Hidden away in the gorgeous metropolis that is Greenville, South Carolina, is a college basketball program on the rise, the Furman Paladins. For the moment, it’s still possible to find cheap Furman basketball tickets. But things aren’t going to stay that way for long. The Paladins have already made strides to become a mid-major program that needs to be taken seriously. Soon enough, last-minute Furman basketball tickets will be selling like hotcakes.

The Sweet 70s

Furman basketball didn’t spring up overnight. The Paladins have a great history, including a golden era during the 1970s under head coach Joe Williams. Between 1971 and 1980, the Paladins won four Southern Conference regular-season titles and six conference tournament titles, all of which gave them a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Amidst a few close calls, those six tournament appearances include a win over in-state rival South Carolina in 1974, sending the Paladins to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

We Have Arrived

The arrival of Furman on the national stage happened quickly. In 2013, head coach Niko Medved went 9-21 during his first season with the Paladins. However, three seasons later, Furman won the Southern Conference regular-season title and made it all the way to the semifinals of the CIT postseason tournament. Medved then passed the torch to Bob Richey, who took the Paladins to another level.

Furman began the 2018-19 season 12-0, a stretch that included upset wins over Villanova, the reigning national champions, and Loyola-Chicago, who played in the Final Four the previous season. Those wins helped to push the Paladins into the top-25 for the first time in program history, a proud moment for both Furman and the entire SoCon.

Under Richey, the Paladins finished the season 25-8, earning a spot in the NIT, and followed it up with a 25-7 record during the 2019-20 season, confirming Furman’s spot in the top-tier of the SoCon while leaving no doubt that it’s a program with a bright future.