 84-76, at Timmons Arena just before Christmas, while knocking off Richmond, 73-72, in a neutral floor contest in the Imagination Bracket of the ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving Day in Kissimmee Florida at the State Farm Fieldhouse at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.

Furman and The Citadel will be squaring off for the 224th time in the history of the series, with the Paladins holding a 135-88 all-time series edge, with the Paladins having won the past four meetings in the series, including the past two in Charleston in overtime by a combined seven points. 

The Paladins were able to secure a 67-63 win at McAlister Field House back on Jan. 8, 2025, while using a JP Pegues buzzer-beating three to force overtime and ended up claiming an 82-79 win over the Bulldogs on Jan. 31, 2024. 

Furman's last loss in Charleston also coincided with Furman's magical 2022-23 season, which yielded the program's first SoCon Tournament title and subsequent trip to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, as well as its second NCAA Tournament win in 49 years. 

On Feb. 15, 2023, the Bulldogs captured a 69-65 win over Furman in Charleston. Furman wouldn't lose again until San Diego State ended Furman's season in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, with a 77-53 win in Orlando. 

Furman recorded the SoCon's largest margin of victory by any team during the 2024-25 season in a league tilt, knocking off the Bulldogs by 43 points (W, 85-42) in the second meeting between the two last season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the final regular-season home game for the Paladins. 

The Citadel has been playing good basketball of late, and in its road win at VMI last time out, the Bulldogs were able to shoot the ball at a 46% (23-of-50) and 45.0% (9-for-20) from three-point range in what was a 14-point road triumph. The road win would see the Bulldogs explode for 47 first-half points, as The Citadel was unphased by the hostile crowd of 4,923 fans on-hand at Cameron Hall Saturday night, populated mostly by a loud corps of cadets.  

Despite that hostility and noise, the Bulldogs showed tremendous focus and concentration to connect on 27-of-32 foul shots (84.4%) on the road. A big part of that incredible foul shooting display in the contest was Valdosta State transfer wing guard Braxton Williams, who went a perfect 5-of-5 from the line as a part of a team-leading 22-point effort in the win, which marked his third-straight 20+point scoring performance. 

The performance by the Valdosta State transfer came on the heels of a career-high 25-point effort in the loss at UNCG, which was preceded by a 21-point scoring effort in the Bulldogs' home overtime triumph over Western Carolina back on Jan. 10. The 6-6 wing-forward Williams has six 20-point scoring efforts this season, with four of those coming in the past five games. 

As you might have already guessed, he's the leading scoring threat this season for the Bulldogs, as he enters Wednesday night's contest averaging a team-best 13.3 PPG and is also averaging 2.7 RPG and 1.2 APG. As a perimeter threat, Williams is connecting on a solid 38.1% (43-of-113) from three-point land this season. 

Williams' 43 threes leads the team, as does his 38.1% shooting percentage from long-range among players that see significant minutes. He's started 10 of The Citadel's 19 games this season. Williams is also an accomplished free throw shooter, highlighted by that 5-of-5 effort in Lexington last time out and is a perfect 15-of-15 from the line over his past five games, and is shooting a solid 80.3% () from the charity stripe this season.

Williams has amassed 11 double-figure games in 19 outings this season for the Bulldogs, and that includes scoring 20 more in four of the past five. 

While Williams has been leading the Bulldogs this season, he's been getting some quality help as of late, with Sola Adebisi being among the best on the offensive boards in the league this season, while also leading the team in total rebounds per game, averaging 6.1 rebounds-per-contest.

The 6-7 senior wing forward, who originally transferred into The Citadel from Florida State prior to last season, has been arguably the most complete player for the Bulldogs each of the past two seasons.  He has started all 41 games he's been a part of for the Bulldogs over the past couple of seasons and is averaging 7.5 PPG to go with his 6.1 RPG this season.

He is shooting a solid 52.3% (45-of-86) from the field this season, but isn't much of an outside threat, having connected on just 29.2% (7-of-24) from three-point land this season. In the Bulldogs' 67-63 overtime home loss to the Paladins last season, Adebisi posted 15 points, nine rebounds and blocked three shots. He posted two of the team's three offensive rebounds in the four-point setback. Adebisi finished 6-for-8 from the field in that contest, including connecting on his only three that he shot of the night. 

Adebisi's best scoring performance this season was 15 points, which came back in the season-opening rout of Erskine. He had a season-high 12 rebounds the next time out and has posted double-digit rebound games twice this season, as he also posted 11 boards against Wofford a couple weeks back in a nine-point home loss. He also has six double-figure scoring games and three double-doubles, with his most recent game in double figures coming in the 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina, posting 10 points and nine boards.

Rounding out the projected frontcourt starters for the Bulldogs will be 6-10 senior Simeon Gideon--a graduate transfer from USC Aiken--and he'll be able to help counter some of Furman's size underneath and on the backboards. 

While he is slated to start, the native of Lagos, Nigeria doesn't see a tremendous amount of floor time, as he only saw about 10 minute last time out against VMI, and he's averaging about 11.5 minutes per game this season. He's seen action in 16 games, including starting nine and has started the past five games. German started his career at Florida Gulf-Coast, but didn't make much of an offensive impact, with more of his work coming on the glass and on the defensive end as a reserve.

While with the USC Aiken Pacers, he was much more of a glue guy, starting 46 of 59 games there, posting 6.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG and had 116 blocks, giving some good rim protection. He's been a bit foul prone at times, and he usually go for long stretches in the game. 

He logged a season-high 25 minutes against Bellarmine, while totaling 21 minutes in the recent overtime home win over Western Carolina. In 16 games so far this season, Gideon is averaging 1.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG and has blocked five shots.

Rounding out the starting five for the Bulldogs will be Eze Wali and Carter Kingsbury, who will both occupy the backcourt for the Bulldogs. Wali has seemingly seen improvement at the point guard spot with every game during his sophomore season, as he has full transitioned to being the No. 1 point guard this season after logging 10 starts as the Bulldogs' floor general last season.

Wali was solid in somewhat limited time last time out against VMI, posting 11 points, two assists and had two turnovers in only 14 minutes of action, as he saw his action limited mostly due to foul trouble. He has five double-figure scoring double-figure scoring games. His best effort came on the offensive end this season came against Southern Wesleyan, posting 17 points in that contest. 

For the season, Wali is averaging 6.2 PPG and 3.6 APG so far this season. Wali is a player is an outstanding free throw shooter, having connected on 30-of-35 (85.7%) this season. Wali is not a great three-point shooter, connecting on just 13-of-45 (28.9%) from long-range this season. 

Rounding out the starting five will be Kingsbury, who is a graduate transfer from Iowa, and he's come in and filled a role as an extra scorer at times, and he's found his way into double figures in three of the past five games, with a career-high 22 points coming in the overtime win over Western Carolina, logging 36 minutes in the game. Kingsbury also logged 15 points in the overtime road loss at UNCG, while finishing with just seven points the last time out against the Keydets. 

Kingsbury comes into tonight's contest averaging 8.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG, and while he isn't shooting the three-ball well so far this season, connecting on just 30.2% (16-of-53) for the season, but in the past three games, Kingsbury is shooting the ball better from long-range, having posted a 5-for-11 performance over the past three.

The Bulldogs have some pretty solid support coming off the bench, including the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer, in Christian Moore. The 6-6 wing forward is averaging 10.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG so far this season. 

Moore is an all-conference caliber player, and he's actually started 15 of 19 games this season, but of late, he's been an extra weapon that Ed Conroy has been able to turn to off the bench for the Bulldogs this season. He has 10 double-figure scoring games this season, with his 21-point effort in the loss to Charleston Southern early in the season has been his best effort of the campaign, while posting 20 in the recent home loss to Wofford. 

On a team that hasn't shot the ball particularly well from three-point range this season, Moore has been an exception to those shooting struggle rule, as he has 37 triples this season, and is shooting a 37.4% (37-of-99) from long range so far on the campaign.

Forward Kenyan Davis (5.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG), who has been a guy that has played well against the Paladins in the recent past, as well as 6-3 freshman guard Marcos Gonzalez (5.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.7 APG), guard and Drury grad transfer Logan Applegate (6.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG/28 3pt FGs) and 6-4 forward Dante Kearse (4.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG) rounding out a solid nine-man rotation for the Bulldogs. 

As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 70.5 PPG and shooting 42.5% (469-1104) and 33.1% (180-of-544) from the field so far this season.  

Furman is still trying to gain its overall health as a team, and the Paladins should have at least eight and potentially nine scholarship players available for tonight's game, with Tom House expected to return, as well as the potential of Collin O'Neal existing for a return in some capacity Wednesday evening.

If the Paladins do indeed get both guys back tonight, it will not only be a big morale booster, but it will help what looked a fatigued team in Saturday's home loss to Wofford be much fresher. Alex Wilkins continues to be phenomenal, and leads the Paladins at 17.6 PPG and 5.0 APG, and while the Paladins have had a lot of injuries to deal with, there have been positive developmental strides made by guys like freshman guard Abijah Franklin (5.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG), as well as a pair of freshmen big men, in Owen Ritger (1.8 PPG, 1.3 RPG) and Cole Bowser (6.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG). 

Ritger has with each game made his presence more known on both ends, and Bowser, who will be playing in just his fourth game on Wednesday night, has given the Paladins a huge lift as a rebounding presence, as well as on the boards. Franklin turned in his best all-around performance last time out in the loss to Wofford, with a career-high 14 points and six rebounds. 

In contrast to some past Furman teams, this is not the perimeter shooting team of years past, as the Paladins are shooting just 31.6% (175-of-554) from long-range this season. However, the Paladins make up for it by being maybe the best defensive team Bob Richey has had in his tenure as Furman's head coach. 

The Paladins currently have the highest defensive rating in the SoCon (108.8) according to KenPom and are allowing just 69.9 PPG, while holding teams to 42.1% (487-of-1158) and just 32.5% (198-of-276) from three.

Furman's Probable Starting Five:

G --Alex Wilkins (17.6 PPG, 5.0 APG)

G-Tom House (6.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG)

F/G--Ben Vander Wal (8.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.3 APG)

F--Cole Bowser (6.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG)

C--Charles Johnston (10.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.9 APG)

The Citadel's Probable Starting Five

G-Eze Wali (6.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.2 APG)

G-Braxton Williams (13.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG)

G-Carter Kingsbury (8.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG)

F-Sola Adebisi (7.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG)

C-Simeon German (1.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG)

Wofford Uses Late Run to Glide Past Furman in Rivalry Clash

Furman sophomore wing forward Mason Smith (photo courtesy of Jeremy Fleming/Furman athletics)

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Wofford used a 17-0 run, holding Furman without a field goal for almost seven minutes and overcame a 13-point deficit in the process to post a, 74-70, Southern Conference win over the Paladins Saturday evening before a sellout crowd at Timmons Arena.

With the win, Wofford improves to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in Southern Conference action, while Furman, which fell for the second time in four home league outings this season and suffered its third overall home loss at the new Timmons Arena, fell to 13-6 overall and 4-2 in SoCon play.

Wofford improved to 36-23 against the Paladins since joining the Southern Conference as a member in 1997-98, while Furman now holds a 93-66 edge in the all-time series. Saturday's contest marked the 159th all-time series meeting between the two I-85 rivals, with the two slated to lace 'em up against one another for the 160th clash on Feb. 21, 2026, at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST. 

The past two meetings between the Paladins and Terriers have involved late-game runs that ultimately seen the Terriers prevail over the Paladins in games that Furman was leading. 

In Asheville just last March, Wofford went on a 13-2 run over the final 2:33 to overcome a four-point deficit and come away with their sixth Southern Conference Tournament title, improving to 6-1 in championship game and moving on to the NCAA Tournament as a result.

The 17-0 run, which would ultimately come at a crucial point in the contest, as Furman held a 59-46 lead when Ben Vander Wal converted a layup off a Wofford turnover to give the Paladins their biggest lead of the night with 9:59 remaining. Furman wouldn't score again until a pair of Alex Wilkins free throws with 3:02 left and wouldn't score from the field again until Wilkins knocked down a jumper with 2:12 remaining.

Over the course of nearly seven minutes of final 10 minutes of basketball between the I-85 rivals, Wofford went from trailing 59-46 with 9:59 remaining to leading 63-59 following a Brian Sumpter second-chance opportunity with 3:16 remaining. When Wilkins drained a jumper to tie the game, 63-63, with 2:12 remaining, it would turn out to be the final time the two teams would be tied. 

Furman, which started the game with just eight scholarship players, finished the afternoon with just six available after Cole Bowser was pulled from re-entering the game after some sort of injury to his nose, face or jaw, while Mason Smith's first-half apparent knee injury rendered the Paladins to just seven scholarship players for much of the afternoon.

Smith posted 11 rebounds and six points in his first sizable playing time of the season against Samford, as the Paladins pulled out a 77-73 road win. When exiting the lineup on Saturday evening, Smith had played only 4:30 but already had five points and three boards and was a +10 for the day. He was the highest +/- for the Paladins the entire evening.  

The Paladins expect to return guards Collin O'Neal and Tom House in the coming week at some point, as the Paladins travel to The Citadel on Wednesday evening and UNC Greensboro on Saturday. 

Cooper Bowser is expected back late in the month. By the start of February, Furman could have back most of its scoring production if the positive progressions continued to be made by that trio of players through the rehabilitation process.

As for Asa Thomas, his injury, which happened against VMI last week, will have a little more of a recovery time, but he is expected back sometime in mid-February. Early signs as to Smith's injury don't point to an immediate return, unfortunately.

Wofford was led in the contest by 20 points from both Kahmare Holmes and Nils Machowski, who scored 20 points apiece, as the duo accounted for 40 of the team's 74 points. Holmes finished off his ninth 20+point scoring effort of the season by connecting on 7-of-15 shots from the field and was 1-for-4 from three-point range. He also posted a 5-of-6 effort at the charity stripe and also added three assists and a steal.

Machowski, who was the national mid-major player of the week just a couple of weeks ago, continued his strong performance to start out league play, as he connected on 7-of-14 shots from the field and was 4-for-9 from three-point range. 

Also adding double-figure scoring efforts for the Terriers were both Chace Watley and Brian Sumpter, who scored 15 and 10 points, respectively. Sumpter added a game-high 14 rebounds to finish off a double-double performance.

The Paladins finished off the contest with three players finding their way into the double figures scoring column in the game, as Alex Wilkins led the Paladins with 19 points, four assists, and two rebounds in just over 37 minutes of floor time. 

Wilkins struggled mostly from long-range, going 1-of-10 from distance, but was 6-of-10 from two-point range to finish 7-for-20 for the game. He would post a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the charity stripe. 

Abijah "Baba" Franklin finished the day with his best performance in a Furman uniform, as the Wren High School product and South Carolina Mr. Basketball finished with a career-high 14 points, highlighted by his mid-court buzzer-beater off a steal to give the Paladins a seven-point, 37-30, halftime lead. Franklin finished his evening with a 5-for-8 effort from the field, including 3-of-4 from long-range and was 1-for-2 at the line. Franklin also added six rebounds, two steals and an assist.

The only other Paladin to finish the contest in double figures was Ben Vander Wal, who added 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. 

Before exiting the game late, Cole Bowser delivered another solid performance for the Paladins, as he finished the game with six points, a team-leading eight rebounds, recorded one steal and blocked a shot. 

Furman freshmen accounted for 46 of their 70 points, but also eight of the team's 12 turnovers, with most of those leading to a crucial 18 points from turnovers that the Terriers benefitted from in the game. 

It's a sign of both Furman's uber-taleted freshman class, while also showing what an incredible load they are having to shoulder due to injuries, as well as having to learn some things the hard way in transitioning to NCAA Division I basketball. 

Wofford was efficient all evening, but particularly in the second half, as the Terriers shot 56.7% (17-of-30) in the second half, which highlighted at 50% (29-of-58) shooting performance for the game. As Furman began to tire late, the Terriers went right at Furman and took the ball to the basket rather than settling for threes and were able to get many good looks in the paint, as the Terriers posted one of their most efficient halves of basketball in league play to this point, particularly when it comes to establishing and winning the battle in the paint. The Terriers were also strong at the charity stripe, finishing the game at 76.9% (10-of-13).

Furman on the other hand, struggled shooting as the game wore on, and during Wofford's late surge, saw its offense stagnate, with the ball sticking in certain spots and poor shot-clock management more often than not led to poor shot selection, as the Paladins went 0-of-7 from three-point range during that 17-0 Terrier run, which proved to be the difference. 

The Paladins finished the contest connecting on 43.9% (25-of-57) from the field and just 27.6% (8-of-29) from three-point range. Furman was a solid 80% (12-of-15) from the charity stripe.

Wofford finished the contest holding advantages in points in the paint (44-26), points off turnovers (18-11), and total assists (12-11). Furman ended the contest by holding advantages in bench scoring (23-4), second-chance points (18-10), total rebounds (35-30), and fast-break points (12-6).

All told, Furman held the lead for 28:56 of the 40-minute, game and the game featuring five lead changes, while the score would be tied on six occasions. 

How It Happened:

Furman came out and made the first 3-0, as Alex Wilkins used a step-back triple, however, Wofford would settle into the game and after a layup from Cayden Vasko and a three by Nils Mahowski, the Terriers settled into the game and a three and layup by Kahmare Holmes, sparked a 9-2 spurt, with Furman’s only other bucket coming from Eddrin Bronson, as the Terriers headed to the first median timeout with an 11-5 lead at the 15:15 mark of the opening half.

Furman pulled even quickly, as back-to-back threes by Mason Smith and Baba Franklin tied the game, 11-11, and then a Wilkins feed to Owen Ritger for a one-handed stuff to tie it 13-13 before Wilkins gave the Paladins a brief 15-13 lead with a teardrop runner. However, Terrier freshman guard Chace Watley answered with a layup for Wofford to tie the game 15-15 at the under 12 media.

Holmes gave Wofford a brief 16-15 lead following the media timeout, however, Mason Smith answered with an offensive rebound and layup in the paint to put Furman on top by a point. The Paladins then extended that lead to four after Charles Johnston took a feed from Alex Wilkins and knocked down a three to make it a 20-16 game.

Following another Furman stop, the Paladins extended their lead to six after Mason Smith was fouled, but had to leave the game due to injury. Since he was fouled in the act of shooting, Cole Bowser shot the two foul shots instead of and he would knock down both free throws to extend Furman’s lead to its largest of the day, 22-16.

