Wofford (Game #27) or “I would rather go to hell”

Wofford's Mike Young  

Cullowhee, NC - It's that time of the year, and on Saturday, Feburary 14, Wofford head coach Mike Young must once again travel to Cullowhee. 

A trip he's not very comfortable making. 

Back in January 2012, Young told the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper that “I would rather go to hell,” said Young, “than go to (expletive) Cullowhee."

Young's post game statement came after the Cats ended Wofford's two-game win streak that season, a streak that included wins over Wake Forest and Charleston.  But, that loss was not the only reason Young dislikes bringing his team to Cullowhee.  The over riding reason Young dreads his yearly trip up the mountains and into the Cullowhee Valley, is he's never won in Cullowhee as a head coach.

Wofford has not won in Cullowhee since 2001, which was prior to Young taking over the head position of the Terriers.  That's eight straight losses the Cats have inflicted on Young in the Ramsey Center. 

The Cats lead the overall series 25-21 between the two schools on the basketball court. The series stretches back to December 1948, and the NAIA days for both teams.  Since joining the SoCon, the Cats own a narrow 12-9 overall conference record with the Terriers, and are 14-7 in all games played in Cullowhee (Reid & Ramsey).

However, this season, Young's team comes to Cullowhee with a 20-6 overall record, and a league leading 11-2 Southern Conference record that will be on the line.

The Terriers are coming off a 10 point loss at home to second place Chattanooga, which ended a seven game winning streak for Young and the Terriers. Wofford now has conference losses to The Citadel and now, Chattanooga.  While the Terriers are coming in off a loss, the Catamounts enter the game off there second straight road victories, two of which were over a top 3 team in the conference. This is Western's opportunity to pick up a win over the third  team of same that top 3. The Cats have won four of their last five games, including those three straight on the road. On Thursday, the Cats picked up a series sweep with their victory over Mercer.

On Saturday, the Cats will be looking to avenge a 62-43 beat-down at the hands of the Terriers in Spartanburg earlier this season. In that game, the Cats were held to only 17 first half points. Overall, the Terriers outscored the Cats 34-12 in the paint, and scored 16 second chance points to Western's 6.

Currently, Wofford is averaging 65 points per game (7th in the conference), but are only giving up an average of  60 points per game (first in the SoCon).  The Terriers have two players scoring double digits, Karl Cochran leads with 15 ppg and Spencer Collins is averaging 11 ppg.


Wofford Projected Starters
Senior guard, Karl Cochran, 6'1"  -  15 ppg
Sophomore guard, Eric Garcia, 6'0" -  8 ppg
Junior guard, Spencer Collins, 6'4"  - ppg
Freshman forward, Justin Gordon, 6'6" -  8 ppg
Freshman forward, Lee Skinner, 6'6" - 9 ppg


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