Yes, Furman could win the Southern Conference tournament next month in Asheville, N.C.
On occasion, the Paladins are the best team in the league.
Not many occasions, though. The championship may not go to the SoCon’s most consistent teams – UNC Greensboro, Chattanooga and Samford – but that’s the way to bet.
UNCG completed a sweep of the Paladins at The Well on Saturday, 58-50. Furman was in it most of the way, but seldom ahead. The Spartans controlled the game.
In the remaining four games of the regular season, Furman (19-8, 7-7) must manage to achieve at least the sixth seed because seventh would require four Asheville victories to claim the crown, and no school has ever done that. The Paladins must travel to Samford and Wofford and play Virginia Military and The Citadel at home.

But winning that tournament, at Harrah’s Cherokee Center on March 7-10, is a long shot. The overwhelming favorite is going to be one of aforementioned frontrunners who have demonstrated consistency and reliability to date. If Furman – or, for that matter, Wofford, or ETSU, or VMI, etc. – can break through that obstacle, it will be exciting but not by any means expected.
Furman played UNCG an 8-point game in spite of shooting less than .300 from the floor in both halves. It was a hard-working game but hardly a pretty one.
UNC Greensboro limited Furman to a season-low 50 points on .268 shooting as the Spartans escaped on Saturday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

With the victory, UNCG improved to 18-9 overall and remained in first place in the league standings at 11-3. Furman dropped to 19-8 on the season and 7-7 in conference play.
Trailing 37-27 with 15 minutes to go, Furman reeled off 10 straight points to even the game at 37-37 on Tyrese Hughey’s three-point play with 10:57 to go. The Spartans answered with a 9-0 run of their own, capped by a three-point play from Ronald Polite III to restore a 46-37 advantage with under 7:30 to play.
Furman continued to face a nine-point deficit at 51-42 with under three minutes left when Nick Anderson converted on a three-point play in the paint and PJay Smith Jr. drained a triple to trim the margin to three points with two minutes on the clock. UNCG provided one final answer as Kenyon Giles hit an elbow jumper and Donovan Atwell drained a three on the following possession to push the Spartans’ lead to 56-48 and put the game out of reach with 1:10 remaining.

Giles finished with a game-high 19 points and handed out four assists while Polite added 15 points, five boards and five assists. The Spartans shot just .393 but outscored the Paladins 26-10 in the paint and managed a 9-5 advantage in second-chance points despite being out-rebounded on the offensive end 13-8.
Smith led the Paladins with 17 points on 3/8 shooting behind the arc and a 6/6 at the foul line. Anderson added 16 points and Tom House 10.
Furman compiled a 40-39 edge on the glass but hit on just 15/56 field goal attempts, including an 8/30 effort from 3-point range. The loss marked the first time in 12 games this season that Furman held the opposition below .400 shooting but came out on the losing end.
The Paladins hit the road on Wednesday night when they visit the Samford Bulldogs. Tip-off at the Pete Hanna Center is 7:30 p.m. EST.
Take a look at the stats here.

The news was no better in Cullowhee, where Tyja Beans scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Western Carolina rode a decisive second quarter on the way to a 70-57 victory over Furman in Southern Conference women’s basketball action at Ramsey Center.
The win halted a 15-game series losing skid by Western Carolina (12-14, 2-9 SoCon) versus Furman (13-13, 3-7 SoCon), whose last win against the Paladins prior to Saturday had come during the 2017 season in Cullowhee.

The Catamounts led 17-12 after one quarter and outscored Furman 16-6 in the second period to take a 33-18 lead into intermission, after which they were never threatened.
Furman, which committed 15 of its 18 turnovers in the first half to aid Western Carolina, shot just .333 percent from the field, hitting on just 20/60 shots, and also struggled at the line, downing just 15 of 28 attempts (.533). Western Carolina, meanwhile, shot .528 from the field (28/53), which helped the Catamounts overcome 27 turnovers.

Sydney Ryan and Raina McGowens led the Paladins with 11 points apiece, and Tate Walters and Jada Session finished with 10 each.
Western Carolina, which outrebounded Furman 40-34, racked up five offensive boards on their first possession of the second half before Chelsea Wooten drained a 3-pointer to give the Catamounts a 36-18 lead two minutes into the third quarter.
Take a look at the stats here.
That came on the heels of a 55-51 setback at UNCG, the SoCon leader, on Thursday.

Makiah Asidanya converted three free throws over the final 19 seconds of play at Fleming Gymnasium.
The win was the seventh straight for UNCG (18-6, 9-1 SoCon), which led 52-45 with three minutes to go before Furman (13-12, 3-6 SoCon) got three consecutive baskets from freshman guard Chantelle Stuart — the final one with 1:19 to go — to pull the Paladins to within 52-51.

Stuart, coming off a season high 14-point, nine-assist, eight-rebound performance in rlast Saturday’s 93-88 double overtime win over Wofford, finished with 15 points on 6/9 shooting.
Kate Johnson was the only other Paladin to register double figures with 10 points.
Nya Smith topped UNCG with 12 points, and Jaila Lee finished with 11.

The Spartans outscored the Paladins 15-3 from 3-point range, connecting on 5/11 treys.
Both teams shot exactly .389 percent from the field, with both hitting 21/54 shots, and battled to a near deadlock on the boards, with UNCG getting 14 rebounds from Cain. Freshman Clare Coyle paced Furman with eight rebounds.
Take a look at the stats here.

In the aftermath of my month-long hospital stay, staffing games at The Well has become logistically challenging, though I’m getting better. I’ve been thinking about going to Spartanburg for the Wofford game at regular season’s end. I might get out to a high-school playoff game or two this week.
I’m strapped financially, stemming from some medical bills that aren’t covered, a month without much income and some unexpected household expenses. If you have any interest in buying a 1996 Ford truck – six-cylinder, four-in-the floor, two-tone red and silver – contact me.

I’ve written a number of books over the years. You can find them at Amazon and other online bookseller sites.
I’ve no desire to retire. Writers don’t retire. Someone just finds them, head down on a keyboard, X’s streaming across the stream. I’ve got a novel, The Graduate Transfer, for which I’ve thus far I’ve been unable to find a publisher. It’s my 10th. My next project is rewriting it.
Thanks for putting up with me.