The Game: Furman (10-5, 1-1 SoCon) at Chattanooga (6-9, 0-2 SoCon)
THE VENUE AND PLACE: MCKENZIE ARENA (10,995)/CHATTANOOGA, TN
HOW TO WATCH: CBS SPORTS NETWORK/5 p.m. EST
SERIES: 103RD MEETING/CHATTANOOGA LEADS 62-40
Overview:
Furman (10-5, 1-1 SoCon) and Chattanooga (6-9, 0-2 SoCon) return to the floor Wednesday evening for a key Southern Conference matchup at McKenzie Arena in the first nationally televised SoCon Game of the Week as a part of the CBS Sports Network package of games, with tip-off between the Mocs and Paladins set for 5 p.m. Wednesday evening. '
The game will offer a national spotlight for the league, as it will be a matchup between the SoCon's gold standard basketball program, in Chattanooga (13 regular-season titles/12 tournament titles) and Furman (7 regular-season titles/7 tournament titles)--a program that has won more games (233 wins) over the past 11 seasons than any other in the league.
Both Chattanooga and Furman have been two of the best playing away from their home venues in recent years, with the Paladins having posted 76 true road wins to rank sixth nationally over the past 10 seasons. Furman is 2-1 in true road games this season. Since 2020, Chattanooga sports a record of 49-35 in true road games, which is tops in the nation in true road wins over that period of time. Belmont is just behind UTC with 47 true road triumphs since 2020.
Furman head coach Bob Richey (191-86/9th yr) and Chattanooga boss Dan Earl (74-47/4th yr at UTC/147-185 all-time in 11th season as a head coach) are both largely responsible for that success in recent years, as both are considered not only among the top coaches in the SoCon, but also in all of mid-major basketball. Richey recently won his 100th SoCon game of his Furman career, leading the Paladins to a 74-72 win over Mercer to open up league play just last week.
Wednesday evening's matchup will mark the 103rd all-time clash between the two and the first of at least two clashes on the hardwood this season between the two, with the Mocs holding the commanding 60-42 all-time series edge, including having won both regular-season meetings against UTC last season. The Mocs have won three of the past five matchups between the two, including each of the past two at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs hold a 33-12 all-time series edge at McKenzie Arena. The Mocs play in one of the most intimidating arenas in all of mid-major basketball, in McKenzie Arena, which is affectionately known as "The Roundhouse" where Chattanooga holds an impressive all-time mark of 503-154 in a facility that opened back in 1982.
In the Southern Conference Tournament, however, the Paladins ended the Mocs efforts to make it back to the NCAA Tournament last season, handing Chattanooga an 80-77 overtime defeat in Asheville in one of the two SoCon Semifinal matchups, relegating the Mocs to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), which the Mocs would, of course, go on and win.
Chattanooga would knock off Middle Tennessee State (W, 109-103/3OTs) and Bradley (W, 67-65) on the road and Dayton (W, 87-72) inside the friendly confines of the Roundhouse to reach the NIT Final Four, which was played at Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler, where the Mocs would finish off their title run with wins over Loyola-Chicago (W, 80-73) and UC Irvine (W, 85-84 OT) to become the first team from the SoCon to ever cut down the nets in an NCAA sanctioned tournament.
Both the Mocs and Paladins have encountered their share of injury struggles this season, with each team having lost a pair of players that are out for the season, in Furman forward Davis Molnar, who suffered a knee injury in the opening exhibition matchup against Alabama in the opening of the brand new, refurbished Timmons Arena, while the Mocs lost big man Sean Cusano for the rest of the season after he suffered a lower-body injury in the home loss to SEMO. The Paladins are currently without big man and all-conference performer Cooper Bowser (lower body) and freshman guard Collin O'Neal (lower body), with both expected to make a return later in the season.
Chattanooga and Furman were picked No. 1 and No. 2 in the SoCon, respectively, with each receiving five first-place votes from the league's head coaches. The Mocs edged the Paladins in the preseason coaches poll by a margin of 177 points to 173 points. Both the Mocs and Paladins are coming off Southern Conference losses, with Chattanooga having dropped a 79-71 contest on the road at VMI, while Furman was an 80-77 overtime loser to Western Carolina on its home floor the last time out.