Wofford would quickly charge back, however, but could never grab the lead, despite having chances to take the lead late in the half. With the Paladins clinging to a 32-30 lead, Cole Bowser extended it to four when Ben Vander Wal found Cole Bowser for a layup to make it a 34-30 game. Then off the ensuing inbounds pass. Abijah Franklin stole the ball and then launched a three that banked in from about 34-feet as the buzzer sounded, bringing a roar out of the crowd. The Paladins took the 37-30 lead to the break.

Out of the locker room, Furman was sluggish, with two turnovers on its first two possessions, while the Terriers got a pair of free throws from Holmes and a turnover in the paint, which led to a Brian Sumpter layup and got the Terriers to within three, at 37-34, with 18:34 remaining.

After Sumpter dunked home an alley-oop off a great feed from Nils Machowski cut Furman's lead to three, at 39-36, at the 17:51 mark, the Paladins would score the next seven to take their biggest lead of the game to that point, at 10, following a driving layup by Wilkins, as Furman assumed the 46-36 lead with 15:47 remaining.

Furman would outscore the Terriers 20-10 in just under the next six minutes of game action, taking a 59-46 lead on a Ben Vander Wal layup off a steal, however, the highlight of the run for the Paladins was a lob from Wilkins-to-Cole Bowser, which he hammered home to put the Paladins up 11 (57-46) on the possession prior to Vander Wal increasing Furman's lead to its largest of the afternoon and bringing the Timmons capacity crowd to its loudest decibel level of the evening. 

Following Vander Wal's layup with 9:59 left, however, it was all Terriers, as Vasko started the 17-0 run on a short jumper at the 9:25 mark. By the time Wofford had finished its run, the Terriers would have a four-point lead, at 63-59, following a Sumpter offensive rebound and layup in the paint at the 3:16 mark. 

Wilkins would score four-straight on a pair of free throws and a baseline jumper, which tied the game, 63-63, with 2:12 remaining. However, Wofford would hit back with five-straight to take a 68-63 lead, as Machowski connected on the biggest shot of the game, which came on a left elbow three to give the Terriers the lead back immediately, and then after Furman's Franklin recorded a steal and Vander Wal came up with the loose ball, his pass was picked off by Holmes, who converted the easy layup and Wofford all of the sudden went back up five, at 68-63, with 1:07 left.

Another two Wilkins free throws were answered by a Watley layup for the Terriers, keeping the margin at five, at 70-65, with 37 seconds remaining. An offensive rebound and layup by Vander Wal trimmed the margin back to three before Whatley answered with a pair of made free throws after Furman's Wilkins was forced to foul. Watley's foul shots with were perfect, giving the Terriers a five-point cushion once again, at 72-67, with 23 seconds remaining.

A desperation three by Franklin was good following a second-chance opportunity provided by an offensive rebound from Vander Wal, getting the Paladins back to within two, at 72-70, with 11 seconds remaining. However, Furman was forced to foul again, and this time it was Machowski, who was 80.2% from the line coming into the game, and he knocked down both free throws with nine seconds left to make it academic, and the Terriers traveled back to Spartanburg with a big four-point SoCon win over their arch-rival in-tow. 

Both the Paladins and Terriers will return to action on Wednesday evening, with Wofford hosting Samford (9-10, 2-4 SoCon) in a 6 p.m. EST contest at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Furman will be on the road to take on suddenly hot The Citadel (5-14, 2-3 SoCon), who picked up an 82-68 win at VMI on Saturday evening to record its first SoCon road win since Jan. 25, 2023, as the Bulldogs have won two of their last three games. Tip-off for the Paladins and Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m. EST at McAlister Field House. 

Postgame Press Conference:

Furman head coach Bob Richey

Furman players Charles Johnston and Ben Vander Wal

SoCon Hoops Roundup: Upsets and Underdogs Were Main Menu Items in Week 3 of League Play

The SoCon split its games between two nights, and the action on the floor on both nights was as good as it has been at any point this season, with The Citadel having been involved in a pair of overtime games, going 1-1 in those games and snapping a 37-game NCAA Division I losing streak in the process. 

The Bulldogs were involved in another thriller once again just last night against UNC Greensboro, with the Spartans able to hold off the Bulldogs, 69-66, in overtime, utilizing the 11th double-double from Justin Neely (23 pts, 16 rebs) this season to post the overtime win. 

The Spartans trailed by as many as 14 in the opening half before coming back to get the win, with the Bulldogs hitting seven first-half threes to take a 33-19 lead into the halftime locker room. The Spartans slowly took advantage of the tired Bulldogs down the stretch, converting some careless turnovers into points to eventually force the overtime session. The Spartans did hold a substantial 40-22 edge in the points in the paint stat.

It was another valiant effort from The Citadel, which got a game-high 25 points from Valdosta State transfer Braxton Williams in the defeat. Williams was hobbled late in the game but re-entered in overtime to try and give his team a lift but couldn't quite help the Bulldogs get over the hump in overtime.

While the Spartans held off The Citadel at Bodford Arena, the early game saw Mercer tangle with VMI in Lexington, as the Bears looked to pick up their third-straight conference win after an 0-2 start to league play. 

The Bears would eventually do exactly that, getting an astounding SoCon season-high 25 rebounds to go along with 18 points from big man Armani Mighty, as the Bears escaped a rowdy Cameron Hall with a 77-67 win over the Keydets. Mighty's 25 boards marked his ninth double-double of the season, and the total marked the second-most in the history of Mercer basketball. Only Lamar Clements' 28 boards back in 1950 against Florida State accounted for more in a 40-minute contest. 

One of the things that made it hard for the Bears to overcome the Keydets on the road was 14 triples made by the Keydets, including getting four apiece from Linus Holmstrom and Cal Liston, who both finished in double figures, with 18 and 12 points, respectively. The Keydets shot a more than respectable 38.9% (14-of-36) from three-point range in the game. 

Mercer's interior dominance could be personified in two different stats, which was highlighted by the fact that they outscored the Keydets 50-18 in the paint  and 23-5 in second-chance points. The Bears were actually led in the win by Brady Shoulders, who finished off Mercer's winning performance by posting 20 points on a 9-for-17 shooting perormance.

On Wednesday night, there were upsets, with two of the top  three teams in the league going down in defeat, with Western Carolina knocking off league-leading East Tennessee State, 72-68, in Cullowhee, while Wofford went down at home to Chattanooga, with the Mocs picking up the huge 76-67 road win over the Terriers. It was the seventh-straight win in the series for the Mocs, and Chattanooga overcame as much as a 10-point deficit in the second half to come away with the win.

Chattanooga hit the Terriers with a late barrage of threes, connecting on their final three shots from long-range of the evening and finished the night 10-of-24 from long range, which converts to an impressive 41.7% from long range shooting clip. Jordan Frison once again led the Mocs with 19 points, while talented freshman guard Tate Darner chipped in with 16, and Billy Smith added 13 off the bench.

Wofford lost Luke Flynn in the second half due to injury, and seemed a bit deflated down the stretch as a result. The Terriers also struggled shooting the ball for a large majority of the evening, connecting on just 35.0% (21-of-60) from the field, including just 32.1% (9-of-28) from three-point range, and for the first time looked human shooting the ball from long-distance. 

Still, the 66 three-pointers hit through the first five SoCon games are an impressive feat. The Terriers got a game-high 22 points from Kahmare Holmes, who recorded his eighth 20-point game of the season, which is tied for second and just one behind Samford's Jadin Booth. Holmes also added seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in the win. Cayden Vasko chipped in with 15 points for the Terriers and Nils Machowski added 14 in defeat. 

Western Carolina has a knack for knocking off top SoCon teams at the Ramsey Center, as the Catamounts did it in both the 2021-22 season when it did so against eventual league champion Chattanooga in then on New Year's Eve of the ensuing season, the Catamounts took down eventual league champion Furman in the Ramsey Center. So in a sense, the 72-68 loss by East Tennessee State early on in conference play might be looked at as something of a good omen if that trend continues, as Chattanooga and Furman ended up in the Big Dance at the end of those respective seasons. 

Not only that, WCU's two wins this season in league play have come against the two teams tied for first, so I suppose you could say the Cats gave the Bucs the early lead in the standings by getting an 80-77 win at Furman two weeks ago, and equalized them a week-and-a-half later with a four-point win over the Bucs.

With that said, the Catamounts' four-point triumph marked the fifth-straight when by the Catamounts over the Bucs in the Ramsey Center, and the game was close throughout. The lead never exceeded seven points for either team over the course of the 40-minute contest. 

Marcus Kell proved pivotal in the win for the Catamounts, and that comes as little surprise, as he came up so big down the stretch in WCU's road win at Furman. It was Kell's second-chance layup with 12 seconds remaining that put the Catamounts in the familiar position of upsetting a league title contender. Samuel Dada's free throws with 0.8 remaining helped make it academic. 

It is important to note that the Bucs were without Jordan McCullum, who's been a presence on both defense in the interior as well as rebounding for the Bucs this season. The Catamounts shot an impressive 48.2% (27-of-56) against a Top 40 ranked defensive team nationally and were a solid 34.6% (9-of-26) from long-range. 

Meanwhile, the Catamounts were also good defensively, limiting ETSU to just 38.6% (22-of-57) from the field and just 30.4% (7-of-23) from long-range. Both teams shot over 70% from the line, with the Bucs connecting at a 73.9% (17-of-23) clip and the Catamounts at a 75.0% (9-of-12) clip.

