Bulldogs Prepare for Regular Season-Closing Road Trip

GAME NOTES | at HIGH POINT

HIGH POINT, N.C. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team will close it its regular season with the first of two road games, with a rematch against High Point set for 7 p.m., Thursday, February 27, inside Qubein Arena.

The Bulldogs (13-14, 7-9 Big South) enter the matchup after taking down Presbyterian, Saturday, coming back from a 13-point second-half deficit to win by 11 points, 75-64. The Bulldogs, led by 24 points from DeVon Baker, stormed back in the second frame, outscoring PC 50-29 in the half.

The Panthers (9-20, 6-10 Big South) are coming off of a tight, low-scoring affair at Longwood where they fell, 57-54, snapping a two-game winning streak. High Point is 6-8 on its home floor this season, including a 3-5 mark in Big South Conference play.

The Bulldogs hold a 31-25 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1967-68 season – two years before current head coach Tubby Smith would join the team as a student-athlete. The two teams met in Asheville earlier this season, January 16, and the Panthers emerged with a narrow 68-66 victory. Coty Jude led the Bulldogs with 16 points while Lavar Batts, Jr. had 15. The last time the Bulldogs won in High Point was a 74-71 result, February 4, 2017.

Thursday's game will be live-streamed on ESPN+ HERE. Brian Hall and Mike Gore will have the radio call on New Radio 570AM WWNC, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.

NOTABLY

With nine victories more than their total from last season, the Bulldogs are tied for the second-largest win improvement in the country over last year, only one victory behind Western Carolina and Stephen F. Austin.
The Bulldogs rank fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-5.3 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 27 games this season.
The Bulldogs force their opponents into 17.2 turnovers per game, which ranks 15th in the country. They also average 8.4 steals per game, ranking 24th in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South, averaging 1.9 steals per game, while DeVon Baker (1.6 spg), LJ Thorpe (1.5 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.3 spg) rank in the Top 15.
DeVon Baker has scored 952 points in the first two seasons of his Bulldog career and is now just 48 points away from becoming the 34th player in program history to hit the 1,000-point milestone.
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.
Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 20 in scoring in the Big South Conference (DeVon Baker – 5th, 16.8; Tajion Jones – 8th, 14.1; LJ Thorpe – 12th, 13.9; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 20th, 12.3). 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 fourth in the Big South, hitting 34.6 percent from three, and they are third in the conference with 8.0 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 75.7 points per game, ranking third in the Big South and 59th nationally. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game. The team is averaging 15.8 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 one of three teams in Division I to use one starting lineup (North Texas, Furman).
11 – The Bulldogs recorded 11 steals at home against Presbyterian, marking the 11th time this season they have recorded double-digit steals in a game.
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.
97 – The Bulldogs underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have scored 97 percent of the team's points this season, representing the highest percentage of underclassmen scoring in Division I.

LOOKING AHEAD
With the conclusion of the Bulldogs game at Campbell, Saturday, February 29, the Bulldogs will know their positioning in the Big South's final regular-season standings. Should the Bulldogs finish in sixth-eighth place, they will host a Big South Tournament first-round game at Kimmel Arena, Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m.

Bulldogs Prepare for Regular Season-Closing Road Trip

Next Event

Players Mentioned

DeVon Baker

Lavar Batts, Jr.

Tajion Jones

Coty Jude

Trent Stephney

LJ Thorpe

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Bulldogs Prepare for Regular Season-Closing Road Trip

Next Event

Players Mentioned

DeVon Baker

Lavar Batts, Jr.

Tajion Jones

Coty Jude

Trent Stephney

LJ Thorpe

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