The Furman Paladins were among those targeted by many college basketball fans hunting for a first-round upset pick in the 2023 NCAA tournament. Well, Furman basketball just showed everyone why, as it took down the Virginia Cavaliers Thursday, 68-67, thanks to a huge clutch 3-pointer by JP Pegues after the Paladins forced a turnover.
That crucial Virginia turnover wouldn't have happened, however, if Furman basketball players heard their head coach, Bob Richey, asking for them to foul Cavaliers guard Kihei Clark, who made the most crucial mistake of the contest.
“I was calling for a foul,” Richey said after Furman basketball scored the titanic win, per Brandan Marks of The Athletic, “but the good Lord knew they couldn’t hear me — and they threw it to us.”
Virginia would still have two seconds to work on a shot to win the game after that bucket by Pegues, but Reece Beekman missed a 3-point attempt to seal the victory for Furman basketball. The Paladins had not been to the NCAA tournament prior to this season since the 1979-80 college basketball campaign, thus making the win against Virginia even sweeter for the Furman basketball program.
The Paladins have no plans of slowing down, as they now prepare for the second round where they will be meeting the San Diego Aztecs, who avoided getting upset in the first round by the Charleston Cougars.
Furman got a ticket to the Big Dance by topping the Southern Conference tournament. With the win over Virginia, the Paladins have also extended their undefeated streak to seven games.
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