Wofford coach Dwight Perry gets homecoming in NCAA Tournament game at Rupp Arena
Wofford coach Dwight Perry is getting more than just his first experience as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. He’s getting a homecoming at Rupp Arena in Lexington, too.
The 37-year-old Perry, in his third season as Wofford’s head coach, played at Kentucky from 2006-09, appearing in 19 games for the Wildcats.
“It’s extremely special,” Perry said Sunday night. “Obviously it’s my alma mater. I have a lot of great friends (at Kentucky). It’s an unbelievable place. Obviously their tradition in basketball really doesn’t need any introduction.
“More than anything, I’m really excited for our guys to be able to continue this journey this year, for it not to end.”
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford, Thursday, TNT
Tennessee (27-7) is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region and will play No. 15 Wofford (19-15) on Thursday (6:50 p.m. Eastern Time, TNT) at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Vols and Terriers are opposite of No. 7 UCLA and No. 10 Utah State.
Perry is 48-42 at Wofford, with this season’s team going 19-15 and punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Southern Conference championship as the league’s No. 6 seed.
Perry started his coaching career as an intern at Stanford in 2009 and was a graduate assistant at VCU from 2011-14. He was an assistant coach at Furman from 2014-19 before being hired as an assistant at Wofford in 2019. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2021 before being named head coach in 2022.
Wofford went 17-15 last season and was 12-12 under Perry in 2022-23, when he took over after nine games after former Wofford head coach Jay McAuley resigned in the midst of an NCAA investigation.
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The Terriers went 10-8 in Southern Conference play this season, but beat East Tennessee State, VMI and Furman over three days in the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville.
Wofford is in the NCAA Torment for the sixth time in program history and has a 1-5 March Madness record.
“When you see your name called and you see your name come across that screen,” Perry said of the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, “it’s an awesome feeling.”
Wofford won an NCAA Tournament game as a No. 7 seed in 2019
Wofford was a No. 7 seed in 2019 when it beat No. 10 Seton Hall 84-68, then lost to No. 2 Kentucky 62-56.
The Terriers lost to Arkansas (56-53) as a No. 12 seed in 2015, lost to Michigan (57-40) as a No. 15 seed in 2013, lost as a No. 14 seed to BYU (74-66) in 2011 and lost to Wisconsin (59-43) as a No. 13 seed in 2010.
Tennessee is 8-0 all time against Wofford, including an 82-61 win in November 2023.
“They’re a phenomenal,” Perry said of the Vols. “They’re well coached. They have a Hall of Fame coach in Coach Barnes. Their program’s track record speaks for itself. But I think it’s a really cool experience for our guys to be able to play in Lexington against a great team like Tennessee and in one of the more storied venues in Rupp Arena.”
