University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Renew Mountain Rivalry Sunday With Western Carolina at U.S. Cellular Center
12.16.2017 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
2017-18 UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Media Guide
Tickets
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (6-4)
Western Carolina (3-7)
Location: Asheville, N.C./U.S. Cellular Center
Date/Time: Sunday, Dec. 17/4:30 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Talent - Matt Stradley (PBP), John Williams (Analyst)
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville/1440 WMXF-Waynesville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP), Mike Gore (Analyst)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville will renew its Mountain Rivalry with Western Carolina at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, in the 2017 Mountain Invitational at the U.S. Cellular Center.
The matchup will mark the first time that UNC Asheville has played at Asheville's downtown arena since an 85-71 win over Western Carolina on Dec. 4, 2004. K.J. Garland led five Bulldogs in double figures that day with 16 points and six rebounds.
BULLDOG BITES
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Western Carolina have met 50 times before with WCU holding a slight 28-22 advantage in the series. The series dates all the way back to 1930. Asheville won the first meeting, 31-28, on Feb. 3, 1930. The Catamounts and Bulldogs have met every season dating back to 1999-00. Last year, the 50th meeting between the two rivals ended with the Bulldogs picking up a thrilling 59-57 win at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville's win over Milligan was its 14th straight home win. UNC Asheville is now 5-0 on the 2017-18 season and 73-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena, including 48-10 in Big South Conference contests.
FOLLOW IT LIVE: You can watch all of the action live HERE. You can listen to the radio broadcast HERE. To follow the action via live stats, please visit HERE.
IN THE NCAA STATISTICS: UNC Asheville is currently sixth in the country in three-point field goal percentage (43.3) as a team. The Bulldogs are 32nd in the country in steals per game (8.5).
DOUBLE IT UP: With the three double-doubles in the win over Milligan it marked the first time since the thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop last year that two or more Bulldogs had double-doubles in the same game. The win over Milligan also marks the first time since that win over the Eagles that five or more Bulldogs scored in double figures in the same game with six Bulldogs securing double-digit scoring outputs against the Buffaloes.
CAREER DAY FOR RAEKWON MILLER: Miller's first career double-double against Milligan was made possible by a day where he knocked down a career-high tying four three-pointers and was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He was 5-of-9 from the field overall. His 19 points bested his previous career high of 18 set in UNC Asheville's win over Siena last season. His 10 boards bested his previous career high of seven in UNC Asheville's win over Brevard last year. He has now knocked down four three-pointers in a single game five times in his career.
BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville's 10 blocks in the win over Milligan marked the first time since an 80-55 Big South Conference win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at Kimmel Arena that the Bulldogs had blocked 10 or more as a team in a single game.
ASSISTING OTHERS: UNC Asheville's 22 assists on its 31 made baskets in the win over Milligan marked the third time that the Bulldogs have finished with a season-best 22 assists. The Bulldogs also had 22 assists as a team in wins over USC Upstate and Wofford. Drew Rackley led the way for UNC Asheville against Milligan with a career-best six assists.
DON'S DAY: In securing his first double-digit rebound day as a Bulldog, Donovan Gilmore picked up six of his 16 rebounds in the game on the offensive glass. He was 6-of-10 from the field overall in finishing with the 13 points.
WHAT A PAIR: UNC Asheville senior duo Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are the 24th pair in Big South Conference history of four-year classmates to each score over 1,000 points during the same four-year span. Thomas with 1,208 career points and Vannatta with 1,040 career points right now have a combined total of 2,248, which leaves them six points away from from moving into the 23rd spot among the league's all-time four-year teammate scoring combos with 1,000 points each. Thomas and Vannatta are the fifth set of Bulldog teammates with the achievement in Asheville's Big South era.
STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: In procuring his eight rebounds in the game at Furman, Alec Wnuk collected five of his eight rebounds on the offensive glass.
20 AND OVER TIMES TWO: With Ahmad Thomas (24) and MaCio Teague (22) both finishing with over 20 points in the win over USC Upstate it marked the first time that two Bulldogs have scored over 20 in a single game since the duo last accomplished the same feat in back-to-back wins over Winthrop (Feb. 9, 2017) and Longwood (Feb. 11, 2017) last season.
NO. 15: Ahmad Thomas' double-double against Clemson allowed him to secure his 15th career double-double for the Bulldogs. He already has three this season.
