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Bracketology Losers: Indiana, Florida State damage respective resumes

By Tristan Freeman

BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers walks down the court after a turnover in the 66-51 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on January 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers walks down the court after a turnover in the 66-51 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on January 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NC – NOVEMBER 20: Furman’s Bob Richey talks with Sibley
DURHAM, NC – NOVEMBER 20: Furman’s Bob Richey talks with Sibley /

Furman Paladins

The “Cinderella” of the 2018-19 non-conference season, Furman spent the first half of December as a ranked team after being one of the last unbeaten programs in the country. And with road wins over Loyola-Chicago and Villanova on their resume, the Paladins had legit at-large hopes headed into conference play.

The problem was what was awaiting the first half of league play in the Southern Conference. One of the best mid-major conferences this season, the Southern has three other elite teams besides Furman in East Tennessee State, UNC Greensboro, and Wofford. And unfortunately for the Paladins, they’ve had to face all three on the road early on – all resulting in losses.

There is absolutely nothing shameful in losing on the road at UNC-Greensboro and Wofford like Furman did but it pretty much eliminates them from getting an at-large. The Southern Conference was great but being 4-3 in the league early on just isn’t going to do it.

Of course, the non-conference for the Paladins didn’t give them much room to operate anyways. Those three wins against non-Division I opponents does nothing for their resume and solely relying on Villanova just won’t cut it.

The Southern Conference has 4-5 teams who could reasonably be a 12-13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and make a run. But they’re going to beat up on one another and make this a one-bid league at the end of the day. It does set up a great conference tournament nonetheless. After this week though, that’s the only way that Furman makes it to the Big Dance.

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