ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
Two more teams punched their ticket to The Big Dance Monday night – the Paladins and Ragin Cajuns.
A total of 32 teams earn automatic bids by either winning their conference title or being placed by the selection committee.
Furman University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette each earned a spot by winning their conference titles Monday.
Furman
Furman University will break out their dancing shoes for the first time since 1980. The Paladins earned their spot by defeating Chattanooga, 88- 79, to win the Southern Conference championship.
.@FurmanHoops is DANCING! The Paladins are headed to the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/KkX9NKcB2Q
— Furman Paladins (@FurmanPaladins) March 7, 2023
The team held the lead almost the entire game, led by senior Jalen Slawson, sophomore JP Pegues and senior Mike Bothwell.
Slawson, the SoCon player of the year, led the way with 20 points and 5 rebounds, followed by Pegues who boasted 17 points and 6 rebounds. Bothwell, who leads the team in scoring for the season, finished the night with 16 points.
The trio earned all-tournament first team while awarding the program its 115th win. The Paladins finished the season with a record of 27-7, the most wins in program history.
The Ragin Cajuns
Louisiana at Lafayette clinched their bid with a 71-66 victory over South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference championship.
𝗦𝗨𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦!
The Cajuns are going dancing!!#GeauxCajuns pic.twitter.com/sS0R8cc3yD
— Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns® Men's Basketball (@RaginCajunsMBB) March 7, 2023
The matchup was intense, with both teams trading buckets and the lead for the majority of the game. With 53 seconds to play, the Ragin Cajuns were ahead by just one point.
Sophomore Themus Fulks led the team with a season high 23 points on the night, followed by junior Jordan Brown with 13 and Senior Terence Lewis II with 12. Brown also contributed a team-high 16 rebounds. The Cajuns shot 75% from the line and 49.1% from the field.
They will head the Big Dance for the first time since 2014.
What’s Next?
The teams will find out who their round-one opponents are during the selection show Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS.
