University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Prep for Final Conference Contest at Coastal Carolina
01.26.2016 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Teams: Asheville (14-7, 7-2 BSC)
Coastal Carolina (11-8, 5-4 BSC)
Location: HTC Center / Conway, S.C.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
VIDEO (Big South Network) - AUDIO (uncabulldogs.com) - LIVE STATS
CONWAY, S.C. – UNC Asheville makes its final trip to the South Carolina coast to take on Coastal Carolina as Big South members on Wednesday night, with the Bulldogs looking to stay atop the conference standings by themselves and in front of a large clump of teams behind them.
Both teams are coming off Saturday victories, with Asheville downing Presbyterian at home and Coastal Carolina winning on the road at Charleston Southern.
NOTABLES
Boarding the Big South: The Bulldogs are at or near the top of the Big South in multiple rebounding categories, including fourth in the league in percentage of total rebounds coming on the defensive glass (72.7% of total). Asheville is third in the BSC in rebounding margin (+3.0) and in defensive rebounding, pulling down 26.5 boards off the defensive glass a night. Individually, Dwayne Sutton is fourth in the BSC in total rebounding (7.5/game) and is second in the conference in defensive rebounding (5.3 defensive boards/game).
Logging Minutes: Asheville has seven players averaging 20 or more minutes per night, with Kevin Vannatta's 34.2 minutes/game leading all BSC players. In Big South play, the Bulldogs have two players logging 30+ minutes per game: Vannatta (35.7) and Ahmad Thomas (30.3), while Sutton is averaging 29.9 minutes/game through nine Big South Conference games entering Wednesday night.
Diaper Dandies: Freshmen Dylan Smith and Dwayne Sutton are the 10th-highest scoring freshmen duo in the country, averaging 24.6 points/game combined. Smith leads Asheville in scoring, averaging 13.6 points/game, while Sutton is averaging 11.0/points a night. In Big South Conference play, Smith has upped his scoring average to 15.2 points/per, while Sutton has held steady at 10.7 points/per. Florida State's combo of Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon lead the country, averaging 33.5 points/game.
In the Series: In the Series: Wednesday's meeting will be the 70th meeting all-time between Asheville and Coastal Carolina, with the Bulldogs trailing 36-33 in the series. The teams split the regular season series last year, with each winning on its home court. Coastal ended Asheville's season in the quarterfinals of the BSC Tournament (played at the HTC Center). Asheville is 0-4 against Coastal Carolina inside the HTC Center. The series dates all the way back to November 1984 – a Bulldog 59-57 home victory in a game played at the Asheville Civic Center (now U.S. Cellular Center).
UP NEXT
-Following Wednesday's game, Asheville returns home to host Longwood inside Kimmel Arena on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff will be at 12:00 p.m. noon and the game will be an American Sports Network telecast.
