Wichita State vs Furman Paladins Pregame

[SHOXAAC]

The Furman board is very, very respectful of our Shockers. They also like our analysis and think our fan base is very knowledgeable (I'm sure they are referring to my breakdown of why Mit will struggle on defense...just sayin).

[shockerfan]

The Furman board is very, very respectful of our Shockers. They also like our analysis and think our fan base is very knowledgeable (I'm sure they are referring to my breakdown of why Mit will struggle on defense...just sayin).

Lol yep. It was probably your breakdown that did it ;P . You did hit the nail on the head with that one! I will give ya that!

I have enjoyed reading their forum and learning more about them as well. Always a fun thing to do during this time of the year.

Of course they may want to stay off of our board during and possibly after the game depending how it goes on Wednesday LMAO. I mean we are a very passionate and spirited bunch. ;) Anytime before and a day or so after is good though!!!

[asiseeit]

they could have some problems matching up with us too. if Jones takes it to the hole like he did
against CU they really don't have the rim defenders a lot of teams do and our bigs might give them
trouble down low, as well. we have to be aware of the back door plays / passes as it looks like they
use them frequently

[shockerfan]

they could have some problems matching up with us too. if Jones takes it to the hole like he did
against CU they really don't have the rim defenders a lot of teams do and our bigs might give them
trouble down low, as well. we have to be aware of the back door plays / passes as it looks like they
use them frequently

It might be due to competition in their conference. But they do average 4.2 blocks per game which would rank 5th in the American and ahead of us.

And the blocked shot leaders in the conference are Houston, Cincy & UCF and they are barely better than Furman at 4.5 per game

[WuShock Reaper]

Here are how overall NIT Seeds performed in making it to the FINAL Four in Madison Square Garden over the last 5 years:

Seed	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Totals
1	3	2	1			6
2		2	2		1	5
3	1					1
4			1	2	3	6
5						0
6				1		1
7						0
8				1		1

[smcalis23]

Furman fan here. Just a few things. Matt Rafferty was named this week as the #34 player in the country by Sports Illustrated in their top 50 best players in college basketball. He is also coming off a hand injury suffered in the Mercer win in the SoCon tourney. He played the next night with a bandage and was far from 100%. It is his right hand and bothered his shooting and passing. I really believe if he was 100 percent healthy FU would have beaten UNCG in the semis. I think he could have made up the 4 point difference. Furman is not an experienced team. 3 of the 5 starters are playing significant minutes for the first time this year. FU starts 1 senior-Rafferty, 1 junior-Lyons, 2 sophs-Hunter and Mounce and 1 freshman-Gurley. Like you guys have already said the bench is not used much. 6-5 senior guard Andrew Brown is first off the bench and is a good 3 point shooter. We do have a 6-3 freshman guard that can play(Mike Bothwell). 6-7 G-F Tre Clark off the bench can be effective at times but is inconsistent. Has reputation as a good defender. That is pretty much it as for as the bench goes. I think WSU will pose problems for the Paladins with their size and length. Outside of Rafferty our 2 other front court players are thin. They can jump but can be pushed around also. With all that said it really will boil down to if FU shoots the 3 well. They have been off for a week and a half and they have struggled in games when they have had a week off. Hope we can come out on top but if we don't I will definitely be pulling for you guys against Clemson. If you don't know Greenville/Furman is about 30-40 minutes from Clemson and believe me we always get a heavy dose of the Tigers around here, LOL. Last thing if I were a betting man and didn't have a dog in the fight I would take those 4.5 points. Excited to have the Shockers coming to Greenville. Can't wait for the game.

[WSUwatcher]

Thanks for your thoughts, Mr. Furman. I'm impressed with your coach and wish you, and him, well (just not Wed night).

[ShockTalk]

It would appear that Furman's coach is really good at filling player holes from year to year. Seems to always have good players coming up behind who ever they lose. Rafferty has been the one constant as he started off playing 24 minutes per game as a freshman.

[Stickboy46]

I like that their initials are FU.

[WSUwatcher]

That's Friendship University, Stick.

[Jhook89]

Furman fan here. Just a few things. Matt Rafferty was named this week as the #34 player in the country by Sports Illustrated in their top 50 best players in college basketball. He is also coming off a hand injury suffered in the Mercer win in the SoCon tourney. He played the next night with a bandage and was far from 100%. It is his right hand and bothered his shooting and passing. I really believe if he was 100 percent healthy FU would have beaten UNCG in the semis. I think he could have made up the 4 point difference. Furman is not an experienced team. 3 of the 5 starters are playing significant minutes for the first time this year. FU starts 1 senior-Rafferty, 1 junior-Lyons, 2 sophs-Hunter and Mounce and 1 freshman-Gurley. Like you guys have already said the bench is not used much. 6-5 senior guard Andrew Brown is first off the bench and is a good 3 point shooter. We do have a 6-3 freshman guard that can play(Mike Bothwell). 6-7 G-F Tre Clark off the bench can be effective at times but is inconsistent. Has reputation as a good defender. That is pretty much it as for as the bench goes. I think WSU will pose problems for the Paladins with their size and length. Outside of Rafferty our 2 other front court players are thin. They can jump but can be pushed around also. With all that said it really will boil down to if FU shoots the 3 well. They have been off for a week and a half and they have struggled in games when they have had a week off. Hope we can come out on top but if we don't I will definitely be pulling for you guys against Clemson. If you don't know Greenville/Furman is about 30-40 minutes from Clemson and believe me we always get a heavy dose of the Tigers around here, LOL. Last thing if I were a betting man and didn't have a dog in the fight I would take those 4.5 points. Excited to have the Shockers coming to Greenville. Can't wait for the game.

