Furman and ETSU Rekindle an Old SoCon Rivalry in CollegeInsider Tourney

Opening Tip

For the first time since the 1990-91 season, Furman finds itself as a part of an NCAA postseason other than the Southern Conference tournament. The Paladins participated in the NIT back in the 1990-91 season, facing West Virginia in an opening round contest, but dropped an 86-67 decision to the Mountaineers in Morganton.

Interestingly enough, it was also Furman’s last 20-win season, as The Paladins tied its Collegeinsider.com first-round foe, East Tennessee State, for the 1990-91 regular-season Southern Conference basketball title.

It was a Feb. 11, 103-94, upset win over the 10th-ranked Buccaneers that allowed the Paladins to ultimately claim a share of the 1990-91 Southern Conference title.

East Tennessee State, now a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference after being asked to leave the Southern Conference after dropping football, is making its third-straight postseason appearance.

The Bucs were a Southern Conference basketball power, winning six Southern Conference tournament titles and seven regular-season conference titles before leaving the league after the 2004-05 season.

Since joining the Atlantic Sun, the Buccaneers have continued that tradition-rich success, as ETSU has won two A-Sun tourney titles (2009 and ‘10) and one regular-season title (2006-07) since joining the league for the 2005-06 season.

Furman has not met East Tennessee State on the hardwood since the Bucs left the league in 2005. The two former SoCon rivals will be meeting for the 47th time on Tuesday night, with the all-time series tied, 23-23. East Tennessee State has won three of the last four meetings between the two, including a thrilling 87-84 decision back in the 2004-05 SoCon tournament, upsetting the higher seeded Paladins.

East Tennessee State finished the regular-season as one of the top teams in the Atlantic Sun this season, as the Buccaneers posted their fifth 20-win season in the past eight seasons under head coach Murry Bartow.

Bartow saw the Buccaneers finish the 2010-11 season with their highest RPI (91) since they were a Southern Conference member in 2003-04, when the Bucs finished with a 27-6 record, including going 18-1 against Southern Conference competition in their second-to-last season as a SoCon member. The Bucs gained that high RPI by posting some impressive wins in the non-conference, going on the road to defeat the Dayton Flyers (73-68) and SEC West member Mississippi State (63-62).

Against Atlantic Sun competition, including the postseason tournament, where the Buccaneers made it to the semifinals, ETSU posted a 17-5 record. The Bucs lost twice to NCAA Tournament qualifier Belmont, as ETSU surrendered their lone defeat on its home floor, 72-62 to the Bruins.

The Bucs also lost a tightly-contested road contest at Belmont’s Curb Arena, dropping a 68-58 decision. They have faced two Southern Conference foes this season, going 1-1 against the league. The Bucs got a resounding 79-51 win against mountain rival Appalachian State in the Cancun Governor’s Cup on Christmas Eve, while dropping a 79-59 decision to College of Charleston on Dec. 7.

Furman played only one Atlantic Sun opponent this season, facing the North Florida Ospreys back on Dec. 18, as the Paladins took a 60-49 win back to Greenville after its trip to Jacksonville, FL.

Interestingly enough, it was those same Ospreys that ended ETSU’s bid to make a third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, as the Bucs dropped a 59-55 decision to North Florida in the semifinal round of the Atlantic Sun Tournament.

Another common opponent the two have this season is Northeastern. Furman faced the Huskies as a part of the University of Central Florida Tournament, taking down the Huskies with a 75-62 win in Orlando back on Dec. 30.

Meanwhile, ETSU faced the same Northeastern Huskies squad in the Cancun Governor’s Cup just about a week before the Paladins went toe-to-toe with the Huskies, but the Bucs dropped a 77-67 decision to NU.

Furman won a school-record 11 games away from Greenville this season, while East Tennessee State went 11-1 at the MHSA Athletic Complex this season. It will be Furman’s 23rd game all-time inside the mini-dome, and the Paladins are .500 all time in the facility, including posting a 76-68 win in their last visit to the facility back on Jan. 8, 2005.

