• Biggest win since...

 #6537  by apaladin
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 12:19 am
Quote from the New York Post:

"If opponents and fans aren’t paying attention to the team from Greenville, South Carolina, they’d better start now".

Let's enjoy this. It's just nice to see the ball bounce Furman's way for a change. IMHO there are no D1 cupcakes on the schedule.
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 #6544  by Fessor
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:55 am
You're right about the cupcakes. Going to OT against both Gardner-Webb and Villanova in the same week speaks to parity in college basketball.

Playing in sold out arenas gets the adrenaline flowing. Let's see how the team comes out for these next seven games that aren't on the big stage. Also, if UNC-A, Elon, etc. weren't looking forward to FU, they certainly are now.

Been a long time, and regardless of which is the bigger accomplishment, the current buzz has the same feel of the one that followed the "Purple Lightning" weekend in Charlotte.
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 #6545  by saltyshaker
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 5:19 am
maybe best day in paladin sport history since 1988 1-aa football championship .beat mercer in football to tie for conference title and get a possible playoff bid.and beat the defending ncaa basketball champion and currently ranked 8th Villanova wildcats.well done coaches and players.very well done. :D
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 #6547  by gman
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:12 am
It’s not even close. In the context of social media and national tv coverage, this is our biggest win. Basketball is our potential big money making sport. The administration needs to see that and back this program with marketing and full support.
AstroDin, FU03times and 1 others liked this
 #6557  by CharlieFU
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:17 am
In the last 5 years we have gone from expecting to lose to expecting to win.

Winning two games on the road against teams we weren’t expected to beat is significant. A total change in culture.

Regardless of what it means overall, Let’s just ENJOY it!
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 #6558  by AstroDin
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:18 am
gman wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:12 am
It’s not even close. In the context of social media and national tv coverage, this is our biggest win. Basketball is our potential big money making sport. The administration needs to see that and back this program with marketing and full support.
This is a really big point - but there is a reality… the power of social media is fickle. The reason Furman is news today from Sportscenter to the LA Times (we have an office in LA and Furman was the sports lead even out there) >> it's an unexpected story, an underdog story.

Gonzaga used to be a Cinderella story - now they're a basketball fixture in the top twenty. We will have ups and downs this season - it's basketball. The next step is to close the loop - get in the tourney - step one - step two - win.
That will wake up the admin and Greenville.

Also maybe these wins will open the door to Furman getting schools to Gville - the Brown Box rocked back in the day when DePaul, Nebraska, Nova, and MichSt came to town. I think this area is where the admin could back this program… kickstart a Holiday Tournament at The Well, bring in a top program to play in Timmons.
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 #6591  by apaladin
 Sun Nov 18, 2018 11:14 am
AstroDin wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:18 am
gman wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:12 am
It’s not even close. In the context of social media and national tv coverage, this is our biggest win. Basketball is our potential big money making sport. The administration needs to see that and back this program with marketing and full support.
This is a really big point - but there is a reality… the power of social media is fickle. The reason Furman is news today from Sportscenter to the LA Times (we have an office in LA and Furman was the sports lead even out there) >> it's an unexpected story, an underdog story.

Gonzaga used to be a Cinderella story - now they're a basketball fixture in the top twenty. We will have ups and downs this season - it's basketball. The next step is to close the loop - get in the tourney - step one - step two - win.
That will wake up the admin and Greenville.

