Furman and Virginia tip-off at 12:40pm Thursday roughly 43 years since the Paladins last played in the NCAA Tournament.
The 13th-seeded Paladins, 27-7, will try to stay with a fourth-seeded ACC team, which won the national title in 2019. That victory came one year after Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers were the first-ever number one seed to fall to a number 16 seed in the tourney when the lost to UMBC in 2018.
It’ll be a battle of efficient teams as Virginia is best in the nation in assist/turnover ratio while the Paladins are 11th.
Furman led the Southern Conference in scoring with better than 80 points per game while Virginia ranks among the top 10 nationally in defensive points allowed at just over 60 per contest.
Furman practiced at the arena in Orlando Wednesday and head coach Bob Richey talked about his team and where it ranks in Paladins history.
