ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop goes for a fourth straight win Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum when it hosts Prairie View A&M at noon.
 

Game 12: Winthrop (7-4, 0-0 Big South) vs. Prairie View A&M (1-10, 0-0 SWAC)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, 12 p.m. (EST)
Location	Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum / 6,100)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPN+ (click here) Rick Rogers (PxP) – Bobby Stevens (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM/104.1 The Bridge / ESPN 730 | WGNC AM1450/101.1 FM (click here) / Mike Pacheco (PxP) – Hunter Sadlon (Analyst) – Pregame 11:30 a.m.
Notes	Winthrop | Prairie View A&M
Social Media	@Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL | #WinthropMBB #WinthropEverStand
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         0          Nych Smith (5-10, Sr., 16.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.2 apg)
G         3          Michael Anumba (6-5, Fr., 7.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.5 apg)
G         13        Bjorn Broman (6-0, Sr., 9.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G         21        Kyle Zunic (6-2, So., 10.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.5 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, Jr., 13.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.6 apg)
 
Prairie View A&M
G         1          Taishaun Johnson (6-0, Sr., 9.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G         3          Gary Blackston (6-2, Sr., 16.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G         15        Gerard Andrus (6-5, Jr., 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F          13        Iwin Ellis (6-7, Sr., 3.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.4 spg)
F          23        Devonte Patterson (6-7, Jr., 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 spg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record: first meeting
Series Streak: first meeting
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 0-0
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: n/a
Kelsey vs. Prairie View A&M: first meeting
 
SERIES HISTORY

• This is the first meeting between the Eagles and Panthers
• The Panthers are just the third opponent from the Southwestern Athletic Conference the Eagles have ever faced
• Winthrop is 2-1 all-time against opponents from the SWAC 

THE GAME

• Winthrop is looking to extend its winning streak to four games while the Panthers are looking to end a 10-game losing streak
• Eagles feature the nation's fifth best offense at 91.8 ppg and rank second nationally in three-point field goals per game at 13.6
• The Eagles also rank among the Top 10 nationally in three-point field goals made (6^th), defensive rebounds (8^th), and free throw percentage (10^th)
• It's been seven days since the Eagles have played and nine says since the Panthers have competed
• So far this season the Eagles are 4-1 at home and looking for a fourth straight win at home
• Eagles have won six of the last seven home games against non-conference opponents
• This will mark the 12^th straight road game this season for Prairie View A&M 

WINTHROP       

• Head coach Pat Kelsey is in his seventh season with the Eagles (128-75)
• Eagles have won three straight behind an offense scoring 92.0 ppg and holding opponents to 70.3 ppg
• Nych Smith leads the team in scoring at 16.6 ppg and is coming off 19 points in the win at Southern Illinois
• Josh Ferguson is coming off a career-high 26 points as he recorded his third double-double of the season (26 points, 10 rebounds)
• Ferguson knocked down a career-high five threes as the team hit a total of 15 in the game
• It was the 5^th time this season the Eagles hit 15 or more threes in a single-game
• In five home games the Eagles are averaging 104.2 ppg and 15.2 threes per game
• During the current winning streak the Eagles have five players scoring in double-figures (Ferguson 18.7 / Smith 15.3 / Kyle Zunic 13.7 / Bjorn Broman 10.0 / Austin Awad 10.0)
• As a program the Eagles are 13-2 all-time in the first game following Christmas when playing at home 

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M

• The Panthers are led by 3^rd-year head coach Byron Smith (29-44)
• Prairie View A&M are 1-10 on the road this season
• Coming off a 102-64 loss at Seattle and have now allowed over 100 points in back-to-back games
• Despite suffering big losses in the last two games, seven of the 10 losses have been by 14 points or less
• Have made two trips to the Carolinas already this season with a 74-66 loss at UNC Greensboro and a 76-64 loss at East Carolina
• Led by senior guard Gary Blackston's 16.9 ppg (2^nd in the SWAC), who has led the team in scoring five times
• Blackston is coming off 22 points and a team-high seven boards in the loss at Seattle
• Devonte Patterson is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg and also averages 4.8 rebounds
• Panthers average 5.5 threes per game and have shown the ability to knock down the three with a season-high 11 at Baylor and recently hit eight in the loss at Louisiana Lafayette 

RECORD BOOK WATCH

• Bjorn Broman now has 187 career threes and is all alone in 8^th all-time in program history as he became the 8^th player in program history with 180 made threes
• He is now 13 threes away from becoming the 7^th player in program history to hit 200 threes
• Broman is just outside the Top 10 all-time in career three-point field goal percentage at .366 (LaShawn Coulter is 10^th at .373)
• The Eagles are now through 11 games on the season and are currently averaging 13.6 threes per game, which no other team in program history have averaged 10 or more for a full season
• There have been five seasons in Big South Conference history that a team averaged 10 or more per game, which was accomplished by VMI all five times (Single-season record is 13.69 in 2008-09)
• As a team the Eagles are averaging 91.8 ppg in non-conference action through 11 games, which is the most by any team in program history (second best is 86.2 set by the 2017-18 team) 

WHERE DO THE EAGLES RANK IN THE BIG SOUTH?
Winthrop currently leads the Big South Conference in scoring (91.8 ppg), free throw percentage (.776), defensive rebounds (31.1), assists per game (18.3) and three-point field goals per game (13.6). Winthrop has led the Big South in scoring the past three seasons and in scoring margin and three-point field goals per game the last two seasons. Nych Smith's 16.6 ppg ranks 7^th in the league while Josh Ferguson ranks second in rebounds per game (8.3). Bjorn Broman is 7^th in the Big South in three-point field goals per game (2.5).

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 airs live on 94.3 FM & 104.1 The Bridge.