University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men’s basketball to host Longwood in Big South Quarterfinal Monday
02.24.2021 | Men's Basketball
Bulldogs earn first-round bye for first time since 2018
ASHEVILLE N.C. – The Big South Conference concluded regular-season play on Wednesday night, as UNC Asheville finishes the regular season as the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 seed Longwood in the quarterfinal round of the Hercules Tires Big South Men's Basketball Championship on Monday at 7:00 p.m. Monday will be the first Big South Tournament Quarterfinal game in Kimmel Arena since 2018.
"Really excited for our guys to get to host a quarterfinal game in the Big South Tournament with a chance to advance," UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell said. "I think it says a lot about how far we've come the last few years to be able to host a quarterfinal game at Kimmel Arena. Really proud of our guys and everything they've sacrificed this season to get to this point."
UNC Asheville ends the regular-season campaign with an overall record of 10-9, going 9-5 in conference play. Part of the conference's seeding formula took into account games played, preventing the Bulldogs from finishing even higher than the No. 4 seed. Despite not being able to play the remainder of its regular-season schedule due to COVID, Asheville's strong play put them in a position to lock up a first-round bye in the Big South Tournament, something that only the top five teams in the league earn.
"I'm really proud of our guys for the regular season that we had, Morrell said. "Earning a first-round bye is not something we were able to achieve the last couple of years, so it's a testament to this group and the work they have put in."
Additionally, Asheville's five league losses ranked second only to Winthrop among Big South teams this season. The Bulldogs picked up their ninth league win back on January 29 when they handed Winthrop its only loss of the season (57-55) in Rock Hill, surpassing the 2019-20 total of eight conference wins. The nine wins are the most for Asheville since the 2017-18 team totaled (13-5), finishing the 2020-21 regular season fourth in the Big South in conference winning percentage (.643) and overall winning percentage (.526).
Longwood, who had won five straight going into Wednesday's game against Hampton, finished the regular season 11-15 overall but was 10-10 in league play, setting a program record for wins in a Big South Regular season. The two sides split their season series back on December 30 and 31, with Asheville taking the first contest 80-73 and the Lancers prevailing 65-55 the next day.
"I think they are one of the hottest teams in the league right now," Morrell said of Longwood. "We obviously had two really good games at their place earlier this year and would expect nothing different in the tournament. They got some really good guys and Coach Aldrich does a really good job. Once you get to this time of year, all that matters is just trying to advance."
The winner of Monday's matchup will advance to the Big South Semifinals on Thursday, March 4, with the higher seed serving as host. Monday's quarterfinal game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
"The focus the last few weeks has just been getting everyone healthy," Morrell said. "Getting everyone to the point where they can get back on the floor, but as safely as possible. We've been on pause for a long time, but we've got a really good group of guys who are really motivated to get back on the floor. Now the focus shifts to getting as ready as possible for Monday."