Furman has just one postseason victory in the history of its program, knocking off the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first round of 1973-74 NCAA Tournament, with a 75-67 win. The Paladins are 1-8 all-time in the post-season, while being 0-1 in Non-NCAA post-season tournaments.

A Look Back At A Few Of The Memorable Matchups Between Furman and ETSU 

2003-04: East Tennessee State 69, Furman 68 (Greenville, S.C.)

Brief Recap:

Furman would open its home Southern Conference slate with preseason favorite East Tennessee State inside the friendly confines of Timmons Arena, but despite leading for most of the evening, the Paladins couldn’t overcome the league favorites, as dynamic point guard Tim Smith handed Furman a 69-68 heartbreaking loss.

Smith posted 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, including a game-winning, acrobatic lay-up with only four seconds remaining in the game. Smith scored the final four points of the contest to help the Bucs pull out a win in a game that saw the two teams combine for 40 turnovers (22 FU, 18 ETSU).

The Bucs overcame a 29-28 halftime deficit, which saw the Bucs connect on just 34 percent of their opening half shots from the field, to shoot 54 percent in the second half to get the win.

 

2003-04: East Tennessee State 94, Furman 84 (North Charleston Coliseum, SoCon Tourney)

Brief Recap:

In one of the most-exciting tournament games of the 2003-04 Southern Conference Tournament, eventual SoCon Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant East Tennessee State was pushed to the limit by a young, explosive Furman team, but the Bucs were able to hold on for a 94-84 SoCon quarterfinal win at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The top-seeded Bucs found themselves in a first-half shootout with Furman freshman sharp-shooter Eric Webb, who seemed to connect on everything he threw up in the opening stanza.

In fact, Webb, who finished with a game-high 28 points, connected on six triples in the opening half to help Furman to a 49-47 halftime lead. It was ETSU sophomore point guard Tim Smith, who was at the controls of the ETSU offense, as he scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists and had four steals to lead four Bucs in double figures.

Southern Conference Player of the Year Zakee Wadood (Lonoke, Ark.) turned in a 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, 3 steal performance. He also blocked two shots, making him East Tennessee State’s all-time leader in that category. Wadood passed Greg Dennis with his 175th swat. ETSU needed all the help they could get to negate the performance of Furman’s Webb. 

2004-05: East Tennessee State 87, Furman 84 (Chattanooga, Tenn., SoCon Tourney)

Brief Recap:

It was the last meeting between the Buccaneers and Paladins, and ETSU was able to come away with an 87-84 win over the higher seeded Paladins. The Bucs got a game-high 37 points from Southern Conference Player of the Year Tim Smith to get the win.

Smith powered the ETSU offense to a 45-40 halftime advantage, connecting on 9-of-15 shots in the opening half to account for 21 of the Bucs’ points in the opening stanza. In the second half, the fifth-seeded Buccaneers would build their lead to as much as 11 points, at 72-61, with 9:11 remaining in the contest.

However, the Paladins charged back into the contest and wouldn’t go down without a fight, as the Paladins rode the shoulders of sophomore guard Robby Bostain. Bostain and senior transfer forward Ben Earle combined to lead the Paladins’ outside shooting efforts to quickly get Furman back into the game.

Bostain scored all of his 16 points in the second half of the tournament thriller, while Earle connected on three of his four triples in the contest in the second half. With the score 76-74 in favor of the Bucs, Earle’s second three of the half gave Furman its only lead of the game at 77-76.

It was then that Smith came through again. With the shot clock winding down, Smith seemed to be trapped in the corner and threw up a desperation 3-pointer that found its mark. While Furman senior Nicholas Sanders tied the game once more at 79-79 with a tip-in at the 2:30 mark, the Bucs went on to outscore Furman 8-5 the rest of the way to take the win.

Bostain took a running 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot did not find its mark.

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS

East Tennessee State is a team that enters the tournament still trying to get to 100 percent, but they are a team that many feel are a better outfit than the one that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season.