The loss by the Paladins snapped what had been a six-game losing streak, which saw the Paladins go undefeated in the month of December (6-0), while the Mocs will be looking to put an end to a two-game skid to open league play, with the aforementioned loss to VMI on the road and also dropping a 77-72 contest on the road at UNC Greensboro.
Furman's 80-77 overtime loss to Western Carolina this past Saturday marked the first loss to Western Carolina at Timmons Arena since Nov. 28, 2012, when the Paladins were a 79-65 loser to the Catamounts on that occasion. It was also WCU's first overtime win over Furman since 1984, as the Catamounts improved to 3-5 in overtime games against the Paladins in the 90-game series history between the two.
The Mocs' eight-point loss to VMI last time out marked the first time the Mocs had dropped a game against the Keydets since Dan Earl coached VMI back in Feb. of 2022, when VMI claimed an 80-75 win over UTC at the Roundhouse.
Last Meeting: Furman 80, Chattanooga 77
(SoCon Tournament Semifinals/Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.)
GAME RECAP:
Furman and Chattanooga put on a show in the opening minutes of the opening semifinal of the day, as two teams went to the first media timeout of the game, tied 9-9. Furman went ahead 9-3 after Bowser caught a lob on the opening play of the game from Garrett Hien to give the Paladins the early 2-0 edge. A Hien triple would get the Paladins out to a 9-3 lead before Honor Huff made his second and third threes of the game to tie the score, 9-9.
The Mocs hit a 7-0 spurt out of the first media timeout to go ahead 16-9 following a layup by Jack Kostel. With the score 18-11 following a bucket from Trey Bonham, the Paladins switched to a 1-3-1 defense and hit a quick 9-0 spurt to take a 19-18 lead following a Garrett Hien dunk in transition with just 8:56 remaining in the half.
The Paladins then got a three from PJay Smith Jr. and a jumper in the lane by Nick Anderson, as Furman extended their lead to six, at 24-18 with 6:23 remaining in the half. The Mocs would then find a rhythm offensively over the final five minutes of the opening half.
The Mocs then scored five-straight to get within one following a Sean Cusano layup and a Trey Bonham three-pointer off a Furman turnover made it a 24-23 contest 5:39 left in the opening 20 minutes. Exactly one minute later, PJay Smith Jr. drained a three the give the Paladins a two-possession lead once again.
Honor Huff answered with a three on UTC's ensuing possession and following a Tom House missed three for the Paladins, Huff scored again on a short jumper in the lane to give the Mocs the lead again, at 28-27, with just under four minutes to play in the opening half.
From there, the Smith would get fouled on the other end and he converted a pair of 1-and-1 free throws to give the Paladins a 29-28 lead, however, it seemed that whenever Furman would take the lead, Huff continued to answer with a rebuttal of his own, and when he connected on his fifth three of the half, the Mocs crowd got loud and Chattanooga regained a 31-29 lead with 2:29 left in the opening 20 minutes.
Furman would tie the game one last time in the first half when Tom House drew a two-shot foul from UTC forward Latif Diouf, and he would go to the line and connect on a pair of charity shots to make it a 31-31 game with 1:58 left.
The Mocs would then post four-straight points on a pair of Bash Wieland foul shots following a Ben VanderWal foul and he would knock down both free throws before getting a steal and open court layup to extend UTC's lead to 35-31 with just under a minute remaining.
It looked like the Mocs were going to take all of the momentum into the half, however, Smith had other ideas for the Paladins, as his step-back triple with two seconds remaining gave the Paladins the momentum going into the locker room, trailing just 35-34.
In the second half, it looked like the Paladins might be ready to take control of the basketball game, taking their largest lead of the night with just under 12 minutes remaining, as Charles Johnston got an offensive rebound and converted a layup in the paint to give the Paladins a 55-47 lead with 11:56 to play. It was part of a string of seven-straight points for Johnston off the bench, which helped fuel the Paladin offense during one of its better runs of the second half. His next points, however, wouldn't come for nearly six minutes, with the Paladins trailing by four (59-55) and needing a bucket in the worst way.
