Everybody knows that basketball is king in the state of North Carolina. That includes college basketball programs in all corners of the state like the Western Carolina Catamounts. Granted, it’s always been easy to find cheap Western Carolina basketball tickets. The purple and gold Catamounts haven’t quite lived up to the reputation as the rest of the state. However, there have been signs of potential in recent years, helping to increase the demand for last-minute Western Carolina basketball tickets.

A Close Call

In 1996, Western Carolina came painfully close to making history as the first no.16 team to beat a no.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts put together an impressive regular season and earned their trip to the Big Dance by upsetting Davidson in the Southern Conference Tournament finals despite Davidson being undefeated in league play during the regular season. In the first round of the tournament, the Catamounts played top-seed Purdue tight all game, only to lose 73-71 in the program’s only NCAA Tournament game.

On the Hunt

In 2005, longtime Ohio Bobcats coach Larry Hunter took over at Western Carolina and started to bring some stability to the Catamounts. Western Carolina won the SoCon West Division in both 2009 and 2011, nearly returning to the NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts were able to work their way into the postseason in both; 2010, when they made the CIT, and 2016 when they made the CBI. Hunter gave the Catamounts a little taste of success and belief that they could grow to be one of the best teams in the SoCon every year. After Hunter stepped aside in 2018, Mark Prosser took over and injected life into the Catamounts. From his first year to his second year, Prosser improved Western Carolina’s record by 12 wins, setting the stage for a bright future.