Alex Williams (Furman photo)
A Furman men’s basketball team still finding its identity embarks on its toughest road trip. Win or lose, good or bad, hard lessons are there for the taking in Princeton, N.J., and Fayetteville, Ark.
The Princeton Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks are both Sweet 16 teams from the most recent NCAA Tournament, where the Paladins distinguished themselves with a first-round upset.
Furman graduated its two best players, Mike Bothwell and the Sacramento Kings’ Jalen Slawson, from a 28-8 team. Head coach Bob Richey is filling that void with seven prominent returning players and talented newcomers, but the renovation is ongoing.
Princeton (7-0) has defeated Rutgers, Hofstra, Duquesne, Monmouth, Old Dominion, Northeastern and Bucknell. The Paladins take on the Tigers at Jadwin Gymnasium, beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game is to be televised on ESPN+.
Due to football’s 1 p.m. FCS playoff matchup versus Chattanooga, which will air on The Fan Upstate, Furman will not provide a radio broadcast of Saturday’s basketball game at Princeton.
On Monday, Arkansas (5-3), fresh off an 80-75 win over seventh-ranked Duke on Wednesday night, welcomes Furman to Bud Walton Arena for an 8 p.m. clash on SEC Network+. Play-by-play voice Dan Scott will return to call the action of Monday’s contest at Arkansas on The Fan Upstate 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in the Greenville area, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, and via the Audacy app.
The distance from Greenville to Princeton is 678 miles. Princeton to Fayetteville is 1,279. Fayetteville back to Greenville is 844. Furman’s next home game is on Dec. 9 versus Bob Jones at 2 p.m.
The Paladins improved to 4-3 on Tuesday night with an 86-78 win over South Carolina State at Timmons Arena. Furman trailed by double digits in the first half before rallying to build a 15-point second half lead on its way to the program’s 100th victory at Timmons in the last nine seasons. Six Paladins reached double figures, led by guard PJay Smith Jr.’s season-high 20 points. Marcus Foster, who leads the Southern Conference and ranks 13th nationally averaging 22.1 points per game, added 16 points as Furman shot .516 from the field, including .613 in the second half.
Saturday’s game marks the first meeting between Furman and Princeton, who both claimed league titles last season before advancing in the NCAA Tournament. The Paladins toppled No. 4 seed Virginia, 68-67, in the opening round while Princeton downed Arizona and Missouri to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Tigers, picked second in the Ivy League, are currently receiving votes in the AP and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls.
The Razorbacks are off to a 5-3 start after knocking off the Duke Blue Devils last time out. Arkansas claimed victories over Illinois and Kansas before falling to eventual national champion UConn in last season’s NCAA Tournament. Monday’s game marks the first meeting between the Paladins and Razorbacks on the hardwood.
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