The Game: Furman (16-7, 7-3 SoCon) at East Tennessee State (16-7, 8-2 SoCon)
THE VENUE AND PLACE: FREEDOM HALL /JOHNSON CITY, TN
HOW TO WATCH: ESPN+/7 p.m. EST
SERIES: Furman and ETSU will be meeting for the 72nd time on Wednesday night, with Furman holding a narrow 36-35 series lead
When Furman and East Tennessee State get together on the hardwood, there is usually something on the line, and it's no different in 2025-26. The Bucs find themselves back at a more comfortable position than they have in more recent seasons, which is perched atop the Southern Conference standings after 10 games, and the Bucs come in fresh off a huge, 86-72, road win at Wofford last time out in what was a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.
That win for the Bucs helped avenge what was only their second league loss to the same opponent, which was Western Carolina, as the Bucs dropped a 90-88 contest to the Catamounts last Thursday night at Freedom Hall.
Furman comes in on a three-game winning streak, having knocked off Chattanooga to complete the season sweep of ETSU's natural Volunteer State rival, 75-70, this past Sunday in a game that was also played in front of a national television audience at Furman's refurbished Timmons Arena on ESPN2. That helped the Paladins complete the season sweep of the Mocs.
Wednesday night's meeting between the Bucs and Paladins will mark the first of two this season, and each clash last season was decided by just three points, with Furman claiming a 73-70 win at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena last season, while the Bucs were a 72-69 winner over Furman on Groundhog Day of 2025.
It's arguably the toughest road game Furman has played this season, and the Paladins have posted 79 true road wins over the past decade, which is fourth-most overall in all of college basketball over the past 11 seasons. The Paladins are 5-2 in true road games this season.
On the flip side, ETSU has been among the toughest venues to play in the SoCon over the past 11 seasons, posting a 121-40 record since the start of the 2015-16 season, including an 8-2 mark this season.
Furman has been trying to get healthy so far, and it's got at least a couple of its guys back into game shape thus far, as both Cooper Bowser (13.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 80.0 FG%) and freshman guard Collin O'Neal (3.6 PPG, 1.6 RPG) have returned to the fold during the Paladins' recent three-game winning streak, with Bowser, a 6-11 junior forward who was leading the nation in field goal percentage at over 80% when he was injured back in December, and at the time, led the nation in dunks.
Bowser's return to the lineup came last time out in Furman's 75-70 win over Chattanooga, as he ended up posting nine points and four rebounds in 23 minutes against the Mocs. He will be likely asked to do much more on Wednesday night against the Bucs, who arguably have the best front court in the SoCon.
When Bowser and fellow 6-11 forward Charles Johnston (10.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG) have been in the lineup at the same time this season, the Paladins ranked in the 35-40 range in the country in rebounding, leading both the SoCon in rebounding margin and total rebounds.
The Paladins will still be without another of their leading scorers when the two teams tip it up Wednesday evening, as Asa Thomas (13.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 53 three-point FGs) continues to work his way back from a lower body injury.
In the time in which Furman has had limited production at its disposal, others have stepped up like 6-5 freshman point guard Alex Wilkins (18.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.1 RPG) and 6-7 shooting guard Tom House (7.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG), who helped the Paladins in a big way in consecutive wins at UNC Greensboro (W, 89-66) and at home vs. Samford (W, 78-73), as the duo combined for 52 of Furman's 89 points vs. the Spartans and 41 points against Samford.
Wilkins had a team-leading 27 points against UNCG, while House added 25, while against the Bulldogs, the rookie guard posted 20 points before fouling out with just under five minutes remaining, while House finished the contest with a team-leading 21 points.
Then in the last game vs. Chattanooga, which the Paladins won 75-70, Wilkins went off for a career-high 33 points, as he finished the contest 10-of-16 from the field and 6-for-8 from three-point range. He was also 7-of-8 from the free throw line. It was his 11th performance of 20 or more points this season as a true freshman, and his 18.7 PPG scoring average is second to only Jonathan Moore in program history in points-per-game. His 11 twenty-point efforts this season are tied with Kahmare Holmes for second-most in the league just behind Samford's Jadin Booth, who has totaled 12.
Over the past three games, Wilkins is 26-of-43 (60.4%) from the field, including 13-of-19 (68.4%) from three-point range. He has also connected on 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line. All told, he's scored a combined 80 points in those three Paladin wins.
Wilkins' 33-point effort is the second-most points ever by a Paladin rookie, with only Jonathan Moore's 34 points and 14 rebounds against Georgia on Dec. 16, 1976. His 33-point marks the first 30-point effort by Furman freshman since Jason Stewart scored 30 points against Clemson on Dec. 16, 1995.
Wilkins' 33-point effort now gives him 429 points in his freshman season. It ranks as the fourth-best freshman season in Furman basketball history, trailing only Jonathan Moore (561 pts), Karim Souchu (459 pts) and George Singleton (435 pts) for points in a rookie season.