That's because after Johnston's offensive rebound and put-back, Chattanooga would respond with a 12-0 run to take a four-point lead, starting with a Jack Kostel three-pointer and ending with a pair of Trey Bonham free throws to make it a 59-55 game with 6:26 left. Johnston's layup with 6:07 left got the Paladins back to within a two, at 59-57.
After Bonham turned the ball over, Nick Anderson made them pay with a right wing three to help the Paladins regain a 60-59 lead with 5:41 remaining, setting the stage for what would be a wild finish to the contest.
Huff would find his groove again, however, and it started with a banked in three with 5:16 left to help the Mocs back to a brief 62-60 lead before Anderson connected on a right corner pocket triple to put the Paladins back up one (63-62) with just under five minutes left.
With Furman leading 65-64 following an Anderson floater in the paint, Huff connected on back-to-back triples to give UTC a 70-65 lead with 1:33 remaining. PJay Smith Jr. and Nick Anderson simply wouldn't let the Paladins lose the game, as his Smith's favorite step-back triple with 1:11 got Furman back to within two, as the partisan Paladin crowd roared.
Following a Garrison Keeslar turnover and a Furman timeout, the Paladins got the ball back and Smith tied the game with a jumper from the elbow to tie the game, 70-70, with 27 seconds left.
The Mocs called timeout with 22 seconds remaining to set up a final play, and UTC spaced the floor to put the hands of the basketball in the hands of Bonham, however, his layup as time expired was blocked by Cooper Bowser.
Bowser's ability as a shot-blocker affected the game in the middle for the Paladins, bookending the game with blocks that were important to the overall cause. If his block to open the game set the tone for Furman, his block on Bonham's layup at the buzzer helped keep Furman's season alive for five more minutes of basketball.
Nick Anderson fired in a jumper in the lane to give the Paladins a quick 74-72 lead with 3:21 remaining. Cooper Bowser would add a free throw to increase Furman's lead to three with just under three left, however, the Mocs would trim the Paladin lead back to a single a point when Wieland converted a hook shot in the paint to make it a 75-74 contest with 1:29 to go.
Anderson was then fouled by Huff and he made both free throws one a 1-and-1 to extend Furman's lead back to three. Chattanooga wasn't going anywhere, however, as Wieland converted another layup off a nice feed from Garrison Keeslar on a beautifully designed action from Mocs head coach Dan Earl, getting UTC to within 77-76 with 19 seconds to play.
The Mocs then fouled Smith, who promptly knocked down both free throw attempts with 16 seconds remaining, giving Furman a 79-76 lead. The crucial play in the game would come on the ensuing inbounds play, as Chattanooga's Garrison Keeslar, who finished off the 2024-25 season with the best assist/turnover ratio in college basketball history, committed a rare turnover, as his errant inbounds pass was stolen by Furman's Eddrin Bronson and he got the ball to teammate Nick Anderson, who was then fouled by Keeslar with 12 seconds left. Anderson knocked down the first free throw, but missed the second, leaving the Paladins up four, at 80-76.
Ben Vander Wal fouled Honor Huff with three seconds remaining. Huff made the first and then after intentionally missing the second, the ball went off Furman out of bounds it was determined after a lengthy review, and UTC would have one more opportunity to tie the game, trailing 80-77, with 2.7 seconds left. However, Bonham's long three as time expired was no good and the Paladins held on for the semifinal tournament triumph.
Previewing Chattanooga:
Both Chattanooga and Furman might have lost a lot of their leading scoring production from a year ago, however, the expectations for success remain the same. The Mocs lost as much or more than arguably anyone in the SoCon from last season's regular-season championship team, and one that would go on to win a school-record 29 games and claim the first NIT Championship in Southern Conference history.