TOP-20: Ahmad Thomas' 24 points in the win over USC Upstate allowed him to move into the top-20 all-time at UNC Asheville in total scoring. Thomas with 1,208 career points now is right behind Tom Haus (1981-85, 1,233 career points), who is in 19th.
SPARTANBURG SUPREMACY: UNC Asheville took out both of the NCAA Division I programs from Spartanburg over the course of the last week with the Bulldogs first besting Wofford, 85-65, on Sunday, Nov. 26, before collecting a 82-70 win over USC Upstate on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
RUNNING: The Bulldogs in the win over USC Upstate for the second straight game had a huge run that changed the complexion of the contest. A 26-2 run by UNC Asheville men's basketball over a roughly six-minute stretch in the second half allowed the Bulldogs to pick up an impressive 85-65 non-conference home win over Wofford on Sunday, Nov. 26, at Kimmel Arena. UNC Asheville's 20-2 run in the first half of the win over USC Upstate allowed the Bulldogs to never look back.
LAST TIME OUT: An impressive three Bulldogs finished with double-doubles in UNC Asheville's 97-60 victory over Milligan on Sunday, Dec. 10, at Kimmel Arena. Donovan Gilmore collected a career-best 16 rebounds to go along with his 13 points that allowed him to collect his first double-double as a Bulldog. Gilmore also had four assists, three steals and two blocks. Raekwon Miller's double-double was the first of his Bulldog career. Miller finished the win over Milligan with career highs in scoring in rebounding with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and one steal. Jonathan Baehre also obtained his first career double-double in the win over Milligan. He tied his career-best with 13 points and collected a career-best 10 rebounds. He also had a career high with four assists. His four blocks in the Bulldog win tied a career-best. In total, six Bulldogs finished with double-digit scoring efforts with MaCio Teague ending his day with 15 points and Drew Rackley and Justin Brown each scoring 11. The 11 points were a career-best for Brown.
1,000-POINT SCORER: UNC Asheville senior guard Kevin Vannatta scored eight points in the win over Wofford to become the 33rd member of the prestigious 1,000-point club at UNC Asheville and the 149th in Big South history to accomplish the feat. Vannatta now has 1,040 career points as a Bulldog.
1,000 POINTS, 500 REBOUNDS AND NOW 200 STEALS: Senior guard Ahmad Thomas' two steals in the win over Wofford allowed him to join a very exclusive list in the Big South. Thomas now with 204 career steals, 1,208 points and 580 rebounds is just one of six in Big South Conference history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. He is also now one of only three in Bulldog history to collect 200 or more steals, joining Andre Smith (1999-03, 223) and J.P. Primm (2008-12, 248).
ASSISTING ON THE BIG WIN: MaCio Teague's eight assists in the win over Wofford was a career-best. It eclipsed his previous best mark of seven in last year's thrilling 79-77 overtime win at Coastal Carolina.
FIRST HALF HEROICS: MaCio Teague's 20 points in the first half against Austin Peay marked the second time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in the first half. Teague also had 24 points in the first half in UNC Asheville's 91-69 Big South Conference road win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017.
CAREER DAY FOR ALEC WNUK: In collecting his career-best 19 points in the narrow loss to Vanderbilt, Alec Wnuk also made a career-best seven field goals and tied his career-high for three-pointers made with two. He was 7-of-11 overall and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
STRONG ON THE GLASS: The Bulldogs out-rebounded one of the top teams in the SEC in Vanderbilt, 36-32. The Bulldogs held a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague each had three offensive boards in the game.
BULLDOGS PICKED TO WIN BIG SOUTH: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was picked to win the Big South Conference at the annual league Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. UNC Asheville's choice as preseason No. 1 marks the first time since the 2011-12 preseason poll that the Bulldogs have been tabbed to finish first. The Bulldogs have now been picked five times (1989-90, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2011-12 and 2017-18) to win the league in the official preseason poll.
BULLDOGS RANKED 24th IN PRESEASON MID-MAJOR POLL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team is currently receiving votes in the poll, but the Bulldogs started the 2017-18 season in the same place that they ended the season last year in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 at No. 24. The CollegeInsider.com Preseason Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 poll was released the evening of Monday, Oct. 30, 2017. UNC Asheville was the only Big South Conference team ranked in the preseason top-25. The Bulldogs were ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 for five straight polls to close out the 2016-17 season. UNC Asheville originally entered the poll at No. 24 on Feb. 13, 2017. Asheville was ranked as high as 19th last season before ending the year at No. 24.
NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR PREDICTION: There is the rest of the 2017-18 season ahead, but ESPN's Jeff Goodman believes that by the end of the season it will be UNC Asheville's Nick McDevitt that will be the National Coach of the Year. Goodman made the prediction in the official ESPN staff predictions that were released on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
TEAGUE AND THOMAS TABBED TO LOU HENSON AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST: UNC Asheville men's basketball standouts MaCio Teague and Ahmad Thomas were both tabbed to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I Mid-Major player.
TEAGUE NAMED TO LUTE OLSON AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST: UNC Asheville sophomore guard MaCio Teague was selected to the 2017-18 Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List. The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player who has played at least two seasons.
THOMAS TABBED PRESEASON ALL MID-MAJOR: UNC Asheville men's basketball senior guard Ahmad Thomas was chosen preseason All-Mid Major by College Sports Madness. The Bulldog guard was tabbed as a third-team preseason All-Mid Major selection.
WNUK NOTED AS ONE OF THE MORE UNDERRATED PLAYERS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UNC Asheville senior forward Alec Wnuk was listed by College Court Report as one of the more underrated players in all of college basketball. Using the hashtag #Underrated351, College Court Report has been picking one player from each team in college basketball that they feel is underrated and will be a big part of the success of their team in the upcoming year. College Court Report notes, "key cog for the team this season. He'll get his due."
TEAGUE NAMED ONE OF TOP-25 SOPHOMORES IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL BY ESPN: UNC Asheville sophomore guard MaCio Teague was ranked among the top 25 sophomores in all of men's college basketball by ESPN. Teague is listed at No. 25 in ESPN's draft rankings entering the 2017-18 season.
BANNER YEAR WITH BIG SOUTH REGULAR SEASON TITLE NO. 6: UNC Asheville men's basketball had another banner year last year as the Bulldogs picked up their sixth Big South Conference regular-season title in the 2016-17 season (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17). Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt has been a part of five of the six Big South Conference regular-season crowns either as a player, assistant coach or head coach (1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17).
BULLDOGS EARN NABC TEAM ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was noted for its performance in the classroom during the 2016-17 athletic year by earning the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award. The fifth annual Team Academic Excellence Awards, created by the NABC Committee on Academics, recognize outstanding academic achievement by teams with cumulative grade-point averages (GPA) of 3.0 or better for the 2016-17 season. In order to earn a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, institutions in the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA must count the grade-point averages of all men's basketball student-athletes who competed during the 2016-17 season. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team finished the 2016-17 athletic year with a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.094. "This honor means a great deal to our program," UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt said. "Our program truly takes a great deal of pride in taking care of things in the classroom, and this honor further emphasizes that our student-athletes care about winning on and off the court."
POSTSEASON PLAY: Last year's appearance in the CIT marked UNC Asheville's sixth appearance in a postseason tournament. The Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times before (2003, 2011, 2012 and 2016) and the NIT (2008) once.
TREMENDOUS FRESHMAN: The 2016-17 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year last year, MaCio Teague ended his first year in a Bulldog uniform with 509 points to become just one of seven players in league history to record 500 or more points during their freshman season.
IMPRESSIVE FREE THROW STREAK COMES TO A CLOSE: MaCio Teague connected on his first three free throws in the Gardner-Webb game on Feb. 23, 2017, to extend his made free throw streak to 29. When he missed his fourth attempt on the night it snapped the impressive streak.
WIN NO. 75: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt picked up his 75th win in charge of the Asheville men's basketball program in the Bulldog win over Presbyterian on Feb. 15, 2017.
FASTEST TO 20: UNC Asheville's win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017, allowed last year's Bulldog men's basketball team to reach 20 wins in the fewest number of games (27) in the Bulldogs' time in the Big South Conference.
SPECIAL LEAGUE STREAK CONTINUES: With the UNC Asheville win over High Point on Feb. 9, 2017, UNC Asheville assured itself of at least 10 wins in Big South Conference play for the 10th straight year, which is a new league record.
ELITE GROUP: With the win over Presbyterian on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, UNC Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt became just the third coach in Big South history to win at least 15 games in his first four seasons in the league. McDevitt joined Radford's Ron Bradley and Winthrop's Gregg Marshall in the elite grouping. Gardner-Webb's Tim Craft became the fourth and joined McDevitt in the elite group later in the 2016-17 regular season.
