2025–26 Furman Paladins men's basketball team

American college basketball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025–26 Furman Paladins men's basketball team represented Furman University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Paladins, led by ninth-year head coach Bob Richey, played their home games at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon).

ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record22–13 (10–8 SoCon)
Headcoach
Associate headcoachPat Estepp
Quick facts Furman Paladins men's basketball, SoCon tournament champions ...
2025–26 Furman Paladins men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record22–13 (10–8 SoCon)
Head coach
Associate head coachPat Estepp
Assistant coaches
  • Klint Carlson
  • Kotie Kimble
  • Joe Pierre III
  • Rett Lister
Home arenaTimmons Arena
Seasons
← 2024–25
2026–27 →
Close
More information Conf., Overall ...
2025–26 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
East Tennessee State13–5 .72223–11  .676
Wofford11–7 .61119–13  .594
Samford11–7 .61118–14  .563
Mercer11–7 .61119–13  .594
Western Carolina10–8 .55615–16  .484
Furman †10–8 .55622–13  .629
UNC Greensboro9–9 .50015–19  .441
Chattanooga7–11 .38913–19  .406
The Citadel7–11 .38911–22  .333
VMI1–17 .0566–26  .188
† 2026 SoCon tournament winner
Close

Previous season

The Paladins finished the 2024–25 season 25–10, 11–7 in SoCon play, to finish in fifth place.[1] They defeated Samford[2] and top-seeded Chattanooga,[3] before falling to Wofford in the SoCon tournament championship game.[4] They received an invitation to the NIT,[5] where they were defeated by North Texas in the first round.[6]

Preseason

On October 1, 2025, the SoCon released their preseason coaches poll. Furman was picked to finish second in the conference, while receiving five first-place votes.[7]

Preseason rankings

More information Place, Team ...
SoCon Preseason Poll
Place Team Points
1Chattanooga77 (5)
2Furman73 (5)
3Samford62
4East Tennessee State61
5UNC Greensboro43
6VMI41
7Western Carolina32
8Mercer30
9Wofford21
10The Citadel10
(#) first-place votes
Close

Source:[7]

Preseason All-SoCon Team

More information Player, Year ...
Preseason All-SoCon Team
Player Year Position
Cooper Bowser Junior Forward
Tom House Senior Guard
Close

Source:[7]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2025–26 Furman Paladins men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Abijah Franklin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrWren High School Greenville, SC
F 1 Charles Johnston 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)225 lb (102 kg) SrCal State Monterey Bay Sydney, Australia
G 2 Eddrin Bronson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)184 lb (83 kg) RS SoTampa Catholic High School Tampa, FL
G 3 Asa Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SoClemson Lake Forest, IL
F 4 Ben Vander Wal 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrTimothy Christian School Elmhurst, IL
F 5 Mason Smith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoDavidson Day School Huntersville, NC
G 6 Cole Bowser 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrDeMatha Catholic High School Bowie, MD
G 8 Collin O'Neal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrMontgomery Bell Academy Nashville, TN
G 10 Alex Wilkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrBrooks School Mattapan, MA
G 11 Gunnar Lewis 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrChrist Presbyterian Academy Cottontown, TN
G 12 Tom House 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrFlorida State Dayton, OH
F 15 Owen Ritger 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)218 lb (99 kg) FrMarist School Atlanta, GA
F 21 Cooper Bowser 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrSunrise Christian Academy Woodbridge, VA
F 30 Thomas Tillman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrCharleston Charter School For Math & Science Charleston, SC
F 77 Davis Molnar 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrTerry Sanford High School Fayetteville, NC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 24, 2025

