Jan. 24, 2010

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Samford University basketball team will conclude its arduous three-game, six-day Southern Conference road trip Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Furman Paladins at Timmons Arena (5,000).

Fans unable to attend Monday's game in person can listen live to Samford's broadcast on WVSU 91.1 FM or via the Internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. GameTracker will also be available at www.SamfordSports.com.

Samford (9-10, 3-4 SoCon) enters the matchup with a two-game winning streak, but suffered a blow Saturday when Head Coach Jimmy Tillette had a seizure on the sideline during the Bulldogs' 70-67 victory at UNC Greensboro. Tillette was immediately rushed to Moses Cone Hospital where he still remains in stable condition.

Tillette will remain at the hospital for observation and further tests Sunday. The doctors will not allow him to coach in Monday night's game at Furman (9-10, 3-5 SoCon). Associate Head Coach Paul Kelly, who filled in for Tillette for the remainder of Saturday's game, will assume the head coaching duties until Tillette is cleared to return to the sideline.

Kelly is in the midst of his 13th year at Samford and his fifth full season as the team's associate head coach. On June 2, 2005, head coach Jimmy Tillette promoted Kelly to the position of associate head coach after he undoubtedly proved to be an integral member of the coaching staff as an assistant under Tillette since the 1997-98 season.

Kelly's main duties include recruiting, scouting and on-court coaching. He also runs the trendsetting Samford summer basketball camp that draws more than 650 participants each year. Since his arrival in 1997, Kelly has been a vital part of the Samford coaching staff and was a key component in the Bulldogs' NCAA Tournament appearances in both 1999 and 2000.

Earlier this season, Tillette became the first coach in school history to reach the 200-win plateau on Dec. 22 as the Bulldogs defeated Eastern Michigan on the road 58-56. In his 13th season at Samford, Tillette owns a 204-171 overall record and an impressive 134-91 mark against conference opponents. He is Samford's all-time winningest coach and piloted the Bulldogs to NCAA Tournament appearances in both 1999 and 2000.

On Nov. 14, 2004, Tillette earned the 150th win of his career as Samford posted an 83-59 home victory against Tennessee Temple. He reached the 100-win plateau on Nov. 25, 2002, with a 70-61 win at home versus Arkansas State.

Monday will mark the first time since Feb. 28, 1997 that someone other than Tillette has started a game as Samford's acting coach. In that 1997 contest, John Brady made his final Bulldogs' coaching appearance in a 90-67 loss to Florida International in the second round of the Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference (TAAC) Tournament.

Prior to Saturday's win at UNC Greensboro, Samford rallied back from five points down with 1:48 left to play en route to a thrilling 50-49 victory at Elon on Thursday. The Bulldogs' win at Elon snapped a four-game SoCon losing streak and helped boost the team on its current road trip.

Furman heads into Monday's matchup with aspirations of snapping a two-game losing streak. The Paladins have dropped four of their last five contests and suffered back-to-back SoCon defeats against College of Charleston 92-80 and The Citadel 70-60.

In Saturday's loss to The Citadel, Furman led at the half 30-29, but was outscored 41-30 in the final period. The Paladin's leading scorer Amu Saaka paced the team with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, while Colin Reddick added 13 points on a near-perfect 6-for-7 shooting performance. Saaka leads Furman with an average of 16.7 points per game this season.

The Paladins are the top-ranked team in the conference in free throw shooting. Furman owns a stellar 74.4 percentage from the charity stripe and sophomore forward Bryson Brown leads the team with a near-perfect 92.3-percent (36-of-39) mark from the free-throw line. Furman is also ranked second in the SoCon in blocks per game (4.9).

The all-time series between Samford and Furman dates all the back to March 4, 1926 when the Paladins earned a 25-21 win at home. Last year, the teams faced off three times with each squad winning at home before Samford knocked Furman out of the SoCon Tournament with a 76-67 win in Chattanooga, Tenn. Furman owns a 4-2 all-time record in the series.

Last season, Samford finished the 2008-09 campaign with three of the SoCon's top-10 shooters from 3-point range. Andy King led the way with a 42.1 percent mark from downtown, while Josh Bedwell followed with a 40.8 shooting mark from beyond the arc.

Rounding out the top-10 shooters in the SoCon was the Bulldogs' Josh Davis who tallied a 39.8 percentage from 3-point range. King and Bedwell finished the season ranked fifth and sixth in the final SoCon listings in 3-point shooting, respectively.

It is safe to say that Samford's offensive style is unique. While most teams play pressure defense and tend to run the ball up the court, the Bulldogs use patience and precision cutting on offense to get either a back-door layup or a wide open look at a 3-point shot. With that in mind, Samford's offense is hard to prepare for and often poses problems for the opposition's coaches in the league to scout.

Since Tillette incorporated the Princeton offense at Samford in 1997, the Bulldogs have reeled off a 79-49 record in games played against teams that have less than three days to prepare.

Following Monday's game at Furman, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin a critical two-game homestand against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
GameTracker - Samford at Furman
Webstreamed Radio Broadcast