How will Furman basketball 2022-23 be remembered? Start with 'greatest team in school history'
Furman basketball's season ended in the second round of March Madness on Saturday when the No. 13-seed Paladins fell 75-52 to No. 5 San Diego State. Despite the disappointment of the loss, Furman is celebrating a storybook 2022-23 season.
Furman won the Southern Conference tournament title to clinch an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in 43 years. The Paladins won a share of the SoCon regular-season title for the first time since 2017. Their 28 wins were the most in program history, and their 15 conference victories tied the program record.
Plus, they'll always have Thursday, when JP Pegues hit the game-winning 3-pointer to give the Paladins the upset over No. 4-seed Virginia. That moment is immortal.
GAME RECAP:Furman basketball eliminated from March Madness after second-round loss to San Diego State
LOCAL PRIDE:Furman students, alumni proud of Paladins season following NCAA Tournament setback
"It's something no one can take away from this team, the greatest team in school history," fifth-year guard Mike Bothwell said. "People around the country know who Furman is now if they didn't already. That's something that we can we definitely take pride in, and when we really get to process what all we accomplished, I'm sure we'll be really proud of what we've done."
The first-round win catapulted Furman into the national spotlight. It was a big victory for mid-major conference basketball, too, in a first round in which teams such as Fairleigh-Dickinson, Princeton and Florida Atlantic also pulled upsets.
"What the mid-majors are showing right now is we do belong," coach Bob Richey said. "I'm hoping that the country can continue to see that."
Taking into account the way last season ended, when the Paladins missed out on a SoCon title and NCAA Tournament appearance with a 64-63 overtime loss to Chattanooga in the conference tournament final, this season and its superlatives are even sweeter.
That's what's giving Richey hope for Furman's future. The Paladins used last season's heartbreaks to build this season's success. It got them their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1974. Now, Richey said, they've seen what can happen when they're at their best.
"Now that we've been here ... it changes a little bit what you're aiming for," Richey said. "Failure is something that forces you to respond. What we went through last year, we knew we were going to respond to that.
"Sometimes what can success can do is, it can make you complacent. I think the challenge going forward for us is to understand this has to make us hungrier. This has to push us every day to want to get back here."
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Furman basketball 2022-23 called 'greatest team in school history'
