ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop puts its four-game win streak on the line New Year's Day when it wraps-up non-conference action at ninth-ranked Florida State at 2 p.m. inside the Tucker Center.
 

Game 13: Winthrop (8-4, 0-0 Big South) at #9 Florida State (11-1, 0-0 ACC)
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, 2 p.m. (EST)
Location	Tallahassee, FL (Donald L. Tucker Center / 11,500)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ACC Network Extra (click here) Shawn Davison (PxP) – Adrian Crawford (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM/104.1 The Bridge / ESPN 730 | WGNC AM1450/101.1 FM (click here) / Dave Friedman (PxP) – Mike Pacheco (Analyst) – Pregame 1:30 p.m.
Notes	Winthrop | Florida State
Social Media	@Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL | #WinthropMBB #WinthropEverStand
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         0          Nych Smith (5-10, Sr., 16.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G         3          Michael Anumba (6-5, Fr., 7.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)
G         13        Bjorn Broman (6-0, Sr., 10.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg)
G         21        Kyle Zunic (6-2, So., 10.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, Jr., 12.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)
 
Florida State
G         3          Trent Forrest (6-5, Jr., 11.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G         5          P.J. Savoy (6-4, Sr. 8.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.8 apg)
F          14        Terance Mann (6-7, Sr., 12.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F          23        M.J. Walker (6-5, So., 8.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.6 apg)
C          21        Christ Koumadje (7-4, Sr., 7.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg)
 
 
THE SERIES
Series Record: 0-1
Series Streak: L1
Record at Tucker Center: 0-1
Streak at Tucker Center: L1
Kelsey vs. Florida State: 0-1
 
SERIES HISTORY

• This is the second meeting all-time between Winthrop and Florida State
• The first meeting came just two seasons ago when the Eagles traveled to Tallahassee, FL on Nov. 18, 2017 and fell 100-86
• The Eagles are 5-36 all-time against ACC opponents with the last win coming Nov. 17, 2014 at Clemson (77-74)

 
THE GAME

• Winthrop is looking for a 5^th straight win while the Seminoles are in search of a 7^th straight win
• Both teams average over 80 points per game as the Eagles rank 6^th nationally at 90.5 ppg and FSU is 56^th at 80.8 ppg
• Both Winthrop and FSU are two of the top free throw shooting teams in the country as the Eagles rank 7^th (.781) and the Seminoles are 28^th (.758)
• This is just the second time the Eagles will play on New Year's Day in the history of the program
• FSU is a perfect 6-0 at home this season while the Eagles are 3-3 on the road
• Winthrop is averaging 81.5 ppg on the road and FSU is averaging 85.0 ppg at home
• On the road this year the Eagles are averaging 12.3 three-pointers per game with a high of 15 twice (at Tennessee Tech/at Southern Illinois)
• This is the final regular season non-conference contest for both teams

 
WINTHROP       

• Head coach Pat Kelsey is in his seventh season with the Eagles (129-75)
• Have now won four straight after defeating Prairie View A&M 76-62 on Dec. 29
• Finished the month of December with a 4-1 record and averaged 86.6 points while allowing 74.4
• Sitting at 8-4 on the season for the first time since the 2005-06 season
• In the win over Prairie View, the Eagles rallied from a seven point deficit early on which was the third time this season they trailed by seven or more and came back to win (at TTU/SIU and vs. PAVM)
• Led by Nych Smith's 16 ppg as the Eagles have five players averaging double-figures
• Joining Smith in double-figures is Josh Ferguson (12.8), Adam Pickett (11.5), Kyle Zunic (10.6) and Bjorn Broman (10.3)
• Winthrop does have seven players in the regular rotation averaging 7.1 ppg or more
• During the winning streak Ferguson has been the team's leading scorer at 15.5 ppg while Smith has averaged 13.8 ppg and 4.8 apg
• Zunic has picked up his scoring during the win streak to 13.3 ppg but has also been a monster on the glass at 7.8 rpg
• Zunic has been in double-figures in five straight games and just missed his third double-double this season with 12 points, nine boards vs. Prairie View

 
FLORIDA STATE

• The Seminoles are led by Leonard Hamilton, in his 17^th season leading the Seminoles
• Hamilton has a record of 316-209 at FSU and a career record of 516-419
• Have opened the season 11-1 for the third straight season
• Terance Mann leads three players in double-figures at 12.3 ppg while Mfiondu Kabengele is averaging 12.0 ppg off the bench and Trent Forrest is scoring 11.1 per game
• Mann had 17 points, seven rebounds in the recent win over St. Louis and has posted 17 in back-to-back games
• One of the top teams in the country in steals (37^th / 8.3) and forcing turnovers (24^th / 17.25)

 
RECORD BOOK WATCH

• Bjorn Broman now has 189 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 11 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 .367 (LaShawn Coulter is 10^th at .373)
• The Eagles are now through 12 games on the season and are currently averaging 13.3 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 (90.5 ppg), free throw percentage (.781), defensive rebounds (30.9), assists per game (17.6) and three-point field goals per game (13.3). Winthrop has led the Big South in scoring, scoring margin and three-point field goals per game the last two seasons. Nych Smith's 16.0 ppg ranks 9^th in the league while Josh Ferguson ranks second in rebounds per game (7.8). Bjorn Broman is 7^th in the Big South in three-point field goals per game (2.4). Smith also ranks 4^th in free throw percentage, 7^th in field goal percentage and 7^th in assists per game.

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.