2017-18 UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Media Guide
Tickets
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (6-4)
Western Carolina (3-7)
Location: Asheville, N.C./U.S. Cellular Center
Date/Time: Sunday, Dec. 17/4:30 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Talent - Matt Stradley (PBP), John Williams (Analyst)
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville/1440 WMXF-Waynesville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP), Mike Gore (Analyst)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville will renew its Mountain Rivalry with Western Carolina at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, in the 2017 Mountain Invitational at the U.S. Cellular Center.
The matchup will mark the first time that UNC Asheville has played at Asheville's downtown arena since an 85-71 win over Western Carolina on Dec. 4, 2004. K.J. Garland led five Bulldogs in double figures that day with 16 points and six rebounds.
BULLDOG BITES
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Western Carolina have met 50 times before with WCU holding a slight 28-22 advantage in the series. The series dates all the way back to 1930. Asheville won the first meeting, 31-28, on Feb. 3, 1930. The Catamounts and Bulldogs have met every season dating back to 1999-00. Last year, the 50th meeting between the two rivals ended with the Bulldogs picking up a thrilling 59-57 win at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville's win over Milligan was its 14th straight home win. UNC Asheville is now 5-0 on the 2017-18 season and 73-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena, including 48-10 in Big South Conference contests.
FOLLOW IT LIVE: You can watch all of the action live HERE. You can listen to the radio broadcast HERE. To follow the action via live stats, please visit HERE.
IN THE NCAA STATISTICS: UNC Asheville is currently sixth in the country in three-point field goal percentage (43.3) as a team. The Bulldogs are 32nd in the country in steals per game (8.5).
DOUBLE IT UP: With the three double-doubles in the win over Milligan it marked the first time since the thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop last year that two or more Bulldogs had double-doubles in the same game. The win over Milligan also marks the first time since that win over the Eagles that five or more Bulldogs scored in double figures in the same game with six Bulldogs securing double-digit scoring outputs against the Buffaloes.
CAREER DAY FOR RAEKWON MILLER: Miller's first career double-double against Milligan was made possible by a day where he knocked down a career-high tying four three-pointers and was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He was 5-of-9 from the field overall. His 19 points bested his previous career high of 18 set in UNC Asheville's win over Siena last season. His 10 boards bested his previous career high of seven in UNC Asheville's win over Brevard last year. He has now knocked down four three-pointers in a single game five times in his career.
BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville's 10 blocks in the win over Milligan marked the first time since an 80-55 Big South Conference win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at Kimmel Arena that the Bulldogs had blocked 10 or more as a team in a single game.
ASSISTING OTHERS: UNC Asheville's 22 assists on its 31 made baskets in the win over Milligan marked the third time that the Bulldogs have finished with a season-best 22 assists. The Bulldogs also had 22 assists as a team in wins over USC Upstate and Wofford. Drew Rackley led the way for UNC Asheville against Milligan with a career-best six assists.
DON'S DAY: In securing his first double-digit rebound day as a Bulldog, Donovan Gilmore picked up six of his 16 rebounds in the game on the offensive glass. He was 6-of-10 from the field overall in finishing with the 13 points.
WHAT A PAIR: UNC Asheville senior duo Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are the 24th pair in Big South Conference history of four-year classmates to each score over 1,000 points during the same four-year span. Thomas with 1,208 career points and Vannatta with 1,040 career points right now have a combined total of 2,248, which leaves them six points away from from moving into the 23rd spot among the league's all-time four-year teammate scoring combos with 1,000 points each. Thomas and Vannatta are the fifth set of Bulldog teammates with the achievement in Asheville's Big South era.
STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: In procuring his eight rebounds in the game at Furman, Alec Wnuk collected five of his eight rebounds on the offensive glass.
20 AND OVER TIMES TWO: With Ahmad Thomas (24) and MaCio Teague (22) both finishing with over 20 points in the win over USC Upstate it marked the first time that two Bulldogs have scored over 20 in a single game since the duo last accomplished the same feat in back-to-back wins over Winthrop (Feb. 9, 2017) and Longwood (Feb. 11, 2017) last season.
NO. 15: Ahmad Thomas' double-double against Clemson allowed him to secure his 15th career double-double for the Bulldogs. He already has three this season.
TOP-20: Ahmad Thomas' 24 points in the win over USC Upstate allowed him to move into the top-20 all-time at UNC Asheville in total scoring. Thomas with 1,208 career points now is right behind Tom Haus (1981-85, 1,233 career points), who is in 19th.
