University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Senior Day Showdown on ESPNU: UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Hosts Winthrop Thursday at Kimmel Arena
02.21.2018 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
2017-18 UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUPTeams: UNC Asheville (19-10, 12-4 Big South Conference)
Winthrop (18-9, 12-4 Big South Conference)
Location: Asheville, N.C./Kimmel Arena
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018/7 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Talent - Matt Schick (PBP), Paul Biancardi (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. – The game itself is a showdown of the two first-place teams in the Big South Conference, so obviously UNC Asheville is hoping to pack Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 22.
UNC Asheville men's basketball will once again be featured on ESPNU when the Bulldogs play host to Winthrop on Thursday, Feb. 22, at Kimmel Arena. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. The rivalry renewal will mark the fourth straight head-to-head matchup on ESPNU between UNC Asheville and Winthrop.
The home regular-season finale for the Bulldogs will also serve as Senior Night with UNC Asheville honoring Kevin Vannatta, Raekwon Miller, Ahmad Thomas and Alec Wnuk before the start of the game. With 79 wins currently in their career, the senior class has the most wins in program history over a four-year stretch
In addition, senior cheerleaders Miranda Wood and Megan Powell will be recognized for Senior Night as well as men's basketball manager Tyler McDevitt.
Make sure you are in your seats early for the Senior Night festivities as they are scheduled to get underway at approximately 6:35 p.m.
UNC Asheville is calling the game, "Operation: Sell Out," with the Bulldogs hoping to fill every seat on the evening to show the national television audience just how special it is to be a Bulldog. It will also be another "Throwback Thursday" at Kimmel Arena with the Bulldogs turning back the clocks for "2000's Night" as part of "Millenia Mania."
"Having Kimmel Arena packed on Thursday would really help our club," UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt said. "Winthrop's really good and to continue to make Kimmel Arena the homecourt advantage it is would be huge for our team."
UNC Asheville student-athletes, coaches and staff will also be promoting the huge league rivalry showdown with Winthrop around the city throughout the week.
In addition, the Bulldogs will be "Storming the Dorms" the night before the game with the official student fan group the "Kimmel Krazies." Free pizza will be available for all UNC Asheville students as part of the "Storming the Dorms."
The day of the game, the first 500 students in attendance will also receive special "Splasheville Bulldogs" t-shirts. The Madison County High School band will also be performing over the course of the evening.
BULLDOG BITES
Bulldog Breakdown
A TRULY SPECIAL SENIOR CLASS: With 79 wins in their career currently, the UNC Asheville senior class of Alec Wnuk, Kevin Vannatta, Raekwon Miller and Ahmad Thomas now have the most wins in program history over a four-year stretch. The Bulldogs had entered the game with Charleston Southern tied with the senior class that started in the 1982-83 season with 78 career wins.
THOMAS NAMED BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (2/19): Ahmad Thomas of UNC Asheville men's basketball was selected as the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. The weekly award is the first of the 2017-18 season for Thomas. He won league Player of the Week honors three times last season on Dec. 12, 2016, and Feb. 13 and Feb. 26, 2017. Thomas finished UNC Asheville's two games on the week averaging 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Thomas shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the field. He connected on 66.7 percent (4-of-6) of his shots from beyond the arc. Thomas finished UNC Asheville's overtime loss to Liberty on Feb. 15 with 30 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. In UNC Asheville's road overtime win at Charleston Southern on Feb. 18, Thomas ended his efforts with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one block.
20 FOR 20: For the fourth time this season, UNC Asheville impressively had two players finish a game with over 20 points with MaCio Teague collecting 24 points and Ahmad Thomas finishing with 23 in the road win at Charleston Southern. It has now happened three times in league play with Thomas (23) and Teague (21) both having over 20 in the home win over High Point and Kevin Vannatta (23) and Thomas (23) both ending their efforts with over 20 in the road win at Liberty. Thomas (24) and Teague (22) both also had over 20 points in UNC Asheville's home win over USC Upstate earlier this season.
PUTTING TOGETHER ROAD WINS: UNC Asheville has won its last four road games in league play.
UNC ASHEVILLE FEATURED BY ESPN, NCAA: The thrilling UNC Asheville men's basketball come-from-behind win over Radford on Saturday, Feb. 10, was heavily featured by ESPN and the NCAA late Saturday and on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 11. MaCio Teague's heroics were featured on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and "College Basketball Live" as well as on ESPN.com. On "College Basketball Live," the tremendous radio broadcast call by play-by-play voice Brian Hall and analyst in UNC Asheville Hall of Famer Mike Gore coupled with the Big South Network feed directed and produced by Mark Godin was dubbed as the "Call of the Night." In addition, the NCAA March Madness Twitter handle, @marchmadness, also featured the final sequence of UNC Asheville's thrilling win, noting "give a listen to the @UNCAbasketball win heard round the world!"
BEEN A LONG TIME: UNC Asheville had entered its home loss to Liberty with 21 straight home wins, which was the third-longest streak in the country. UNC Asheville's last loss at Kimmel Arena before the overtime loss to Liberty on Feb. 15 was a 75-73 loss to UNCG on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. In addition, Liberty's win over UNC Asheville snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. UNC Asheville is now still an impressive 80-17 overall and 55-11 against Big South Conference foes at Kimmel Arena.
BULLDOGS EXTEND SPECIAL LEAGUE STREAK: UNC Asheville with its road win over Longwood extended its own Big South Conference record by winning its 10th league game of the year. The Bulldogs, who now have 12 league wins, have now won 10 or more league games in a season in a Big South Conference men's basketball record 11 straight seasons.
