University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
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Bulldogs Set to Face Off Against Campbell in Big South Tournament Quarterfinals Thursday
03.01.2017 | Men's Basketball
UNC Asheville Postseason Digital Guide (Click Link to Access)
UNC Asheville Big South Tournament Notes (Click Link to Access)
Big South Tournament Bracket (Click Link to Access)
Big South "What I'm Made Of" Video Feature on Kevin Vannatta (Click Link to Access)
Teams: UNC Asheville (23-8, 15-3 Big South Conference)
Campbell (15-16, 7-11 Big South Conference)
Location: Rock Hill, S.C. / Winthrop Coliseum
Date/Time: Thursday, March 2 / 1 p.m.
Video: ESPN3
Talent: Mike Hogewood (PxP), Ralph Patterson (analyst)
Radio: NEWS RADIO 570 WWNC
Talent: Brian Hall
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
BULLDOG BITES
BIG SOUTH REGULAR-SEASON TITLE NO. 6: UNC Asheville men's basketball picked up their sixth 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).
REGULAR-SEASON FINALE: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team claimed a share of the Big South Conference regular-season title with a 63-45 win over Liberty before a crowd of 2,928 at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25. UNC Asheville (23-8, 15-3 Big South Conference) and Winthrop (22-6, 15-3 Big South Conference) shared this year's regular-season title. Due to numerous tiebreaking procedures, Winthrop earned the No. 1 seed in the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and will play host to the quarterfinals and semifinals. The highest remaining seed will host the championship game. The game would start with Liberty leading by as many as seven in the first half with just over 12 minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs would trail by just one though at the halftime break at 26-25. The second half would be all Bulldogs with UNC Asheville outscoring the Flames, 38-19, in the half to pick up the 18-point win. UNC Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas scored a career-best 31 points in the Big South-title clinching victory for the Bulldogs. Thomas put together an impressive stat sheet as always in the game with 31 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. Bulldog freshman guard MaCio Teague collected his second double-double of the year in the game with 12 points and a career-high-tying 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and one block. Myo Baxter-Bell was the top scorer for the Flames in their loss with 18 points. UNC Asheville shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the field as a team in the contest, while also holding Liberty to just 30.2 percent (16-of-53) as a team. The Bulldogs held Liberty to just 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from the floor as a team in half No. 2.
ALL-CONFERENCE: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team dominated the major individual awards for the 2016-17 regular-season for the Big South Conference with Nick McDevitt named Coach of the Year, junior guard Ahmad Thomas chosen Defensive Player of the Year, freshman guard MaCio Teague selected as Freshman of the Year and senior forward Giacomo Zilli tabbed as Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The league office unveiled the 2016-17 Big South Men's Basketball All-Conference awards on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. "It's an honor to receive these postseason awards," McDevitt said. "Although they are individual accolades, we all recognize that it takes hard work and dedication by many for any of it to be possible. I'm very proud of my staff and our players for what they continue to do each day to make this basketball program successful." In addition, Teague and Thomas were chosen first-team All-Conference with Teague also garnering a spot on the All-Freshman team.
SERIES: UNC Asheville owns a 23-19 all-time series advantage over Campbell with the Bulldogs having won 10 straight in the series. The Bulldogs are the only team the Camels have not defeated since rejoining the Big South Conference in the 2011-12 season. UNC Asheville is 1-1 all-time against Campbell in the Big South Tournament.
DEFENSIVE LOCKDOWN: In the most important game of the season to date, UNC Asheville men's basketball held their opponent to just 45 points, which is the least scored by a Bulldog opponent all season.
FANS SHOWED UP WHEN IT MATTERED MOST: UNC Asheville fans showed up to support their championship team in a big way on Saturday, Feb. 25, with a season-high 2,928 fans inside Kimmel Arena.