It was Cord Stansberry that would actually lead WCU in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, which included an impressive 5-of-10 effort from three-point range. Kell chipped in with 15 points and five rebounds, while Samuel Dada once again came up huge off the bench, as the "Super Eagle" from Nigeria added 13 points and 10 boards. 

For Dada, it probably at least help soothe some of the pain suffered, as his home country Super Eagles of Nigeria bowed out of the AFCON (African Cup of Nations) with a penalty kicks loss to Morrocco earlier in the afternoon.

ETSU was led by another outstanding performance from Brian Taylor II, who posted a game-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range in the defeat for the Bucs. He also added six boards and two assists to the cause. Cam Morris III added 19 points, while Blake Barkley continued to impress with a double-double, adding 15 points and 10 rebounds to finish off his second double-double of the season.

One of the key takeaways from this game was WCU's overall presence in the paint, outscoring ETSU 32-30 underneath, while winning the battle of the boards (39-30), which included 12 offensive rebounds that led to a 10-5 edge in second-chance scoring. In games of narrow margins like SoCon games so often are, this was one of the differences for WCU in the win. 

Team of the Week: Furman

Furman's 69-48 win over VMI last Saturday came at a price, as two more players--Tom House and Asa Thomas--both went down with injuries to join Cooper Bowser, Davis Molnar and Collin O'Neal, who have already been subtracted from the rotation. The Paladins headed to Birmingham for a midweek test with only eight scholarship players along for the ride, and that would prove to be all the Paladins really needed, as they came away with a huge 77-73 road win over the Bulldogs, despite having the odds severely stacked against them.

Alex Wilkins finished with a career-high 28 points, connecting on 11-of-20 shots from the field, including 2-for-8 from three-point range and contributed five assists, one steal and a rebound in the win. The freshman from Mattapan, MA., also finished the contest connecting on 4-of-7 from the charity stripe. The 28-point performance marked Wilkins' eighth 20-point performance of the season, which is tied with Wofford's Kahmare Holmes for second-most 20-point performances this season. 

While Wilkins was the lone Paladins in double figures in the win, all seven other available players scored in the game, including a near double-double from Charles Johnston, who finished with nine points and a team-high 14 rebounds, while dishing out a pair of assists and record a pair of steals, with only one turnover in 30 minutes of work before fouling out of the game late in the second half. It was Johnston's 11th double-digit rebound performance in 18 games this season. 

Ben Vander Wal, Eddrin Bronson, Cole Bowser and Abijah Franklin all chipped in with eight points, while Mason Smith finished with six points and was the Paladins' second player to reach a double-digit rebounds total, ripping down a career-high 11 boards. 

Owen Ritger's lone points were two of the most important of the night, as his points came early in the second half, using a turn-around jumper, fade-a-way jumper as the shot-clock expired extended Furman's lead to eight (50-42) at the 15:35 mark of the second half. 

Samford's scoring efforts were led by a double-double performance from Dylan Faulkner, as he posted 19 points and 11 rebounds, which marked his third double-double of the season, including his second in Southern Conference play. 

Faulkner was one of four Bulldogs in double figures in the game. The Lipscomb transfer finished the night connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including going 5-for-9 from the charity stripe. He also finished with a steal and an assist.

Faulkner was joined in double figures by Will Shaver, who added a career-best 15 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs, while SoCon leading scorer--Florida Southern transfer Jadin Booth--settled for eight points below his scoring average of 20.4 PPG coming into the contest, finishing with 12 points on a 4-of-11 shooting performance, including 2-for-5 from long range. 

The 41% three-point shooter, who led the nation in threes per game, averaging just over four made per game and 61 makes for the season coming in was held to half that total by the Paladins. The 12 points against the Paladins was Booth's lowest scoring effort in five league games thus far, which has included 26-point and 33-point performances against UNCG and Western Carolina, respectively, so far in league play. 

True freshman guard Isaiah Campbell-Finch rounded out the double-figure scorers for Samford, as he finished with 10 points on a 3-for-7 shooting effort. 

The Paladins connected on 43.3% (29-of-67) and connected on 25.8% (8-of-31) from three-point range, while adding a 68.8% (11-of-16) effort from the charity stripe. 

Samford finished the evening connecting on 43.9% (25-of-57) from the field, including just a 25.0% (5-of-20) effort from three-point range. The Bulldogs were a solid 78.3% (18-of-23) from the free throw line.

Furman finished the night claiming statistical advantages in total rebounds (43-32), which included 15 key offensive rebounds that led to an 11-8 advantage in second-chance points. Samford led most of the key statistical categories, however, only slightly. The Bulldogs held advantages in the following categories: total assists (13-12), points in the paint (38-30), points from turnovers (16-9), fast-break points (21-16), and bench scoring (21-16). 

The lead changed hands a total of 11 times, with five ties over the course of the contest. Furman, which turned the ball over 20 times in Saturday's home win, trimming that by 10 in the road win over the Bulldogs. 

One of the more interesting stats of note, over the past three games, Furman has outscored its foes 60-12 in the last five minutes of the first half and first five of the second half, which is sometimes referred to as the "middle 10" or more commonly, "middle eight" by coaches, players and media personnel. It simply refers to the end of the first half and the opening portion of the second half, spanning the first 4-5 minutes of each.

Saturday's Slate (Jan. 17, 2026)

Chattanooga (8-10, 2-3 SoCon) at Western Carolina (6-10, 2-3 SoCon)/ESPN+

ETSU (12-6, 4-1 SoCon) at Samford (9-9, 2-3 SoCon), 2 p.m. EST/CBS Sports Network

Mercer (11-7, 3-2 SoCon) at UNCG (7-11, 3-2 SoCon), 4 p.m. EST First Horizon Coliseum/ESPN+

Wofford (11-7, 3-2 SoCon) at Furman (13-5, 4-1 SoCon), 5 p.m. EST/Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week on local CW affiliates and ESPN+

The Citadel (4-14, 1-4 SoCon) at VMI (6-12, -14 SoCon), 7 p.m. EST/ESPN+

Eight is Enough: Short-handed Furman Delivers Courageous Performance and Seizes Opportunity in Road Win Over Samford

HOMEWOOD, AL.--Injuries are never fun for anyone involved, but while they aren't fun for the players working their way back to full health, as a positive byproduct, injuries can sometimes offer unexpected challenges to a team in ways it doesn't expect and brings out of them aspects of their game and collective character they didn't know they already had, bringing about a positive collective overall improvement as a result. 

Injuries have been a real part of the 2025-26 season for Furman's men's basketball team, and in the middle of adversity, the 106th edition of Paladin hoops have found opportunity and courage along the way instead of playing into the pervading narrative that many would involuntarily use a crutch or an excuse for underperformance. 

With only eight scholarship players available within its rotation, both Furman's mettle and toughness would be tested in the midweek SoCon tilt before a rowdy and hostile Samford home crowd. The Bulldog faithful showed up expecting a formality against the undermanned Paladins, however, the Paladins, led talented freshman Alex Wilkins and his seven compatriots, weren't interested in playing along.

The rookie guard from Mattapan, MA., scored a career-high 28 points, and a hearty supporting cast of seven scholarship players delivered a relentless effort on both ends that would have been worthy of a chivalric medal in any medieval court of knights, as Furman triumphed, 77-73, over Samford. 

With the win, Furman ascends into a tie for first-place in the SoCon standings after five games, coupled with ETSU's 72-68 loss on the road at Western Carolina. Furman is now 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon, while Samford's loss sees it drop to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in league action. It was Furman's 30th all-time win in the series against the Bulldogs, including its fourth-straight, improving to 30-12 all-time against the Bulldogs.

The road win for the short-handed Paladins also marked its 78th true road win over the past 11 years, including marking the Paladins' fourth true road win (Elon, Manhattan, Chattanooga and Samford) of the 2025-26 season, which ranks fourth in NCAA Division I over the past decade. Only Belmont (92), Vermont (90), and UC Irvine (82) have recorded more over that same duration. 

The Paladins were without senior guard Tom House (concussion protocol), junior forward Cooper Bowser (lower-body injury), sophomore guard Asa Thomas (lower body injury) and freshman guard Collin O'Neal (lower-body injury). Furman also lost forward and glue guy Davis Molnar (lower body injury) in a preseason exhibition against Alabama. 

Wilkins finished the night connecting on 11-of-20 shots from the field, including 2-for-8 from three-point range and contributed five assists, one steal and a rebound in the win. The freshman from Mattapan, MA., also finished the contest connecting on 4-of-7 from the charity stripe. The 28-point performance marked Wilkins' eighth 20-point performance of the season, which is tied with Wofford's Kahmare Holmes for second-most 20-point performances this season. 

While Wilkins was the lone Paladins in double figures in the win, all seven other available players scored in the game, including a near double-double from Charles Johnston, who finished with nine points and a team-high 14 rebounds, while dishing out a pair of assists and record a pair of steals, with only one turnover in 30 minutes of work before fouling out of the game late in the second half. It was Johnston's 11th double-digit rebound performance in 18 games this season. 

Ben Vander Wal, Eddrin Bronson, Cole Bowser and Abijah Franklin all chipped in with eight points, while Mason Smith finished with six points and was the Paladins' second player to reach a double-digit rebounds total, ripping down a career-high 11 boards. 

