Winthrop (18-5, 10-2 BSC) at UNC Asheville (18-7, 10-2 BSC)
Game Time: 7 p.m. EST / Site: Asheville, NC (Kimmel Arena)
Live Video: none Television: ESPNU (Robert Lee-PxP/Nate Ross-Color) / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge, pregame 6:30 p.m (Dave Friedman-PxP/Karl Lyles-Color)
Live Stats  / Live Video  / Live Audio

ROCK HILL, SC—For the second time in less than a month Winthrop and UNC Asheville will square off in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU, but this time the venue is Kimmel Arena in Asheville, NC, Thursday evening at 7 p.m.

The Eagles have won back-to-back games and are now 18-5 on the year and 10-2 in the Big South while Asheville is 18-7 overall and 10-2 in the league. Winthrop fans can also tune into 104.1 The Bridge as Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will call the action.

Winthrop, Asheville and Liberty are in a three-way tie atop the Big South standings as three games separate them from the rest of the pack. Liberty plays at Gardner-Webb Thursday night and by the end of the night there could be a two-way tie for first or the Winthrop/Asheville winner could be all alone in first.

Finishing first place during the regular season standings this year has a huge value as the winner of the regular season title will host the Big South Conference Tournament and as of Wednesday, Feb. 8 it looks like a potential three-team race with six league games remaining.

The Eagles look to extend their winning streak on the road to nine in a row as they are 10-2 on the road this season and have also won seven straight league games on the road dating back to last season. This year the Eagles are a perfect 6-0 on the road in league play.

A big part of the success on the road in league play is the defense of the Eagles as they allow just 64.7 ppg and hold opponents to 38 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from three on their home courts. The Eagles have made 36 more threes than its league opponents on the road and are averaging 75.0 (+10.3 scoring margin).

Senior Keon Johnson is the league's second leading scorer at 21.5 ppg and is coming off a career-high 39 points in the win over Campbell. Johnson has scored 20 or more points in 8-of-11 road games he's played and hasn't scored less than 15 points. Johnson scored just eight points in the first meeting and has 11 total points in his last two games against the Bulldogs. However, Johnson's last trip to Kimmel Arena he posted 23 points behind 6-of-12 shooting (4-of-9 behind the arc).

Junior Xavier Cooks scored 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the first meeting against Asheville on Jan. 19. His final basket of the game pushed him over 1,000 career points as he buried a three for a five-point lead. Cooks is 6^th in the league in scoring at 15.1 per game and 3^rd in rebounding at 8.2 per game. In his last four games against the Bulldogs he's averaging 13.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 1.8 apg and 1.3 spg while shooting 51 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three.

In the first meeting junior Anders Broman provided a spark off the bench with 12 points while Joshua Davenport had eight points. Another big contribution in the win over Asheville on Jan. 19 was senior Roderick Perkins, who finished with a season-high 17 points.

This is the 75^th meeting between Winthrop and Asheville and the 10^th in the last three seasons. Winthrop leads the all-time series 40-34 overall and 34-29 in regular season meetings. Winthrop and Asheville rank 1^st and 2^nd in the Big South in scoring. The Bulldogs lead the league in three-point field goal percentage while the Eagles rank first in three-point field goal percentage defense. The two teams are also 1^st and 2^nd in the league in scoring margin with Asheville at +8.3 and Winthrop winning by a margin of +7.8.

Asheville has won five straight since falling to the Eagles in the first meeting. The Bulldogs have earned two wins on the road and captured three more at home, winning all five games by an average of 14.8 ppg. The fifth win in a row was the toughest as the Bulldogs edged High Point on the road in overtime, 74-71.

Ahmad Thomas has been the top scorer in all five wins during the streak as he's averaging 20.8 during that stretch. He leads the team in scoring at 17.4 ppg and is third in the Big South. He's third in the league field goal percentage (53%) and 6^th in rebounding (6.6). He also leads the team in steals per game at 3.1 (which is 2^nd in the league).

Freshman MaCio Teague is second on the team in scoring at 15.1 per game, which is tied with Cooks in the Big South at 6^th. Teague, who had 15 points in the first meeting, is averaging 15.9 ppg in league play.