CONTINUING TO SET THE STANDARD: UNC Asheville men's basketball has now won at least 15 games in a season for a league-record 11 consecutive seasons. UNC Asheville's 11th straight 15 or more win season allowed the Bulldogs to pass the old mark of 10 it shared with Winthrop (1998-08). UNC Asheville has won 15 or more games every year since the 2007-08 season.
STRONG STRETCH: After starting Big South play at 1-2, UNC Asheville has now won eight of its last nine and 11 of its last 13 games to move to 19-10 overall and 12-4 in league play.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is now 80-17 overall and 55-11 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center. The Bulldogs are 12-1 on the 2017-18 season at Kimmel Arena.
NEARING NO. 1: UNC Asheville senior guard Ahmad Thomas with 241 career steals is just seven steals from tying and eight steals away from becoming the all-time steals leader at UNC Asheville. J.P. Primm (2008-12) is the current all-time leader with 248 career steals.
TEAGUE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK (2/12): MaCio Teague of UNC Asheville men's basketball was selected as the Big South Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Teague shared honors with Chris Clemons of Campbell. Teague has now won league Player of the Week honors twice this season. He was also named the conference Player of the Week on Dec. 27, 2017. In total, Teague has now received honors from the league seven times. In addition to his now three Big South Player of the Week honors (Dec. 27, 2016, Dec. 27, 2017 and Feb. 12, 2018), Teague was also chosen Big South Freshman of the Week four times last season (Nov. 21, Jan. 2, Jan. 9 and Feb. 13). Teague averaged 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in two wins for the Bulldogs. Teague finished the two games shooting 50 percent (10-of-20) from the field overall and from beyond the arc (7-of-14).
WHAT A PAIR: UNC Asheville senior duo Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are the only pair ever of four-year Big South classmates each with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists during the same four-year span. The duo is the fourth four-year teammates with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, and on the scoring side, they are the 24th pair of 1,000-point scoring four-year teammates. Thomas with 1,564 career points and Vannatta with 1,212 career points right now have a combined total of 2,776, which places them in the top-11 in the category in league history. Thomas and Vannatta are the fifth set of Bulldog teammates with the achievement in Asheville's Big South era.
VANNATTA JOINS EXCLUSIVE CLUB ONCE AGAIN: Kevin Vannatta became the 87th player in Big South Conference men's basketball history with 500 rebounds with his three boards in the Winthrop game on Jan. 18. Vannatta, who had already surpassed 1,000 points earlier this season, also became just the 57th player in league history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Vannatta is the 18th player in UNC Asheville men's basketball history to collect 500 rebounds in their career. Vannatta presently has 1,212 points and 555 rebounds.
NEARING 1,000: 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. This season, Teague has 473 points to put himself in position to reach 1,000 points in just two seasons. Teague needs 18 points to become just the fourth in league history to reach the mark as a sophmore.
THOMAS THE ENGINE: With his 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the win over Presbyterian College on Feb. 3, 2018, it marked the first time that a Bulldog has led the team in points, rebounds and assists since Thomas also accomplished the feat with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a UNC Asheville win at Presbyterian College on Jan. 26, 2017.
TEAGUE'S CAREER DAY: In finishing with 36 points in the road win at Campbell on Feb. 1, MaCio Teague became the first Bulldog in almost three years to score over 35 points in a single game. The last Bulldog to score over 35 was Andrew Rowsey in a game against High Point on Feb. 26, 2015. Teague's 36 points bested his previous career-best of 30 set in a road win at Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017. Teague's 14 made field goals and seven made three-pointers were new career-bests as well for the sensational sophomore.
BAEHRE'S BLOCK PARTY: For the fourth time this season, UNC Asheville's Jonathan Baehre finished a Bulldog win with four or more blocks in the Feb. 3 victory over Presbyterian College. Baehre swatted five Presbyterian College shots to go along with his 11 points and eight rebounds.
THOMAS CONTINUES MAKING HISTORY: Ahmad Thomas was already just the fifth player in Big South Conference men's basketball history with over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 steals, but now he is also just the second player in league history with over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 200 steals and 200 assists. Thomas became the second in league history in the win over Longwood on Jan. 9. Thomas closed out the Bulldog conference win with 1,329 points, 611 rebounds, 222 steals and 203 assists. Thomas commences the matchup with Winthrop with 1,564 points, 688 rebounds, 241 steals and 243 assists. Thomas also became one of the top-10 scorers in UNC Asheville history with his 23 points in the win over High Point on Jan. 27. He moved into the top-10 in school history in rebounds in the win over Longwood on Jan. 9. He is currently second in school history in total steals.
To learn much more, and see the full game notes, please visit HERE.
Series/About Winthrop
SERIES: The Eagles own a slight 41-35 all-time series advantage, including a 35-30 advantage in regular season meetings.
ABOUT WINTHROP: The Eagles make their way to Kimmel Arena owning an overall record of 18-9 on the 2017-18 season. Winthrop is 12-4 in league play. Xavier Cooks leads the way for the Eagles with 18 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He is averaging 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in league play.
Follow it Live
You can catch all of the action on national television on ESPNU and also at this link HERE. You can also listen live to the radio broadcast HERE. You can also follow along via live stats HERE.
Up Next
UNC Asheville will next close out its regular season by traveling to Boiling Springs, N.C. to take on Big South Conference foe Gardner-Webb at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game will be featured on ESPN3.
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