University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Travels to Tennessee Tuesday Night
12.19.2011 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville men's basketball starts a four-game road swing Tuesday night when the Bulldogs travel to Tennessee for a date with the Volunteers starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday's game will be televised by SportSouth (Channel 35 on Charter) and be broadcast on WWNC Radio (570-AM) with the pre-game show starting at 6:30 p.m. The game can also be heard via audio-streaming at www.uncabulldogs.com.
Asheville (6-4) carries a four-game winning streak into Thompson-Boling Arena against a Volunteer (3-6) team that is looking to snap a four-game losing streak. This will be Asheville's first trip to Knoxville in two years. The Bulldogs do not have pleasant memories of the last one as they lost to Tennessee, 124-49. The 75-point margin was the worst loss in school history. Asheville had only two field goals in the first half and trailed 66-14 at halftime. It was not a pleasant experience.
Seven Bulldogs, including four of Asheville's probable starters, played that night and that game has not been forgotten.
"We remember the game very well at Tennessee two years ago," stated Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We weren't ready to play, and Tennessee took full advantage of that. What was disappointing was that we just didn't compete like we were capable of competing."
Tennessee has had a tough stretch recently but Biedenbach knows the Volunteers are talented.
"Tennessee has lost some close games that could have gone either way," explained Biedenbach. "This is still a good team that's well-coached that presents a lot of match-up problems for us. We have a nice winning streak going right now, but Tennessee's athleticism and quickness presents a lot of challenges for our team."
The Bulldogs are being led in scoring by senior guard Matt Dickey. The Big South Conference Preseason Player of the Year is averaging 16.7 points per game and his shooting .552 from the field (53-of-96). Senior forward Chris Stephenson has been hot lately and is averaging 13.2 points. He's averaged 19.5 points in the last two games and is shooting an incredible .842 (16-of-19) from the field. Senior guard J.P. Primm has a 13.0 scoring average, while Jaron Lane is averaging 11.3 points per game. Primm is second in the Big South in assists (4.8).
BULLDOG NOTES
Tennessee leads the all-time series, 7-0 and all the games have been played in Knoxville. The closest Asheville has come to winning came in the first meeting (Nov. 1997) when the Bulldogs led by 14 in the second half only to see the Volunteers rally for a 75-69 win. Tony Harris sparked the UT comeback, while Josh Pittman had 31 points for Asheville. The Vols were coached that night by former Bulldog head coach Jerry Green. Green was the program's head from 1979-88 and is a member of the Athletic Department's Hall of Fame.
Dave Hart, Jr. is in his first year as Director of Athletics at Tennessee. His father, Dave Hart, Sr., was a consultant with UNC Asheville's Athletic Department from 1993 until he passed away in 2009. Dave Hart, Sr. was inducted into the Athletic Department Hall of Fame in 2008 for his many contributions to the school.
Senior guard J.P Primm is closing in on being UNC Asheville's all-time leader in both assists and steals. He enters tonight's game with 513 assists. He needs just eight to move past K.J. Garland (520) and become the school's all-time leader. Primm recorded his 200th career assist in Asheville's last game, a 109-61 win over Montreat, and now has 202. The Dickson, Tenn. native needs just 22 to move past Andre Smith's (223) and become the all-time leader.
Asheville's 84.4 scoring average is second in the Big South Conference and seventh best nationally. As usual VMI leads the Big South and the nation in scoring with an 88.7 mark.
Ten different Bulldog players have scored in double figures this season.
Tonight's game is just the third road game of the year for the Bulldogs. They played three neutral games at the Battle "4" Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Head Coach Eddie Biedenbach needs one victory to tie Bob Hartman for most wins as the Bulldogs head coach. Eddie enters tonight's game with a 222-236 in 15+ years at Asheville. Hartman was 223-209 in 5 total seasons.