SPARTANBURG SUPREMACY: UNC Asheville took out both of the NCAA Division I programs from Spartanburg over the course of the last week with the Bulldogs first besting Wofford, 85-65, on Sunday, Nov. 26, before collecting a 82-70 win over USC Upstate on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
RUNNING: The Bulldogs in the win over USC Upstate for the second straight game had a huge run that changed the complexion of the contest. A 26-2 run by UNC Asheville men's basketball over a roughly six-minute stretch in the second half allowed the Bulldogs to pick up an impressive 85-65 non-conference home win over Wofford on Sunday, Nov. 26, at Kimmel Arena. UNC Asheville's 20-2 run in the first half of the win over USC Upstate allowed the Bulldogs to never look back.
LAST TIME OUT: An impressive three Bulldogs finished with double-doubles in UNC Asheville's 97-60 victory over Milligan on Sunday, Dec. 10, at Kimmel Arena. Donovan Gilmore collected a career-best 16 rebounds to go along with his 13 points that allowed him to collect his first double-double as a Bulldog. Gilmore also had four assists, three steals and two blocks. Raekwon Miller's double-double was the first of his Bulldog career. Miller finished the win over Milligan with career highs in scoring in rebounding with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and one steal. Jonathan Baehre also obtained his first career double-double in the win over Milligan. He tied his career-best with 13 points and collected a career-best 10 rebounds. He also had a career high with four assists. His four blocks in the Bulldog win tied a career-best. In total, six Bulldogs finished with double-digit scoring efforts with MaCio Teague ending his day with 15 points and Drew Rackley and Justin Brown each scoring 11. The 11 points were a career-best for Brown.
1,000-POINT SCORER: UNC Asheville senior guard Kevin Vannatta scored eight points in the win over Wofford to become the 33rd member of the prestigious 1,000-point club at UNC Asheville and the 149th in Big South history to accomplish the feat. Vannatta now has 1,040 career points as a Bulldog.
1,000 POINTS, 500 REBOUNDS AND NOW 200 STEALS: Senior guard Ahmad Thomas' two steals in the win over Wofford allowed him to join a very exclusive list in the Big South. Thomas now with 204 career steals, 1,208 points and 580 rebounds is just one of six in Big South Conference history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. He is also now one of only three in Bulldog history to collect 200 or more steals, joining Andre Smith (1999-03, 223) and J.P. Primm (2008-12, 248).
ASSISTING ON THE BIG WIN: MaCio Teague's eight assists in the win over Wofford was a career-best. It eclipsed his previous best mark of seven in last year's thrilling 79-77 overtime win at Coastal Carolina.
FIRST HALF HEROICS: MaCio Teague's 20 points in the first half against Austin Peay marked the second time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in the first half. Teague also had 24 points in the first half in UNC Asheville's 91-69 Big South Conference road win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017.
CAREER DAY FOR ALEC WNUK: In collecting his career-best 19 points in the narrow loss to Vanderbilt, Alec Wnuk also made a career-best seven field goals and tied his career-high for three-pointers made with two. He was 7-of-11 overall and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
STRONG ON THE GLASS: The Bulldogs out-rebounded one of the top teams in the SEC in Vanderbilt, 36-32. The Bulldogs held a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague each had three offensive boards in the game.
BULLDOGS PICKED TO WIN BIG SOUTH: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was picked to win the Big South Conference at the annual league Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. UNC Asheville's choice as preseason No. 1 marks the first time since the 2011-12 preseason poll that the Bulldogs have been tabbed to finish first. The Bulldogs have now been picked five times (1989-90, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2011-12 and 2017-18) to win the league in the official preseason poll.
BULLDOGS RANKED 24th IN PRESEASON MID-MAJOR POLL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team is currently receiving votes in the poll, but the Bulldogs started the 2017-18 season in the same place that they ended the season last year in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 at No. 24. The CollegeInsider.com Preseason Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 poll was released the evening of Monday, Oct. 30, 2017. UNC Asheville was the only Big South Conference team ranked in the preseason top-25. The Bulldogs were ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 for five straight polls to close out the 2016-17 season. UNC Asheville originally entered the poll at No. 24 on Feb. 13, 2017. Asheville was ranked as high as 19th last season before ending the year at No. 24.
NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR PREDICTION: There is the rest of the 2017-18 season ahead, but ESPN's Jeff Goodman believes that by the end of the season it will be UNC Asheville's Nick McDevitt that will be the National Coach of the Year. Goodman made the prediction in the official ESPN staff predictions that were released on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
TEAGUE AND THOMAS TABBED TO LOU HENSON AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST: UNC Asheville men's basketball standouts MaCio Teague and Ahmad Thomas were both tabbed to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I Mid-Major player.
TEAGUE NAMED TO LUTE OLSON AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST: UNC Asheville sophomore guard MaCio Teague was selected to the 2017-18 Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List. The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player who has played at least two seasons.
THOMAS TABBED PRESEASON ALL MID-MAJOR: UNC Asheville men's basketball senior guard Ahmad Thomas was chosen preseason All-Mid Major by College Sports Madness. The Bulldog guard was tabbed as a third-team preseason All-Mid Major selection.
WNUK NOTED AS ONE OF THE MORE UNDERRATED PLAYERS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UNC Asheville senior forward Alec Wnuk was listed by College Court Report as one of the more underrated players in all of college basketball. Using the hashtag #Underrated351, College Court Report has been picking one player from each team in college basketball that they feel is underrated and will be a big part of the success of their team in the upcoming year. College Court Report notes, "key cog for the team this season. He'll get his due."
TEAGUE NAMED ONE OF TOP-25 SOPHOMORES IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL BY ESPN: UNC Asheville sophomore guard MaCio Teague was ranked among the top 25 sophomores in all of men's college basketball by ESPN. Teague is listed at No. 25 in ESPN's draft rankings entering the 2017-18 season.
BANNER YEAR WITH BIG SOUTH REGULAR SEASON TITLE NO. 6: UNC Asheville men's basketball had another banner year last year as the Bulldogs picked up their sixth Big South Conference regular-season title in the 2016-17 season (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17). Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt has been a part of five of the six Big South Conference regular-season crowns either as a player, assistant coach or head coach (1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17).
BULLDOGS EARN NABC TEAM ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was noted for its performance in the classroom during the 2016-17 athletic year by earning the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award. The fifth annual Team Academic Excellence Awards, created by the NABC Committee on Academics, recognize outstanding academic achievement by teams with cumulative grade-point averages (GPA) of 3.0 or better for the 2016-17 season. In order to earn a NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, institutions in the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA must count the grade-point averages of all men's basketball student-athletes who competed during the 2016-17 season. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team finished the 2016-17 athletic year with a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.094. "This honor means a great deal to our program," UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt said. "Our program truly takes a great deal of pride in taking care of things in the classroom, and this honor further emphasizes that our student-athletes care about winning on and off the court."
POSTSEASON PLAY: Last year's appearance in the CIT marked UNC Asheville's sixth appearance in a postseason tournament. The Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times before (2003, 2011, 2012 and 2016) and the NIT (2008) once.
TREMENDOUS FRESHMAN: The 2016-17 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year last year, MaCio Teague ended his first year in a Bulldog uniform with 509 points to become just one of seven players in league history to record 500 or more points during their freshman season.
IMPRESSIVE FREE THROW STREAK COMES TO A CLOSE: MaCio Teague connected on his first three free throws in the Gardner-Webb game on Feb. 23, 2017, to extend his made free throw streak to 29. When he missed his fourth attempt on the night it snapped the impressive streak.
WIN NO. 75: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt picked up his 75th win in charge of the Asheville men's basketball program in the Bulldog win over Presbyterian on Feb. 15, 2017.
FASTEST TO 20: UNC Asheville's win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017, allowed last year's Bulldog men's basketball team to reach 20 wins in the fewest number of games (27) in the Bulldogs' time in the Big South Conference.
SPECIAL LEAGUE STREAK CONTINUES: With the UNC Asheville win over High Point on Feb. 9, 2017, UNC Asheville assured itself of at least 10 wins in Big South Conference play for the 10th straight year, which is a new league record.
ELITE GROUP: With the win over Presbyterian on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, UNC Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt became just the third coach in Big South history to win at least 15 games in his first four seasons in the league. McDevitt joined Radford's Ron Bradley and Winthrop's Gregg Marshall in the elite grouping. Gardner-Webb's Tim Craft became the fourth and joined McDevitt in the elite group later in the 2016-17 regular season.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballMonday, March 18
Monday, March 18
Thursday, March 14
Monday, March 04