Owen Ritger's lone points were two of the most important of the night, as his points came early in the second half, using a turn-around jumper, fade-a-way jumper as the shot-clock expired extended Furman's lead to eight (50-42) at the 15:35 mark of the second half. 

Samford's scoring efforts were led by a double-double performance from Dylan Faulkner, as he posted 19 points and 11 rebounds, which marked his third double-double of the season, including his second in Southern Conference play. Faulkner was one of four Bulldogs in double figures in the game. The Lipscomb transfer finished the night connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including going 5-for-9 from the charity stripe. He also finished with a steal and an assist.

Faulkner was joined in double figures by Will Shaver, who added a career-best 15 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs, while SoCon leading scorer--Florida Southern transfer Jadin Booth--settled for eight points below his scoring average of 20.4 PPG coming into the contest, finishing with 12 points on a 4-of-11 shooting performance, including 2-for-5 from long range. 

The 41% three-point shooter, who led the nation in threes per game, averaging just over four made per game and 61 makes for the season coming in was held to half that total by the Paladins. The 12 points against the Paladins was Booth's lowest scoring effort in five league games thus far, which has included 26-point and 33-point performances against UNCG and Western Carolina, respectively, so far in league play. 

True freshman guard Isaiah Campbell-Finch rounded out the double-figure scorers for Samford, as he finished with 10 points on a 3-for-7 shooting effort. 

The Paladins connected on 43.3% (29-of-67) and connected on 25.8% (8-of-31) from three-point range, while adding a 68.8% (11-of-16) effort from the charity stripe. 

Samford finished the evening connecting on 43.9% (25-of-57) from the field, including just a 25.0% (5-of-20) effort from three-point range. The Bulldogs were a solid 78.3% (18-of-23) from the free throw line.

Furman finished the night claiming statistical advantages in total rebounds (43-32), which included 15 key offensive rebounds that led to an 11-8 advantage in second-chance points. Samford led most of the key statistical categories, however, only slightly. The Bulldogs held advantages in the following categories: total assists (13-12), points in the paint (38-30), points from turnovers (16-9), fast-break points (21-16), and bench scoring (21-16). 

The lead changed hands a total of 11 times, with five ties over the course of the contest. Furman, which turned the ball over 20 times in Saturday's home win, trimming that by 10 in the road win over the Bulldogs. 

One of the more interesting stats of note, over the past three games, Furman has outscored its foes 60-12 in the last five minutes of the first half and first five of the second half, which is sometimes referred to as the "middle 10" or more commonly, "middle eight" by coaches, players and media personnel. It simply refers to the end of the first half and the opening portion of the second half, spanning the first 4-5 minutes of each.

How It Happened:

With only eight players available on the trip, head coach Bob Richey knew his Paladins would have to be calculated in their approach and how they would maximize their chances to snatch what would be a huge SoCon road win, and that meant taking care of the basketball.

In the opening half of play, the Bulldogs threatened to take over the game a little over the halfway point of the opening 20 minutes of basketball, as a Dylan Faulkner slam and free throw on a three-point play the old-fashioned way staked Samford to a 28-21 lead with 8:23 remaining in the opening half. 

The Paladins would post a mini 5-0 run to get back into the game, getting to within a bucket when Alex Wilkins knocked down a pair of free throws to make it trim Samford's lead to 28-26 with 7:33 remaining in the opening half. 

After a Will Shaver dunk and a pair of Judson Bjornstadt free throws saw Samford stretch the lead to six, at 36-30, with just under five minutes remaining in the opening half, the Paladins hit back with another five-straight, getting a pair of made free throws from Ben Vander Wal, a dunk by Charles Johnston, and an Abijah Franklin charity shot would get Furman to within 36-35 with 1:58 remaining in the half.

Faulkner went 1-of-2 from the line on Samford's next trip down, but Franklin connected on a right-wing triple to give the Paladins a 38-37 lead with 1:19 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs then got a layup from Faulkner and a free throw from Isaiah Campbell-Finch put Samford back up two, at 40-38, with just eight seconds left. 

It was just enough time for Alex Wilkins to cap off his 14-point opening half, with a running floater from about 12-feet out, tying the game with one second remaining, as the two teams went the halftime locker room level at 40 apiece.

Samford has been plagued by slow starts in several games this season, however, the slow start this time around came to open the second half, with Furman's defensive effort and intensity playing a big role, as the Paladins used a 10-2 run to build an early 50-42 lead at the 15:35 mark, as Owen Ritger's turnaround, fade-a-way jumper with the shot-clock winding down gave the Paladins a 50-42 lead. The 10-2 start to the second half gave the Paladins a lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game.

Over the next four minutes and change, the Paladins would build their lead to as much as nine on three occasions, with a Wilkins driving layup giving Furman a 61-52 lead with 11:17 remaining.

The Paladins see their lead hover around 6-8 points over four minutes, however, one of Jadin Booth's two three-pointers in the game would get the Bulldogs to back within one possession, at 65-62, with 7:02 remaining. A Keaton Norris jumper in the paint with 4:33 remaining got the Pete Hanna Center crowd back into the game, trimming the Paladin lead to a single point, at 67-66. 

While Furman's defense had been good to start the half, it was even better to close out the win, as Furman held the Bulldogs scoreless from the field over the final 4:32 to secure its 13 overall win of the season and fourth in five league games so far this season.

Furman's winning response to Samford's late charge is one that has been emblematic of the type of program that Bob Richey has built in his nine-year tenure as the head coach, and has personified the "Find a Way Furman" mantra echoed over the past couple of seasons.

On Furman's next possession down the floor, the Paladins were patient and Eddrin Bronson's extra pass gave Charles Johnston just enough time to load up a corner three, as hit shot but the bottom of the net, accounting for Furman's lone triple of the second half and extended Furman's lead back to two possessions, at 70-66, with 4:10 remaining.  

A fade-a-way jumper from the left baseline from about eight feet out by Wilkins extended the Furman lead back out to six, at 72-66, with 3:36 left to play. A pair of Faulkner foul shots got the Bulldogs to within three, at 74-71, with 24 seconds remaining, however, after Cole Bowser was fouled, he faced a crucial one-and-one situation for the first trip to the free throw line as a he was fouled by the Bulldogs with 18 seconds remaining. 

He calmly stroked home both free throws, as he extended Furman's lead back to five, at 76-71. On Samford's next trip down, Furman's defense was outstanding, forcing Isaiah Campbell-Finch into a contested three-point attempt, but a foul whistled on Mason Smith chasing down the loose ball in the corner with 1.8 left, as the ball was heading out of bounds. 

Keaton Norris connected on both free throws to get the Bulldogs back to within three points, at 76-73. Wilkins was fouled immediately on the inbounds pass with 1.1 remaining. Wilkins made the first free throw to make it academic, and then missed the second, allowing time to expire and Furman to escape with one of its gutsiest wins of the Bob Richey era.

Samford will have another huge test coming to Homewood this weekend, as the Bulldogs will host league co-leader East Tennessee State in a 2 p.m. EST contest that will be nationally-televised as a part of the CBS Sports Network package. The Bucs took both meetings against Samford last season, including posting a 65-60 win over the Bulldogs at the Pete Hanna Center before a crowd of 4,723 fans to snap the Bulldogs' 28-game home winning streak at the Pete Hanna Center.

Furman will return to the floor on Saturday to host I-85 Wofford (11-7, 3-2 SoCon), which lost 76-67, to Chattanooga Wednesday night at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, with tip-off time having been moved to 5 p.m. EST for regional television purposes. The Paladins and Terriers is the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week and will be televised locally within the SoCon's footprint on Nexstar affiliates throughout the region. 

The Terriers claimed two of three meetings against Furman last season, including a 92-85 triumph in the 2026 SoCon Championship game. 

The Terriers claimed an 81-62 win over the Paladins in Greenville last season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena last season, accounting for Furman's biggest losing margin at home in 11 years, dating back to a Nov. 29, 2017 loss at Timmons Arena to Winthrop (L, 74-93). It was Furman's worst home league loss since Feb. 24, 2014, as the Paladins dropped a 78-49 game to former SoCon member Elon.

SoCon Test No.5: Furman heads to Samford for Key League Tilt

The Game: Furman (12-5, 3-1 SoCon) at Samford (9-8, 2-2 SoCon)
THE VENUE AND PLACE:   PETE HANNA CENTER (5,000)/HOMEWOOD, AL

HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+/7 p.m. EST

SERIES:  42nd Meeting/Furman leads 29-12

Furman looks to continue its strong stretch on the SoCon road this evening, as the Paladins travel to the Pete Hanna Center to take on the Samford Bulldogs (9-8, 2-2 SoCon) in a key league tilt Wednesday evening.

The Paladins continue to be a little undermanned at this point in the season, but that won't be used as an excuse for underperforming with a program that is the pedigree of Furman. In fact, it would be easy for almost every team in the league to use such an excuse, especially at this point in the season, including tonight's opponent, Samford. 

The Bulldogs lost one starter--Daijon Humphrey--before the season even started, as he tore his Achilles in a preseason exhibition against Alabama A&M.  The Bulldogs have also been without big man and second-leading scorer Dylan Faulkner some in SoCon play so far. They've also been without Booth and Faulkner at times this season due to injury and illness. 

