NCAA Bracket Preview: Complete Wofford Tournament Primer

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Just one season removed from the best Division 1 season in program history and their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, the Terries are back in the Big Dance after defeating the College of Charleston in the SoCon championship. The climb to national prominence (to a degree) under 9th year head coach Mike Young has been a meteoric one. Back-to-back seasons of at least a share of the regular season conference title and back to back automatic bids have come on the heels of six straight years of never finishing better than fourth in the conference standings. Needless to say, it’s the best of times for Wofford, particularly at the offensive end of the floor. The Terriers finished with the top offensive efficiency in the conference on the strength of their 41.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc - the fifth best mark in the country.

Record: 21-12 (14-4)

RPI: 109

Key Wins: 82-70 (OT) vs George Mason, November 21st: At the time this game looked more like a bad loss for the Patriots than a great win for Wofford, but following a tremendous run by Mason that saw them nationally ranked, this game took on a whole new degree of importance. Toss in that it goes down as a win over a top 30 RPI team for the Terriers and this goes down as one of the better non-conference wins ever for the program at the Division 1 level.

Key Losses: 94-90 (3OT) @ Xavier, November 27th: This was another major statement game for Wofford early on in the season. Nothing says George Mason wasn’t a fluke like taking the regular season champion from the Atlantic-10 to triple overtime on their court. It’d be easy to try and pinpoint a conference loss, but the Terriers four SoCon losses came against teams that finished no worse than third - they took care of business.

Key Player: Noah Dahlman, Senior, Forward

Wofford’s leading scorer, Dahlman followed up a junior season in which he was named SoCon Player of the Year by earning First Team All-Conference honors after averaging 20 points per game. The 6-6 forward is among the most efficient finishers in the country, shooting a robust 61 percent from the floor and according to data from Synergy Sports Technology ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring efficiency. Not surprisingly nearly 70 percent of his shot attempts come in the post and around the rim where he exhibits excellent touch. He’s also proven a strong finisher as a trailer in transition settings.