UConn Takes Down Furman 76-58 in Exciting Championship Semifinal Battle
UConn’s path to a seventh national title begins in Philadelphia on Friday.
The Seton Hall Pirates take on the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team in a Big East matchup at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT on Saturday, February 28, 2026. | Ian Bethune/The UConn Blog UConn men’s basketball is going dancing for a program-record sixth-straight season. The Huskies will attempt to take home their third national title in the last four years as a 2-seed in the East Region, earning an at-large bid after losing the Big East Tournament Championship to St.
John’s. Dan Hurley and UConn will take on 15-seed Furman, the Southern Conference Tournament champions, in the First Round in Philadelphia on Friday. Tip time has yet to be determined.
The Paladins rank 191st overall in KenPom, and are 200th in offensive efficiency and 181st in defensive efficiency. Furman, led by head coach Bob Richey, have size throughout the roster and are the fifth-tallest team in Division I per KenPom. Big man Cooper Bowser — a 6-foot-11 center — had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the SoCon Tournament title game, while 6-foot-5 freshman guard Alex Wilkins was the Paladins’ only postseason award honoree, earning second team All-SoCon honors.
Furman won the SoCon as a 6-seed in the conference tournament, taking down Samford, UNC Greensboro and East Tennessee State to earn the automatic bid. The Paladins were 22-12 on the season and 10-8 in the SoCon, and had wins over Harvard and fellow tournament team Queens. FanDuel likes UConn’s chances of taking down the 15-seed Paladins in the First Round, with the initial line set at UConn -19.