ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop will put its six-game winning streak on the line Thursday night in the Vines Center as it takes on Liberty at 7 p.m.
 

Game 22: Winthrop (13-8, 7-3 Big South) at Liberty (13-10, 4-6 Big South)
Date	Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, 7:00 p.m. (EST)
Location	Lynchburg, VA (Vines Center / 9,511)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	Big South Network/ESPN3/LFSN (click here) / Matt Warner (PxP) – Paul Nazigian (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM & 104.1 The Bridge (click here) / Dave Friedman (PxP) – Mike Pacheco (Analyst) – Pregame 6 p.m.
Notes	Winthrop | Liberty
Social Media	@WUGameDay | @Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         10        Anders Broman (6-2, Gr., 12.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.9 apg)
G         13        Bjorn Broman (6-0, Jr., 11.1 ppg, 3.3 apg, 1.9 rpg)
G         14        Adam Pickett (6-1, Jr., 7.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F          12        Xavier Cooks (6-8, Sr., 16.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.7 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, So., 9.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
 
Liberty
G         11        Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (6-1, So., 11.2 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.4 rpg)
G/F      10        Elijah Cuffee (6-4, Fr., 4.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.6 apg)
G/F      20        Keegan McDowell (6-6, Fr., 3.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F          5          Ryan Kemrite (6-4, R-Sr., 10.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)
F          31        Scottie James (6-7, R-So., 11.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.1 apg)
 
EXTENDED PREGAME SHOW FOR LIBERTY CONTEST
With the Eagles out of town for the Liberty game on Thursday, there won't be a Winthrop Show At RoCo this week. Instead, Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will have an extended preview with additional interviews and analysis. The Winthrop Show at RoCo will resume next Thursday, Feb. 8.
 
THE SERIES
Series Record: Winthrop leads 40-17
Series Streak: L1
Record at Vines Center: 15-10
Streak at Vines Center: W1
Kelsey vs. Liberty: 8-2
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Eagles and Flames meet for a second time this season as Winthrop looks to avenge its 73-70 loss at home on Jan. 9
• The teams have split the last four meetings, but the Eagles have won 11 of the last 13
• Eagles won 61-48 at the Vines Center last year and have won four of the last five trips
• In 57 all-time meetings, Winthrop has scored 3,913 points (68.6 ppg) while Liberty has totaled 3,624 (63.6 ppg)

 
THE GAME

• Eagles look to remain atop the Big South standings while the Flames are looking to get back on track and move up in the standings
• Winthrop has held Liberty to fewer than 70 points in 11 of the last 13 meetings
• This is a matchup of the league's top offense (Winthrop) and the league's top defense (Liberty)
• Winthrop averages 82.9 ppg (30^th nationally) while the Flames allow just 63.5 ppg (17^th nationally)
• Winthrop's last loss came at the hands of the Flames on Jan. 9, 73-70
• Since then the Eagles have won six straight while the Flames have gone 1-5
• Liberty ranks 3^rd nationally in free throw percentage as a team (.791)
• Winthrop ranks 30^th nationally in three-point field goals per game (10.0) and field goal percentage (.482)
• Both Winthrop and Liberty are the top two teams in the league in scoring margin 

 
WINTHROP       

• Winners of six straight as they've averaged 81.7 ppg while allowing just 64.7 ppg during the streak
• Sitting in a three-way tie for first place in the Big South standings with UNC Asheville and Radford
• All six wins during the streak have been by 11 or more points
• 12 of the team's 13 wins this season have been by 11 or more points
• The only game that wasn't is an 8-point win at Alabama State in which Winthrop rallied from a 10-point first half deficit
• Looking for first seven-game winning streak since last season, which is the best win streak in conference games during Pat Kelsey era
• Won three straight on the road by an average of 13.7 ppg
• For the Eagles, 10 of the last 11 wins in conference play have been by double-digits
• Xavier Cooks has back-to-back 20-point games and continues to lead the team in scoring at 16.9 ppg (7^th in the Big South)
• Cooks leads the league in rebounding, while ranking 2^nd in assists, 3^rd in field goal percentage and 3^rd in blocked shots
• Cooks is 1-of-5 Eagles averaging double-figures during league play
• Bjorn Broman (14.0), Adam Pickett (11.8), Anders Broman (11.3) and Josh Ferguson (11.1) are the other four
• There has never been a season in the history of the program where five players finished league play averaging double-figures
• Bjorn Broman ranks 5^th nationally in assist/turnover ratio while ranking 7^th in three-point field goal percentage (.479)
• Pickett set career-highs of 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the first meeting with Liberty 

 
LIBERTY

• Ended a five-game losing streak with a win at Presbyterian College on Saturday, Jan. 27
• The Flames earned an 81-66 win behind 21 points from Ryan Kemrite and 19 from Keegan McDowell (just his second career start)
• Five-game losing streak started with a seven-point loss to Longwood and a 59-57 overtime loss at Radford as it included three straight losses at home
• It was the first three-game losing streak at home since the 2015-16 season
• Lovell Cabbil leads the team in scoring at 12.0 ppg, but has not played the last two games
• Cabbil scored 19 points against the Eagles in the first meeting of the season
• Isaiah Williams had 10 points off the bench in the first meeting against the Eagles, but has missed the last three games
• He's one of four players averaging double-figures ahead of Scottie James (11.3), Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz (11.2) and Ryan Kemrite (10.0)

 
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 10-2 this year when scoring 80 or more in a game and since the arrival of head coach Pat Kelsey the Eagles are 61-11 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, Eagles 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 four times this season (Dec. 4/Dec. 11/Jan. 22/Jan. 29)
• He earned his fourth honor on Jan. 29 for helping the Eagles to two wins and moving into a three-way tie for first in the league standings
• During that week he averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 blocks in wins over Longwood and Campbell
• He's now earned back-to-back weekly honors twice this season and has a career total of six
• 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 

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS

• Xavier Cooks is establishing his name in many categories of the Winthrop record book
• Cooks became the 4^th Eagle all-time to reach 1,600 career points as he currently ranks 4^th with 1,600 and trails 3^rd place by 60 points
• Cooks also ranks first all-time in blocked shots (189), 2^nd in rebounds (900), 5^th in field goals made (595), 5^th in free throws made (322), 6^th in free throws attempted (460), and 7^th in career scoring average (13.7)
• Bjorn Broman now has 145 career threes (11^th all-time) as he's 15 away from cracking the Top 10
• Broman is also 9^th all-time in career three-point percentage (.379) while his brother Anders is 7^th at .396 

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)