University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: PHOTO BY BENNETT SCARBOROUGH
UNC Asheville Travels to Virginia to Face Longwood on Wednesday
02.06.2018 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
2017-18 UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Media Guide
Teams: UNC Asheville (16-9, 9-3 Big South Conference)Longwood (6-19, 3-9 Big South Conference)
Location: Farmville, Va./Willet Hall
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018/7 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
FARMVILLE, Va. - UNC Asheville will next hit the road to take on Longwood at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
BULLDOG BITES
Bulldog Breakdown
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.
ALONE AT THE TOP: UNC Asheville's win over Presbyterian College on Feb. 3 allowed the Bulldogs to take over sole possession of first place in the Big South Conference with a 9-3 league mark. To see the full league standings, please visit HERE.
PLAYING GREAT BASKETBALL: After starting Big South play at 1-2, UNC Asheville has now won five straight and eight of its last nine games to move to 16-9 overall and 9-3 in league play.
LOOKING TO EXTEND SPECIAL LEAGUE STREAK: 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. The Bulldogs can extend their own league record with one more conference win this season.
ELITE GROUP: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt with the Bulldog win over Campbell on Feb. 1 joined former Winthrop head coach and current Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall as the only coaches to win at least 15 games in their first five seasons in the Big South Conference. Gardner-Webb head coach Tim Craft can also join the duo with three more wins.
HOME SWEET HOME: The league home win over Presbyterian College on Feb. 3 allowed the Bulldogs to extend their home winning streak to 20. UNC Asheville's 20-straight home wins is the third-longest home winning streak in the country. The win over the Blue Hose was UNC Asheville's 15th consecutive Big South Conference home victory. UNC Asheville is now 79-16 overall and 54-10 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center. The Bulldogs are 11-0 on the 2017-18 season at Kimmel Arena.
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 1,492 career points and Vannatta with 1,167 career points right now have a combined total of 2,659, 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 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 1,167 points and 528 rebounds.
FLIRTING WITH HISTORY ONCE AGAIN: Ahmad Thomas has had many special days as a Bulldog, but his performance against Presbyterian College on Feb. 3 with 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists was something to behold. Thomas' 14 rebounds were a career high and his nine assists in the win over the Blue Hose matched his career-best nine assists in the thrilling 90-85 overtime win over Gardner-Webb at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. Thomas now has a team-best five double-doubles this season and 17 double-doubles in his career. He has now just missed on a triple-double twice in his Bulldog career. Thomas had 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in that overtime Gardner-Webb win last season.
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 405 points to put himself in position to reach 1,000 points in just two seasons. Teague needs 86 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 four Presbyterian College shots to go along with his 11 points and eight rebounds.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE UNC ASHEVILLE-WINTHROP RIVALRY RENEWAL: 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.
To learn much more, please check out the full game notes HERE.
Series/About Longwood
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Longwood have faced off 10 times previously with UNC Asheville owning a 9-1 all-time series advantage.
ABOUT LONGWOOD: The Lancers welcome UNC Asheville owning a record of 6-19 on the 2017-18 season. Longwood is 3-9 in league play this year. The Lancers are led by two players in double figures in junior guard Isaiah Walton and senior guard BK Ashe. Walton is averaging 17.2 points per game, while Ashe is averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Follow it Live
To catch all of the action live on the Big South Network, please visit HERE. You can also follow via live stats HERE.
Up Next
UNC Asheville will next play host to Radford at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, at Kimmel Arena. UNC Asheville is calling for a "Blue Out" as part of a special Autism Awareness and Acceptance Weekend. There will also be a special event for Autism Speaks with Alpha Xi Delta.
In addition, the first 300 fans at Kimmel Arena receive a free blue tie-dye Asheville skyline t-shirt. During halftime, the Fairview Flyers will also perform.
Players Mentioned
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