Video (ESPN3)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will close out play in the home portion of its 2017-18 schedule Saturday as the Bulldogs square off against the Furman Paladins at 1 p.m. (CT) in a special Senior Day matchup to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Prior to the Southern Conference showdown, Samford's senior class consisting of Eric Adams, Demetrius Denzel-Dyson, Alex Peters, Gerald Smith, Tanner Tapp and Alex Thompson will all be honored with a special Senior Day presentation. Fans are encouraged to arrive early.
 
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, as well as on the radio at 91.1 FM locally with "Voice of the Bulldogs" Blake Gardner calling the action from his spot on press row. The ESPN3 crew for the contest will be Ryan Brown (Play-by-play), Bill Jones (Color) and Hattie Breece (Sideline).
 
SAMFORD BASKETBALL PRE-GAME CAPSULE
Furman Paladins at Samford Bulldogs | Saturday, Feb. 17
 
TIP:  1 p.m. (CT), at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham
 
WEBSTREAM:  ESPN3
 
RADIO:  91.1 FM locally in Birmingham

SAMFORD
1). The Bulldogs (9-19, 5-10 SoCon) enter Sunday's contest looking to bounce back from a tough 74-69 home loss to Mercer on Monday. In the defeat, Samford outscored the Bears, 41-40, in the second half, but couldn't overcome a slow first-half start and a 34-28 halftime deficit.
 
2). Senior guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson is only nine points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau. By achieving the feat, he would become just the third player in school history to accomplish the deed in two seasons, joining Craig Beard (1982-84) and Tim Williams (2012-14).
 
3). The Bulldogs' Triston Chambers is ranked second in the SoCon this season in 3-point shooting with a 44.6-percent mark from long range. Chambers has connected on 58-of-130 attempts this season, including 39-of-84 (46.4 percent) in conference play.
 
4). Samford will be meeting Furman for the 25th time in school history Saturday. The Paladins hold a 16-8 advantage in the all-time series and earned a 78-67 home victory against the Bulldogs earlier this season (Jan. 20). Last year, Samford knocked Furman out of the SoCon Tournament, 67-63, in the quarterfinal round of action held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
 
5). In their first meeting with the Paladins this season, the Bulldogs' Justin Coleman turned in a solid game with 20 points, eight assists and two rebounds. Samford's junior point guard finished 8-of-14 from the field and logged a team-high 34 minutes of playing time.
 
FURMAN
1). The Paladins (18-9, 9-5 SoCon) head into Saturday's game riding a wave of positive momentum after earning back-to-back victories against Wofford, 76-52, and Chattanooga, 75-56. At home against Chattanooga on Thursday, Furman's Devin Sibley, the Preseason SoCon Player of the Year, tallied 16 points and eight rebounds in the win.
 
2). The Paladins have held each of their last two opponents (Wofford and Chattanooga) below 36-percent shooting and to 56 or fewer points.
 
3). Furman leads the SoCon in both turnover margin (+3.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) this season. The Paladins have committed 11 or fewer turnovers in seven of their past eight contests while averaging only 9.0 miscues per game.
 
4). Under the direction of first-year head coach Bob Richey, Furman is currently tied with Wofford for third place in the conference standings at 9-5.
 
5). After a run of four consecutive losing seasons, the Paladins have since posted a 60-37 record over the last two-plus years and a 64-39 mark in its last 103 games.
 
INSIDE STUFF
At halftime Saturday, Samford's 2018 Hall of Fame class will be honored with a special acknowledgement for the crowd. The Bulldogs' newest HOF class will be inducted Saturday night and consists of the following members:  Billy Bancroft, Craig Beard, Jimbo Fisher, Michael Marseco, Alyssa Whitehead and the 1998-99 men's basketball team.
 
NEXT
Following Saturday's matchup, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs begin their final road trip of the 2017-18 regular season against the VMI Keydets in Cameran Hall located in Lexington, Virginia.
 
TWITTER
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordHoopsFOE and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

Video (ESPN3)  |  Radio (91.1 FM)  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Game Notes