University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, March 5
Radford, VA
2 p.m.
UNC Asheville
vs
Gardner-Webb
Photo by: Mark Godin
Bulldogs Set for Quarterfinal Matchup with Gardner-Webb in Hercules Tires Big South Championship
03.04.2020 | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES | GARDNER-WEBB
RADFORD, Va. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team will face off against Gardner-Webb in the quarterfinals of the Hercules Tires Big South Championship, Thursday afternoon in the Dedmon Center at Radford.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., but the game will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Wintrop/USC Upstate game slated for a noon tip.
The Bulldogs (15-15, 8-10 Big South) claimed the sixth seed in the final regular-season standings and hosted Campbell in a first round game, defeating the Camels, 72-68, Tuesday night inside Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs set a program record and tied a Big South Tournament record, committing just three turnovers in the game. Coty Jude led the way with a season-high 19 points and the Bulldogs came up just one free throw shy of the Tournament record for attempts, as they racked up 42 tries from the charity stripe.
This will be the 33rd all-time game for the Bulldogs in the Big South Tournament quarterfinals, as they boast a 20-12 record in their previous appearances. Despite playing 64 games all-time in the conference tournament, this will be the first time Asheville has faced off against Gardner-Webb in Big South Postseason Play.
Asheville and Gardner-Webb met only once this season, with the Runnin' Bulldogs winning 70-56 inside Kimmel Arena, January 30. LJ Thorpe led Asheville with 18 points in the game while DeVon Baker scored 15. Gardner-Webb holds a 31-20 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1970-71 season.
Thursday's game will be live-streamed on ESPN3 HERE. 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 Hercules Tires Big South Championship are available through the Radford ticketing office, HERE.
NOTABLY
BY THE NUMBERS
RADFORD, Va. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team will face off against Gardner-Webb in the quarterfinals of the Hercules Tires Big South Championship, Thursday afternoon in the Dedmon Center at Radford.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., but the game will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Wintrop/USC Upstate game slated for a noon tip.
The Bulldogs (15-15, 8-10 Big South) claimed the sixth seed in the final regular-season standings and hosted Campbell in a first round game, defeating the Camels, 72-68, Tuesday night inside Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs set a program record and tied a Big South Tournament record, committing just three turnovers in the game. Coty Jude led the way with a season-high 19 points and the Bulldogs came up just one free throw shy of the Tournament record for attempts, as they racked up 42 tries from the charity stripe.
This will be the 33rd all-time game for the Bulldogs in the Big South Tournament quarterfinals, as they boast a 20-12 record in their previous appearances. Despite playing 64 games all-time in the conference tournament, this will be the first time Asheville has faced off against Gardner-Webb in Big South Postseason Play.
Asheville and Gardner-Webb met only once this season, with the Runnin' Bulldogs winning 70-56 inside Kimmel Arena, January 30. LJ Thorpe led Asheville with 18 points in the game while DeVon Baker scored 15. Gardner-Webb holds a 31-20 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to the 1970-71 season.
Thursday's game will be live-streamed on ESPN3 HERE. 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 Hercules Tires Big South Championship are available through the Radford ticketing office, HERE.
NOTABLY
- With 11 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 second-largest turnaround in the country.
- DeVon Baker has scored 992 points in the first two seasons of his Bulldog career and is now just eight 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; LJ Thorpe – 9th, 14.0; Tajion Jones – 10th, 13.9; Lavar Batts, Jr. - 16th, 12.7). No other team has more than two in the Top 16.
- The Bulldogs rank fourth in the country in turnover margin at plus-5.3 per game, and they rank 50th in the country in turnovers per game. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in only three of 30 games this season.
- The Bulldogs force their opponents into 16.9 turnovers per game, which ranks 15th in the country. They also average 8.3 steals per game, ranking 23rd in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South, averaging 1.8 steals per game, while DeVon Baker (1.5 spg), LJ Thorpe (1.4 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 75.5 points per game, ranking third in the Big South and 63rd nationally. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game. The team is averaging 15.6 more points per game than it did last season.
- The Bulldogs are second in the Big South and 48th in the nation in field goal percentage, hitting 46.2 percent of their shots from the floor.
- According to KenPom, the Bulldogs rank 23rd in the country in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on nearly a quarter of their possessions, with 22.7 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).
- 3 – The Bulldogs had just three team turnovers against Campbell in the First Round, which is presumed to be a program record and tied the Big South Tournament Record. It is the eighth time this season the Bulldogs have turned it over fewer than 10 times. They are 7-1 in those games.
- 12 – 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 12th-youngest team, according to KenPom.
- 65 – Thursday's matchup against Gardner-Webb will be the 65th all-time Big South Tournament game for the program. They are 35-29 in their previous 64 games. They are 0-1 in tournament games hosted at Radford, losing to the hosts in 2009, 94-86.
- 97.2 – The Bulldogs underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have scored 97.2 percent of the team's points this season, representing the highest percentage of underclassmen scoring in Division I.
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