University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Bulldogs Set to Renew League Rivalry With Winthrop on ESPNU on Thursday Evening
01.18.2017 | Men's Basketball
UNC Asheville-Winthrop Game Notes
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (13-6, 5-1 Big South Conference)
Winthrop (13-4, 5-1 Big South Conference)
Location: Rock Hill, S.C. / Winthrop Coliseum
When: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 / 9 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Robert Lee (PxP), Nate Ross (Analyst)
Radio: NEWS RADIO 570 WWNC
Talent: Brian Hall
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
NATIONALLY-TELEVISED BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE SHOWDOWN: ESPNU selected the UNC Asheville at Winthrop men's basketball contest as its Big South Wildcard Selection broadcast on Monday, Dec. 26. The choice was a strong one as the Bulldogs (13-6, 5-1 Big South Conference) and Eagles (13-4, 5-1 Big South Conference) will battle at Winthrop Coliseum with both tied for the league lead. Robert Lee (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (analyst) will handle the call from courtside on the nationally-televised contest.
SERIES: The first of the two matchups during the regular-season between Asheville and Winthrop will be the 74th meeting between the two. The Eagles own a slight 39-34 all-time series advantage, including a 33-29 advantage in regular-season meetings. The Bulldogs have won two of the last three between the two teams with the two teams splitting during the regular-season last year before the Bulldogs claimed the 2016 Big South Conference Tournament Championship with a 77-68 win over the Eagles on Sunday, March 6, 2016, at Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C.
NATIONALLY-KNOWN: UNC Asheville will appear on an ESPN broadcast twice this week including the ESPNU showdown against Winthrop as the Bulldogs will also host Campbell at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Jan. 21, in a game that will be carried by ESPN3.
STREAKING: For the second time this season, UNC Asheville is in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: Twice during the second half the Bulldogs held Charleston Southern without a field goal for well over four minutes. During the closing minutes of the second half, Asheville's defense held the Buccaneers to 0-of-9 shooting during an almost five-minute stretch.
PERFECT: MaCio Teague led all Bulldogs in the win over Charleston Southern with 18 points, but he did it the hard way by scoring 12 of his 18 points from the free throw line where he was a perfect 12-of-12. In Asheville's two wins last week, Teague was a perfect 18-of-18 from the charity stripe.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE: Asheville at 5-1 overall in Big South Conference play is now tied with Liberty (10-9, 5-1 Big South Conference) and Winthrop (13-4, 5-1 Big South Conference) for the league lead.
STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: In UNC Asheville's win at Charleston Southern, Alec Wnuk ended his day with six overall rebounds. He was particularly strong on the offensive glass though where he collected five of his six boards.
BIG SOUTH UNVEILS NEW BRAND IDENTITY (Per the Big South Conference): "The Big South Conference introduced its new brand identity on Saturday, Jan. 14, that epitomizes the league's strong commitment to its student-athletes and re-establishes the Conference's vitality, personality and longstanding success in NCAA Division I collegiate athletics under a new mantra – 'Where Winners Are Made.'" Full Release: Visit BigSouthSports.com
DOUBLE THE PRODUCTION: With Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague both posting 27 points in the Bulldog win over Longwood it marked the second time in Asheville's six Big South Conference games thus far that two Bulldogs have scored 20 or more in a game. In Asheville's overtime win over Gardner-Webb on Dec. 31, 2016, Teague scored 25 points, while David Robertson finished with 23 points. Prior to the Gardner-Webb game the last time two Bulldogs had scored over 20 or more in the same game came against Longwood on Jan. 30, 2016, with Thomas scoring 21 and Dwayne Sutton finishing his efforts with 20 points in the Bulldogs' 88-74 win over the Lancers.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Bulldogs are 7-1 on the year at home. The Asheville men protected home court very efficiently last season as well, going 11-3 at home. UNC Asheville is 62-16 at Kimmel Arena all-time.
DISHING IT OUT: Kevin Vannatta ended Asheville's win over Longwood with six assists for the second straight game. During league play so far, Vannatta has dished out six assists in three of the six games.
TEAGUE CHOSEN BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (JAN. 9): UNC Asheville freshman guard MaCio Teague was named the Come Ready Nutrition Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. In a perfect 2-0 week for the Bulldogs, Teague averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and one steal per game. In Asheville's 70-57 road win at Liberty on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, Teague finished his efforts with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Teague followed the performance up against High Point by ending his day with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Bulldogs' dominating 30-point 88-58 home win over the Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017. The Cincinnati, Ohio native was 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the field overall on the week. He connected on 83.3 percent (5-of-6) of his three-point attempts on the week and he was 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line on the week.
AMONG THE BEST: Ahmad Thomas is currently fourth in the country in total steals with 57. He is tied for fifth in the country in steals per game with 3.00 steals per outing.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs fourth in the country in total steals (187). The Bulldogs are also eighth in the country in steals per game (9.84).
FREE BASKETBALL: After the overtime win over Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville is now 2-1 on the year in overtime contests. The Bulldogs have now played two straight overtime games to start Big South Conference play.
THOMAS THE CONSISTENT ENGINE: Ahmad Thomas has scored in double figures every game this season. Thomas has also recorded multiple rebounds and picked up at least a steal in each Bulldog game.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville welcomes Campbell to Kimmel Arena for a 4:30 p.m. Big South Conference game on Saturday, Jan. 21. The game will be part of a doubleheader at Kimmel Arena with the Asheville women set to take on Liberty at 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3.
