Monday Duke will look to rebound from a bland and uninspired performance against the Southern Jaguars when they host the Furman Paladins to begin the Phil Knight Invitational.
Furman is coached by Bob Richey who was named Furman University’s 22nd head men’s basketball coach in April of 2017. Fun ACC fact: Furman’s Director of Recruiting is Tyler Lewis, a name Duke fans will recognize from his 2 years at NC State before transferring to Butler to finish out his playing career. The Paladins enter Monday with a 2 and 1 record, their only loss was to Butler (82-65). Furman has wins over Bob Jones and Elon so far this season. Like a good amount of the teams have faced this year they come in with an older lineup – starting 3 seniors and 2 juniors.
Furman is led in scoring by senior guard Devin Sibley. Sibley is averaging 19 points a game so far this season and is shooting 56% from beyond the arc and 55% overall. Junior forward Matt Rafferty is the lead rebounder with 9.3 per contest and is averaging a double -double with 10 points a game. Furman so far on the year is outscoring opponents by 15 points in the second half of games. Defensively, the Paladins are averaging 8.7 steals a game and are plus 10 on the boards.
Furman Projected Starting Lineup:
Guard – John Davis
Guard – Andrew Brown
Guard – Devin Sibley
Guard – Daniel Fowler
Forward – Matt Rafferty
Duke Projected Starting Lineup:
Guard – Trevon Duval
Guard – Grayson Allen
Guard – Gary Trent Jr.
Forward – Marvin Bagley III
Forward – Wendell Carter Jr.