When Chattanooga takes the floor on Wednesday night against the Paladins, they will be looking to avoid just the program's fifth all-time start to a SoCon season 0-3 and first since the 2017-18 season in what was then Lamont Paris' first season as the head coach, as the Mocs would finish that campaign with only 10 wins. In 2008-09, the Mocs started 0-3, but went on to win the Southern Conference Tournament and garner the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Gone are the likes of guards Honor Huff (now at West Virginia), Trey Bonham (graduated), Bash Wieland (graduated), Jack Kostel (graduated), as well as big men Frank Champion (graduated) and Garrison Keeslar (graduated), which all helped form the core of that team that cut down the nets in Hinkle Fieldhouse last season.
Huff was a solid performer for the Mountaineers last night in West Virginia's 62-60 win over Cincinnati, as he scored 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range, which included a 4-for-6 effort from the charity stripe. He currently ranks in the top five nationally this season with 60 made threes.
Now that we have addressed the losses that Chattanooga has endured to graduation and the transfer portal, let's take a look at who is back and more importantly, who is available to take the floor this evening as a starter against the Paladins.
In the backcourt, the Mocs will start four talented guards, in Jordan Frison (14.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.3 APG), Brennan Watkins (8.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 1.4 APG), Billy Smith (9.9 PPG, 1.7 APG, 2.9 RPG), and Teddy Washington Jr. (9.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG), while one of the holdovers that was so impressive to that NIT run last season--6-11 Collin Mulholland (6.4 PPG)--will start in the middle.
Frison has been Chattanooga's best player through the first portion of the season, and the Pittsburg State transfer is now fully adjusted to his surroundings. He's started all 15 games he's been a part of this season for the Mocs, and he's currently shooting a solid 38.3% (18-of-47) from three-point range this season, and he's totaled 12 games in double figures this season, which includes four 20-plus point scoring performaces.
Despite being held to just five points last time out against VMI, he has more than often been a thorn in the side for foes this season, enjoying his best contest of the season in a recent win at Alabama A&M, as he posted 27 points, nine rebounds and dished out five assists in Chattanooga's 73-66 road win over the Bulldogs.
It was good enough to garner the junior guard SoCon Player of the Week accolades as a result. Frison is a native of the Volunteer State, as he was born in the basketball-crazed city of Memphis, which routinely produces some of the Volunteer State's most prized hoops talent.
One of the reasons the Mocs added Teddy Washington Jr. to the fold this season was for his defensive prowess, and he's been good on both ends for Chattanooga this season since transferring into the program from SEMO. He's widely regarded as Chattanooga's top on-ball defender and will likely draw the unenviable task of checking Furman's talented freshman guard Alex Wilkins in Wednesday evening's contest.
For Washington Jr., it's his sixth school in six years and he's made an impact at nearly every place he's been, garnering All-Ohio Valley Conference First-Team honors last season during his time at SEMO, as he finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.9 PPG. His best game this season for the Mocs came in an early road loss at UNLV, as he posted 18 points on that occasion, finishing that contest 7-of-11 from the field and 1-of-3 from three-point land.
He's found his way into double figures in seven out of the 15 games Chattanooga has played this season, with his most-recent game in double figures for the Mocs coming in that 92-78 loss to No. 21 Auburn in the Holiday Hoopsgiving Tournament in Atlanta. Washington also averages 1.2 steals-per-game on the defensive end of the floor and has 118-career thefts, including a career-best 63 steals last season at SEMO.
His 18 steals so far this season leads Chattanooga and is tied for 12th in the league in that particular category. Overall, Washington has struggled as a perimeter threat so far this season, connecting on just 20.6% (13-of-63) from three-point land this season. Washington was a preseason All-SoCon selection.
Brennan Watkins is a player that returns to play for Dan Earl, as he was one of the last recruits brought in by Earl during his time at VMI. When Earl left for UTC, Watkins remained in Lexington for two seasons to play for the Keydets. After missing the 2022-23 season due to injury, Watkins returned for the 2023-24 season for VMI and was leading the team averaging just over 15 PPG before suffering another injury, which forced him to miss most of the latter half of league play.
He ended up starting the first 22 games of the season for the Keydets back in 2023-24 and he spent last season at North Dakota State, where he started 27 of 29 games for the Bison.
