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Post by Clueless Fan on Jan 11, 2016 8:07:54 GMT -5
The 8-8 Paladins come to Hawkins on Thursday. According to Sagarin, the Bears are favored by 8. Furman beat UTC by 15. They play Samford tonight (Monday, January 11). From www.FurmanPaladins.com:: "Furman improved to 8-8 overall and 2-1 in the SoCon with a 70-55 triumph over preseason league favorite Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Devin Sibley paced the Paladins with 18 points, while senior Stephen Croone added 17 points and fellow senior Kendrec Ferrara blocked a season-high six shots to ignite a Furman defense that leads the league by allowing only 62.9 points per game. "With the victory, Furman snapped Chattanooga's eight-game winning streak and the Mocs' eight-game SoCon winning streak. Croone, who leads the Paladins averaging 15.6 points per game, slipped past Paladin legend Clyde Mayes and into 12th on the school's career scoring list with 1,591 points on the strength of his 17-point outing on Saturday." |
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Post by jackal on Jan 11, 2016 8:59:24 GMT -5
Hoping for a good game. May even make the drive over.
Furman is a young team. Play a lot of true freshmen. Started to show that they can play with anyone in this conference (as the run through the tourney last season and double digit win over UTC would indicate).
The Paladins are still trying to learn to put together consecutive strong performances, as to this point they will typically back up a strong effort with a weak one. They have also struggled on the road, which will certainly play to Mercer's advantage. When we've looked good, we've looked really good. When we've looked bad, we've looked really bad.
I imagine the UTC win did a lot for the team's confidence. We will see if that translates against Samford.
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Post by jackal on Jan 12, 2016 12:30:16 GMT -5
Furman beats Samford in Greenville by 20. Mercer beat them by 19 in Macon.
Quite a big game for both Furman and Mercer. Both are tied for second in this early part of the conference. Furman needs to prove they can win away from Timmons Arena.
The game will feature the league's two best defensive and rebounding teams. I anticipate a physical game under the boards. If Furman can keep it close in the first half, it will probably come down to which team finds its shooting stroke the fastest.
Big matchup in this one (to me) is with Stephon Jelks against Furman's rotation of Acox, Ferara, and Rafferty.
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Furman
Jan 12, 2016 13:04:26 GMT -5
Post by orangeandblack on Jan 12, 2016 13:04:26 GMT -5
Huge game with Furman surging up the standings.
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Furman
Jan 12, 2016 13:07:47 GMT -5
Post by jackal on Jan 12, 2016 13:07:47 GMT -5
Huge game with Furman surging up the standings. Been nice to see. Unlike Mercer, Furman has a bit of a tortured history in men's basketball. To see this team beat two respectable conference opponents by double digits in back to back games has been a treat. It does make the last two road losses (UNC-G and UNC-A), both of which were lost on last second shots, all the more painful. |
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 12:54:01 GMT -5
Post by Clueless Fan on Jan 14, 2016 12:54:01 GMT -5
The all time series with Furman stands at 9 - 9. And in light of what happened last year at the SoCon tourney, I would expect the Bears to be ready for the surging Paladins. Should be a good game.
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 16:26:02 GMT -5
Post by jackal on Jan 14, 2016 16:26:02 GMT -5
The all time series with Furman stands at 9 - 9. And in light of what happened last year at the SoCon tourney, I would expect the Bears to be ready for the surging Paladins. Should be a good game. Oh, I don't think Mercer is looking past this one. Not a lot of extra motivation needed for a home game facing the team that pulled the upset you and bounced you from the post-season tournament last meeting. |
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 19:42:46 GMT -5
Post by BearDownMU on Jan 14, 2016 19:42:46 GMT -5
Hot start for the Bears.
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 19:46:58 GMT -5
Post by BearDownMU on Jan 14, 2016 19:46:58 GMT -5
Wow! Opportunity for the rare 4 point play. Jelks is a beast.
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 20:09:38 GMT -5
Post by BearDownMU on Jan 14, 2016 20:09:38 GMT -5
The almost like clockwork run we give up at the beginning of 2nd halves. So frustrating.
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 20:27:58 GMT -5
Post by BearDownMU on Jan 14, 2016 20:27:58 GMT -5
We are getting out-rebounded and it is pissing me off.
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 20:58:50 GMT -5
Post by BearDownMU on Jan 14, 2016 20:58:50 GMT -5
Sheesh. That shouldn't have been that stressful.
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Furman
Jan 14, 2016 21:35:57 GMT -5
Post by jackal on Jan 14, 2016 21:35:57 GMT -5
Good game Bears. Proud of the Paladins tonight. Could have folded up the tents on the road after a bad first half, but certainly came out of the half with some fire.
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Furman
Jan 15, 2016 7:35:45 GMT -5
Post by Clueless Fan on Jan 15, 2016 7:35:45 GMT -5
No question about Furman being one of the top four teams in the SoCon.
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Furman
Jan 15, 2016 7:55:48 GMT -5
Post by jackal on Jan 15, 2016 7:55:48 GMT -5
No question about Furman being one of the top four teams in the SoCon. Long way to go yet. This past week has been encouraging for the future, though. |
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