Wofford Basketball: Will the Terriers have the chance to make the Big Dance?

Wofford Basketball has a chance to make some noise in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. But can they navigate a tough Southern Conference?

At 15-1 the Buffalo Bulls have deservedly gotten more hype than any other mid-major team (outside of Gonzaga?). Nate Oats’ squad has notable wins over West Virginia, Syracuse, and Marquette, and the roster has legitimate high-major talent.

But Buffalo isn’t the only mid-major team with a chance to play the Cinderella role this season: the Wofford Terriers. Wofford came into the season with a decent amount of hype due to their road victory at North Carolina last season and the popularity of senior guard Fletcher Magee (who scored 27 points in the victory).

Magee and the Terriers have been better than ever this season improving their KenPom ranking from 163rd last season to currently 41st. But Wofford has failed to notch any “huge” victories, and has thus floated largely under the radar.

But I think the Terriers deserve the hype. They’ve beaten South Carolina by 20 on the road and have a 17-point victory against conference foe ETSU that ranks 63rd in KenPom. Its losses include a 9-point home loss to UNC, an 11-point road defeat to Oklahoma, and an 11-point road loss to Mississippi St. These were all high-quality opponents and Wofford hung right in these games. Their only “bad” loss was 72-47 at the hands of Kansas.

Arguably Wofford’s most impressive victory came recently on the road against Southern conference foe UNC Greensboro. The game was expected to be a toss-up but the Terriers turned it into a 72-43 blowout.  The win was all the bigger because UNCG beat Wofford three times last season, and potentially kept them from making the NCAA Tournament.

Wofford’s strength is on the offensive end. The Terriers have the 95th highest 3-point attempt rate in the nation and make 38.6% of them (27th). It’s a solid rebounding team as well (52nd in offensive rebounds and 5th in defensive.

But here’s the issue for the Terriers…. as good as they are, there’s a decent chance they don’t even win their conference tournament and get the chance to play Cinderella. Now obviously, there’s always a chance a team falls in their tournament, but Wofford is in a unique scenario for a mid-major.  The Southern Conference appears to be one of the best/deepest mid-major conferences in recent memory (outside of potentially the WCC certain seasons).

• (All statistics used in this article were found via KenPom and are up to date through the games completed on Jan 11).
• (Rankings credit to Haslametrics, Bartorvik, BPI, and Sagarin)

UNC Greensboro

The Spartans won the conference tournament last season and came close to upsetting Gonzaga in the Rd. of 64. Senior guard Francis Alonso is capable of leading this team on a conference tourney run.

East Tennessee State

The Buccaneers are 63rd in KenPom and led by junior guard Tray Boyd. Rebounding is the strength of this squad (3rd on offensive end, 4th on defensive end) and 6-10 sophomore Mladen Armus and 6-7 junior Jeromy Rodriguez are the biggest reasons why.

Furman

The Paladins gained a lot of notoriety early this season after beating Loyola Chicago and Villanova. Furman’s strength is on the defensive end and fouls at the 10th lowest rate in the country. This is necessary, as Coach Bob Richey plays bench players at the 8th lowest rate.

So far in conference play, Wofford has beaten East Tenn. St. by 17 at home and just beat UNCG handily on the road. The Terriers are probably the best team in the Southern Conference, but conference tournament bids are never sure things. The uncertainty seems to have been take to another level in this season’s Southern Conference.

If Wofford DOES find a way through this maze into the Big Dance, however, don’t overlook them when filling out your bracket. In fact, I wouldn’t overlook whatever team earns the Southern Conference bid.