By MONTE DUTTON

Furman must go into Friday night’s game against Connecticut with illogical expectations. A cynic would call it delusions of grandeur.

The Paladins must believe they are going to win. Period. There’s no other way. When Furman hits the Xfinity Mobile Arena floor, every corner of the mind must believe in victory with an evangelical zeal.

It still might not work. UConn (29-5) carries with it a heritage of national championships in 2024 and 2025. The former was over San Diego State, the school that eliminated Furman right after the Paladins upset Virginia.

Furman (22-12) must keep its fingers on the game’s pulse. A single lapse could be catastrophic

It struck me Wednesday night that Miami of Ohio played the game Furman must put on the dance floor against UConn. SMU is no UConn. The ACC was 0-2 in the play-ins. The Paladins must use all the considerable resources cultivated during their injury plague. Ball movement stampeded the Mustangs.

Dan Hurley didn’t get where he is by looking past opponents. I expect the Huskies will target Alex Wilkins and try to bring out his impetuosity at the expense of his virtuosity. They will play Frustrate the Freshman. They know how good he is. They will physically challenge Cooper Bowser inside. That puts some pressure on his twin tower, Charles Johnston, to mix it up with the UConn, which already boasts the depth Furman has recently acquired.

The Paladins were sharpshooters in Asheville, surging from beyond the arc and at the foul line.

Bob Richey took great satisfaction in saying, “People said we couldn’t shoot free throws.” That’s because for much of the season, they couldn’t. They rose to the occasion on a larger stage. Now they must do it again on the largest.

And as expressed by the late relief pitcher Tug McGraw, “Ya Gotta Believe!”

Conversations in Asheville led me to believe that almost no one without a purplish outlook expects Wilkins to return to Furman next year. It sort of reminds me of the time of Zion Williamson’s recruitment, when almost no one outside of South Carolina expected him to sign with anyone other than Duke or North Carolina.

Wilkins and Richey are close. Money usually talks, but is Wilkins better off buried deep in an elite rotation or having Richey and staff oversee his development further? Big money now may leave him starring in Uzbekistan instead of, oh, Boston.

My view is undoubtedly purplish.

Richey has evolved as a coach by adjusting, somewhat miraculously, to the changes that have revolutionized the sport. References to words like “fun” and “joy” have entered his vocabulary. Nothing is more fun than winning.

Great upsets often involve the heavy favorite trying to destroy the opposition rather than just winning the game. The longer the Paladins stay in the game, the more antsy the opposition. Connecticut cannot help but underestimate a school of which many of its players have never heard. Sometimes an athlete tells himself he’d better be ready, and his psyche just doesn’t buy it.

Arrogance is a double-edged sword.

In the absence of baseball, let’s hit a few high points with the remaining spring sports.

Olivia Hasselbach is Southern Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week. The Paladins competed at the Valspar Augusta Invitational on Saturday and Sunday in Augusta, Ga, where Hasselbach tied for third after posting rounds of 69-72-72 to finish the tournament 3‑under-par. Furman, the only non-Power 4 team among the top five finishers, placed second in the 17-team field.

Junior Walker Allen clinched a Paladin victory on Tuesday afternoon as men’s tennis team claimed a 5-2 Southern Conference win at Mercer. The Paladins remain undefeated in the SoCon, improving to 5-10 overall and 2-0 in conference. Mercer falls to 4-10 on the season and 0-2 in the league. Furman swept the doubles point and won at Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 6.
Freshman Kristyn Embler tossed a complete game in the circle and belted a grand slam in game two as Furman (5-22) earned a doubleheader split versus USC Upstate at Pepsi Stadium.

Upstate won the opener, 11-8, with a seven-run fifth inning.

Furman bounced back in the nightcap with 14 runs in five innings to down USC Upstate, 14-2, via the mercy rule. Furman opens SoCon play this weekend when it travels to Cullowhee, N.C., for a three-game series against Western Carolina.

Ludvig Josefsson (E) tied for 22nd Tuesday to lead the Paladins at the Michael A. Marino Classic, which was held at the The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach.

N.C. State (-15) won the tournament by four shots over No. 33 Louisville (-11), while Charleston (-3) and Coastal Carolina (-3) tied for third. The Paladins (+28) finished 16th.  

Furman will play at the Hootie at Bulls Bay, March 22-24, in Awendaw.

Allie Kandel is Big South Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week. A native of Wilbraham, Mass., Kandel paced the Paladin offense in a pair of non-conference games last week against Mass Lowell and Quinnipiac. After not scoring a goal in the first six games of the season, she netted a team-high 13 to lead Furman while combining for nine draws, three ground balls, and one caused turnover.
Freshman midfielder Ayla Moffitt has been named to Team Peru for the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, which will be held July 7-19 in Wroclaw, Poland. A native of Winter Park, Fla., Moffitt played for Peru at the 2025 Pan American Games in Auburndale, Fla.

Head volleyball coach Michelle Young has Morgan Baldridge, Tiffany Helmer and Olivia Peterson. The three are from the states of Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

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