Western Carolina (9-11, 2-9) vs. Furman (12-7, 6-4)
Timmons Arena, Greenville, South Carolina; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Furman looks for its 11th straight win in the head-to-head series over Western Carolina. In its last 10 wins against the Catamounts, Furman has won by an average of 18 points. Western Carolina’s last win in the series came on Feb. 27, 2016, a 73-62 victory.
TEAM LEADERSHIP: The dynamic Mason Faulkner is averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists to lead the charge for the Catamounts. Xavier Cork is also a big contributor, producing 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. The Paladins have been led by Mike Bothwell, who is averaging 16.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.MIGHTY MASON: Faulkner has connected on 32.9 percent of the 76 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 5 of 18 over the last five games. He’s also made 78.8 percent of his free throws this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Western Carolina is 0-7 when scoring fewer than 69 points and 9-4 when scoring at least 69.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: Furman is a perfect 8-0 when the team blocks at least four opposing shots. The Paladins are 4-7 this season when they block fewer than four shots.
DID YOU KNOW: The Furman offense has scored 79.9 points per game this season, ranking the Paladins 30th nationally. The Western Carolina defense has allowed 77.7 points per game to opponents (ranked 295th).
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