BULLDOGS IN BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT GAMES AT WINTHROP COLISEUM: The Bulldogs are 6-3 in Big South Tournament games at the Winthrop Coliseum, winning their first-ever Big South title in 1989 with three wins. Asheville's last tourney appearance at Winthrop Coliseum came in 2007 with loss to Winthrop in the semifinals.
ENTERING THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT: Asheville has advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament in eight of last 10 years.
1,000 POINTS, 500 REBOUNDS: With his six rebounds in the regular-season finale against Liberty, Ahmad Thomas became the 56th player in Big South Conference history to score over 1,000 points and collect over 500 rebounds. Thomas enters the Big South Conference Tournament with 1,064 career points and 503 career rebounds. Thomas with his two steals in the reguular-season finale now also has 184 steals in his Bulldog career. Thomas is nearing becoming just the sixth player in league history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is currently in the midst of a nine-game home winning streak. The Bulldogs closed out the regular-season 13-1 on the year at home. UNC Asheville after the win over Liberty is now 68-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena, including 48-10 in Big South Conference contests.
IMPRESSIVE FREE THROW STREAK COMES TO A CLOSE: MaCio Teague connected on his first three free throws in the Gardner-Webb game to extend his made free throw streak to 29. When he missed his fourth attempt on the night it snapped the impressive streak.
500 REBOUNDS: Ahmad Thomas was the second Bulldog to surpass over 500 rebounds this season as Will Weeks reached the mark in Asheville's road win at Longwood on Feb. 11. Weeks at the time became the 83rd player in Big South Conference history to surpass the mark. Weeks enters the Big South Conference Tournament with 530 career rebounds.
TOP-25: Big South Conference regular-season co-champion UNC Asheville men's basketball is ranked 23rd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 that was released on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. After a 1-1 week last week, the Bulldogs dropped from 19th to 23rd in the latest poll. Asheville has now been ranked in three straight polls as the Bulldogs were also ranked 22nd in the Feb. 13 tally. Asheville is one of two Big South Conference teams in the latest poll as fellow Big South Conference co-champion Winthrop is 19th. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic. The Bulldogs have beaten numerous teams that were either ranked at the time or are currently ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 for example in Siena, Elon, Furman and Winthrop. Based on the latest poll, one of the biggest wins of the season for the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs is over Furman, who is currently ranked 21st in the Mid-Major Poll. The Bulldogs picked up a 64-58 road win over the Paladins in Greenville, S.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016.
THOMAS NAMED BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (2/26/17): UNC Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas was selected as the Big South Conference Player of the Week it was announced by the league office on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017. Thomas garnered weekly accolades from the Big South Conference for the third time this season as he was also named the league Player of the Week on Dec. 12, 2016 and Feb. 13, 2017. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Thomas averaged 28 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Thomas shot 66.7 percent (24-of-36) from the field overall and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from beyond the arc. In UNC Asheville's game at Gardner-Webb on Thursday, Feb. 23, the Danville, Va. native ended his efforts with 25 points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist. The Hargrave Military Academy product followed that up by ending his day with a career-best 31 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in UNC Asheville's win over Liberty at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25.
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 win over Presbyterian on Feb. 15. McDevitt has led the Bulldogs to back-to-back 20-win seasons.
AMONG THE BEST: Already the single-season program record holder in the category, Ahmad Thomas is currently tied for second in the country and first in the Big South Conference in total steals with 94. He is tied for fourth in the country in steals per game with 3.03 steals per outing. Thomas with his five steals in the win over Charleston Southern on Feb. 1 became the first Big South player with back-to-back 70-steal campaigns since VMI's Chavis Holmes (2006-08). He is just the fourth overall in Big South Conference history to accomplish the impressive feat.
NEARING 1,000: Junior guard Kevin Vannatta is nearing 1,000 points. Currently, Vannatta has scored 895 points in his Bulldog career. Asheville senior guard David Robertson is also closing in on 1,000 points in his career as he currently has 899 points in his four-year career.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs second in the country in total steals (294). The Bulldogs are also sixth in the country in steals per game (9.48).
UNC Asheville Big South Tournament Notes (Click Link to Access)
Big South Tournament Bracket (Click Link to Access)
Big South "What I'm Made Of" Video Feature on Kevin Vannatta (Click Link to Access)
Teams: UNC Asheville (23-8, 15-3 Big South Conference)
Campbell (15-16, 7-11 Big South Conference)
Location: Rock Hill, S.C. / Winthrop Coliseum
Date/Time: Thursday, March 2 / 1 p.m.
Video: ESPN3
Talent: Mike Hogewood (PxP), Ralph Patterson (analyst)
Radio: NEWS RADIO 570 WWNC
Talent: Brian Hall
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
BULLDOG BITES
BIG SOUTH REGULAR-SEASON TITLE NO. 6: UNC Asheville men's basketball picked up their sixth 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).
REGULAR-SEASON FINALE: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team claimed a share of the Big South Conference regular-season title with a 63-45 win over Liberty before a crowd of 2,928 at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25. UNC Asheville (23-8, 15-3 Big South Conference) and Winthrop (22-6, 15-3 Big South Conference) shared this year's regular-season title. Due to numerous tiebreaking procedures, Winthrop earned the No. 1 seed in the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and will play host to the quarterfinals and semifinals. The highest remaining seed will host the championship game. The game would start with Liberty leading by as many as seven in the first half with just over 12 minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs would trail by just one though at the halftime break at 26-25. The second half would be all Bulldogs with UNC Asheville outscoring the Flames, 38-19, in the half to pick up the 18-point win. UNC Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas scored a career-best 31 points in the Big South-title clinching victory for the Bulldogs. Thomas put together an impressive stat sheet as always in the game with 31 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. Bulldog freshman guard MaCio Teague collected his second double-double of the year in the game with 12 points and a career-high-tying 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and one block. Myo Baxter-Bell was the top scorer for the Flames in their loss with 18 points. UNC Asheville shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the field as a team in the contest, while also holding Liberty to just 30.2 percent (16-of-53) as a team. The Bulldogs held Liberty to just 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from the floor as a team in half No. 2.
ALL-CONFERENCE: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team dominated the major individual awards for the 2016-17 regular-season for the Big South Conference with Nick McDevitt named Coach of the Year, junior guard Ahmad Thomas chosen Defensive Player of the Year, freshman guard MaCio Teague selected as Freshman of the Year and senior forward Giacomo Zilli tabbed as Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The league office unveiled the 2016-17 Big South Men's Basketball All-Conference awards on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. "It's an honor to receive these postseason awards," McDevitt said. "Although they are individual accolades, we all recognize that it takes hard work and dedication by many for any of it to be possible. I'm very proud of my staff and our players for what they continue to do each day to make this basketball program successful." In addition, Teague and Thomas were chosen first-team All-Conference with Teague also garnering a spot on the All-Freshman team.
SERIES: UNC Asheville owns a 23-19 all-time series advantage over Campbell with the Bulldogs having won 10 straight in the series. The Bulldogs are the only team the Camels have not defeated since rejoining the Big South Conference in the 2011-12 season. UNC Asheville is 1-1 all-time against Campbell in the Big South Tournament.
DEFENSIVE LOCKDOWN: In the most important game of the season to date, UNC Asheville men's basketball held their opponent to just 45 points, which is the least scored by a Bulldog opponent all season.
FANS SHOWED UP WHEN IT MATTERED MOST: UNC Asheville fans showed up to support their championship team in a big way on Saturday, Feb. 25, with a season-high 2,928 fans inside Kimmel Arena.
BULLDOGS IN BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT GAMES AT WINTHROP COLISEUM: The Bulldogs are 6-3 in Big South Tournament games at the Winthrop Coliseum, winning their first-ever Big South title in 1989 with three wins. Asheville's last tourney appearance at Winthrop Coliseum came in 2007 with loss to Winthrop in the semifinals.
