Game 17: Furman (11-5, 5-2 SoCon) vs. Wofford (11-6, 8-3 SoCon)
Saturday, February 6, 2021 – 6:00 p.m.
Timmons Arena | Greenville, S.C.
Ingles SoCon Game of the Week
GameDay Sponsor: Ingles
TV: Nexstar/CW-62/ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Upstate (97.7 FM/1330 AM Greenville, 97.1 FM/950 AM Spartanburg, Radio.com)
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com
 
FURMAN NOTABLES

• Furman, ranked No. 9 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and a SoCon-best No. 71 in the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Rankings, takes part in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week for the second straight Saturday when the Paladins host upstate rival Wofford at Timmons Arena.
• Saturday's game marks the first of three in five days for the Paladins against fellow Southern Conference contenders as Furman will host UNCG on Monday at 5 p.m. before facing the Spartans at the Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Both Furman-UNCG matchups will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
• The Southern Conference announced on Thursday that Furman's home date versus VMI, originally scheduled for Jan. 9 but postponed due to COVID testing and quarantine requirements in the Keydet program, has been rescheduled for Feb. 22 at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. 
• Last Saturday, Furman used an early 14-0 run to take control of the game and shot 68.5% in the second half en route to a 75-69 victory over Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. Redshirt-junior Noah Gurley tallied 17 points to lead five Paladins in double figures, while senior Alex Hunter totaled 16 points, four rebounds and five assists without committing a turnover. 
• Furman earned its 10^th consecutive victory over Western Carolina and its 12^th in the last 13 meetings against the Catamounts.
• The Paladins enter Saturday's contest riding a 19-game winning streak at Timmons Arena and have won 35 of the last 37 regular season contests played in the facility. Furman is 70-11 at Timmons over the last six seasons, including 40-5 versus SoCon opposition.
• Junior Mike Bothwell comes into Saturday's contest leading Furman in scoring (18.0 ppg), assists (3.3 apg) and steals per game (1.9 spg). The Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native poured in a career-high 32 points in a 78-66 win over ETSU on January 16. He has reached double figures in 22 of his last 23 games and topped 20 points five times this season.
• Head coach Bob Richey (84-30), now in his fourth year, ranks in the top 10 among active NCAA Division I coaches with a .737 winning percentage. He guided Furman to 23 victories in his first year as head coach before setting a school records with 25 wins in each of the last two seasons.
• The Paladins boast one of the most experienced starting lineups in the country with two seniors and three juniors. The lineup of senior Alex Hunter, junior Mike Bothwell, fifth-year senior Clay Mounce, redshirt-junior Noah Gurley and junior Jalen Slawson have combined to appear in 456 games and record 298 starts in the purple and white.
• Forward Noah Gurley is closing in on becoming the second Paladin this season and 47^th all-time to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The junior, who averages 14.2 points per game, scored 17 at WCU and enters Saturday's game with 959 career points.
• Clay Mounce (15.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) grabbed two rebounds in a Dec. 15 loss at Alabama to reach 500 for his career and become just the 10^th player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 150 assists in a career. Mounce currently ranks 35^th in school history with 1,168 career points.

 
Furman vs. Wofford Series

• Furman and Wofford will be meeting for the 148^th time on the hardwood with the Paladins leading the all-time series 87-60.
• Wofford has won four of the last five meetings, including two of the three encounters last season.
• During the 2019-20 regular season, Wofford claimed a 66-52 win in Spartanburg before Mike Bothwell's layup with 12.1 seconds remaining lifted the Paladins to a 67-66 victory at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in front of a crowd of more than 6,000 last February. The Terriers claimed the rubber match with a 77-68 victory over Furman in the quarterfinal round of the SoCon Men's Basketball Championship in Asheville, N.C.
• Furman has won four of the last five meetings between the schools in Greenville.

 
Up Next:
Furman vs. UNCG
Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 – 5:00 p.m.
Timmons Arena | Greenville, S.C.
TV: ESPNU
Radio: ESPN Upstate