Now reunited with the coach who recruited him, Watkins has seemingly seen his role increase as of late, especially as injuries have increased in the backcourt. He posted a season-high 20 points in Chattanooga's recent road loss at Bellarmine, as connected on 6-of-12 three-pointers in the road loss.
He's been Chattanooga's most efficient long-range threat this season, blistering the nets at a 45.5% (30-of-66) so far in 15 games in his final season of eligibility. He has started each of the past five games for UTC.
Bellarmine transfer Billy Smith rounds out the projected starters in the backcourt for the Mocs entering Wednesday night's clash with the Paladins. The 6-7 senior is right on the cusp of double figures for Chattanooga, averaging 9.9 PPG and it could be argued that he fills a role very similar to what Bash Wieland did last season for UTC, and it's probably of little surprise the two played together in their time before arriving at UTC at Bellarmine.
While Wieland has of course moved on, Smith will have one more year of eligibility remaining with the Mocs in 2026-27, should he choose to spend his final season of eligibility in the Scenic City. Smith delivered an outstanding performance for UTC in its most-recent road setback at VMI, posting 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, but was just 1-for-6 from three-point range.
Smith has totaled double-figure scoring efforts six times this season for the Mocs, including a season-high 18 points in arguably the Mocs' most-impressive win of the season, which was a 71-57 win over Atlantic Sun member North Alabama.
In his time prior to UTC at Bellarmine, Smith averaged 14.0 PPG and led the Knights in points (420), assists (77) and steals (41) last season. Like his teammate Washington, Smith is considered as one of the better perimeter defenders for UTC. As a three-point threat this season, Smith is connecting at a 31.6% (31-of-98) so far this season, with his 31 triples leading the team.
"Big Maple" Collin Mulholland has struggled to stay healthy this season for the Mocs, which has also been the case for several other key performers. Mullholland, a preseason All-SoCon selection, now has a bit more pressure to perform at a high level with Sean Cusano having gone down with a season-ending injury.
Despite struggling to find his shot from long-range this season, having connected on just 3-of-19 from long-range this season, the 6-11 center has been good in other areas, however, as he has had a couple of solid games in appearances against South Carolina State and UNC Greensboro this season, scoring 12 points in road games vs. the Bulldogs and Spartans.
As a result of those injury issues this season, Wednesday night's contest against Furman will mark just his 12th of the season for the Mocs. He's shooting 41.5% (17-of-41) from the field this season and is averaging about 17.2 minutes-per-game. Mulholland has started seven out of the eight games he's logged action in this season for Chattanooga.
As far as production off the bench is concerned, Chattanooga will rely heavily on guys like Trevecca Nazarene transfer Jikari Johnson (9.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG), talented true freshman Tate Darner (9.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG), as well as spot duty from a guys like Houston Holland (1.5 PPG, 1.2 RPG) and Parker Robinson (2.1 PPG, 2.1 APG). In the frontcourt, the Mocs have gotten some good minutes out of both Josh Bowman (4.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG) and Makai Richards (3.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG) at times this season, but without guys like Cusano, Latif Diouf (6.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG) and wing Sebastian Hartmann (7.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG), who have all missed time due to injuries, it has caused some inconsistency underneath the basket.
Johnson and Darner are without question the two players off the bench that provide the most in terms of production. Johnson, a preseason All-SoCon selection, has really begun to produce as of late off the bench for the Mocs, posting double-figure scoring efforts in two of the past three games against Alabama A&M and UNCG, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively, in those two contests. He's arguably the Mocs' most athletic player and a guy that can finish at the rim and is creative off the bounce.
Darner has proven to be one of the SoCon's top freshman players through the first half of the season, and the 6-4 guard had 16 points in UTC's last outing at UTC. Darner's 16-point effort against the Keydets was his fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season, and his 43.5% (27-of-62) makes him one of the top perimeter threats in the league.
As a team this season, the Mocs currently rank second in the league in scoring offense (79.0 PPG), fourth in team field goal percentage (44.8%), second in three-point field goal percentage (34.5%), second in assists (16.3 APG) and second in three-pointers made (164/10.9 PG).
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