Also maybe these wins will open the door to Furman getting schools to Gville - the Brown Box rocked back in the day when DePaul, Nebraska, Nova, and MichSt came to town. I think this area is where the admin could back this program… kickstart a Holiday Tournament at The Well, bring in a top program to play in Timmons.
Good points. Doubt we will see Clempson or SC on the schedule anytime soon.
 #6768  by JohnW
 Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:43 am
Just because I love recruiting.... Furman still has a scholarship open for next year. Possible all this attention might attract a high major transfer or even get our foot in doors previously shut. Nothing succeeds like success. Having said that, BR is right and wise to realize the team needs to manage the hoopla, stay focused. I'd talk about GW a lot this week.
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 #6836  by apaladin
 Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:45 pm
FWIW according to a Villanova message board Villanova scrimmaged UNC and UVA in preseason. They beat UNC and scored 112 points and lost to UVA by 6.
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 #6894  by dinhead
 Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:16 pm
Biggest wins ever:
1. 1974- NCAA tournament win vs #10 South Carolina. Until we win another game in the tournament this will probably stay #1.
2. 1978- 13 point win against #4 North Carolina- In the era before the 3 pointer this was considered a rout.
3. ? - Win over top 10 East Tennessee State and "Mister Jennings" in the Brown Box. I was at this game and the place was rocking with a full student section and a sold out auditorium.
4. 1977- Win over top 20 North Carolina.
5. 2018- Win over defending national champion and #8 Villanova. Since their ranking was prior to their 27 point loss to Michigan this one losses a little of it's luster. Villanova was really more like a #15 team but beating the defending national champions is a pretty big cool factor.

I'm sure there were some great wins in the Selby, Floyd era but that was before my time. I know they played some of the top teams in the country in a sold out Madison Square Garden so Furman certainly must have had some really great wins in the 1950's.
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 #6901  by apaladin
 Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:36 pm
I know it's been a long time but here are the UNC wins in Charlotte.
2/3/78 Furman 89 #6 North Carolina 83 "Purple Lightning"-beat NC State the next night.
2/2/79 Furman 83 #4 North Carolina 70
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 #6907  by Affirm
 Wed Nov 21, 2018 8:29 am
Good.
We have at least 6 more games against UNC-system member institutions coming up this season (some very soon) such as Asheville, Wilmington, Cullowhee, Greensboro, so let’s make sure we take care of business against all of those in 2018-2019.
Elon is also coming up very soon - the closest school to Chapel Hill and Raleigh that we play this regular season. Let’s be sure to also take care of that business.
We have numerous opportunities.
Continue to take care of business and we may be able to meet in the post-season a component school’s team from Charlotte, Boone, Chapel Hill, Durham (NCCU), Raleigh, the other Greensboro school (A&TSU), or Greenville (NC).
Lots of potential opportunities ahead for 2018-2019.
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 #6920  by Fessor
 Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:32 pm
apaladin wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:36 pm
I know it's been a long time but here are the UNC wins in Charlotte.
2/3/78 Furman 89 #6 North Carolina 83 "Purple Lightning"-beat NC State the next night.
2/2/79 Furman 83 #4 North Carolina 70
Anyone who attended those games in Charlotte knows that FU was playing five on seven.
 #6977  by Affirm
 Fri Nov 23, 2018 7:26 am
Fessor wrote:
Sat Nov 17, 2018 11:40 pm
Paul C wrote:
Sat Nov 17, 2018 11:21 pm
Sure maybe some of those wins in the 60s and 70s may have meant more, but this win, combined with our win over Loyola-Chicago has our national profile higher than it’s ever been.
Again, umm, no. It doesn't mean anything to this crowd, who seemingly dismisses anything they weren't present to see, but Furman had two first team All-Americans for two out of three years (maybe back-to-back years, you can look it up if you wish) in Frank Selvy and Darrell Floyd. The school was nationally recognized then.

The national story now is probably more about Villanova uncharacteristically struggling, than Furman winning. Again, Nova got throttled by 27 three days ago. I will agree that knocking off two of the four Final Four teams from last year is a nice calling card, even if those teams aren't Final Four caliber teams this year.

Nice win, especially in that environment. Let's see if they can keep it going. LSU is in about five weeks with plenty of cupcakes on the schedule between now and then. Maybe crack the top 25 if undefeated and beat LSU. (Might even crack it Monday night.)
LSU beat CofC yesterday. By 12. CofC started the season 3-0.