QUOTABLES
"We are incredibly thankful ESPNU has picked this game as a Wildcard Selection broadcast. We consider this to be one of the best rivalries in all of college basketball, and we are really excited that the first of our meetings this year will be featured on national television." - Head Coach Nick McDevitt
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (13-6, 5-1 Big South Conference)
Winthrop (13-4, 5-1 Big South Conference)
Location: Rock Hill, S.C. / Winthrop Coliseum
When: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 / 9 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Robert Lee (PxP), Nate Ross (Analyst)
Radio: NEWS RADIO 570 WWNC
Talent: Brian Hall
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
NATIONALLY-TELEVISED BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE SHOWDOWN: ESPNU selected the UNC Asheville at Winthrop men's basketball contest as its Big South Wildcard Selection broadcast on Monday, Dec. 26. The choice was a strong one as the Bulldogs (13-6, 5-1 Big South Conference) and Eagles (13-4, 5-1 Big South Conference) will battle at Winthrop Coliseum with both tied for the league lead. Robert Lee (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (analyst) will handle the call from courtside on the nationally-televised contest.
SERIES: The first of the two matchups during the regular-season between Asheville and Winthrop will be the 74th meeting between the two. The Eagles own a slight 39-34 all-time series advantage, including a 33-29 advantage in regular-season meetings. The Bulldogs have won two of the last three between the two teams with the two teams splitting during the regular-season last year before the Bulldogs claimed the 2016 Big South Conference Tournament Championship with a 77-68 win over the Eagles on Sunday, March 6, 2016, at Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C.
NATIONALLY-KNOWN: UNC Asheville will appear on an ESPN broadcast twice this week including the ESPNU showdown against Winthrop as the Bulldogs will also host Campbell at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Jan. 21, in a game that will be carried by ESPN3.
STREAKING: For the second time this season, UNC Asheville is in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: Twice during the second half the Bulldogs held Charleston Southern without a field goal for well over four minutes. During the closing minutes of the second half, Asheville's defense held the Buccaneers to 0-of-9 shooting during an almost five-minute stretch.
PERFECT: MaCio Teague led all Bulldogs in the win over Charleston Southern with 18 points, but he did it the hard way by scoring 12 of his 18 points from the free throw line where he was a perfect 12-of-12. In Asheville's two wins last week, Teague was a perfect 18-of-18 from the charity stripe.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE: Asheville at 5-1 overall in Big South Conference play is now tied with Liberty (10-9, 5-1 Big South Conference) and Winthrop (13-4, 5-1 Big South Conference) for the league lead.
STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: In UNC Asheville's win at Charleston Southern, Alec Wnuk ended his day with six overall rebounds. He was particularly strong on the offensive glass though where he collected five of his six boards.
BIG SOUTH UNVEILS NEW BRAND IDENTITY (Per the Big South Conference): "The Big South Conference introduced its new brand identity on Saturday, Jan. 14, that epitomizes the league's strong commitment to its student-athletes and re-establishes the Conference's vitality, personality and longstanding success in NCAA Division I collegiate athletics under a new mantra – 'Where Winners Are Made.'" Full Release: Visit BigSouthSports.com
DOUBLE THE PRODUCTION: With Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague both posting 27 points in the Bulldog win over Longwood it marked the second time in Asheville's six Big South Conference games thus far that two Bulldogs have scored 20 or more in a game. In Asheville's overtime win over Gardner-Webb on Dec. 31, 2016, Teague scored 25 points, while David Robertson finished with 23 points. Prior to the Gardner-Webb game the last time two Bulldogs had scored over 20 or more in the same game came against Longwood on Jan. 30, 2016, with Thomas scoring 21 and Dwayne Sutton finishing his efforts with 20 points in the Bulldogs' 88-74 win over the Lancers.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Bulldogs are 7-1 on the year at home. The Asheville men protected home court very efficiently last season as well, going 11-3 at home. UNC Asheville is 62-16 at Kimmel Arena all-time.
DISHING IT OUT: Kevin Vannatta ended Asheville's win over Longwood with six assists for the second straight game. During league play so far, Vannatta has dished out six assists in three of the six games.
TEAGUE CHOSEN BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (JAN. 9): UNC Asheville freshman guard MaCio Teague was named the Come Ready Nutrition Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. In a perfect 2-0 week for the Bulldogs, Teague averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and one steal per game. In Asheville's 70-57 road win at Liberty on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, Teague finished his efforts with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Teague followed the performance up against High Point by ending his day with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Bulldogs' dominating 30-point 88-58 home win over the Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017. The Cincinnati, Ohio native was 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the field overall on the week. He connected on 83.3 percent (5-of-6) of his three-point attempts on the week and he was 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line on the week.
AMONG THE BEST: Ahmad Thomas is currently fourth in the country in total steals with 57. He is tied for fifth in the country in steals per game with 3.00 steals per outing.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs fourth in the country in total steals (187). The Bulldogs are also eighth in the country in steals per game (9.84).
FREE BASKETBALL: After the overtime win over Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville is now 2-1 on the year in overtime contests. The Bulldogs have now played two straight overtime games to start Big South Conference play.
THOMAS THE CONSISTENT ENGINE: Ahmad Thomas has scored in double figures every game this season. Thomas has also recorded multiple rebounds and picked up at least a steal in each Bulldog game.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville welcomes Campbell to Kimmel Arena for a 4:30 p.m. Big South Conference game on Saturday, Jan. 21. The game will be part of a doubleheader at Kimmel Arena with the Asheville women set to take on Liberty at 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3.
QUOTABLES
"We are incredibly thankful ESPNU has picked this game as a Wildcard Selection broadcast. We consider this to be one of the best rivalries in all of college basketball, and we are really excited that the first of our meetings this year will be featured on national television." - Head Coach Nick McDevitt
Players Mentioned
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