I-85 Rivals Face Each Other For Second Time in Title Clash

Wofford and Furman to Face Each Other in Title Clash

A decade ago, No. 10 Furman made a remarkable run to the title game where they would face No. 1 Wofford in the championship game, where the Paladins would end up dropping a 67-64 game before a packed crowd at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. 

Furman was the first-ever double-digit seed to ever make a SoCon title game when it did so back in 2015. That was the start of the current build for Furman's program, which has seven of its 14 twenty-win seasons since that title run a decade ago. 

Furman captured lighting in a bottle in 2015 and hasn't opened that bottle since. Wofford won five titles in 10 years from 2009-19, and are very much representative of the "new money" tradition in the SoCon, which still features the "old money" traditional powers like ETSU and Chattanooga. 

Now a decade later, No. 5 Furman and No. 6 Wofford reached the title game again to face each other for the final exam of Southern Conference Basketball. 

Wofford is making its first trip to the title game since 2020 when the Terriers contested the title game against East Tennessee State, dropping a 72-57 game just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which less than 48 hours later, would cancel the NCAA Tournament and the remaining college basketball postseason conference tournaments. The Terriers had been 5-0 in title tilts up to that point.

Furman and Wofford are the only two current SoCon programs that have won an NCAA Tournament game this millennium. With legends Fletcher Magee and Cameron Jackson, the Terriers knocked off Seton Hall, 84-68, in the 2019 NCAA Tournament as a part of a school-record 30 win season. 

The only other current or former member to win an NCAA Tournament game this millennium is Davidson. The current Atlantic 10 member Wildcats, who were led by legendary sharp-shooting guard Stephen Curry and talented point guard Jason Richards during the twilight of their SoCon tenure, made it to the Elite Eight before falling, 59-57, to eventual national champion Kansas.

Four years after Wofford's win over Seton Hall, Furman won its school-record 28th game behind legends Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson, however it was a steal, an assist and two free throws for 46% career free throw shooter current Paladin team member Garrett Hien, and a three-pointer from former teammate JP Pegues (now at Auburn) that allowed the Paladins to knock off 2019 national champion and No. 4 seed Virginia, 68-67, in Orlando.

Since that initial title meeting a decade ago in the championship game, the Paladins have now won 226 games (most in the SoCon) since, which includes a SoCon title win and an NCAA Tournament win. Wofford has won a SoCon Tourney title (2019), posted an NCAA Tournament win, and totaled 187 wins over that same span. 

The Paladins and Terriers even met each other one other time in Asheville in the decade since, and the spoils went to the Terriers, with Wofford posting what was a 77-68 win over Furman  in 2020. That season, the Terriers made it one-and-done for the 'Dins in Asheville, as Furman arrived in Asheville as the No. 2 seed and 25 wins, while Wofford had been somewhat pedestrian defending their title from a year earlier, arriving in Asheville on the heels of a seven-game skid to end the regular-season, dropping them into the magical No. 7 seed. 

After defeating theThe Citadel in a warm-up game in the opening round in the 2020 tournament, the Terriers caught Furman by surprise in the nine-point win. Furman and Wofford have met only twice in the Southern Conference Tournament, with the Terriers winning both. 

When the Paladins and Terriers meet in the championship game Monday night, it will also be a full-circle moment for head coach Dwight Perry, who was an assistant on staff along with Furman's Richey under former Paladin head coach Niko Medved, who is now the head coach at Colorado State. 

Monday night's title game is one between programs that value many of the same culture traits, as retaining the principles and commitment to purpose have been a primary tenant of both. Wofford did retain its scoring production and some major pieces to that puzzle, as the program had to weather the fallout from a couple of years earlier that came with the sudden departure and ultimate forced resignation of Jay McAuley after just two-and-a-half seasons. 

This past August, those reasons for his sudden departure came to light, as the Wofford program was put on probation for some minor violations, but nothing that would cost it a chance to forfeit its ultimate chance to lift a sixth SoCon title trophy. The aftermath of McAuley's short tenure as the head coach was felt however, as a mass exodus ensued. Perry has managed to build a culture and has held the tenants of what made Wofford a SoCon powerhouse that won five titles in 10 years (2009-19), despite the chaotic 2.5 seasons under McAuley.

That's a huge credit to Perry, who now has stabilized the program enough to retain players and created some continuity within the Wofford's culture and now those players that stuck around and bought in have a chance to see the ultimate payoff for that on Monday night against Furman.

During the regular-season, the Paladins and Terriers split the spoils. The Terriers asserted their muscle and grit from the opening tip and never looked back and were never really challenged in getting the 19-point, 81-62, road win in the first meeting in Greenville. It was Wofford's largest margin of victory in the series since picking up what was a 75-49 win over Furman on Jan, 22, 2015. 

In the second meeting, which also ended the regular-season and decided the No. 5 and 6 seeds for the 2025 SoCon Tournament, the Paladins got a long top-of-the-key three from PJay Smith Jr. with 1.1 seconds remaining to hold off the Terriers, 78-75, on Senior Day. 

Wofford is 34-23 against the Paladins since joining the Southern Conference during the as a member in 1997-98, while Furman holds a commanding 93-64 all-time series edge.

The Paladins reached the title game by knocking off No. 1 Chattanooga, 80-77, in overtime in the first of two semifinals at the Harrah's Cherokee Center, while Wofford ended No. 7 and VMI's Cinderella story, ensuring that the seven seed wouldn't reach the championship game for a third-straight season, as the Terriers claimed an 85-65 win in the second semifinal. Wofford also won its opening game before a packed house in the Harrah's Cherokee Center, claiming a 72-60 win over No. 3 seed East Tennessee State.

Furman's win over top seed Chattanooga snapped a streak of seven-straight SoCon titles won by the top seed. In the quarterfinals, Furman was able to knock off defending champion Samford, 95-78. The Paladins now look to become the first No. 5 seed to win the league crown since 1988, which saw Chattanooga knock off No. 7 VMI, 75-61, in the title game. 

The Paladins will play in their 13th Southern Conference title on Monday night (7-5), while the Terriers will be playing in their seventh (5-1) since joining the league in 1997-98. Furman's 88-79 win over Chattanooga game in the title game two years ago snapped a 43-year NCAA Tournament drought for the Paladins.

The Particulars:

105th Southern Conference Championship Game (Asheville, N.C.)

Harrah's Cherokee Center (6,700) Asheville, N.C.

7:00 p.m./ESPN

No. 5 Furman (25-8) vs. No. 6 Wofford (18-15)

Coaches: Furman--Bob Richey (181-79, 8th Yr)/Wofford--Dwight Perry (47-42, 3rd yr)

Players To Watch For Furman: G PJay Smith Jr (17.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 106 3PT FGs), G Nick Anderson (14.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 90 3PT FGs), F Garrett Hien (8.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 79 assists), F Cooper Bowser (8.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 56 BLKs, 25 STLs), F Ben VanderWal (5.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG), G Tom House (7.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 51 3PT FGs).

Players To Watch Wofford: G Corey Tripp (14.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 59 3PT FGs), G Dillon Bailey (11.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 61 3PT FGs), Justin Bailey (9.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 41 STLs), C Kyler Filewich (11.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.1 APG), G Jackson Sivills (8.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG), G Luke Flynn (4.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG), G Kahmare Holmes (4.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG)