Big South Wildcard Showdown with Radford Up Next for UNC Asheville

GAME NOTES | at RADFORD

RADFORD, Va. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team is set to take on Radford in front of a national audience as the rematch, scheduled for 9 p.m., Thursday, will be televised on ESPNU as part of the Big South Conference's Wildcard Game.

The Bulldogs (12-13, 6-8 Big South) enter the matchup having won two-in-a-row in conference play. They took down Longwood, 73-71, Thursday night, led by 18 points apiece from Tajion Jones and LJ Thorpe. Saturday, the Dogs downed Charleston Southern, 79-75 behind a 27-point outburst from DeVon Baker – his fifth 20-point outing of the season.

This represents the 75th all-time matchup of a series that has been split straight down the middle, with each team owning 37 victories. Asheville has the slight scoring advantage all-time, 73.7-70.5. The two teams met earlier this season in Kimmel Arena, with the Bulldogs emerging victorious, 80-67, January 23. Jones led all scorers with 29 points in the game, while Thorpe finished with 20.

The last time the teams squared off in Radford was two seasons ago, a game the Highlanders won 90-70, January 6, 2018.

Since falling to the Bulldogs, Radford (17-9, 12-2 Big South) has ripped off seven straight wins in conference play, most recently defeating Campbell, 73-60, in Buies Creek, Saturday. The Highlanders are 8-2 at home this season, including 5-1 in Big South competition.

In addition to the cable broadcast on ESPNU, Thursday's game will be live-streamed HERE. Mike Gore and Stefan Nolet will have the radio call on News Radio 570 AM, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.

NOTABLY

With their victory at home against Charleston Southern, the Bulldogs won their 12th game of the season, tripling their win total from all of last season. The victory was also their sixth of Big South play, tripling their conference win total as well.
The Bulldogs have won eight more games than they did a season ago, which is tied for the second-best turnaround in the country this season with three other programs, including Stetson, whom the bulldogs defeated December 17.
The Bulldogs rank fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-5.2 per game, and they rank Top 55 in the country in fewest total turnovers. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in only three of 25 games this season.
The Bulldogs force their opponents into 17.3 turnovers per game, which ranks 14th in the country. They also average 8.4 steals per game, ranking 25th in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South, averaging 1.9 steals per game, while LJ Thorpe (1.5 spg), DeVon Baker (1.5 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.3 spg) all rank in the Top 15.
Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 20 in scoring in the Big South Conference (DeVon Baker – 5th, 16.8; Tajion Jones – 7th, 14.4; LJ Thorpe – 12th, 13.9; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 20th, 12.2). Only Gardner-Webb has three scorers in the Top 20.
The Dogs hit a season best 55 percent (11-of-20) on 3-pointers against Longwood. They are second in the Big South, hitting 35.3 percent from three, and they are third in the conference with 8.3 makes per game from beyond the arc. Coty Jude is fourth in the league, hitting 2.3 3-pointers per game.
The Bulldogs are averaging 76.2 points per game, ranking third in the Big South and 57th nationally. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game. The team is averaging 16.3 more points per game than it did last season.
According to KenPom, the Bulldogs rank 22nd in the country in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on nearly a quarter of their possessions, with 22.9 percent of opponents' possessions ending in a turnover.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – The Bulldogs have used just one starting lineup all season. Asheville is the only team in Division I to use one starting lineup all season.
10 – LJ Thorpe dished out a career-high 10 assists at Hampton, becoming the first Bulldog to record double-digit assists in a game since J.P. Primm against High Point, March 2, 2010.
13 – Despite returning 83.6 percent of its minutes from a season ago, UNC Asheville still possesses one of the youngest rosters in the country, ranking as the 13th-youngest team, according to KenPom.
50 – The Bulldogs hit a season-best 59.6 percent from the field against Longwood, and followed that with a 51.9 percent effort against Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in a game six times and are 6-0 in those games, including each of their last four victories.
96.8 – The Bulldogs underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have scored 96.8 percent of the team's points this season, representing the highest percentage of underclassmen scoring in Division I.

Big South Wildcard Showdown with Radford Up Next for UNC Asheville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

DeVon Baker

Lavar Batts, Jr.

Tajion Jones

Coty Jude

Trent Stephney

LJ Thorpe

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Big South Wildcard Showdown with Radford Up Next for UNC Asheville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

DeVon Baker

Lavar Batts, Jr.

Tajion Jones

Coty Jude

Trent Stephney

LJ Thorpe

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