University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Men's Basketball To Take on Winthrop in Semifinals of Big South Tourney
02.28.2007 | Men's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The UNC Asheville men's basketball team hopes to keep up its winning ways Thursday night when the fifth-seeded Bulldogs take on top-seeded Winthrop in the semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament. The game will be televised nationally by ESPNU which is Channel 609 on Direct TV. It will also be broadcast on the internet at www.uncabulldogs.com or www.bigsouthsports.com.
Asheville (12-18) has its longest winning streak in four seasons after winning its fourth straight game Tuesday night as the Bulldogs upset fourth-seeded Coastal Carolina, 77-64 on the road.
For Asheville to get to the championship game, the Bulldogs are going to have to do something that nobody else has done in the Big South Conference this year and that's defeat Winthrop. The Eagles are 26-4 and finished unbeaten in league play during the regular season at 14-0. They have won 16 straight games going into Thursday's game with the Bulldogs. Two of those wins came over Asheville and both were by 19 points. Winthrop won 61-42 on Jan. 15 in Rock Hill and then 88-69 at Justice Center on Feb. 3.
"Winthrop has a very good team that is very deserving of getting into the NCA Tournament whether they win the Big South Tournament or not," stated UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "They have done a great job this year winning tough non-conference games on the road and representing our league quite well.
"What makes Winthrop so good is its defense," added Biedenbach. "They are just so sound defensively and make you work for everything you might get. Winthrop is good on offense with a lot of firepower from different people. They can beat you in so many different ways. This is a team that nearly beat North Carolina and Wisconsin on the road and those two teams have been ranked number one this year."
Biedenbach is hopeful the Bulldogs can keep up their good play. Junior guards K.J. Garland and Bryan Smithson have been fantastic during the winning streak as both players have averaged 17 points per game during the four wins. Sophomore Kenny George has been very good lately and the 7-7 center has simply been dominant the last five games. He is shooting 31-of-35 (88.5%) from the field and averaged 12 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots in the last five games.
"We're playing better and have done a nice job improving as the year has gone on," explained Biedenbach. "One of the keys is that we're finally healthy. We have a full team now and everyone is contributing in each game.
"We're going to need that kind of effort and then some when we play at Winthrop," added Biedenbach. "Tournament time is my favorite time of the year. There should be some great atmosphere tomorrow night at Winthrop, and we're looking forward to playing."
The winner of the Asheville-Winthrop game will play for the Big South Conference championship game Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against the winner of the High Point-VMI semifinal game that starts at 6 p.m. Thursday night. If the Bulldogs were to upset Winthrop, they would play at High Point if the Panthers won or would be at home at Justice Center against VMI if the Keydets were to win.
