3 reasons why Wofford can win a game in the NCAA Tournament

The Southern Conference tournament delivered a ton of chaos this season and the top three seeds in the league were eliminated early. The Finals were between the 5th seed Furman Paladins and the 6th seed Wofford Terriers. The Terriers survived and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Wofford claimed the sixth automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.

The Terriers entered the conference tournament at one game over .500 on the season. As we all know, it only takes one week to get hot to find yourself in the NCAA tournament. The Terriers won three games in three days moving their overall record to 19-15. The week long hot streak allowed Wofford to qualify for their 6th NCAA tournament in school history and their first since the 2018-2019 team that went 30-5 overall.

In their previous tournaments, the Terriers have never been a 16 seed, and they are likely going to be able to avoid that seed line this year as well. The Bracket Matrix currently has the Terriers on the 15 seed line and, depending on who wins their conference tournaments, do have some ability to move into the 14 seed line. The Terriers are hot right now, and they are going to have to stay hot to pick up the school's first win in the NCAA tournament, but here are some reasons why they can win.

Take smart shots

This is easier said than done right?  In this current hot streak for Wofford that has seen them win 4 out of their last 5 to close out the season, they are making shots, and the reason they are making shots is partly because they are confident but mostly because the shot selection has improved. Wofford is already a team capable of fantastic offense, but when they take good shots, they can score quickly and efficiently. The team they play is going to try and take Wofford out of their game and block off their passing lanes, but if they stay patient, they should be able to get quality shots again. Wofford is a lot better when they get open shots, as are most teams, but in the recent hot streak they have been able to run crisp offense and get open shots. That will need to continue if the Terriers hope to pull off an upset in the round of 64.

Three Point line

There is one thing that will always keep a lower-seed team in a game, and that is the three-point line. The Terriers are a team that is likely going to out-volume you from deep, and if they start to make their threes, they can stay in the game for a while. In the conference tournament, Wofford was able to hit a lot of threes, which won them games. In the championship game, the Terriers extended the lead by hitting a ton of threes. Wofford doesn’t take mid-range jumpers; their offense is usually a three-point basket or a shot at the rim. Mid-range jumpers are analytically the worst and least efficient shots in basketball. The Terriers have two guys who shoot over 35% from deep on the season, and they need to make sure those are the guys getting the shots. Wofford does take the volume and has the ability to make enough threes to keep a game close down the stretch.

Use your depth

Wofford is unique in that they play nine guys, all at least 15 minutes a night. There are not many other teams in the country that play that many guys and many tournament teams shortened their rotations a long time ago. most teams will play seven guys, and some may even play with 6-man rotations. The nine-man rotation is absurd, but when you study the roster and watch Wofford play, all nine guys contribute to Wofford and winning. Their depth could be a huge advantage, especially if they get into a game that goes into overtime or if they have some foul trouble. Everyone wishes they could have depth like that.

Wofford is an interesting team that got hot at the end of the season. No one expected them to make the tournament heading into the season, but here they are. They do present some matchup problems, but they are going to have a hard time winning a game in the tournament. Crazy things happen all the time in March, but the Terriers will likely need a perfect storm to win a game.