University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Kennesaw State
GAME PREVIEW: Men’s basketball travels to Kennesaw for first game of home-and-home series
12.04.2023 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- UNC Asheville (5-3) vs. Kennesaw State (5-3)
- Tuesday, December 5
- Kennesaw, Ga.; KSU Convocation Center
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Watch Live
- Tickets
LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs picked up their fifth win of the season on Friday, Dec. 1, as they hosted Johnson University (Tenn.), defeating the Royals 97-51. Fletcher Abee and Drew Pember led Asheville's offense with 15 points each.
Several Bulldogs reached career milestones in Friday's victory, as Abee scored his 1,000th career point, and Trent Stephney took sole possession of sixth place on the all-time program steals list as he recorded his 163rd career steal.
TOP DOGS IN ACTION
Pember currently leads the Bulldogs in the scoring column, averaging 16.9 points a game. Under the basket, Pember leads the team with 6.4 rebounds a game and 12 blocked shots. Pember is 15 blocked shots away from 200 career blocked shots.
Abee is averaging 13.5 points per game and leads the team with a .481 3-point shooting percentage. He leads the conference in 3-point field goals per game (3.3) and leads in free throw percentage with a .952.
Caleb Burgess leads the league with 44 assists, averaging 5.5 a game, and has a league-high assist-to-turnover ratio (3.7).
A LOOK AT THE OWLS
Kennesaw State enters Tuesday's matchup with a 5-3 record like the Bulldogs. The Owls last time out featured KSU earning an 88-77 victory over Georgia State on Dec. 2. In Saturday's victory, the Owls were led by Simeon Cottle, who scored a career-high 27 points, adding four assists and two steals.
On the season, Cottle leads the team, averaging 17.6 points per game. Demond Robinson is another Owl to watch, averaging 12.8 points per game and 9.3 rebounds.
The Owls had a 2022-23 season similar to the Bulldogs, winning both the ASUN Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championships and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls ASUN regular season title was the first-ever in program history. Kennesaw's NCAA Tournament appearance was the first national postseason tournament appearance since the Owls were a Division II program in the 2004-05 season. Tuesday will be the two teams' first-ever matchup and kickoff the first of two games this season as Kennesaw travels to Asheville to face the Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 23.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
2023-24 Season AVL KSU
Scoring Average 88.1 86.5
Opp. Scoring Average 72.6 77.1
Scoring Margin 15.5 9.4
FG Percentage .473 .429
3FG Percentage .336 .291
FT Percentage .690 .689
Rebounding Average 35.9 45.3
Assists Per Game 18.8 16.5
Steals Per Game 6.6 9.5
Blocks Per Game 4.3 4.5
BEAR'S WATCH PARTY
Bulldog fans are invited to watch the game at Bear's Smokehouse BBQ, which will begin showing the game at 7 p.m.
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