Dwight Perry and the Wofford Terriers Win an ELECTRIC SoCon Title

March. That’s it. That’s all you need to say. However, I will be kind enough to go into further detail on the fantastic first weeknight of Championship Week where former Kentucky Wildcat Dwight Perry brought a SoCon title back to Spartanburg as the Wofford Terriers won an absolute thriller in Asheville.

Facing the Furman Paladins, this did not look like a 5 vs. 6 matchup. The two teams combined to make 27 threes in a game that featured some massive momentum swings.

Wofford built up an 8-point lead with seven minutes to play. Furman hit a few threes, then things got tight. Wofford had six turnovers in a 3-minute span to let the lead slip away, and it looked like the Paladins were going to cruise to the NCAA Tournament.

As that terrible stretch for Wofford reached a crescendo, the ESPN broadcast shared Dwight Perry’s final message to his team. “The team who has the most mental toughness down the stretch is going to win.” That’s exactly what happened.

Following a 9-0 run that put the Terriers behind by four points with 2:30 to play, most teams would pack it up and call it a night. Instead, Wofford played perfect basketball. They got an easy layup in transition, then created a wide open three to take the lead. Furman got two looks to tie the game, but they fell short as Wofford ended the game on an 11-0 run, pulling away for a 92-85 victory.

The Terriers are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Mike Young’s team fell to Kentucky back in 2019. Dwight Perry is back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2007, when Kentucky assistant coach David Hobbs wrote the walk-on’s name in the starting lineup for the first round matchup with Marquette, rather than his cousin, Bobby.

Wofford Brings A Granny Shooter to the NCAA Tournament

Former Murray State Racer Jackson Sivills was the star of the game for Wofford, scoring a team-high 20 points behind four made three-pointers, but he’s not the Terrier everyone will be talking in the NCAA Tournament.

Kyler Filewich is a 6-9 center for Wofford who looks like many mid-major centers you’ve seen over the years. He’s a crafty big who scraps his way to buckets around the rim. When he gets sent to the foul line, the balding big man wearing a headband turns back the clock and shoots free throws granny style. He was only 3-7 from the free throw line, but he made a couple of big ones down the stretch that helped Wofford secure an NCAA Tournament bid.

We have a real life Jackie Moon shooting FTs underhand in the SoCon final tonight!

Kyler Filewich 👏 pic.twitter.com/3E9N87S2AA

— Jared Smith (@jaredsmithbets) March 10, 2025

Troy Punches an NCAA Tournament Ticket

Troy has a decorated history on the gridiron, but that hasn’t always been the case for the basketball program. The Trojans took down Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Championship Game 94-81 to advance to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time. It’s their first appearance since 2017.

The Trojans trailed by three with six minutes to play when they went on a 17-2 run to take control of the Sun Belt Title. Tayton Conerway had 21 points and Myles Rigbsy added 20 to take Troy back to the Big Dance.