Could it be?
Is it possible?
Is there really any chance at all that Wofford catches Davidson in the South Division race?
Davidson, presumed to be the South Division champ for the last several weeks, suddenly has a loss to Samford. Then Wofford beat College of Charleston and Georgia Southern. Suddenly, the Wildcats are up just one and a half games on the Terriers. A loss to Furman would push the lead down to just one game.
That's not to say that this game is meaningless to Furman. After all, since the Paladins pulled off the shocker over College of Charleston last Thursday, they suddenly find themselves just two games out of the bye in the South. A win would put them right in the race for the bye, and certainly put them in contention for the third seed against Georgia Southern. College of Charleston is hot on their tail too- just one half game back. So this game is critical to the Paladins seeding opportunities in the coming weeks as well.
Furman has won four out of five, losing just at home to Wofford by seven during that stretch. They have a very good defensive team. In January SoCon play, just once have they allowed more than 66 points. The Paladins defense is what keeps them in games.
The reason that I have been down on the Paladins in recent weeks is that they don't really have an offensive star. When they are in a deep rut, they have no one to really turn to for that critical basket. That makes them a team that could go into a deep dry spell and be beaten. They are capable of winning games with the strength of their defense, though.
For example, the Paladins had three players in double figures against The Citadel in their win over the Bulldogs over the weekend. Colin Reddick scored 12, Charlie Reddick scored 11, and Brandon Sebirumbi scored 10. Bobby Austin scored 9, Bryson Barnes 8, and Jordan Lloyd 7. In other words, they were a very balanced group, but there is no stand out player.
Sebirumbi leads the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and rebounds with 5.3 boards per contest. He is shooting about 53% from the floor. Charlie Reddick is the second leading scorer with 10.1 points per game, and second in rebounding with 4.9. He is also the leading three point shooter at 39.4% from behind the arc. He also leads the team in steals with 1.1 per game. Bobby Austin averages 1.7 assists per game.
On the other hand, Davidson is a tremendous offensive team. De'Mon Brooks is averaging 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Jake Cohen is averaging 14.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Nik Cochran averages 11.8 points and 3.3 assists per game. Tom Droney averages 2.7 assists per game.
Davidson is a very good offensive team. Brooks and Cohen both are very good shooters. But, over the last two games against Chattanooga and Samford, the Wildcats have seen their post players double teamed. They have been daring the Wildcats to shoot from long range, and they have not been successful doing it. So, Brooks and Cohen either need to come up with a way to score out of the double team, or against the zone, or the shooters need to start hitting shots. Can they hit shots on the road?
Davidson shot nearly 53% from the floor in their 86-65 win over Furman back in December. Cohen and JP Kuhlman scored 16 points. Brooks and Cochran scored 15 points. Chriz Czerapowicz scored 13 points. They also won the battle of the boards. Sebirumbi was held scoreless in twelve minutes. Bryant Irwin scored 21 points, which was the most points he has scored all year in a game. He has been up and down throughout the season, having scored 14 against College of Charleston in 29 minutes, before scoring two against The Citadel in twelve minutes.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. Davidson is the better rebounding team and needs to have a good night on the boards against the Paladins.
--Figuring it out. Davidson needs to figure out how to score with Brooks and Cohen being a heavy point of emphasis for the defense.
--Sebirumbi. He was held scoreless against Davidson the first time around. That's not a way for the Paladins to win. He needs to have a solid game to offset Brooks and Cohen.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--The Paladins will be much more competitive than they were against Davidson in December.
--Cohen and Brooks will play significantly better than they have the last two games.
--Sebirumbi will get into double digits this time.
--Davidson 69, Furman 62. The Wildcats are the better team and are hungry for the win after the deflating loss to Samford. But the Paladins home court and defense are good enough to keep this game close. The problem is that they don't have the offensive firepower to get this done at this point. Wildcats win a close one.
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