University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Hampton
Men’s basketball faces Hampton at Kimmel Wednesday
02.08.2022 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team returns home Wednesday, hosting the Hampton Pirates at Kimmel Arena. Tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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Who: UNC Asheville (12-11, 4-6 Big South) vs. Hampton (7-14, 3-7 Big South)
When: Wednesday (2/9) at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Asheville, North Carolina – Kimmel Arena
How to Follow
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: ESPN Asheville
Stats: Live
$5 February & Game Promotions
Wednesday's game will be sponsored by Mission Health and Pepsi. Wednesday is also National Pizza Day, and there will be free pizza for students in the Barking Lot. Halftime performances will feature AdrenaZen Wheel Arts. A reminder, tickets to all basketball games this month are just $5 as a part of UNC Asheville's "$5 February" promotion. To purchase tickets ahead of time, click here.
Last Time Out
Despite holding a six-point lead with 30 seconds to go, Asheville could not hang on as High Point's John-Michael Wright converted a four-point play and tied the game with a three as the Panthers eventually took the game in overtime. LJ Thorpe (23 points) and Tajion Jones (21 points) were the bulk of the Bulldog offense Saturday, as Jones recorded his second career double-double, hauling in a career-high 12 rebounds. Saturday also marked the 100th career start for Jones, who has appeared in 105 games in his career. As a team, Asheville shot 43.5 percent from the floor, but just 27.3 percent from 3-point range (6-for-22).
Righting the Ship
The Bulldogs are looking to get back in the win column, having dropped six of their last eight including four straight at home. Asheville has continued to defend the 3-pointer well (27.7%, 6th DI), but hasn't knocked it down as consistently, shooting 30.4% in its last six losses, with opponents shooting 34.9%. In those six losses, Asheville has conceded 25 more offensive rebounds than they have grabbed, and committed 15 more turnovers. Despite juggling starting lineups, the Bulldogs have gotten just 3.6 points per game outside of its top six players in those losses. On the bright side, Drew Pember continues to rank in the top 10 nationally in blocks (78, 4th) and blocks per game (3.39, 7th).
Series History
The sides have met just five times – all during the Morrell era – with Hampton going 4-1. The Bulldogs did claim their first win in the series last season at Hampton.
Scouting the Pirates
Hampton is just 7-14 overall, having lost four of its last five prior to Monday night's win over Presbyterian (74-69). The Pirates' previous win was January 29 at Charleston Southern when they squeezed out a 78-74 win. Hampton does a good job defending the 3-pointer, holding teams to just 27.8 percent from downtown. The Pirates struggle on the boards as they are -6.0 in rebounding margin on the season and score just 62.8 points per game (last among Big South teams). In conference play, Hampton is averaging 35.6 rebounds per game (3rd) and is holding teams to 41.0 percent from the floor (2nd). Najee Garvin is averaging 16.0 points per game on the season and averages 5.9 rebounds per contest.
