Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's basketball team is scheduled to take part in the 16-team, three-bracket Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational in November at Walt Disney World Resort, it was announced on Wednesday morning by ESPN Events.
 
The Paladins will play in the tournament's Imagination Bracket, which also includes Charlotte, Illinois State, and Richmond. The Imagination Bracket semifinals will be held Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, at State Farm Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. The championship game and consolation game will take place on Friday, November 28.
 
Furman is coming off a 25-10 season that saw the Paladins advance to the championship game of the Southern Conference Men's Basketball Championship prior to earning an at-large bid to the NIT. The Paladins, under the leadership of ninth-year head coach Bob Richey, will return five players with starting experience, including Cooper Bowser, Ben VanderWal, Eddrin Bronson, Tom House, and Charles Johnston.
 
Charlotte and Furman have met eight times on the hardwood, but the Paladins and 49ers have not clashed since the 2015-16 season. Furman holds a 34-21 series edge against former SoCon rival Richmond, but all 55 previous meetings were held prior to the Spiders exit from the league after the 1975-76 season. The Paladins and Illinois State Redbirds, members of the Missouri Valley Conference, have not met before on the hardwood.
 
November's Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational will also include the Magic Bracket (BYU, Dayton, Georgetown, and Miami) and the Adventure Bracket (Bradley, Liberty, Princeton, Rhode Island, Temple, Towson, UC San Diego, and Vermont). The eight-team Adventure Bracket will take the court on November 24-26 while the Magic Bracket will play November 27-28.
 
Fans can sign up for first access to pre-sale tickets at the ESPN Events Invitational website. Tickets will go on sale later this summer in conjunction with the bracket and schedule releases.
 
About ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2024-25 academic year, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
 
About Terry's Chocolate
Terry's Chocolate is more than a chocolate, it's an experience. Tap it, unwrap it and enjoy it: this ritual has been tempting the United Kingdom since 1926 and has become popular in the U.S. market with several million balls sold each year. This unique and interactive format has made the Terry's Chocolate a must-have Christmas stocking-stuffer and the perfect token gift all year round. Terry's, time to have a blast!
 
About ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, located at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, is the home of Disney Soccer and Disney Spring Training and one of the premier sites for amateur sports in the nation. The complex hosts dozens of events each year and has accommodated 70 different sports featuring athletes from 70 different countries. Designed to provide professional, amateur and youth athletes with experiences synonymous with the names Disney and ESPN, the 220-acre facility features multiple competition venues, including 16 baseball/softball fields; a 9,500-seat stadium; a state-of-the-art indoor arena in addition to two field houses for basketball, volleyball, eSports and other indoor sports; and 17 multi-purpose outdoor fields for soccer, football and field hockey. The complex also contains a professional production center that produces content for the Disney family of networks for global distribution. For more information, visit www.disneysportsnews.com for news releases, photos and videos and www.espnwwos.com for the latest calendar of events.