Furman could be without as many as three starters and five regulars tonight, as it is expected that starters Cooper Bowser (lower body injury), Asa Thomas (lower body injury), and Tom House (concussion protocol) will miss tonight’s game at Samford. 

If you include arguably Furman's second top freshman player performance-wise, in Collin O'Neal (lower body injury) and glue guy regular Davis Molnar (lower body injury), who was lost prior to the season, the Paladins could be without as many as five of their top 13 players tonight, including five of their top 11 in rotation. Four of the five are expected to return at some point this season, with the only real question mark being Molnar. 

The Paladins and Bulldogs will be meeting for the 42nd time in series history, with the Paladins holding a 29-12 all-time advantage, with Furman sweeping all three meetings in 2024-25, while Samford won two of three meetings during the Bulldogs' championship-winning season back in 2023-24. 

Both head coaches Bob Richey and Lennie Acuff have maintained a close friendship over the years, and it's no secret that the Paladins and coach Richey has set up what he wanted to do offensively with a few alterations along the way. However, much of what Furman does offensively is rooted in what coach Acuff has taught in his ultra-successful career at Alabama-Huntsville, Lipscomb and now as the head coach of the Samford Bulldogs.

It's a big reason why a guy like former Furman backup point guard Joe Anderson, when not getting the minutes he would have liked at Furman behind guys like Alex Hunter and JP Pegues, Anderson ended up working well running the show for a couple of seasons in Nashville. His biggest role came just last season, as Anderson was key in executing and facilitating Lipscomb's offense under Acuff in its 2024-25 Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament title runs as well as its appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 

There's also plenty of good relationships between both staffs as, with two of Acuff's top assistants at Samford--Tyler Murray and Kip Owens-- having served at Furman as one-time as assistants on staff in Greenville at Furman. Murray served on Richey's first two staffs as head coach at Furman from 2017-19, while Owens was a member of the 2024-25 staff before being hired away by Acuff.

With that said, both coaches have also been two of the coaches that have been the beneficiaries of bringing up and developing NCAA Division II talent within the SoCon. Furman had two of the best players in the SoCon last season, in both guards PJay Smith Jr. (Lee University transfer) and Nick Anderson (Barry University transfer), while Samford might have the best pure shooter in all of college basketball, in former Florida Southern Mocs player Jadin Booth. 

Booth not only leads the SoCon in scoring, averaging 20.4 PPG, but he also recently surpassed 2,000 points for his career, and heads into Wednesday night's game ranking third in the entire country in three-pointers made (61), as well as ranking 48th nationally in three-point field goal percentage, connecting at a blistering 41.1% clip.

As the season has gone along, the Bulldogs have had a great inside-outside punch with Booth combining especially well with Dylan Faulkner, who also ranks in the top five in the league in scoring, averaging 17.3 PPG.

Furman hasn't been as good offensively this season as they have been in year's past, however, the Paladins are still executing well fourth in the league in overall offensive rating, sporting a 108.2 offensive rating, according to KenPom's metric. 

This might be, however, Furman's best defensive team, ranking behind only ETSU in defensive rating this season, according to KenPom (107.4) and the Paladins have caused foes problems with their size, with 6-7 Ben Vander Wal (8.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG), 6-11 Charles Johnston (10.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG) and 6-11 Cooper Bowser (13.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 81.2 FG%)--when healthy--helping the Paladins sport one of the top front courts in all of mid-major basketball, as the Paladins rank in the Top 50 nationally in total rebounds per game (40.0/T-42nd). That could be something to watch tonight. 

Cole Bowser's performance on both ends, especially the team-leading 10 boards in his collegiate debut against Chattanooga was huge, and his performance tonight could play a big role in what the overall result of tonight's contest against Samford is. As good as a he is a rebounder, he's also a pick-and-pop guy, and can shoot the three. He's yet to showcase that this season. 

With Furman a little thin at guard, don't be surprised to see do-everything glue guy Ben Vander Wal handling some of the point guard responsibilities this evening. He's Furman's second best ball-handler and one of its best passers at the moment, and about the only area he's really struggled this season is from the charity stripe, where he's shooting just 36.7% (22-of-60)

Alex Wilkins continues to perform like a player well beyond his years in some areas, and he is only getting better, but continues to have some issues taking care of the basketball. He has a high basketball IQ, and a gear that no point guard I've seen yet this year or maybe in a decade or so, reach. He is faster with the basketball than without it. The league has seen a few like that. Sean Peterson at Georgia Southern in the late 1990s, DJ Thompson from App State in the early 2000s, as well as Andrew Goudelock at College of Charleston (2007-11). That's some stout company.

Furman will need more out of guys like the aforementioned Cole Bowser, as well as Eddrin Bronson (Season-high 16 points off the bench vs VMI Saturday), as well as others like freshman South Carolina Mr. Basketball Abijah Franklin and wing forward Mason Smith, which is another player to really hasn't had the opportunity to show his true potential as of yet. 

Smith may well get that opportunity tonight, as the Davidson Day School product will likely be given plenty of time to show what he can do for the next few games. A great opportunity for him to garner a larger role within the overall framework.

Furman continues to struggle taking care of the basketball, and Samford's ability to make the Paladins commit live-ball turnovers and convert those into points in transition could be a major key to a win tonight for the Bulldogs. 

For the Paladins, they may need to hope Samford gets off to another one of its slow starts and build an effective lead early and then try and defend that lead throughout the course of the game. The Bulldogs have gotten off to slow starts in their last couple of games against Western Carolina and Chattanooga, but were able to overcome that slow start last Wednesday evening in a come-from-behind win over Western Carolina. 

Samford's success moving forward in league play will depend on finding scoring beyond Booth and Faulkner, as we know what these two can do, combining for about 37 PPG. It will be others like Keaton Norris (10.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG), Cade Norris (8.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and Isaiah Campbell-Finch (7.8 PPG, 1.2 RPG) that will need to step up and give the Bulldogs a consistent third scorer. It's also going to come down to defending for Acuff's Bulldogs this season, as Samford needs to consistently find ways to string stops together. 

The Bulldogs have the potential to have another strong year in league play, however, it's going to also depend on improvement on the defensive end of the floor, where they rank fifth overall (114.7) and seventh in league-only (114.2) games, according to KenPom's defensive ratings. 

Furman's Probable Starting Five:

G --Alex Wilkins (16.9 PPG, 5.1 APG)

G-Eddrin Bronson (5.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG)

F/G--Ben Vander Wal (8.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.4 APG)

F--Cole Bowser (5.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG)

C--Charles Johnston (10.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.9 APG)

Samford's Probable Starting Five

G-Keaton Norris (10.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG)

G-Jadin Booth (20.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG)

G-Cade Norris (8.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG)

G-Isaiah Campbell-Finch (7.8 PPG, 1.2 RPG)

C-Dylan Faulkner (17.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG)

SoCon Power Rankings After Week 2 (Games Jan. 7-10)

 Baddest Bucs on the Block

We've reached the two-week mark of Southern Conference play, and one team remains alone atop the standings, as East Tennessee State remains unbeaten after Saturday's 86-60 rout of UNC Greensboro.

The Bucs have looked like the team to beat all season and it's kind of a no-brainer to have them at the top of the power rankings for week two. As for the rest of the league to this point, it's been a little bit of a hodge-podge when you get past a pretty much definitive top four team, which are beginning to establish themselves as clear title contenders moving forward. It was Blake Barkley's 24 points that helped the Bucs break the game wide open in the second half after posting a narrow, 38-34, halftime lead. 

I can't go too far without acknowledging the accomplishments of The Citadel from this past weekend, as the Bulldogs ended up knocking off Western Carolina, 79-77, in overtime at McAlister Field House to end what had been a 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I competition. The win also snapped a streak of 26-straight SoCon losses in both regular-season and tournament play, dating back to a Feb. 24, 2024, 71-62, win over Chattanooga inside the friendly confines of the McAlister Field House.

Speaking of the Mocs, UTC was able to end a four-game skid by topping Samford, 88-79, at McKenzie Arena Saturday afternoon. The defending SoCon regular-season champs looked at times like their former selves, especially in the first half, as Chattanooga raced out to a 21-point, 49-28, halftime advantage. 

Then in the second half, had to hold off a furious rally by Jadin Booth and the Bulldogs, who put a real scare into the Mocs, as the Bulldogs got as close as four points (81-77) on a pair of Booth free throws inside the final two minutes, but the Mocs were able to find a way to a win down the stretch, finishing off an impressive afternoon at the foul stripe, as the Mocs blistered the nets at a scorching 91.7% clip, making 22-of-24 foul shots in the game. 

The game of the day took place in Macon, as two of the top four teams squared off in Macon, with Wofford traveling to face a Mercer team that was a perfect 7-0 into the contest, and the game was very pleasing to the eyes in terms of offensive aesthetics, as the Bears moved to 8-0 at Hawkins Arena this season and evened their SoCon mark at 2-2 in league play with a second-straight 100-point game, knocking off previously SoCon-unbeaten Wofford, 109-97. The two teams combined to cconnect on 28 three-pointers, shooting the ball at an insane clip from deep, as the teams combined to go 28-of-51 on efforts from beyond the arc on Saturday. The Bears finished 12-of-19 () from three-point range. 

What seven days it's been for Wofford's Nils Machowski, who dropped 33 points on this Saturday's loss after posting 37 last weekend in the Terriers' win in Charleston. Machowski finished 8-for-12 from three. Through four league games, Wofford is an astounding 57-of-112 from three-point range, which a 51% efficiency rate from long range. That's being a team heater! 

