University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Auburn
GAME PREVIEW: Men’s Basketball Prepares to Face Auburn in Rocket City Classic
12.12.2023 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- Rocket City Classic
- UNC Asheville (5-5) vs. Auburn (6-2)
- Wednesday, December 13, 2023
- Huntsville, Ala.; Von Braun Center
- Time: 8 p.m. EST
- Watch Live: Ryan Brown (Play-by-Play); Lance Taylor and Jim Dunaway (Color Analyst)
- Live Stats
- Tickets
ASHEVILLE'S LAST TIME OUT
The UNC Asheville men's basketball team traveled to face Western Carolina University on Saturday, Dec. 9, and fell to the Catamounts 78-63.
Fletcher Abee led Asheville's offense with 21 points, going 5-for-7 from the 3-point arc. Drew Pember followed, scoring 18 points, and led the team with six rebounds and five assists.
Asheville opened Saturday's contest with a 5-0 lead, following a jumper from Josh Banks and a 3-pointer from Abee. The Catamounts quickly responded, tying the score at five, before Davion Cunningham connected for a layup following a steal from Fletcher Abee to extend Asheville's lead back to two (7-5).
This would be the Bulldogs' final lead of the night, as the Catamounts responded with a 12-2 run to jump ahead 17-9. Jamon Battle responded with a pair of free throws before the Catamounts extended their lead back to nine following a 3-pointer. Pember answered with a 3-pointer before WCU went on an 11-3 run (32-17).
With 50 seconds left in the first half, a triple and a jumper from Abee brought Western's lead back down to seven points before a dunk by the Catamounts helped WCU enter the break leading 38-29. Abee led Asheville at halftime with 11 points.
Western extended its lead out of the break to 11 before a jumper and 3-pointer from Abee brought the score back within six. This was as close as Asheville would get to Western's lead, as the Catamounts responded with an 11-2 run and never looked back.
BULLDOG LEADERBOARD
Pember leads Asheville, averaging 18.1 points per game, 7.2 rebounds, and 16 blocks. Pember is 11 blocks away from becoming just the seventh player in Big South history to have 1,000 points (1,384), 500 rebounds (590), and 200 blocked shots (189).
Fletcher Abee follows, averaging 13.3 points per game, and leads the team with a .463 3-point shooting percentage and a .952 free throw percentage. Abee is No. 21 in the NCAA in 3-point percentage and No. 25 in 3-pointers per game (3.10).
Josh Banks follows, averaging 12.3 points per game. Nick McMullen leads the team with 10 steals and a .576 field-goal percentage. Caleb Burgess leads Asheville with 50 assists and is two away from 200 career assists at Asheville.
A LOOK AT AUBURN
The Auburn Tigers enter Wednesday's contest following a 28-point rout of Indiana on Dec. 9 (104-76). The Tigers had two players earn SEC Weekly Honors for their efforts this past week, as Jaylin Williams was named Player of the Week and Aden Holloway was named Freshman of the Week. Both Williams and Holloway scored 24 points in Auburn's victory over Indiana. Auburn's leading scorer is Johni Broome, who is averaging 16.3 points per game. Broome also leads the team with 8.9 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday will be Asheville's fifth time facing the Tigers, with Auburn leading the series 3-1. The programs last met on Dec. 4, 2018, in Auburn, Ala., with the Tigers winning 67-41. The Bulldogs' lone victory was a 70-69 overtime victory in the first-ever game at Neville Arena on Nov. 12, 2010. This will be the first time the teams have faced each other at a neutral site, as all four matchups the teams have played have been in Auburn.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
2023-24 Season AVL AU
Scoring Average 84.4 81.8
Opp. Scoring Average 73.8 66.8
Scoring Margin 10.6 15.0
FG Percentage .456 .450
3FG Percentage .342 .325
FT Percentage .696 .713
Rebounding Average 36.8 41.0
Assists Per Game 17.6 19.3
Steals Per Game 6.4 6.5
Blocks Per Game 4.1 5.4
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