Game #19 - Furman Paladins

 

Who: Furman Paladins
Where: Timmons Arena - Travelers Rest, SC
When: Saturday, January 20, 2023
Time: 2 pm
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
Video/TV:  ESPN+
Live Stats: Live Stats
Enrollment: 2,443
Nickname: Paladins
Colors: Purple and White

Head Coach: Bob Richey enters his seventh season as head coach and 13th season with the Furman program

Richey's Record at Furman: 148-64 (7th season)
Richey's Record vs. WCU: 15-1
Gray's Record vs. Furman: 1-4

Furman's Current Record: 9-9 overall, 7-1 home, 2-6 away, 0-2 neutral, 3-2 conference.
Furman's Last Season Record: 28-8 overall, 14-2 home, 8-3 away, 6-3 neutral, 15-3 conference.

The Series: Western has a 30-54 overall record in the series with Furman that tipped off in 1977. The Cats are 1-9 in the last 10 games played and are 9-31 overall in games played in Travelers Rest, SC.  

The preseason favorite Paladins currently sit tied for 5th place in the SoCon standings with Chattanooga, both holding 3-2 conference records. Furman has conference win over VMI, the Citadel, & ETSU, with losses to Chattanooga and UNCG.

Due to Injuries, Furman’s top three scorers, Marcus Foster, JP Pegues, and Alex Williams have accounted for 17 missed games as the Paladins have not had their entire roster available for a full game this year due to injuries. 

Foster, Furman’s leading scorer at 19.8 points per game and a preseason All-SoCon selection, suffered a knee injury in the first half at Princeton on December 2 and has yet to return to the lineup. Pegues missed the season opener due to a foot injury and Williams was injured in the season opener and missed three games before returning in late November. Forward Tyrese Hughey (2 games), forward Ben VanderWal (3 games), and forward Davis Molnar (1 game) have also missed time due to injuries this season. No Paladin has played in every game, and only three Paladins have started more than 11 of the first 17 games. 

Furman has used an NCAA Division I-high 13 different starting lineups through its first 17 games of the 2023-24 season. Redshirt senior guard Marcus Foster returned to action for the first time in over a month at VMI, scoring 18 points, with four Paladins average double-figure scoring. The Paladins currently are second in scoring in the SoCon, posting an average of 82.8 points per game, and comes in at 9th in scoring defense giving up 77.5 points per game.

Thanks to scoring 100 points in the VMI game, the Paladins are now the second-highest-scoring team in the SoCon, averaging 82.8 points per game. The top two rebounding squads in the conference wear purple as WCU (40.8 rpg) and Furman (39.8 rpg) rank first and second, respectively. The Paladins are third in offensive rebounding at 12.2 per game while WCU posts over 30 defensive boards per contest.