ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop men's basketball is set for a Big South Conference clash with UNC Asheville as the two teams will square off on national television (ESPNU) Thursday evening at 9 p.m. inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
 

Game 18: UNC Asheville (11-8, 4-2 BSC) at Winthrop (9-8, 3-3 BSC)
Date	Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, 9 p.m. (EST)
Location	Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum/6,100)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPNU (click here) Matt Schick (PxP)-Paul Biancardi (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM & 104.1 The Bridge (click here) / Mike Pacheco (PxP)-Bobby Stevens (Analyst) – Pregame 8:30 p.m.
Notes	Winthrop | UNC Asheville
Social Media	@WUGameDay | @Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL
Tickets	$8 in advance (click here) | $10 walk-up | Group of 10 or more ($4)
Game Program	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         10        Anders Broman (6-2, Gr., 11.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg)
G         13        Bjorn Broman (6-0, Jr., 11.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.2 apg)
G         14        Adam Pickett (6-1, Jr., 7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.7 spg)
F          12        Xavier Cooks (6-8, Sr., 16.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.5 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, So., 9.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 0.9 bpg)
 
UNC Asheville
G         10        Kevin Vannatta (6-2, Sr., 10.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G         12        Raekwon Miller (6-3, Sr., 9.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G         14        Ahmad Thomas (6-3, Sr., 15.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G         25        MaCio Teague (6-3, So., 16.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.8 apg)
F          1          Jonathan Baehre (6-9, So., 6.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record: Winthrop leads 40-35
Series Streak: L1
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 25-11
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W5
Kelsey vs. UNC Asheville: 7-5
 
SERIES HISTORY

• This marks the 76^th meeting all-time
• The last time these two teams met the game went into two overtimes as UNC Asheville held on for the 104-101 win
• Eagles have won 6-of-9 and won last year's meeting at the Winthrop Coliseum, 73-70
• Both meetings between the Eagles and Bulldogs were on ESPNU
• IN 75 meetings all-time, Winthrop has averaged 70.8 ppg while Asheville has averaged 69.9 ppg

 
THE GAME

• This is a matchup of the top two teams in the Big South preseason poll as Asheville was voted the favorite to win the Big South this year and the Eagles were voted second
• Winthrop enters having won back-to-back games and Asheville has won three in a row
• Game will feature two of the league's top three scoring offenses as Winthrop leads the Big South at 82.6 ppg and Asheville is third at 76.1
• Winthrop is 6-2 at home on the year (2-1 in league play) while Asheville is 3-7 on the road
• Winthrop's Xavier Cooks along with Asheville's Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta have combined for over 4,000 career points 

 
WINTHROP       

• Have won back-to-back games by double-figures after losing three straight
• Averaging 82.6 ppg which leads the league and ranks 34^th nationally
• In eight home games this season the Eagles have averaged 88.1 ppg and shot 50 percent from the floor
• Xavier Cooks is coming off a big game with 17 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks as he posted his 28^th career double-double
• Cooks is currently 7^th in the league in scoring (16.1 ppg) and leads the league with 9.1 rebounds per game
• Cooks is the only player in the league that ranks in the Top 5 in rebounds, assists, blocks, assist/turnover ratio and field goal percentage
• Bjorn Broman continues to shine offensively since league play started and now has six straight games in double-figures
• Bjorn Broman has also hit multiple threes in 10 straight games and is 24-for-44 in league play (56%)
• Adam Pickett is third on the team in league scoring at 14.3 ppg and is also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists
• Pickett had 17 in the win over Gardner-Webb
• Josh Ferguson had 17 points and six boards in the win over Gardner-Webb and now has double-figures in four of his last five games
• Eagles looking to win three straight games for just the second time this season 

 
UNC ASHEVILLE

• After dropping back-to-back games in league play on the road the Bulldogs bounced back to win three straight that included a road win at Presbyterian College
• The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 83.0 – 69.7 during the win streak
• Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague are two of the league's top scorers
• Teague leads the team with 16.2 ppg and Thomas is averaging 15.1 ppg
• Teague is coming off 27 points in the win over Charleston Southern and has led the team in scoring six times (Bulldogs are 5-1 in those games)
• Thomas has led the team in scoring seven times
• Last time the Eagles and Bulldogs squared off Teague finished with 24 points while Thomas had 26 points and 10 rebounds
• Bulldogs rank among the Top 3 in the Big South in scoring, free throw percentage, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assists and steals

 
LIVING IN THE 80'S

• The Eagles scored 80 or more points in eight straight games which is a school record (came to an end at VCU)
• The Eagles are 2-2 this year when scoring 80 or more in a game this season but since the arrival of head coach Pat Kelsey the Eagles are 58-11 when hitting the 80-mark
• Of the 11 losses when scoring 80 or more, seven of them have come against Big South opponents (3 in OT) and three against Power 5 opponents
• Streak of 80 or more points on the road came to an end at four straight as the Eagles have now hit that mark in seven of the last 13 dating back to last season
• After scoring 80 or more in eight of the first 10 games and then went six straight games without reaching 80 before they posted 90 in the win over Gardner-Webb on Jan. 15

 
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY PLAYER HONORS

• Xavier Cooks has been tabbed the Big South Player of the Week twice this season (Dec. 4/Dec. 11)
• Cooks scored a career-high 31 points at Georgia that included five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal to earn his second league honor of the year
• Cooks grabbed his first weekly honor of the season by averaging 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in a week he recorded his first ever triple-double (11 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists vs. Reinhardt)
• Kyle Zunic was named the Big South Freshman of the Week on Nov. 20 after he averaged 14.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds against Colorado State and Central Penn 

 
WINTHROP SPORTS SHOW AT ROCO
Every Thursday at The Roasting Company throughout the basketball season will be the Winthrop Sports Show at ROCO hosted by the voices of the Winthrop Eagles Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco. The two will sit down weekly with head coaches Pat Kelsey and Lynette Woodard as well as other selected guests throughout the season. The show is from 6-6:30 p.m. and also airs on 94.3 FM & 104.1 The Bridge.
(FULL SCHEDULE)