Winthrop (16-5, 8-2 BSC) at Radford (9-13, 4-6 BSC)
Game Time: 7 p.m. EST / Site: Radford, VA (Dedmon Center)
Live Video: Big South Network Television: none / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge, pregame 6:30 p.m (Dave Friedman-PxP/Mike Pacheco-Color)
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio
Dave Friedman/Mike Pacheco Preview
ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop looks to remain in first place as it travels to Radford Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. contest inside the Dedmon Center.
The Eagles are coming off their only loss in January as they finished the month 7-1 and are now 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Big South. The game can be seen on the Big South Network or fans can listen to Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco call the action on 104.1 The Bridge.
Despite the loss, the Eagles remain atop the Big South standings in a three-way tie with UNC Asheville and Liberty. The Eagles fell a few spots in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and are now 23
rd. It is the third straight week the Eagles have been ranked in the poll.
Winthrop hopes to get back on track after its home loss to High Point on Jan. 28. So far the Eagles are perfect on the road in league play at 5-0 and have done so mostly with solid defense. League opponents are being held to 64.6 ppg on their home court and to 39 percent shooting from the floor. Winthrop has scored 73.8 while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 42 percent from three.
Senior
Keon Johnson is averaging 23.1 ppg in all road games this season and 21.4 in league play while junior
Xavier Cooks is averaging a double-double at 14.0 points and 10.2 rebounds. Johnson has scored 20 or more in three of his five road games against league foes.
Not only are the Eagles perfect on the road in league play, they've won seven straight away from home and are 9-2 on the year. It is a record number of consecutive road wins under head coach
Pat Kelsey, who will be coaching his 150
th game. Winthrop's nine road wins are tied with UNC Wilmington for the most in the country. A win at Radford would give the Eagles 10 road wins in a season for just the second time in program history.
This will mark the 72
nd meeting all-time as the Highlanders hold a 36-34 lead in the all-time series, including an 82-80 win in the first meeting this season. A win by the Highlanders in 2011 was vacated and isn't factored into the records for either team. Three of the last four meetings have been decided by two points or less.
The Highlanders have dropped three straight and are now 9-13 overall and 4-6 in the Big South. Since starting league play with wins over Winthrop and UNC Asheville the Highlanders are 2-6 and have dropped four straight at the Dedmon Center.
Justin Cousin leads Radford in scoring at 11.4 ppg on the year and 14.5 ppg in league games only. Ed. Polite Jr. is the only other Highlander in double-figures on the season at 10.1 and is scoring the same mark in league games. Second on the team in scoring during league play as been Caleb Tanner, who scored 20 points off the bench against the Eagles earlier this season. Tanner is scoring 10.7 vs. Big South opponents and shooting 45 percent from three (25-for-56). Polite Jr. is also averaging 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in league play.
The Highlanders are averaging 66.6 points per game on the season and lead the Big South in rebounding margin at +4.0 and offensive rebounding.
