Furman heads back to NCAA Tournament for first time since 2023 stunner

The last time the Furman Paladins went dancing, they brought down an ACC power. Thanks to Monday's Southern Conference final win over the No. 1 seed East Tennessee State Buccaneers (23-11, 13-5 in SoCon), they'll soon get a chance to author another upset.

Furman (22-12, 10-8 in SoCon), which entered as the SoCon tournament No. 6 seed, avenged a loss to the Wofford Terriers in last year's conference tourney championship game with the 76-61 win over East Tennessee State.

Furman junior forward Cooper Bowser led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He added 11 rebounds to post his third career double-double and first since January 2025. With the win, the Paladins are going to their eighth NCAA Tournament and second in four seasons after a 42-year drought.

Furman looks to repeat 2023 NCAA Tournament stunner following SoCon tourney win

In 2023, Furman was responsible for one of three big first-round upsets, along with Fairleigh Dickinson becoming the second 16-seed to beat a 1-seed with a win over Purdue and 15-seed Princeton taking down Arizona, a two.

The Paladins beat the 4-seed Virginia Cavaliers, 68-67, in dramatic fashion, forcing a turnover off a full-court trap then hitting a three with 2.2 seconds left to give the program its first NCAA Tournament win since 1974.