It's been quite a week for Nils Machowski, who finished his week by scoring 33 points for the Terriers on an 8-of-12 performance from three-point range in the loss for the Terriers. Baraka Okojie turned in another strong effort of his own, adding 29 points and 12 assists to the fold for Mercer.

Furman returned to its winning ways at Timmons Arena, getting a 69-48 win over VMI. However, the win was costly, as the Paladins, who are already without Davis Molnar, Cooper Bowser and Collin O'Neal already down with injury, the Paladins would lose Tom House to concussion protocol and second-leading scorer Asa Thomas, who suffered some kind of lower body injury. Both left midway through the first half and didn't return.

VMI wasn't unscathed either, as the Keydets, who were already without Rickey Bradley Jr. due to an injury also lost Alexander Dashvili in the opening five minutes to an injury and he didn't return and was on crutches by the end of the game. Midway through the second half, the Keydets also lost talented point guard Tan Yildizoglu to some kind of lower body injury, as he wouldn't return to the game either.

The Paladins played some outstanding defense, and Eddrin Bronson stepped adding a season-high 16 points off the bench in the absence of both House and Thomas, and the Paladins played some of their best defense of the season, holding VMI to 26.9% shooting from the field and 30 empty possessions. However, Furman turned the ball over 20 times, which featured 16 VMI steals. The Keydets finished the game with more steals (16) than field goals (15).

Power Rankings:                                                                                         

1. East Tennessee State (12-5, 4-0 SoCon)--The Bucs remain the lone league unbeaten to this point and continue to rank as a Top 40 defensive team in all of college basketball.  The Bucs sport the league's top defensive rating at 106.5, according to KenPom, while their 111.3 offensive ranking ranks second behind only Mercer (112.3) so far this season. 

The Bucs continue to get some solid play from their frontcourt through the first four conference games, while Brian Taylor II continues to be the steadying force of the backcourt and remains on the short list for SoCon Player of the Year. Taylor has the league's only triple-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebs, 10 assists vs. Central Arkansas). Taylor leads the team averaging 14.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.1 APG and 1.6 SPG. 

Defensively, the Bucs lead the SoCon in steals-per-game, averaging 9.6 thefts per game, while also leading the SoCon and ranking 41st nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding foes to just 40.0% shooting from the field, as well as leading the SoCon and ranking 29th nationally in scoring defense, holding teams to just 66.2 PPG. Blake Barkley and Cam Morris III have anchored the frontcourt so far this season and the duo has been among the league's best in terms of impact transfers that have come in and been immediate contributors in the paint. 

Barkley, who came to ETSU from Northwestern, is averaging 13.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG, while shooting a blistering 63% from the field so far this season. As far as Morris III is concerned, he transferred into ETSU from UMass-Lowell and he is time with Taylor II for team-high scoring average honors, posting 14.0 PPG and leads the team in rebounding average, at 4.7 RPG. 

The Bucs return to action on Wednesday night, as the Bucs travel to Cullowhee to face Western Carolina before facing off against Samford in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off against the Catamounts is set for 7 p.m. EST Wednesday night at the Ramsey Center.

2. Furman (12-5, 3-1 SoCon)--Since its surprising home loss to Western Carolina last week, the Paladins responded nicely with a pair of double-digit wins--at Chattanooga (W, 78-67) and vs. VMI (W, 69-48)--displaying a wealth of depth in those two wins. The Paladins removed the redshirt from Cole Bowser in their road win at Chattanooga, and he responded by leading the Paladins with 10 rebounds to go with six points in his debut. On Saturday, the Paladins would have two more starters go down with injuries, in Tom House and Asa Thomas, but it didn't end up being hugely costly, as the Paladins found enough from its bench and from stellar defense to dispatch VMI by 21 at home. 

Furman continues to be the league's second-best defensive team, ranking second in the league in scoring defense behind ETSU, surrendering just 69.5 PPG to rank 84th in all of college basketball. 

According to KenPom's metric, the Paladins have the second-best defensive rating in the SoCon, sporting a 107.4 rating.  The Paladins are second to only ETSU in the league in effective field goal percentage, ranking 55th in all of college basketball at 55.5%. The Bucs rank 47th nationally in the same statistical category, sporting an effective field goal percentage of 56.0%. 

The Paladins also continue to lead the SoCon and rank in the Top 100 nationally in several different rebounding categories, leading the league and ranking tied for 42nd nationally in total rebounds (40.1 RPG) and are second in the SoCon in offensive rebounds per game, ranking tied for 113th nationally at 12.1 off. rebounds per game.

The Paladins will head into a tough week shorthanded of course, facing off against Samford on the road on Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. EST tip-off slated for the Pete Hanna Center before hosting Wofford at 5 p.m EST at Timmons Arena before an expected sellout crowd. 

3. Mercer (10-7, 2-2 SoCon)--After losing its first two SoCon games on the road at Furman (L, 72-74) and at East Tennessee State (L, 71-77) before scoring 100-points in consecutive conference games in home wins over The Citadel (W, 101--63) and Wofford (W, 109-97) and those two high-scoring contests were enough to garner talented guard Baraka Okojie SoCon Player of the Week accolades. 

The former Memphis and George Mason guard was awesome, posting 14 points and five helpers in the 38-point win over The Citadel before finishing with 29 points and 12 assists three days later against Wofford. All told for the week, Okojie finished out his strong two games across the week of action averaging 21.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.0 SPG, and he has also recorded at least one steal in each of the past seven games for the Bears. 

The Bears rank second to only Wofford in offensive efficiency since the start of SoCon play, as the Bears have posted a 127.7 offensive rating (KenPom) since the starting of league play, while sporting a 60.0% effective field goal percentage.

Continuing to lead the Bears underneath the basket this season has been Boston College transfer Armani Mighty (12.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG), as he posted an impressive performance against Wofford, with 17 points and 11 rebounds, which marked his eighth double-double of the season, as well as having one of the top field goal percentages in the league and in the country, as he is posting a 65.9% shooting clip for the season.

If the Bears continue to have a third scorer like they have been getting out of Wagner transfer Zaire Williams, the prospects remain high that the Bears will be in the thick of the SoCon title race throughout the duration of league play during the regular season. Williams is averaging 11.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG so far in 2025-26, while his 37 made threes leads the team, and he's shooting 35% (37-of-106) from long-range so far this season. 

As a team, Mercer also leads the SoCon in scoring offense, averaging 84.8 PPG through 17 games and rank third in the league in total field goal percentage, shooting at a 46.4% clip per outing so far this season. The Bears will return to action Thursday night on the road at VMI in a 6 p.m. EST tip-off before rounding out the week on Saturday with a trip to First Horizon Coliseum to face the UNC Greensboro Spartans in a tip-off time slated for 4 p.m. EST. 

4. Wofford (11-6, 3-1 SoCon)--Kevin Giltner's young team is playing as well as anyone in the league at the moment, especially when it comes to shooting the ball from all points on the floor. Through four conference games so far this season, the Terriers are connecting on an astounding 47.1% (57-of-121) from three-point range.

The performance from three-point range this season is thanks in large part to the performance of Nils Machowski, who is shooting 37.4% from three-point range this season, including having connected on a team-leading 46 three-point field goals this season. 

Last week for Wofford, he scored 37 points in a road win at The Citadel, while finishing the week this past Saturday with a 33-point effort in Wofford's first SoCon loss of the 2025-26 season on the road at Mercer. Machowski went 8-of-11 from three-point land in the win over The Citadel and was 8-for-12 from long-distance in the loss at Mercer. He also sandwiched that performance with a 4-for-8 shooting effort from three-point range in a mid-week win over UNCG. 

Wofford continues to be led by SoCon Player of the Year candidate and sophomore guard Kahmare Holmes, who has gotten off to an outstanding start for Wofford this season. Holmes is currently fourth overall in the SoCon in scoring average, posting 17.5 PPG and remains one of the best rebounding guards in the SoCon, ripping down 6.0 RPG. 

The Terriers went 1-1 on the week, with a 109-97 loss at Mercer, while opening SoCon play at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in the middle of last week, posting an impressive 97-85 win over UNC Greensboro.

Wofford returns to action Wednesday evening hosting Chattanooga in a 6 p.m EST tip-off at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium before heading to Furman Saturday to the Paladins at Timmons Arena in a tip-off time slated for 5 p.m. EST.

5. Samford (9-8, 2-2 SoCon)--Much like Mercer and Wofford in its first four SoCon games, Lennie Acuff's Samford Bulldogs have looked excellent on the offensive end of the floor, sporting the fourth-best offensive efficiency rating (117.5/KenPom), which trails only Wofford (129.7/KenPom), Mercer (127.7/KenPom), and East Tennessee State (117.5/KenPom).

However, while Acuff's offensive system has been good in all but really one half of conference play this season, the Bulldogs have struggled defensively at times this season, ranking in the bottom four of the league since the start of league play, with a rating of 114.2 (KenPom) in league-only games. 

There's no doubting the Bulldogs have the best pure shooter and scorer in the league, in Jadin Booth, while Dylan Faulkner continues to rank among the league's top big men this season. Booth leads the league in scoring averaging, posting 20.4 PPG and is shooting a blistering 41.2% from three-point land this season. Faulkner missed Samford's win against Western Carolina but was back for this past weekend's contest at Chattanooga.

