University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Tuesday, March 3
Asheville
7 p.m.
UNC Asheville
vs
Campbell
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Host Campbell in First Round of Big South Championship
03.02.2020 | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES | at CAMPBELL
ASHEVILLE – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team is set to host Campbell in the first round of the Hercules Tires Big South Conference Men's Basketball Championship in a 7 p.m., Tuesday, matchup inside Kimmel Arena.
The Bulldogs (14-15, 8-10 Big South) earned the sixth seed in the final Big South standings, while the Camels (15-15, 6-12 Big South) finished as the 11th seed.
Asheville and Campbell met twice during the regular season, with the Camels winning both matchups. They closed out the regular season against each other in Buies Creek, Saturday, with Campbell winning, 78-69. Lavar Batts, Jr. finished with 28 points – his second-highest total of the season. The Bulldogs hosted the Camels, January 8, forcing 25 Campbell turnovers, but fell, 64-62. Asheville has a 25-23 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1967-68 season.
UNC Asheville has a 4-1 record all-time hosting Big South Championship games inside Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs went 3-0 during the Championship in 2012, winning the Big South Tournament Championship in the Arena's first season. They defeated VMI, 80-64, in the championship game. The Dogs went 1-1 in 2017, falling to Liberty, 69-64, in the semifinals. This will be Asheville's first time hosting a first round game.
Tuesday's game will be live-streamed on ESPN3 HERE with Matt Stradley and John Williams on the call. Brian Hall and Mike Gore have the radio call on ESPN Asheville on 92.9 FM, 880 AM or 1400 AM, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
Tickets for the game are $15 for general admission, while seniors and faculty/staff get in for $10. Children's (5-17) tickets are $5, and students will be able to pick up tickets at the game at the student ticket table in the lobby of Kimmel Arena.
Season ticket holders must purchase tickets, as the game serves as a Big South tournament game and not a UNC Asheville home game. Tickets can be purchased online HERE, by calling (828) 258-7900 or in person at the Kimmel Arena box office.
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NOTABLY
BY THE NUMBERS
ASHEVILLE – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team is set to host Campbell in the first round of the Hercules Tires Big South Conference Men's Basketball Championship in a 7 p.m., Tuesday, matchup inside Kimmel Arena.
The Bulldogs (14-15, 8-10 Big South) earned the sixth seed in the final Big South standings, while the Camels (15-15, 6-12 Big South) finished as the 11th seed.
Asheville and Campbell met twice during the regular season, with the Camels winning both matchups. They closed out the regular season against each other in Buies Creek, Saturday, with Campbell winning, 78-69. Lavar Batts, Jr. finished with 28 points – his second-highest total of the season. The Bulldogs hosted the Camels, January 8, forcing 25 Campbell turnovers, but fell, 64-62. Asheville has a 25-23 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1967-68 season.
UNC Asheville has a 4-1 record all-time hosting Big South Championship games inside Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs went 3-0 during the Championship in 2012, winning the Big South Tournament Championship in the Arena's first season. They defeated VMI, 80-64, in the championship game. The Dogs went 1-1 in 2017, falling to Liberty, 69-64, in the semifinals. This will be Asheville's first time hosting a first round game.
Tuesday's game will be live-streamed on ESPN3 HERE with Matt Stradley and John Williams on the call. Brian Hall and Mike Gore have the radio call on ESPN Asheville on 92.9 FM, 880 AM or 1400 AM, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
Tickets for the game are $15 for general admission, while seniors and faculty/staff get in for $10. Children's (5-17) tickets are $5, and students will be able to pick up tickets at the game at the student ticket table in the lobby of Kimmel Arena.
Season ticket holders must purchase tickets, as the game serves as a Big South tournament game and not a UNC Asheville home game. Tickets can be purchased online HERE, by calling (828) 258-7900 or in person at the Kimmel Arena box office.
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NOTABLY
- With 10 victories more than their total from last season, the Bulldogs are one of just five teams in the country to improve their win total from last season by double-digits. They are tied for the third-largest turnaround in the country.
- DeVon Baker has scored 978 points in the first two seasons of his Bulldog career and is now just 22 points away from becoming the 34th player in program history to hit the 1,000-point milestone, and just the third sophomore to do so.
- Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 16 in scoring in the Big South Conference (DeVon Baker – 5th, 16.6; Tajion Jones – 9th, 14.2; LJ Thorpe – 10th, 14.0; Lavar Batts, Jr. - 16th, 12.8). No other team has more than two in the Top 16.
- The Bulldogs rank fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-5.1 per game, and they rank Top 65 in the country in fewest total turnovers and turnovers per game. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in only three of 29 games this season.
- The Bulldogs force their opponents into 17 turnovers per game, which ranks 15th in the country. They also average 8.4 steals per game, ranking 22nd in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South, averaging 1.8 steals per game, while DeVon Baker (1.5 spg), LJ Thorpe (1.5 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.3 spg) rank in the Top 15. No other team has more than two players in the Top 15.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 75.6 points per game, ranking third in the Big South and 62nd nationally. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game. The team is averaging 15.7 more points per game than it did last season.
- The Bulldogs are second in the Big South and 42nd in the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 46.4 percent of their shots (795-1712) from the floor.
- 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 22.8 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 just two teams in Division I to use one starting lineup (North Texas).
- 12 – With 10 steals at Campbell, the Bulldogs recorded double-digit steals in a game for the 12th time this season.
- 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. They closed out the season hitting 54 percent at Campbell. They are now 6-1 in games they shoot 50 percent or better.
- 97.1 – The Bulldogs underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have scored 97.1 percent of the team's points this season, representing the highest percentage of underclassmen scoring in Division I.
Players Mentioned
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