By MONTE DUTTON
Furman, tied for fourth in the Southern Conference men’s basketball standings, has five more games before the tournament begins in Asheville, N.C., on March 8.
None is likely to be easy. Against their remaining opponents – Chattanooga at home on Sunday, at Samford on Feb. 21, Wofford on Feb. 24, at Western Carolina on Feb. 28 and Mercer on March 2 – the Paladins are 2-3 this season. Furman (14-12, 8-5 SoCon) has beaten Samford and Western Carolina and fallen to Chattanooga, Wofford and Mercer.
Three of the games are at Timmons Arena. Samford and Chattanooga rank above the Paladins in the current standings. WCU and Mercer are below them. Wofford is tied. The Paladins are 1-0 versus Samford and Western, 0-1 versus Chattanooga, Wofford and Mercer.
All are daunting tasks. None is more so than Sunday afternoon’s nationally televised (CBS Sports Network) matchup with Chattanooga (18-8, 10-3), which socked the then-injury-depleted Paladins, 73-56, on Jan. 6. This one’s at Timmons Arena, at 2, where Furman is 10-2 this season.
“This is a big one, for sure,” said Ben Vander Wal, who led the Paladins past VMI. “National TV? There’s nothing more fun than that. Timmons should be rocking, and we want another crack at [UTC].
“They’re making a lot of threes and moving the ball really well. They play really fast, and we’ll have to be ready to rock.”
“Dan (Earls) is a great coach, they’ve got a great program and they run great stuff,” said head coach Bob Richey of the Mocs. “They’ve got a lot of talent, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”
Four Mocs – Trey Bonham (17.7), Honor Huff (16.7), Jan Zidek (11.5) and Sam Alexis (11.1) – score in double figures. Alexis pulls down a 9.1 rebounding norm.
If the Paladins can pass this test, the most daunting task switches to Homewood, Ala., where SoCon-leading Samford resides. Furman is the lone SoCon team to tame the Bulldogs to date.
The Paladins have figuratively galloped, cantered, trotted and walked during this long and varied campaign. It’s time to go to the whip.
After the VMI game, Richey used the metaphor of flying a plane. He said to radio voice Dan Scott, “The plane is on the runway, and the runway can’t go forever.”
The Paladins have to dance with who brung ‘em. The die is cast. What’s a metaphor without three more?
Marcus Foster leads the Paladiins in scoring (18.8 points) and rebounds (7.8). J.P. Pegues averages 16.3 points and 5.0 assists. Alex Williams, who missed the VMI game due to suspension, averages 15.3 points and is the team’s most efficient three-point shooter at .408. Carter Whitt averages 3.9 assists.
Lots of permutations remain, but the overwhelming likelihood is that Samford is going to be the tournament’s top seed. Winning two of the final five should ensure a first-round bye for Furman. Every additional win improves the seeding and presumably favorable opening opponent.
The past two weeks I’ve been suffering from shingles, which have curtailed my live coverage. On Tuesday night, I covered a game for the first time in a while. Even while laid up, though, at least one piece has been posted here for 34 straight days.
I still don’t feel so hot. A coach would probably list me as questionable. It may be a game-time decision.
Shingles has also knocked me off my financial rocker. I’m strapped for cash.
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