University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Host Winthrop in Big South Showdown
01.05.2016 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Teams: Asheville (10-5, 3-0 BSC)
Winthrop (9-5, 2-2 BSC)
Location: Kimmel Arena / Asheville, N.C.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
VIDEO (Big South Network) - AUDIO (Bulldog Radio Network)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville looks to continue the momentum of two Big South Conference road victories as it returns home on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. to take on Winthrop inside Kimmel Arena. Winthrop comes in on a two-game losing streak but has won the last four matchups in the series.
NOTABLES
Starting Strong: The Bulldogs have now opened Big South Conference play at least 2-0 four times in the last five seasons, and the third consecutive year. Saturday's victory over Liberty gave Asheville a 3-0 start to the BSC schedule for the second consecutive season.
Smith Doubles Up on Weekly Honors: Freshman Dylan Smith racked up a pair of honors on Monday, earning Big South Conference Freshman of the Week honors from the conference office and also being named College Sports Madness' Big South Player of the Week. Smith collected 56 points over the last three games, all wins, and is at the top of nearly Bulldog offensive category, including points per game (13.1 points per contest), three-point shooting percentage (40.2 percent) and free throw shooting percentage (81.0 percent).
In the Series: Wednesday's meeting will be the 71st meeting all-time between Asheville and Winthrop, with the Bulldogs trailing 32-28 in the series. Winthrop has won the last four meetings, including sweeping the season series last year. The series dates all the way back to Nov. 21, 1984 - a Bulldog 71-66 road victory. In games played in Asheville, the Bulldogs are 19-12 all-time and they are 3-1 in games played inside Kimmel Arena.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH NICK McDEVITT
On the early Big South Conference success – “Our team is playing hard and playing together. The big thing will be to continue to get better moving forward. I told the team that after the Liberty win – we can't be the same team in late February that we are right now. Although I'm proud of where we are right now, we certainly have areas to continue to improve in and we will have to do that to give ourselves a chance to win the regular season championship.”
On Dylan Smith and Dwayne Sutton – “I think it is uncanny how Dylan and Dwayne play as freshmen and how confident they are in thinking they belong on the floor – and they do. Often the speed of the game and size of the players at the college level is a little shocking at first. Both guys are comfortable out there because they play with so much confidence.”
On coaching this team – “They are a great group. Both I and the rest of the coaching staff have a real fun time coaching this group. The play hard and play together and they know when it's time to have fun and time to be serious. Because of that, we are having a whole lot of fun around here.”
UP NEXT
-Following Wednesday's game, the Bulldogs head back on the road for their next two matchups, beginning Saturday afternoon at Charleston Southern. Asheville continues the road swing next Thursday at Radford.