Thanks for the post and welcome to our site. It looks like the keys to beating you guys is hoping you aren’t making your 3’s and slowing down Rafferty. In your opinion what is the key to limiting him? Would it be to go small and put our 4 man McDuffie, who is the same size but a superior athlete, on him or put one of our larger 5 min on him, who would not be as quick, but would have a strength and length advantage?

[smcalis23]

Thanks for the post and welcome to our site. It looks like the keys to beating you guys is hoping you aren’t making your 3’s and slowing down Rafferty. In your opinion what is the key to limiting him? Would it be to go small and put our 4 man McDuffie, who is the same size but a superior athlete, on him or put one of our larger 5 min on him, who would not be as quick, but would have a strength and length advantage?

Thank you. I would probably go with the smaller more athletic guys and try to deny him the ball. He has played against some 7 footers in the SoCon and they always get into foul trouble early even though your guy(s) may be more talented. He has some moves around the basket. He is shooting almost 62 percent for the year. A big factor is he 100% healthy with the hand injury?

[Dan]

Yep, it will be interesting to see who guards Rafferty. If it’s mcduffie, who does JE guard? Do we do some sort of modified zone and keep a post in the middle?

[molly jabali]

A lot of respect coming from Furman coaches and players. I still cant get used to how excited teams from smaller conferences are to play a team like Wichita State. Doesnt seem that long ago that we were the ones talking like them and our players and coaches working hard to earn respect.

Just shows, once again, how far this program has evolved under Marshall's guidance.

That is spot on...I LIKE this young coach!!!

[another shocker]

Furman fan here. Just a few things. Matt Rafferty was named this week as the #34 player in the country by Sports Illustrated in their top 50 best players in college basketball. He is also coming off a hand injury suffered in the Mercer win in the SoCon tourney. He played the next night with a bandage and was far from 100%. It is his right hand and bothered his shooting and passing. I really believe if he was 100 percent healthy FU would have beaten UNCG in the semis. I think he could have made up the 4 point difference. Furman is not an experienced team. 3 of the 5 starters are playing significant minutes for the first time this year. FU starts 1 senior-Rafferty, 1 junior-Lyons, 2 sophs-Hunter and Mounce and 1 freshman-Gurley. Like you guys have already said the bench is not used much. 6-5 senior guard Andrew Brown is first off the bench and is a good 3 point shooter. We do have a 6-3 freshman guard that can play(Mike Bothwell). 6-7 G-F Tre Clark off the bench can be effective at times but is inconsistent. Has reputation as a good defender. That is pretty much it as for as the bench goes. I think WSU will pose problems for the Paladins with their size and length. Outside of Rafferty our 2 other front court players are thin. They can jump but can be pushed around also. With all that said it really will boil down to if FU shoots the 3 well. They have been off for a week and a half and they have struggled in games when they have had a week off. Hope we can come out on top but if we don't I will definitely be pulling for you guys against Clemson. If you don't know Greenville/Furman is about 30-40 minutes from Clemson and believe me we always get a heavy dose of the Tigers around here, LOL. Last thing if I were a betting man and didn't have a dog in the fight I would take those 4.5 points. Excited to have the Shockers coming to Greenville. Can't wait for the game.

hello and welcome. do you have a link to the furman message board? good luck wednesday.. not that you'll need it.

[The 'hut]

Well, this has been an odd week. I have a son that works in athletics at Furman. (Yes we have FU sweatshirts, FU All the time T shirts, etc) It was a surreal evening trying to figure out the game time, but this game is very cool for me. The Paladins used to be my go to bar bet with those who claim to be mascot savants around the plains states, but that ship has sailed. I have actually watched parts of several games and FU will make the Shockers chase on defense. A big key will be how quickly the officials will focus on the 3 second call and do they let the physical play occur or try to control it. I think of them as a cross between the Creighton teams that loved suburban horse and Northern Iowa that just ran stuff that seemed to always get someone open. You could even mix in a little Princeton savvy as well. I am hoping for a good game and a chance to wear my Shocker gear with a little more pride the next time I am in Greenville. I actually follow many entities from both schools on twitter, so that is why I got in the middle of the day controversy. I will try to link the gopaladins basketball message board. For all of the Paladin fans checking in on Tuesday. Go Dins, Beat the 'Cocks! (Baseball tonight)

[kcshocker11]

We move on! I hope!