Searching for Cinderella: Wofford

This is the year the Wofford Terriers are hoping to break through and get their first NCAA Tournament win in school history. They have had three previous chances. They were a 13 seed in 2010 (a 4 point loss to Wisconsin), a 14 in 2011 (an 8 point loss to BYU), and a 15 in 2014 (a 17 point loss to Michigan). Should this year's team win the Southern Conference Tournament, the Terriers are likely going to be in the 11-13 range. Joe Lunardi currently has them as a 12 seed. Why such a high seed for a Southern Conference team? In large part because of their 52nd ranked RPI. They also played a tough nonconference schedule, including games against Stanford, Iona, Sam Houston St., NC State, West Virginia, and Duke. Make no mistake, Wofford is tested. They finished that nonconference slate 9-4 and have continued that winning into conference play. They are 16-2 in the Southern Conference and alone in first place. And, they only have 1 bad loss (a 3 point loss to The Citadel). So how did they get here? A combination of Senior leadership and a deep bench.

Senior Karl Cochran leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game. He also leads the team in assists (2.8 per). And steals and blocks (1.8 and 1.0 per game respectively). And he's second on the team in rebounding (5.8 per game). His importance to the team should be obvious and cannot be understated. He's the engine. He averages roughly 22% of Wofford's points. Don't forget about the rest of the Terriers, though. They have 10 players who have played in at least 28 games and who average at least 8.7 minutes per game. The 9 of those players not named Cochran all contribute - anywhere from 1.5 to 11.2 points per game. Outside of Cochran, it's an incredibly balanced offensive attack. The offense, though, is not really where this team shines. They do that on the defensive side.

Wofford gives up just 59.9 points per game, which is 26th best nationally. Keep in mind, too, that they didn't play cupcakes all year long. That number is even more impressive when you take into account the fact that they have played some accomplished offensive teams like Iona and Duke. Wofford can get after it on defense.

This team has had some near misses in the NCAA Tournament in the past, and if they make it back to the Big Dance this year, expect them to compete again. A good defensive team with a star senior leader is not the matchup any higher seed hopes to see.