The Bucs enter Tuesday's collegeinsider.com tournament with a strong defensive squad, but are a team that has struggled on the offensive end of the court this season. The Bucs have a had a guard-oriented lineup this season, centered around a trio of senior backcourt veterans, with two of those players averaging double figures for the Buccaneers.

Leading the way in scoring for the Bucs this season has been senior guard Mike Smith (17.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG). Smith is a player that can score in a variety of different ways, but he is most effective as a slashing type guard that can get into the lane and create things off the dribble.

Smith is also an effective perimeter shooter for the Bucs, as he ranks second on the Bucs’ roster in three-pointers made this season, having knocked down 45 triples so far this season. He is shooting 36.6 percent from three-point land this season, having connected on 45-of-123 attempts.

Smith has had some outstanding games for the Bucs this season, with a 29-point performance in ETSU’s 80-57 win over North Florida on Feb. 13 at the MHSA Athletic Center. Smith also ranks second on the team in assists, having dished out 62 dimes this season, averaging 1.9 helpers per contest.

Smith has also been a menace on the defensive end of the floor for the Bucs this season, and his 15 blocked shots rank second on the squad. He has led the Bucs in scoring the past two times out, scoring 24 points in ETSU’s A-Sun quarterfinal win over Campbell, while posting 24 points in the Bucs’ 59-55 semifinal loss to North Florida.

Smith had some outstanding double-double performances this season, posting a 20-point, 16-rebound effort in ETSU’s 79-51 win over Appalachian State in the Cancun Governor’s Cup, while posting 20 points and 20 boards in an 84-65 win over Florida Gulf Coast.

Joining Smith as a solid backcourt presence for the Bucs on Tuesday night will be seniors Justin Tubbs (9.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG) and Micah Williams (14.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG). Tubbs is one of the best athletes the Paladins have seen or will see this season. The 6'3" guard is the team’s most prolific three-point shooter, as he has connected on a team-standard 62 triples this season.

Tubbs posted his best performance of the 2010-11 season in ETSU’s road win at Dayton earlier this season, as he posted 26 points and posted eight boards in helping the Bucs post the upset win.

Tubbs gave the nation a glimpse of his athleticism in the regular-season loss to Belmont at the MHSA Athletic Center, as he had a 360-degree dunk in the contest, which was featured on ESPN’s "Top Ten Plays" and was the No. 1 play of the day. Though Tubbs leads the Bucs in shooting from the perimeter, he is hitting only 35 percent from long-range this season, having connected on just 62 of his 177 attempts coming in.

The Bucs’ second-leading scorer is Micah Williams, who is yet another senior in the ETSU backcourt. The 6'4", 220-pound guard has good size and is strong. He comes into the matchup with the Paladins as the team’s second-leading shooter from the perimeter, having connected on 54 triples this season, and is shooting 36 percent (54-of-150) this season.

Williams has had several strong performances for the Bucs this season and posted a season-high 27 points in the Bucs’ win at Lipscomb (102-95) on Feb. 19. Like Smith, Williams has the ability to score, block shots, rebound and pick up steals for the Bucs. Like Tubbs, Williams is an excellent athlete, possessing the ability to finish strong in traffic at the rim.

Williams proved his worth as both a scorer and rebounder in the Bucs’ 66-61 regular-season win at North Florida, as he nearly posted a double-double with 19 points and eight boards. Williams is a tough matchup because of his quickness and strength in the backcourt, and keeping him off the offensive boards will be paramount for the Paladins on Tuesday night.

Rounding out the four-guard offfense for ETSU is junior Adam Sollazzo (8.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG). Sollazzo is ETSU’s best "scrapper" and he’s a player that is excellent on the defensive end of the floor. Sollazzo comes into the contest leading the team with 43 steals on the season and he will likely draw the assignment of checking Furman’s most-talented player and scorer on Tuesday night, in Amu Saaka.

Sollazzo isn’t a player that is going to beat teams with his offensive ability or his perimeter scoring, however, his best offensive asset is his ability to penetrate and create scoring opportunities off the dribble. That is given credence by the fact that Sollazzo has shot a team-standard 160 free throws this season, and he comes in shooting 65 percent (104-of-160) from the charity stripe this season. Sollazzo enjoyed a career-high effort in ETSU’s Jan. 8 win over Florida Gulf Coast, as he scored 20 points.

