University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, February 1
Rock Hill, SC
2 p.m.
UNC Asheville
at
Winthrop
Photo by: Mark Godin
Bulldogs Travel to Winthrop for Saturday Afternoon Matchup
01.31.2020 | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES | at WINTHROP
ROCK HILL, S.C. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team has a quick turnaround as it travels to Winthrop to take on the Big South Conference leading Eagles in a 2 p.m., Saturday, contest inside Winthrop Coliseum.
The Bulldogs (9-11, 3-6 Big South) are coming off a Thursday night showdown against Gardner-Webb in which they fell, 70-56. The Dogs are 2-2 on the road in conference play so far and have picked up four road victories on the season.
The Eagles (15-7, 9-0 Big South) remain undefeated through the first half of league play, including four victories at home. They boast an 8-2 record in Winthrop Coliseum for the season and have won six consecutive in their home gym.
Winthrop holds a 43-36 advantage in the all-time series and won both matchups a season ago. Winthrop took the last meeting in Rock Hill, 66-45, January 21, 2019. Tajion Jones finished with 17 points while Stephen Edoka chipped in 11. The Bulldogs last victory against the Eagles came February 22, 2018, with an 89-75 result inside Kimmel Arena.
The last time Asheville won at Winthrop came December 31, 2011, 73-68 in overtime. Matt Dickey finished as the Bulldogs leading scorer with 18 points.
Saturday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ HERE. Brian Hall and Stefan Nolet will have the radio call on ESPN Asheville 92.9 FM, 880 AM or 1400 AM, and can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
NOTABLY
BY THE NUMBERS
ROCK HILL, S.C. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team has a quick turnaround as it travels to Winthrop to take on the Big South Conference leading Eagles in a 2 p.m., Saturday, contest inside Winthrop Coliseum.
The Bulldogs (9-11, 3-6 Big South) are coming off a Thursday night showdown against Gardner-Webb in which they fell, 70-56. The Dogs are 2-2 on the road in conference play so far and have picked up four road victories on the season.
The Eagles (15-7, 9-0 Big South) remain undefeated through the first half of league play, including four victories at home. They boast an 8-2 record in Winthrop Coliseum for the season and have won six consecutive in their home gym.
Winthrop holds a 43-36 advantage in the all-time series and won both matchups a season ago. Winthrop took the last meeting in Rock Hill, 66-45, January 21, 2019. Tajion Jones finished with 17 points while Stephen Edoka chipped in 11. The Bulldogs last victory against the Eagles came February 22, 2018, with an 89-75 result inside Kimmel Arena.
The last time Asheville won at Winthrop came December 31, 2011, 73-68 in overtime. Matt Dickey finished as the Bulldogs leading scorer with 18 points.
Saturday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ HERE. Brian Hall and Stefan Nolet will have the radio call on ESPN Asheville 92.9 FM, 880 AM or 1400 AM, and can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
NOTABLY
- The Bulldogs rank second in the country in turnover margin at plus-6.5 per game, and they rank 32nd in the country in fewest total turnovers. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in only one game this season.
- The Bulldogs force their opponents into 18.3 turnovers per game, which ranks 10th in the country. They also average 8.9 steals per game, ranking 19th in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. is second in the Big South, averaging 1.9 steals per game, while LJ Thorpe (1.7 spg), DeVon Baker (1.6 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.5 spg) all rank in the Top 10 in the conference.
- Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 15 in scoring in the Big South Conference (DeVon Baker – 4th, 15.7; Tajion Jones – 5th, 15.5; LJ Thorpe – 10th, 13.6; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 13th, 12.8). No other team has more than two in the Top 15.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 76.4 points per game, ranking 63rd in the country and third in the Big South. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game. The team is averaging 16.5 more points per game than it did last season.
- The Dogs rank first in the Big South and 73rd nationally, hitting 35.6 percent from three, and they are third in the conference and 59th nationally with 8.7 makes per game from beyond the arc. Tajion Jones is second in the conference, hitting 2.4 3-pointers per game. Against St. Andrews, the Bulldogs drained a program-record 19 3-pointers.
- According to KenPom, the Bulldogs rank 12th in the country in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on nearly a quarter of their possessions, with 24.1 percent of opponents' possessions ending in a turnover.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1 – The Bulldogs have used just one starting lineup all season, and all five starters average double-digits scoring. Asheville is the only team in Division I to use one starting lineup all season.
- 7 – Tajion Jones hit 7-of-11 3-pointers against Radford, which set his career-high in makes. He's second in the Big South with 2.35 made 3-pointers a game.
- 7.2 – LJ Thorpe is fifth in the Big South in rebounding during conference games, averaging 7.2 boards per game. He has pulled down at least seven rebounds in six of nine league games so far.
- 10 – Despite returning 83.6 percent of its minutes from a season ago, UNC Asheville still possesses one of the 10 youngest rosters in the country, ranking as the 10th-youngest team, according to KenPom.
- 50 – The Bulldogs hit 52 percent from the field against Radford, marking the third time this season they shot 50 percent or better in a game. They hit 56.9 percent against The Citadel and 50 percent against Charlotte. They are 3-0 in those games.
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