University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, December 11
Orangeburg, SC
7 p.m.
UNC Asheville
at
South Carolina State
Battle of the Bulldogs Set for Wednesday in Orangeburg
12.09.2019 | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES | at SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – UNC Asheville men's basketball team closes out its second three-game road trip of nonconference play when it takes on South Carolina State in a 7 p.m. contest, Wednesday, December 11, at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
The game will also be the final road contest of the nonconference portion of the season and the final road game in 2019.
The UNC Asheville Bulldogs (4-3) are coming into the matchup after splitting their two games last week. They opened with an 83-75 victory, last Tuesday, at Charlotte, ending a nine-game losing streak to the 49ers. They followed that up with a strong showing in the Mountain Rivalry against Western Carolina, Saturday, coming up just short in a 78-77 decision in Cullowhee.
The South Carolina State Bulldogs (3-5) enter Wednesday's contest after defeating Big South Conference foe Presbyterian, 80-68, Saturday, which ended a string of three-straight losses.
It will be the first meeting between the two programs since December 17, 2007 when Asheville walked away victorious, 87-76, in the Justice Center. Five players scored in double figures for Asheville, led by 19 points from Vincent James. Asheville last played in Orangeburg the season prior, falling 79-77, and Asheville is 0-2 all-time in Orangeburg. The all-time series is knotted up, 3-3.
NOTABLY
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – UNC Asheville men's basketball team closes out its second three-game road trip of nonconference play when it takes on South Carolina State in a 7 p.m. contest, Wednesday, December 11, at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
The game will also be the final road contest of the nonconference portion of the season and the final road game in 2019.
The UNC Asheville Bulldogs (4-3) are coming into the matchup after splitting their two games last week. They opened with an 83-75 victory, last Tuesday, at Charlotte, ending a nine-game losing streak to the 49ers. They followed that up with a strong showing in the Mountain Rivalry against Western Carolina, Saturday, coming up just short in a 78-77 decision in Cullowhee.
The South Carolina State Bulldogs (3-5) enter Wednesday's contest after defeating Big South Conference foe Presbyterian, 80-68, Saturday, which ended a string of three-straight losses.
It will be the first meeting between the two programs since December 17, 2007 when Asheville walked away victorious, 87-76, in the Justice Center. Five players scored in double figures for Asheville, led by 19 points from Vincent James. Asheville last played in Orangeburg the season prior, falling 79-77, and Asheville is 0-2 all-time in Orangeburg. The all-time series is knotted up, 3-3.
NOTABLY
- The Bulldogs have not turned the ball over more than their opponent in any game so far this season and rank second in the country in turnover margin at plus-7.7 per game. Their 95 total turnovers rank 25th-fewest in the country.
- The Bulldogs force their opponents into 21.3 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth in the country. They also average 10.9 steals per game, ranking sixth in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. and LJ Thorpe are averaging 2.3 steals per game, which leads the Big South and is tied for 41st nationally.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 22.5 more points per game this season than last season. Their 82.4 points per game rank 21st in the country and first in the Big South. The Dogs rank 58th nationally and first in the Big South, hitting 47.0 percent of their shots from the field.
- DeVon Baker (16.0 points per game) and Tajion Jones (15.9 points per game) rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in scoring in the Big South. With 20-point games at The Citadel and Wake Forest, Jones joined Baker as the only players with career back-to-back 20-plus point games.
- Against St. Andrews, the Bulldogs drained a program-record 19 3-pointers, led by career-highs in makes (5) and attempts (12) from DeVon Baker. The team ranks 65th in the country with 8.9 makes per game from beyond the arc.
- 5 – All five starters scored in double figures for the Bulldogs against Charlotte, marking the second-straight game the starters did so. Previously, the last time five Bulldogs scored in double-digits was against USC, March 13, 2018 in the NIT.
- 11 – The Bulldogs rank 11th in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on 25.9 percent of their possessions, according to KenPom.
- 12 – Despite returning 83.6 percent of its minutes from a season ago, UNC Asheville still possesses one of the 20 youngest rosters in the country, ranking as the 12th-youngest team, according to Ken Pom.
- 12.7 – The Dogs rank second in the Big South and 46th in the country in offensive rebounds, averaging 12.7 on the offensive glass per game. Tajion Jones and Jax Levitch lead the team with 13 offensive rebounds on the season.
- 105 – With 105 points scored against St. Andrews, the Bulldogs eclipsed 100 points for the first time since scoring 104 in a double-overtime victory against Winthrop, February 9, 2017.
Players Mentioned
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