Greenville, S.C. – Furman men's basketball returns to action this week, November 27-28. in the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational at the State Farm Field House in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Paladins, winners of three of their last four games, open play in the Imagination Bracket on Thursday with an 11 a.m., nationally-televised matchup on ESPN2 against A10 member and former Southern Conference foe Richmond. On Friday, the Paladins will face either Charlotte or Illinois State. Friday's consolation game is set for 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+ with the championship game on ESPN2 at 3 p.m.
Fans can also listen to
Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy call the action of both games on The Fan Upstate at 97.7 FM and 1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM and 1490 AM in Spartanburg, and via the Audacy app. Links for the broadcast, live audio, and live statistics are available at FurmanPaladins.com.
Furman arrives at the Magic Kingdom with a 3-3 record following its 90-79 victory over the Queens Royals on Sunday at Timmons Arena. Freshman
Alex Wilkins, who has started all six games and averaged 16.0 points and 4.3 assists per game, paced the Paladins with 23 points while 6-foot-11 junior
Cooper Bowser added 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and a 5-for-6 effort at the foul line. Ranked 18
th in the nation with a +13.0 rebounding margin, Furman posted a 36-27 edge on the glass in its first meeting versus Queens.
Thursday's Thanksgiving morning showdown against Richmond marks the first meeting between the schools since the Spiders left the SoCon following the 1976 season. Furman holds a 34-21 series lead and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including a 97-85 decision in the most recent meeting on February 12, 1976. Furman defeated the Spiders in 1971 and 1974 SoCon Tournament finals.
Richmond enters the ESPN Events Invitational at 5-0 on the year. The Spiders claimed an 87-54 win over VMI on November 19 before topping Gardner-Webb 102-67 in their last outing on Saturday, November 22.
Charlotte comes into this week's tournament at 3-3 following an 83-79 triumph over Shaw on Sunday that snapped a three-game skid. Sophomore Ben Bradford leads the 49ers at 16.2 points per game. Charlotte holds a 5-3 lead in eight previous meetings versus Furman and captured a 77-68 victory in the most recent encounter during the 2015-16 campaign.
Illinois State is 4-2 on the year and riding a three-game winning streak after routing Coastal Carolina 94-42 on Sunday. Among the favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, the Redbirds have been led by freshman Ty'Reek Coleman's 14.5 points per game.
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