Rounding out the starters for the Bucs will be Isiah Brown (10.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG). Brown is the one true post player in the lineup for the Bucs, and he’s a player that is a good athlete with good size, at 6'8", 210 pounds.

Brown is the team’s leading rebounder and third-leading scorer. He comes into the CIT opener for the Bucs having posted some solid performances for ETSU this season. Brown opened the season in style, as he scored a career-high 25 points and 14 rebounds in the season-opening loss to Kentucky (88-65).

Brown has been huge on the boards for the Bucs this season, and he enters the Tuesday night contest with the Paladins having led the Bucs on the backboards in 17 games this season, including posting double-digit rebound efforts in eight games. His 14 rebounds against the Wildcats represents a season-high.

On the defensive end of the floor, Brown has 67 blocked shots this season, which ranks him third on the school’s list. ETSU has four players it utilizes off the bench. The Bucs have gotten good minutes out of J.C. Ward and (1.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG) and Sheldon Cooley (4.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG) off the bench this season.

Ward, a 6-6, 230-pound sophomore gives the Bucs support off of the bench, while Cooley is a solid presence in the backcourt for the Bucs. Ward had his most productive outing of the season in a win over Florida Gulf Coast, scoring eight points in an ETSU win. Cooley is ETSU’s top scoring presence off the bench, and he enjoyed a career-high 12 points in the Dec. 7 loss at College of Charleston.

Forwards Lukas Poderis (1.4 PPG,1.5 RPG) and Curtis Wilkinson (2.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG) could also see action for the Bucs on Tuesday night as reserves. As a team, the Bucs are averaging 69.0 PPG, while holding opponents to 63.7 PPG. The Bucs are shooting the ball at a 45 percent clip as a team on the season.

SCOUTING THE PALADINS

Furman is making its first post-season appearance in 20 years and like ETSU, the Paladins have been able to produce a 20-win season as a result of relying on senior leadership. With a win on Tuesday night, the Paladins could tie a school-record for wins in a season with 23, accomplished 30 years ago when the Paladins completed the 1989-90 season with a 23-7 record.

Furman, which starts four seniors, had one of the best individual players in the Southern Conference this season, in senior swingman Amu Saaka (16.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG). Saaka was the only team in the SoCon to rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding this season, and he is an explosive athlete that makes the Paladins’ offense go, either scoring the basketball or dishing it off.

For his efforts in Chattanooga a week-and-a-half ago, Saaka garnered second-team All-SoCon Tournament honors to go along with his first-team All-SoCon status, which he was elected to both the coaches and media’s first team.

Saaka is a tremendous athlete and has stepped up and had some huge games for the Paladins this season, as the Decatur, GA., product posted two 30-point performances in wins over Appalachian State (31 pts.) and Chattanooga (30 pts.) this season. Saaka has scored in double figures in 27 games this season, and Furman is 10-2 in games in which Saaka has scored 20 or more points in this season.

The only two teams to defeat Furman when Saaka has scored 20 or more points in a game this season are College of Charleston and Kent State. Saaka is also Furman’s most-prolific perimeter shooter coming into Tuesday night’s contest at the MHSA Athletic Center, as he has connected on 50 triples so far this season.

Furman has four players that have connected on 30 or more three-point field goals this season. Joining Saaka underneath the basket will be Noah States (10.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG), who ended the season leading the SoCon in three-point field goal shooting percentage.

States is another athletic, versatile scoring threat for the Paladins. He has also been strong on the boards this season for the Paladins, ranking second on the team in rebounding this season. States is connecting on a blistering 47.1% (41-of-87) from three-point range this season.

States was bothered by back spasms in the SoCon tournament, and missed the entire quarterfinal matchup against Chattanooga. States enjoyed a career-high performance towards the end of the season in a regular-season setback to the Mocs, finishing with 20 points.

