{"id":41372,"date":"2026-03-11T14:56:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T18:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=41372"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:15:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:15:38","slug":"furman-university-welcomes-socon-mens-basketball-champions-ahead-of-ncaa-selection-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furman-university-welcomes-socon-mens-basketball-champions-ahead-of-ncaa-selection-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman University welcomes SoCon men\u2019s basketball champions ahead of NCAA Selection Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Furman University fans gave a hero\u2019s welcome to the men\u2019s basketball team, as the Paladins returned Tuesday from winning the Southern Conference title and their second NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.<\/p>\n

\"Men's

Fans cheer on the Furman Men’s Basketball Team as they return to campus after winning the SoCon Championship. Photo by Owen Withycombe, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

More than 50 fans gathered outside of Timmons Arena to welcome the team as they stepped off the bus from Asheville, North Carolina. Two of the Purple Diamonds dance team who had cheered the team on at Monday\u2019s game were there on campus to greet the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when they went to the NCAA Tournament in 2023,\u201d said Jada Wilson \u201929. \u201cThe scores were so close last night, and when we started widening the lead the energy was just crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The energy of the fans was unmatched according to Don Lineback, retired vice president for development at Furman. He said he could feel the crowd\u2019s excitement even watching at home. Showing up Tuesday to cheer the team on at Timmons felt important.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want them to know we support them in every way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As heartwarming as the celebrations were, forward Cooper Bowser \u201927 was most looking forward to catching up on lost sleep after some intense days. Bowser scored 21 points and 11 rebounds in the finals against East Tennessee State, and said it was a thrill to see so many familiar faces in the stands.<\/p>\n

Selection Sunday and supporting the Paladins<\/h2>\n

Fans, supporters and alumni are invited to join the team to celebrate the SoCon championship and watch the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show at 6 p.m. Sunday in Timmons Arena.<\/p>\n

\"A

Jada Wilson ’29, a member of the Purple Diamonds dance group, cheers on the Furman Men’s Basketball Team as they arrive back on campus as SoCon champions. Photo courtesy of Furman Athletics.<\/p><\/div>\n

Admission is free and doors open at 5 p.m., with a brief program at 5:30 p.m. featuring remarks from players, coaches and administrators. The selection show will be live on CBS at 6 p.m. Fans will have the opportunity to take a picture with the SoCon championship trophy in the Hall of Honor. Concessions and championship merchandise will be available for purchase.<\/p>\n

Watch parties are being planned around the area and NCAA Basketball Tournament games are being played in Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena next week.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, fans are encouraged to enjoy the thrill of the Paladins\u2019 SoCon championship win \u2013 that\u2019s what forward Ben Vander Wal \u201926 is doing. He was a first-year player that traveled with the team when they last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so different this year, yet so similar. This is what dreams are made of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying this team will fight hard no matter where they end up next week, said Head Coach Bob Richey. He\u2019s encouraging his players to cherish these moments; earning championship titles and making everyone\u2019s March Madness bracket is a childhood dream for so many of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a team that will be in the history books forever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Paladins received a warm welcome at Timmons Arena as Furman fans prepare for the start of March Madness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":41369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-student-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41372"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41393,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41372\/revisions\/41393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}