University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Friday, March 7
Johnson City, TN (Freedom Hall Civic Center)
6 PM

UNC Asheville

vs

Charleston Southern

Toyaz-Solomon-0306

GAME PREVIEW: Men’s Basketball set to face Charleston Southern in Quarterfinal of Big South Conference Championship

03.06.2025 | Men's Basketball

GAME DETAILS  BULLDOG BITES
  • Asheville is the No. 2 seed in the 2025 Hercules Tires Big South Conference Championship tournament for the second year in a row. 
  • The Bulldogs take on No. 7 Charleston Southern for the fourth consecutive year. Asheville has a 6-4 conference tournament record against the Buccaneers.
  • Asheville enters postseason play following its most successful Big South Conference Awards Season in program history. Five individuals were awarded and seven awards were earned for the Bulldogs. 
  • The Bulldogs are looking to bounce back following back-to-back losses to end the regular season. Despite the losses, Asheville earned its third consecutive 20-win season. This is the 10th 20-win season for Asheville in program history, which is tied for second for most 20-win seasons for a program in league history. The Bulldogs have accumulated 69 wins over the last three years, the most wins for the program in a three-year period.
  • Friday marks the 99th matchup between Asheville and Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs hold a 59-39 series lead and are 9-1 in their last 10 matchups. 
  • During the regular season, Asheville defeated Charleston Southern 69-61 in the Buccaneer Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 25 and 75-72 in Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 15.
  • Asheville has had four or more players score double-figures in 20 of the Bulldogs' 30 games this season. This is the first time since the 2019-20 season that Asheville has had four individuals averaging double-figures, as Asheville finished the 2019-20 season with five players averaging double-figures. 
  • Charleston Southern's Taje' Kelly was named the 2024-25 Big South Conference Player of the Year. Kelly is Charleston Southern's fourth member in program history to earn the player of the year title, and the first since the 2014-15 season, when current Buccaneer head coach Saah Nimley earned the award. Kelly is currently averaging 20.8 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. 

Asheville's Leading Scorers (points per game):

Asheville's Leading Rebounders (rebounds per game): 

Asheville's Assist Leaders (assists per game): 

STATISTICAL COMPARISON 
2024-25 Season      Asheville Charleston Southern
Scoring Offense 82.8 72.5
Scoring Defense 76.8 78.2
Scoring Margin 6.0 -5.7
FG Percentage  .473 .426
FG Pct. Defense .452 .479
3PT Percentage .350 .306
FT Percentage  .718 .662
Rebounds Per Game 35.2 37.2
Assists Per Game 14.2 11.5
Turnovers Per Game 10.4 13.5
Steals Per Game 7.6 4.7
Blocks Per Game 4.1 2.8

PREGAME GATHERING 
Before tomorrow's game, the UNC Asheville Athletic Department will host a pregame gathering at Wild Wing Cafe in Johnson City, beginning at 4 p.m. The address is 71 Wilson Ave, Johnson City, TN 37604.

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Players Mentioned

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