COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON at FURMAN
When: Thursday at 7 p.m.
Where: Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.
Records: College of Charleston 9-5, 2-0 SoCon; Furman 9-3, 2-0.
Heading into this game … The Cougars spanked Tennessee by 13 points in Knoxville but then fell by 20 at Morehead State. Furman has won seven of its last eight games and beat Northeastern and UVA-Wise in its last two.
The Cougars win if … Guards Andrew Goudelock and Donovan Monroe hit their 3-pointers. Charleston shot 56 percent from the arc against the Vols but only 24.1 percent against Morehead State.
The Paladins win if … Senior forward Amu Saaka dominates. Furman’s best player can single-handedly lead the Paladins to victory if he’s driving the lane, getting to the line and hitting just a couple of jumpers.
The X-factor is … Furman senior guard Justin Dehm, who comes off the bench and provides an outside punch for the Paladins. He’s shooting 48.9 percent from the 3-point line this season.
DEEP THREE
1. Tourney tickets coming – The Southern Conference tournament returns to McKenzie Arena beginning with first-round women’s games on March 4. SoCon associate commissioner Geoff Cabe said Tuesday that tickets will be available for purchase later this week. Prices are $75 for a tournament book including all men’s and women’s games, or $15 for a single-session pass. Tickets will be available through each SoCon school and the UTC/McKenzie Arena ticket office. He did not know if scalpers would be holding tickets. “Scalpers would be a good problem to have,” Cabe joked.
2. Southern pups – Georgia Southern coach Charlton Young endured a difficult November with no Division I wins, a sad December with one Division I win and just a handful of players because of injuries and inexperience.”We have pups, which makes us closer to a high school all-star team than a Division I team,” Young said. “The best thing for us is for the calendar to flip over every day so we get older and wiser.”
3. Cremins confused – College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins may have been a little confused after the Cougars won Friday at Tennessee. He said he couldn’t look ahead to SoCon competition because Charleston needed to stay in state and play Morehead State. The Cougars lost 69-49 at the Kentucky school, and the confusion must have lingered. “We had to stay in state and play a good Morehead team,” Cremins said Tuesday.
Upcoming men’s schedule
Today’s Games
• Appalachian State at Davidson, 7 p.m.
• Western Carolina at Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
• North Carolina State vs. Elon, 7 p.m.
Thursday’s Games
• The Citadel at Wofford, 7 p.m.
• Charleston at Furman, 7 p.m.
• Samford at UNC Greensboro, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
• Davidson at Western Carolina, noon
• Samford at Elon, 2 p.m.
• UTC at UNC Greensboro, 2 p.m.
• Georgia Southern at Appalachian State, 2 p.m.
• The Citadel at Furman, 7 p.m.
• Charleston at Wofford, 7 p.m.