Wofford Basketball Advances To NCAA Tournament, But Moment Doesn’t End Here

Wofford Terriers, Western Carolina Catamounts

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

For the third time in the last five seasons, the Wofford Terriers are heading to the NCAA tournament.

Behind the outstanding play of junior guard Karl Cochran, the Terriers defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts by a score of 56-53 in the Southern Conference Tournament championship game. Cochran absolutely filled the stat sheet with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Not a bad night given the circumstances, if I do say so myself.

Another Wofford junior, forward Lee Skinner, was also fantastic in the victory. He had 11 points to go along with eight boards. Western Carolina’s Brandon Boggs was the Catamounts’ main contributor, scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds in the hard-fought defeat.

While Wofford lead throughout, the Catamounts never went away. They had a chance to tie and force overtime in the game’s final seconds, but the Terriers’ defense was too strong and forced a rushed, off-balance shot. The Terriers were jubilant, while the Catamounts were devastated.

And that pretty much sums up March Madness. The single-game elimination format is not just preserved for the Big Dance, but rather it’s used in the conference tournaments as well. Leagues such as the SoCon annually only receive one tournament invite, and this year unfortunately will be no different.

With that said, props to Wofford — and Western Carolina too — on a great, great game and season. Seeing mid-major teams get national exposure and essentially have their moment is truly an awesome thing to witness. The Terriers’ moment doesn’t end here. Now, coach Mike Young and company can sleep peacefully as they wait for Selection Sunday to arrive. When it does, they’ll figure out where and when their dance starts.

Matthew Sturgeon is a College Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OfficialSturg27

Around the Web

ZergNet