Junior forward Brandon Sebirumbi (7.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG), who’s the only underclassman in the starting five for the Paladins, rounds out the frontcourt. One thing that plagued Sebirumbi towards the end of the season and especially during the Southern Conference Tournament is staying out of foul trouble.

Sebirumbi has been sensational when he gets the ball close to the basket this season, connecting on 60.6 percent (83-of-137) of his field goal attempts. Sebirumbi enjoyed his top game of the 2010-11 season against North Florida and he scored a season-high 16 points in the 60-49 SoCon Tournament win.

The Furman backcourt is also highlighted by a couple of veterans that have helped the Paladins post one of its best seasons in program history. Leading the way for the Furman backcourt have been senior point guard Darryl Evans (8.9 PPG, 3.5 APG) and senior shooting guard Jordan Miller (11.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG).

Evans, a former walk-on point guard, has been huge for the Paladins in his senior season. The Spartanburg, S.C., native willed the Paladins to a couple of huge wins this season, including wins against Davidson and South Carolina. In the win over the Wildcats, Evans contributed a career-high 24 points, while he had an outstanding all-around effort in Furman’s 91-75 win over the Gamecocks, as he scored 11 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists and recorded three steals.

Evans’ quickness off the dribble has given opponents supreme struggles this season. Evans currently ranks fifth in the SoCon in assist/turnover ratio (3.5:2.0/1.5 margin). Evans is also an outstanding perimeter shooter, entering the contest with 36 triples on the season.

Evans is shooting 36.4 percent (36-of-99) from three-point range this season. Miller rounds out the starting five for the Paladin and had hit a major slump heading into the Southern Conference Tournament.

In five of his previous six games entering the league’s post-season tournament Miller, who’s Furman’s second-leading scorer, had failed to score in double figures. However, Miller would respond in a major way in the SoCon Tournament, scoring in double figures in all three games, including leading Furman’s scoring efforts in all three games.

He averaged 18.3 PPG in the three tournament games en route to earning second-team All-SoCon Tournament honors. He led all scorers in Furman’s first two games, posting 23 points in the 61-48 win over Samford and posted 21 points as Furman ousted tournament host Chattanooga, 61-52, in the SoCon quarterfinals.

Miller is also shooting the ball well from three-point range this season, entering Tuesday night’s CIT opener ranking second on the team with 44 made three-point field goals this season. Miller is also Furman’s best "lock-down" defender. He has 20 steals and 14 blocked shots to highlight his defensive efforts for the Paladins this season.

One of the reasons Furman has been able to sustain its success over the duration of the 2010-11 season is its tremendous depth, as the Paladins can go as deep as 11 players. The top performers off the bench for the Paladins are senior guard Justin Dehm (6.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG) and sophomore post presence Colin Reddick (5.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG).

Dehm has been one of the best pure perimeter shooters and best role players in Furman basketball history. Dehm has scored 1,042-career points and his 212-career three-pointers rank him second to only Eric Webb in that category in school history.

Freshman guard Richard Brown (0.8 PPG, 0.9 APG), junior forward Bryson Barnes (2.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG), sophomore forward Charlie Reddick (2.0 PPG, 1.4 RPG) and junior center Chris Toler (2.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG) add even more depth off the bench for the Paladins. Barnes and Reddick are two of the best athletes on the roster and both add a shot-blocking presence when on the floor for the Paladins.

Coming into Tuesday night’s game, Furman leads the SoCon in scoring defense (64.0 PPG) and field goal percentage defense (42.1 percent). Offensively, the Paladins are averaging 69.0 PPG and are shooting the ball at a 44.8 percent clip this season. The Paladins rank third in the SoCon in free throw shooting, connecting at a 73.0 percent clip.

FINAL PREDICTION

ETSU and Furman offers a chance for Southern Conference fans and fans of both schools alike to take a trip back into the old SoCon basketball rivalry that was at one time, one of the best in the league. A statistical peek at both teams will show the teams nearly dead even in every major statistical category and both teams rely heavily on their respective senior classes.

This game will likely come down to the wire, but the difference will be Furman’s size and free throw shooting.