Wilkins is good, but still just a freshman and he can be prone to, at times, careless turnovers, which he will have to curtail tonight against ETSU if the Paladins are to have a chance in the game. The native of Mattapan, MA., has the second-most assists (118) in the league, but also has the most turnovers (88). Wilkins currently ranks seventh in points-per-game (18.7) and sixth in assists-per-game (5.1) among all freshmen in college basketball.
Cole Bowser (6.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG) has been a key addition to the Paladin lineup this season, and his length and defense in Furman's 1-3-1 have been key for Furman. He posted his career-best performance against UNCG, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Bowser is another freshman that has stepped up and stepped in as a key part of the rotation for the Paladins, as injuries have taken their toll this season.
Furman's "glue guy" continues to be Ben Vander Wal (8.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG), and he's been good in a lot of areas this season, serving as one of the team's best ball-handlers, as well as one of its best defenders, and he ranks second on the team with 15 blocks so far this season.
He's been able to serve as kind of a point-forward at times for the Paladins this season. Last time out against UTC, Vander Wal finished with seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals, without turning it over.
Johnston, a native of Sydney, Australia, has come up with some big performances at times this season, but he's been asked to play a little out of his normal element, playing the five spot with Cooper Bowser out of the lineup, and with Bowser having returned to the lineup, will now have a chance to move back to his more natural position at the four. Despite that, Johnston has been a force on the boards, as well as being an offensive weapon at times.
His best game, came in Furman's 78-67 win at Chattanooga early last month, as he posted 21 points and eight rebounds. All told, the 6-11 senior has totaled eight double-doubles this season, which ranks third-most in the SoCon this season.
A key player off the bench for the Paladins is Eddrin Bronson (6.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG), and he's come up big in the clutch on occasion this season. He was key down the stretch in both home wins over Chattanooga and Samford, whether its been at the charity stripe or getting a bucket from the field when both the Mocs and Bulldogs closed to within a possession late in each of those games.
Finally, the Paladins hope to have Abijah Franklin (5.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) back in the lineup tonight, as he has been recovering from the flu, forcing him to miss the last three games. Frankin, who is the Mr. Basketball in the state of South Carolina and played locally at nearby at Wren High School, is one of Furman's best on-ball defenders. His offensive game continues to round into shape, however, has back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts in his most recent two games against both Wofford (career-high 14 pts) and in Furman's game on the road at The Citadel (11 pts).
The Paladins come in as the biggest team in the SoCon and rank sixth overall in the nation, with an average height of 6-7. It's the biggest team Furman has ever put on the floor in the modern era of its program, and in that way, resembles some of those Steve Forbes teams back in 2018-19 and 2019-20 in terms of physical makeup and size.
It's no big surprise, then, that the Paladins rank second in the SoCon in total rebounds (38.8 RPG) and rebounding margin (+6.17) but saw their numbers take a little bit of a dip without Cooper Bowser in the fold. The Paladins are down to averaging 38.8 RPG, however, had been averaging over 40.0 RPG for much of the season with him in the lineup.
The Paladins also rank fourth in offensive rebounds per game (11.6) and lead the league in defensive rebounds per game (27.3), while ranking third in both defensive rebound percentage (72.7%) and offensive rebound percentage (34.0%).
Furman also ranks as the second-best defensive team in the league behind only ETSU, posting a 109.7 KenPom defensive rating. The Paladins also rank second in the league in scoring defense (70.2 PPG), field goal percentage defense (42.0%) and first in three-point field goal percentage defense (31.3%).
While there is much debate on who is the SoCon's Coach of the Year...Is it Wofford's Kevin Giltner or The Citadel's Ed Conroy, however, East Tennessee State's Brooks Savage has been right up there, if not having done the best coaching job when you look at what he has done with assembling talent and then bringing that talent along cohesively as the season has progressed.
Savage's eye for talent and his ability to blend those guys together is something that has been especially impressive. You have to see the end product from the beginning, which is one of the most difficult things to do as a head basketball coach, especially in the NIL/portal era. You also have to have the right character assessment to balance out a winning culture.
Managing all that, blending both on-court production and off-court camaraderie, while turning over almost an entire roster makes coaching in the current era we are in as tough as it has ever been, especially at the mid-major level.
Perhaps the most impressive thing to me is getting that talent to not only blend on the offensive end of the floor, but also on the defensive end of the floor, which has been elite for a majority of the season.
The Bucs pretty much lead the SoCon in every defensive metric and have been a Top 40 defensive team nationally most of the season. Strong defense and a blue-collar work ethic, with a particular emphasis on rebounding on both ends, have always been tenants of the program dating back to the Steve Forbes era and even before, and that fire to be elite defensively and on the glass has once again been re-ignited under third-year head coach Brooks Savage.
