To come out of their three-game road trip successfully, the Georgia Southern Eagles will have to beat Furman.
That hasn’t happened too frequently, on the road, anyway.
The Eagles (9-12, 3-5 SoCon) face Furman today at 7 p.m., in Greenville, S.C., where GSU has lost four in a row despite winning all the home games against the Paladins in the span.
"We haven’t played well in Greenville the past couple of years," GSU coach Charlton Young said. "We’ve played well in some other places, but we haven’t played well there."
Furman (5-13, 2-5) relies heavily on the inside-out game, which starts with forward Colin Reddick (12.1 points per game).
"They’re a great catch-and-shoot team, and their (post player), Colin Reddick, is probably the best interior scorer in the league," Young said. "He makes it difficult to defend the 3-point line because he scores it so well inside."
With Davidson (8-1 in SoCon play) and College of Charleston (6-3) claiming the top two spots in the SoCon South Division, the Eagles have an uphill climb if they’re going to secure one of the league’s four first-round byes in the upcoming league championship tournament.
In past years, the byes went to each of the top two teams in each division, but for the first time in 2013, the division champs each receive a bye, followed by the next two best records regardless of division.
That means the Eagles could finish behind Charleston and Davidson and still receive a bye, but they’re also competing for that bye with everyone in the North Division.
"Furman is a big opportunity for us," Young said. "Every one of these games — we’ve got 10 down the stretch — every one of these is a one-game Super Bowl. Every game is going to effect the Southern Conference race so much. Right now we’re in third place in the south, and we’re trying to climb into one of the top four records in the league. In order to do it, we can’t have any more mishaps."
The Eagles are led offensively by Eric Ferguson (14.1 points per game). C.J. Reed (11.7) and Tre Bussey (10.4) also average double digits.
After Furman, the Eagles will return home for a three-game stretch beginning Saturday at 7 p.m. against Chattanooga.
Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-9408.