Faulkner heads into this week averaging 17.3 PPG and a team-leading 6.8 RPG, while shooting an impressive 62.2% from the field. Keaton Norris continues-to do a solid job at point guard and is the third-leading scorer after the Bulldogs lost Daijon Humphries to a season-ending Achilles injury in a preseason exhibition against Alabama A&M. Norris is currently averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.8 APG and 4.5 RPG so far this season for the Bulldogs. 

Booth follows in the line of successful shooters to make the move up from the NCAA Division II level, reminding me of a player like of Furman's Nick Anderson (Furman, 2024-25) last season, only maybe a better scoring threat. It's interesting that those two played in the same conference at rival schools at the NCAA Division II level, with Booth at Florida Southern and Anderson at Barry.

With Booth's ability as a shooter, the Bulldogs are never really out of a game, rebounding from an 18-point deficit to defeat Western Carolina (W, 82-77) last week, while trailing by as much as 28 in the first half before cutting that deficit to four in the second half before eventually running out of gas in an 88-79 loss over the weekend at Chattanooga.

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday night, hosting Furman in a 7 p.m. EST contest at the Pete Hanna Center before hosting league-leading East Tennessee State in a 2 p.m. EST contest Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center. The Paladins and Bucs handed the Bulldogs four of their six SoCon regular-season losses a year ago. 

6. UNC Greensboro (6-11, 2-2 SoCon)--UNCG has broken even through its first two Southern Conference games, winning its first two, while losing its two most recent games in league play.  The most-recent week has seen the Spartans drop games at East Tennessee State (L, 60-86) and at Wofford (L, 85-97) in a pair of games that weren't all that close to begin with. 

The Spartans have been maybe the most inconsistent team in the SoCon of late, and I've harped on UNCG's lack of defense being quite uncharacteristic of a Mike Jones-coached team. According to KenPom, the Spartans continue to rank as one of the worst defensive teams in the SoCon, with a rating of 117.6. The Spartans currently also rank No. 319 out of a possible 361 ranked teams in scoring defense, allowing 80.3 PPG, while ranking No. 286 in field goal percentage defense (45.5%).

The one consistency for the Spartans this season has been wing Justin Neely, who continues to be among the league's best impact transfers. eighth in the league in scoring average (15.9 PPG) and continues to lead the league in rebounding (11.4 RPG) and double-doubles (10). In fact, his 10 double-doubles not only lead the SoCon, but rank him tied for fifth in the nation in that particular category. 

The Spartans will have a chance to get back on the winning track this week, starting with a visit from The Citadel on Thursday night at Bodford Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. EST. The Spartans will take on Mercer on Saturday, as the Spartans pay a visit to the First Horizon Coliseum for a 4 p.m. EST contest in a game in which the Bears overcame a huge deficit last season to come away with one of the more impressive early road wins of the Ryan Ridder era a year ago. 

7. Chattanooga (7-10, 1-3 SoCon)--Chattanooga  finally looked like the team we all thought they would be, at least in the opening half of its most-recent game against Samford, which was one that the Mocs would hold on to get an 88-79 win this past Saturday. 

The Mocs looked particularly good in the first half of that game, building as much as a 28-point lead in the contest before watching that huge lead dwindle to as little as four points in the second half, at 81-77, before regaining its foothold in the late-going, avoiding what would have been just its third 0-4 start in its 48-year membership in the Southern Conference.

The Mocs' guard play has been elite at times this season, with Jordan Frison, Teddy Washington Jr. and Tate Darner playing especially well of late, and that has paid off for the Mocs this season, while Jikari Johnson has been good on the offensive end, however, inconsistent on the defensive side of things. 

Part of the problem for UTC is that having been so ravaged by the injury situation in the front court, it has left little margin for error for guys like Makai Richards, true freshman Josh Bowman, and pain issues have forced Collin Mulholland to only really be able to give about 75%-80% when he is pain free and can play.

The Mocs will look to make it two in a row, but it will be a tall task, facing an upstart Wofford team in Spartanburg on Wednesday evening. That game will tip off at 6 p.m. EST at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, while the Mocs will continue on the road Saturday, facing off with Western Carolina in Cullowhee on Saturday, with tip-off set for 4:30 p.m. EST in that contest. 

8. Western Carolina (5-10, 1-3 SoCon)--The  Western Carolina Catamounts were riding high after one of the signature wins of the Tim Craft era, taking down Furman, 80-77, in overtime, in Greenville at the refurbished Timmons Arena. However, a giant dose of humble pie would follow, as the Catamounts blew a big lead on the road last Wednesday night at Samford in a game that saw the Bulldogs drop an 82-77 game on the road, despite building as much as an 18-point lead.

Then came the ultimate piece of humble pie, and that would come on the road Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House, as the Catamounts would be the first SoCon scalp the Bulldogs would claim since Feb. 24, 2024, as The Citadel ended its 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I foes with a 79-77 overtime win over the Catamounts this past Saturday. 

The good news is the effort has been there nearly every time out this season for the Catamounts, and despite the rough early struggles, the Purple and Gold have played the second-toughest non-conference slate in the SoCon according to most metrics. 

The Catamounts continue to be elite on the offensive glass this season, ranking 31st nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.7 OFF RPG), however, the Catamounts have continued to struggle when it comes to shooting the basketball from all points on the floor, ranking no. 269 nationally in field goal percentage (43.6%) and 294th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (31.2%), which as you might expect probably wouldn't lead to a favorable overall offensive rating in KenPom's metric for that particular,  leading to the third-worst offensive rating in the league (113.3). 

The one offensive metric that Craft has been able to see his team ranking towards the top of the league in each of his first two seasons is possessions, as the Catamounts rank second in the league in possessions-per-game and 100th nationally, averaging 69.6 possessions-per-game. The only team in the SoCon to average more is Mercer, which averages 70.1 possessions-per-game.

The top player for WCU continues to be both guard Cord Stansberry in the backcourt, while wing forward Marcus Kell's consistency seems to only get better with the beginning of league play.  Kell leads the Catamounts in scoring average, posting 13.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while Stansberry isn't far behind at 13.1 PPG. Diminutive veteran guard Julien Soumaoro continues to be the Catamounts' most prolific three-point threat, shooting 36.9% from three so far this season, including a team-leading 33 triples. 

The Catamounts have a couple of tough tests to deal with in Cullowhee this week, beginning Wednesday night with a visit from the league's only unbeaten so far, as 4-0 ETSU pays a visit to the Liston B. Ramsey Center for a 6 p.m. EST contest Wednesday night. That will be followed by a 4:30 EST contest against reigning SoCon regular-season champion Chattanooga on Saturday.

9. VMI (6-11, 1-3 SoCon)The It seems that whenever I have addressed VMI basketball this season, each time I have had more questions than answers with the progression of the season. With SoCon Preseason Player of the Year Rickey Bradley Jr. having already been out the entire season with an undisclosed injury, following Saturday's trip to Furman--one which the Keydets fell 69-48 to the Paladins--the season is beginning to look more like head coach Andrew Wilson's first season in charge back during the 2022-23 campaign, when his team was so injured that it didn't have enough players to even go 5-on-5 in any practice the entire season.

The latest casualties as a result of the injury bug were point guard Tan Yildizoglu and freshman forward Alexander Dashvili, who left and did not return to the game. Dashvili suffered an injury before the first media timeout in the loss at Furman, while Yildizoglu left the same game in pain with about eight minutes left and did not return, as he screamed out in frustration upon his exit. 

But life and games go on for Wilson and the Keydets, but depending on how long those two are down, along when and if Bradley Jr. even returns all remain big questions and whether or not a once promising season now comes a complete disaster. The good news is that TJ Johnson has consistently been one of the best players in the SoCon this season, and heading into Thursday evening's contest against Mercer, he continues to rank second overall in the SoCon in scoring, at 19.1 PPG. 

The Keydets will play host to Mercer in a 6 p.m. EST contest with Mercer on Thursday evening, while hosting league arch-rival The Citadel in a 7 p.m. EST contest Saturday evening at Cameron Hall. 

10. The Citadel (4-13, 1-3 SoCon)--The Citadel and head coach Ed Conroy's feelings following ending what had become a 37-game losing streak to NCAA Division I competition must have been indescribable, following the Bulldogs' 79-77 overtime win over Western Carolina last time out.

The win also snapped a streak of 26-straight losses to SoCon foes, counting regular-season and SoCon Tournament games. You have to go all the way back to Feb. 24, 2024, to find the last time the Bulldogs were successful in league play, which saw them capture a 71-62 win over Chattanooga.

The Citadel continues to be led in scoring by wing Braxton Williams, who is averaging 12.1 PPG and is one of two players averaging in double figures, along with fellow wing forward Christian Moore, who is averaging 10.8 PPG so far this season. 

The Bulldogs have connected on 160 threes this season, ranking sixth in the league in that category this season, however, have struggled on both offensive and defensive ends of the floor, with the more alarming of the two being on the defensive side of things. Teams are shooting 48.3% against the Bulldogs this season, which ranks The Citadel No. 346 in the country in that particular defensive category.

The Bulldogs return to action Thursday night with a trip to face UNCG at Bodford Arena in a 7 p.m. EST contest before traveling to Cameron Hall on Saturday evening to face bitter rival VMI in a 7 p.m. EST slated tipoff time.