While the Bucs have been exceptional offensively this season, it's the defensive end of the floor that really gets the blood pumping, and you can really tell that when talking to Savage. When I spoke to him at media day back in October, he was really excited about this crop of players he procured from the transfer portal.
Savage spoke about emphasizing and re-emphasizing defense to his new players, and so much so, that it becomes engrained in what they are about every time they take the floor. The philosophy being that if it's top priority, the natural carryover will be the byproduct on the offensive end. It's complimentary basketball so to speak.
Any good coach of the game will tell you, if you focus on being elite defensively, it by default leads to good offense as a byproduct. However, you can never have it work the other way around, as good offense doesn't necessarily carryover or compliment what you do on the defensive end of the floor the way good defense leads or compliments good offense.
Savage has 54 wins in his three seasons as the head coach and appears to be well on his way to his first 20-win campaign as the head coach in Johnson City.
Savage's defensive philosophy is to play at a slower, more efficient pace offensively, placing a premium on shot selection rather than transition opportunities. It's why ETSU ranks as the second-slowest tempo in the SoCon, trailing only The Citadel. The Bucs average about 66 possessions per game.
According to KenPom, the Bucs have a defensive rating of 109.1 this season, which tops the league and the Bucs lead the league in scoring defense (67.6 PPG), field goal percentage defense (41.5%), blocked shots (3.65 BPG/84 blocks), and steals (9.22 SPG). When the Bucs allowed 90 points at Freedom Hall last time out against Western Carolina, it marked the first time ETSU has surrendered 90 or more points on its home floor since March 20, 2019, when the Bucs surrendered 102 points on their home floor in a CIT loss to Green Bay.
ETSU has been arguably the league's deepest team this season, and the starting trio underneath includes Blake Barkley (14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG), Cam Morris III (14.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and Jordan McCullum (7.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG), and each player has provided their own strengths and to the lineup, but all have provided their a collective toughness that has always been one of the hallmarks of ETSU's blue-collar, hard-nosed basketball program.
Cam Morris III is firmly in the running for SoCon Player of the Year, and against Wofford last time out, he put up maybe his best all-around effort for the Bucs, recording 22 points, seven rebounds, five steals, two assists and a block in the Bucs' 86-72 win.
Morris is a player that reminds me a lot of a guy like former Bucs great Zakee Wadood from two decades ago, with his ability to fill passing lanes and create havoc defensively, and his energy and efficiency scoring in the low post on the offensive end, not to mention being a supreme athlete.
The duo of Morris and Jordan McCullum (M&M) has given ETSU less size, but more athleticism than they've had in recent seasons underneath the basket, as Savage shrewdly swapped out size for athleticism, quickness and offensive efficiency without compromising toughness and grit underneath the basket. Both Morris and McCullum have combined for 52 of the team's league-leading 84 blocks this season.
While the Bucs had one great rim protector in Jadyn Parker (single-season record holder in with 73 blocked shots, breaking Isiah Brown's his school record of 71 in a single-season originally set in 2010-11) in Savage's first season as the head coach back in 2023-24, the Bucs now have two. Not only that, but while Parker was elite as a shot-blocker, the swap on offense wasn't the same with Parker as it is now with the cohesive trio the Bucs have been able to balance out that post defensive and rim protection with offensive efficiency and versatility on the offensive end.
The real diamond in the rough, however, has been Barkley. A former Northwestern Wildcat, Barkley has brought a Big Ten efficiency and toughness into the fold. He's a throwback player, and like Morris, is shooting nearly 60% from the field this season, having posted a 59.8% field goal percentage this season.
Barkley has 18 double-figure scoring games this season, which includes scoring in double figures in all 10 SoCon games. He also has five 20+point scoring performances, which includes four double-doubles, including three in league play. Barkley poured in a season and career-high 26 points, which included the game winner with four seconds remaining in a 76-75 win at Samford last month.
In the backcourt, the Bucs have relied on the veteran leadership of guys like Allen Strothers (4.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG) and Maki Johnson (5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG/39.8% 3PT FG%), while balancing it out with some new blood and energy with guys like North Florida transfer Jaylen Smith (9.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG/team-leading 41 three-point FGs), who is a prolific long-range shooter and elite passer, while Brian Taylor II (14.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG) is one of the most athletic guards in the SoCon and can score at all three levels. He came to ETSU from SIU-Edwardsville.
Strothers has scored in double figures in three of his last five games, equaling his career-high of 11 points last time out at Wofford. The veteran is second on the team in steals, with 31 on the season, which is behind only Morris' 34 thefts this season.
Gabe Sisk (3.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG) and Milton Matthews III (4.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG) round out the rotation in the backcourt, with Sisk giving the Bucs an elite on-ball defender, while Matthews gives the Bucs another threat from long range, as he is shooting 40% (14-of-35) from three-point range so far this season.
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