ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's basketball is looking for its first 4-0 start since 2005-06 as it travels to Spartanburg, SC to take on USC Upstate, Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

GAME SNAPSHOT 
Winthrop (3-0) at USC Upstate (0-4)
Game Time: 7 p.m. EST / Site: G.B. Hodge Center
Live Video: ESPN3 / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge with pregame beginning at 6:30 p.m. (Dave Friedman/Karl Lyles)
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 17^th meeting all-time as the all-time series is locked at 8-8. This will be just the fourth time the two programs meet with each being an NCAA D1 member. The Eagles have won the three D1 meetings, with the last matchup coming on Nov. 13, 2013 in the Winthrop Coliseum as the Eagles won 82-74.

EAGLES MAKE HISTORY
The Eagles posted 102 points in their season opener and followed that up with 106 points in the second game. It was the first time in the history of the program that the Eagles scored 100 or more points in back-to-back games. The Eagles have scored a total of 288 through their first three games of the season, which is also a school record. The next closest is the program's first ever season with that squad opening up with 278 points in the first three games. The most points through three games since the program moved to D1 came in 1992-93 (274).

LANDMARK GAME FOR KELSEY
This game will mark the 100^th game coached by Pat Kelsey. The fourth-year Eagle head coach has the team off to one of its best starts in recent history and now has 56 career wins. He won 53 games in his first three seasons, which ranked second among the program's coaches at the NCAA D1 level.

THE MATCHUP
The two teams have taken opposite roads to start the 2015-16 season. The Eagles are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2007-08 season and looking for the first 4-0 start since 2005-06. USC Upstate is a team that lost 4-of-5 starters from last year and is off to an 0-4 start. This will be the third straight home game for the Spartans as they've fallen 67-55 to Navy and 83-79 to Bob Jones.
 
COOKS BECOMING LEADER
Sophomore Xavier Cooks enjoyed a solid first season for the Eagles on his way to being named to the Big South All-Freshmen Team. He averaged 7.8 ppg and 6.1 rpg while shooting 54 percent from the floor. He finished the 2014-15 season with back-to-back double-figure games including 14 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game. This year he's averaging 20 points per game and hasn't scored below 19. He's shooting 61 percent and is 4-for-10 from three after hitting just three triples all of last season. In addition to his scoring, Cooks nearly averaging a double-double at 9.3 rpg. He surpassed 300 career points in the win over Jacksonville State and is 28 rebounds from 250 in his brief career.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Cooks is the leading scorer for the Eagles at 20.0 ppg as they hit the road for the first time this season. In 2014-15, Cooks averaged 7.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 1.0 bpg in 16 road contests. He shot 52 percent from the floor and was second on the team in offensive rebounds on the road. Four of his nine double-figure games last season were on the road. Keon Johnson has been steady so far for the Eagles at 12.7 ppg. Last season Johnson dropped 19 points in the first road game of the year as the Eagles defeated Clemson 77-74. The junior guard scored 20 or more points in three games last year with two of those performances coming on the road. Opponents are shooting 46 percent behind the arc against the Spartans this year so Johnson, Jimmy Gavin and Bjorn Broman could take advantage. Upstate is led by Deion Holmes 13.3 ppg as he's the top threat from behind the arc (8-for-26). Philip Wittington has the highest scoring average, but made his first appearance of the season in the last game with 15 points, 9 rebounds. Holmes has led the team in scoring the last two games and Marvin Smith tied Holmes with 18 in the loss to Bob Jones.

THE COACHES
Pat Kelsey is in his fourth season at the helm of the Winthrop men's basketball program. He holds a record of 56-43 in the first three seasons with appearances in the Big South championship game the past two seasons. Eddie Payne is in his 14^th season at Upstate and 30^th at the collegiate level. He has over 450 career wins. The Spartans made their first Atlantic Sun Title game in 2014-15. His head coaching stints include Greensboro College, Oregon State, East Carolina, Belmont Abbey and Truett-McConnell.

MILESTONES
Johnson reached 800 career points exactly after scoring 12 against Jacksonville State. He's on pace to surpass 1,000 career points this season. He now has 122 three-pointers made are tied for 12^th all-time and needs 18 more to crack the Top 10. Duby Okeke and Cooks are neck-and-neck in career blocks as Okeke has 54 and Cooks has 53. They are both on pace to rack the program's career Top 10 list as Eddie Gay and Heson Groves sit at 10^th with 76.