ENTERING THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT: Asheville has advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament in eight of last 10 years.
1,000 POINTS, 500 REBOUNDS: With his six rebounds in the regular-season finale against Liberty, Ahmad Thomas became the 56th player in Big South Conference history to score over 1,000 points and collect over 500 rebounds. Thomas enters the Big South Conference Tournament with 1,064 career points and 503 career rebounds. Thomas with his two steals in the reguular-season finale now also has 184 steals in his Bulldog career. Thomas is nearing becoming just the sixth player in league history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is currently in the midst of a nine-game home winning streak. The Bulldogs closed out the regular-season 13-1 on the year at home. UNC Asheville after the win over Liberty is now 68-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena, including 48-10 in Big South Conference contests.
IMPRESSIVE FREE THROW STREAK COMES TO A CLOSE: MaCio Teague connected on his first three free throws in the Gardner-Webb game to extend his made free throw streak to 29. When he missed his fourth attempt on the night it snapped the impressive streak.
500 REBOUNDS: Ahmad Thomas was the second Bulldog to surpass over 500 rebounds this season as Will Weeks reached the mark in Asheville's road win at Longwood on Feb. 11. Weeks at the time became the 83rd player in Big South Conference history to surpass the mark. Weeks enters the Big South Conference Tournament with 530 career rebounds.
TOP-25: Big South Conference regular-season co-champion UNC Asheville men's basketball is ranked 23rd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 that was released on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. After a 1-1 week last week, the Bulldogs dropped from 19th to 23rd in the latest poll. Asheville has now been ranked in three straight polls as the Bulldogs were also ranked 22nd in the Feb. 13 tally. Asheville is one of two Big South Conference teams in the latest poll as fellow Big South Conference co-champion Winthrop is 19th. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic. The Bulldogs have beaten numerous teams that were either ranked at the time or are currently ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 for example in Siena, Elon, Furman and Winthrop. Based on the latest poll, one of the biggest wins of the season for the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs is over Furman, who is currently ranked 21st in the Mid-Major Poll. The Bulldogs picked up a 64-58 road win over the Paladins in Greenville, S.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016.
THOMAS NAMED BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (2/26/17): UNC Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas was selected as the Big South Conference Player of the Week it was announced by the league office on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017. Thomas garnered weekly accolades from the Big South Conference for the third time this season as he was also named the league Player of the Week on Dec. 12, 2016 and Feb. 13, 2017. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Thomas averaged 28 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Thomas shot 66.7 percent (24-of-36) from the field overall and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from beyond the arc. In UNC Asheville's game at Gardner-Webb on Thursday, Feb. 23, the Danville, Va. native ended his efforts with 25 points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist. The Hargrave Military Academy product followed that up by ending his day with a career-best 31 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in UNC Asheville's win over Liberty at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25.
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 win over Presbyterian on Feb. 15. McDevitt has led the Bulldogs to back-to-back 20-win seasons.
AMONG THE BEST: Already the single-season program record holder in the category, Ahmad Thomas is currently tied for second in the country and first in the Big South Conference in total steals with 94. He is tied for fourth in the country in steals per game with 3.03 steals per outing. Thomas with his five steals in the win over Charleston Southern on Feb. 1 became the first Big South player with back-to-back 70-steal campaigns since VMI's Chavis Holmes (2006-08). He is just the fourth overall in Big South Conference history to accomplish the impressive feat.
NEARING 1,000: Junior guard Kevin Vannatta is nearing 1,000 points. Currently, Vannatta has scored 895 points in his Bulldog career. Asheville senior guard David Robertson is also closing in on 1,000 points in his career as he currently has 899 points in his four-year career.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs second in the country in total steals (294). The Bulldogs are also sixth in the country in steals per game (9.48).
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