Close

Schedule and results

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2025*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+		 No. 15 Alabama L 71–96  –
 Timmons Arena (2,750)
Greenville, SC
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
6:30 p.m.		 vs. High Point
Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon		 L 71–97  0–1
 Rock Hill Sports & Events Center (473)
Rock Hill, SC
November 7, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Troy L 61–64  0–2
 Timmons Arena (2,207)
Greenville, SC
November 10, 2025*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 Columbia International W 89–59  1–2
 Timmons Arena (1,967)
Greenville, SC
November 14, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Northern Iowa L 54–70  1–3
 McLeod Center (3,585)
Cedar Falls, IA
November 19, 2025*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 Ohio Christian W 79–44  2–3
 Timmons Arena (1,767)
Greenville, SC
November 23, 2025*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Queens
SoCon/ASUN Challenge		 W 90–79  3–3
 Timmons Arena (2,167)
Greenville, SC
November 27, 2025*
11:00 a.m., ESPN2		 vs. Richmond
ESPN Events Invitational Imagination bracket semifinals		 W 73–72  4–3
 State Farm Field House 
Bay Lake, FL
November 28, 2025*
3:00 p.m., ESPN2		 vs. Illinois State
ESPN Events Invitational Imagination bracket championship		 L 65–72  4–4
 State Farm Field House (502)
Bay Lake, FL
December 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., FloCollege		 at Elon W 97–88  5–4
 Schar Center (1,468)
Elon, NC
December 6, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Harvard W 79–69  6–4
 Timmons Arena (2,187)
Greenville, SC
December 9, 2025*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 Bob Jones W 105–57  7–4
 Timmons Arena (1,737)
Greenville, SC
December 18, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Manhattan W 75–68  8–4
 Draddy Gymnasium (576)
Riverdale, NY
December 21, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Charleston Southern W 84–76  9–4
 Timmons Arena (1,867)
Greenville, SC
SoCon regular season
December 31, 2025
12:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Mercer W 74–72  10–4
(1–0)		 Timmons Arena (2,117)
Greenville, SC
January 3, 2026
4:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Western Carolina L 77–80 OT 10–5
(1–1)		 Timmons Arena (2,500)
Greenville, SC
January 7, 2026
5:00 p.m., CBSSN		 at Chattanooga W 78–67  11–5
(2–1)		 McKenzie Arena (3,487)
Chattanooga, TN
January 10, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 VMI W 69–48  12–5
(3–1)		 Timmons Arena (2,447)
Greenville, SC
January 14, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Samford W 77–73  13–5
(4–1)		 Pete Hanna Center (1,833)
Homewood, AL
January 17, 2026
5:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Wofford L 70–74  13–6
(4–2)		 Timmons Arena (2,500)
Greenville, SC
January 21, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at The Citadel L 75–77 OT 13–7
(4–3)		 McAlister Field House (1,433)
Charleston, SC
January 23, 2026
5:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at UNC Greensboro W 89–66  14–7
(5–3)		 Bodford Arena (814)
Greensboro, NC
January 29, 2026
5:00 p.m., CBSSN		 Samford W 78–73  15–7
(6–3)		 Timmons Arena (2,037)
Greenville, SC
February 1, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN2		 Chattanooga W 75–70  16–7
(7–3)		 Timmons Arena (1,000)
Greenville, SC
February 4, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at East Tennessee State L 71–75 OT 16–8
(7–4)		 Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,072)
Johnson City, TN
February 8, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN2		 UNC Greensboro L 64–67  16–9
(7–5)		 Timmons Arena (2,497)
Greenville, SC
February 11, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Mercer L 64–69  16–10
(7–6)		 Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
February 14, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at VMI W 90–72  17–10
(8–6)		 Cameron Hall (2,233)
Lexington, VA
February 18, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 East Tennessee State L 69–78  17–11
(8–7)		 Timmons Arena (2,500)
Greenville, SC
February 21, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Wofford W 76–67  18–11
(9–7)		 Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (3,181)
Spartanburg, SC
February 25, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 The Citadel W 72–51  19–11
(10–7)		 Timmons Arena (2,500)
Greenville, SC
February 28, 2026
5:30 p.m., ESPN+		 at Western Carolina L 67–86  19–12
(10–8)		 Ramsey Center (3,486)
Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
March 7, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+		 (6) vs. (3) Samford
Quarterfinal		 W 86–81  20–12
 Harrah's Cherokee Center 
Asheville, NC
March 8, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPNU		 (6) vs. (7) UNC Greensboro
Semifinal		 W 81–75  21–12
 Harrah's Cherokee Center (5,285)
Asheville, NC
March 9, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN		 (6) vs. (1) East Tennessee State
Championship		 W 76–61  22–12
 Harrah's Cherokee Center 
Asheville, NC
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2025*
10:25 p.m., TBS		 (15 E) vs. (2 E) No. 7 UConn
First round		 L 71–82  22–13
 Xfinity Mobile Arena (19,636)
Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Eastern.
Close

Sources:[8][9]

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI