Furman Basketball Dreams of Madness in Asheville

The Furman Paladins basketball teams have concluded the regular season and are looking ahead to the Southern Conference Tournament.

The men’s and women’s Southern Conference basketball tournament will be held on March 7-11 at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.

Brock Eastman

March 3, 2024

It is finally March, and that could only mean Madness looms near.

The regular season is officially over for both Furman hoops teams. The last thirty-plus games and thousands of miles traveled have all led up to this. Records and past performances can be thrown out the window because anything can happen in Asheville, N.C.

The victor of the Southern Conference tournament will receive the coveted automatic bid into the NCAA March Madness tournament. The SoCon regular season standings were used to determine each team’s seed going into the tournament, taking place on March 7-11. All men’s and women’s games will be played at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center and streamed on ESPN+.

The Lady Paladins will enter the tournament as the seventh seed and face off against the second-seeded UNCG. The Spartans defeated the Dins twice in the regular season matchups, including a heartbreaking loss in Timmons Arena on Feb. 8. Furman will play UNCG on Thursday, March 7 at 1:15 p.m.

For the Paladin women, Asheville will serve as an opportunity to play free from expectations on their championship run. As the heavy underdogs, the Paladins will have nothing to lose and everything to prove heading into the next season. Additionally, the Dins will be looking to win their first conference tournament title in 24 years.

The women’s tournament first-round schedule is listed below:

Thursday, March 7

Chattanooga (1) vs Western Carolina (8) 11:00 a.m.
UNCG (2) vs. Furman (7) 1:15 p.m.
Wofford (3) vs Samford (6) 3:30 p.m.
Mercer (4) vs ETSU (5) 5:45 p.m.

On the men’s side, a ticket to the NCAA March Madness Tournament is also at stake. This year’s tournament is sure to be interesting as the conference saw more parity this year than in the past.

Furman, who began the season as the favorites to win the conference, will enter the tournament as the fifth seed. The Dins will be in action first on Saturday, March 9 against the fourth-seeded Western Carolina Catamounts at 8:30 p.m. In the two regular season matchups, the teams split the series with each team winning on their home court and losing on the road.

As the conference’s defending champions, the Dins will certainly have a target on their back throughout the tournament. Therefore, the formula for a repeat title will have to be;

Championship = Grit + Determination

Furman has played well in Asheville in recent history, qualifying for the championship game in back-to-back seasons. The Dins will be looking to repeat their conference championship, which would mark their first consecutive SoCon title since the 1974 and 1975 seasons.

The men’s tournament first-round schedule is listed below:

Friday, March 8

Mercer (8) vs. The Citadel (9) 5 p.m.
ETSU (7) vs. VMI (10) 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 9

Samford (1) vs. Mercer or The Citadel 12 p.m.
UNCG (2) vs. ETSU or VMI 2:30 p.m.
Chattanooga (3) vs. Wofford (6) 6 p.m.
Western Carolina (4) vs. Furman (5) 8:30 p.m.

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About the Contributor

Brock Eastman, Sports Editor

Brock Eastman is a senior from Summerville, SC. He is studying Biomedical Science and Religion on the pre-dental track. This is his first year with the paper and he’s excited to cover all of Furman’s teams and athletes. A fun fact about him is that he finished first in his age group in the Greenville Marathon two years ago.