ROCK HILL, SC— First place is on the line when Winthrop men's basketball travels to UNC Asheville Thursday night in a Big South Conference showdown, live on ESPNU at 7 p.m. 
 

Game 28: Winthrop (18-9, 12-4 Big South) at UNC Asheville (19-10, 12-4 Big South)
Date	Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, 7:00 p.m. (EST)
Location	Asheville, NC (Kimmel Arena / 3,200)
Live Stats	Sidearm (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPNU (click here) / Matt Schick (PxP) – Paul Biancardi (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM & 104.1 The Bridge (click here) / Dave Friedman (PxP) – Mike Pacheco (Analyst) – Pregame 6 p.m.
Notes	Winthrop | UNC Asheville
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., 11.0 ppg, 3.1 apg, 2.2 rpg)
G         14        Adam Pickett (6-1, Jr., 8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg)
F          12        Xavier Cooks (6-8, Sr., 18.0 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.6 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, So., 10.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.2 bpg)
 
UNC Asheville
G         10        Kevin Vannatta (6-2, Sr., 10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.1 apg)
G         12        Raekwon Miller (6-3, Sr., 10.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G         14        Ahmad Thomas (6-3, Sr., 16.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 apg)
G         25        MaCio Teague (6-3, So., 16.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg)
F          1          Jonathan Baehre (6-9, So., 6.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 bpg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record: Winthrop leads 41-35
Series Streak: W1
Record at Kimmel Arena: 1-5
Streak at Kimmel Arena: L2
Kelsey vs. UNC Asheville: 8-5
 
SERIES HISTORY

• This is the 77^th meeting all-time and the second this meeting
• The Eagles have a chance to sweep the regular season series after earning an 85-58 win over UNC Asheville on Jan. 18
• The two teams have split the last six meetings and this will be the fourth straight meeting that will air on ESPNU 

THE GAME

• The top two teams in the league square off as Winthrop and Asheville are both tied atop the league standings
• The winner will have the inside track on grabbing the top-seed for next week's Big South Conference Tournament
• Winthrop (2016-17) and Asheville (2015-16) are the last two conference tournament champions
• The two teams tied for first in the 2016-17 season
• Winthrop is first all-time in league history with 276 Big South wins while Asheville is second with 271 

WINTHROP       

• Eagles have won five straight and 11-of-12 games
• After dropping the first two road games in league play the Eagles have won five of the last six
• Looking for a chance to earn the top-seed for the conference for a tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005-06/2006-07
• Continue to feature a well balanced offensive attack that ranks first in the Big South at 81.2 ppg
• There are five players averaging double-figures in league play as all five average 11.3 or more
• Xavier Cooks leads the offense at 18.0 ppg and ranks second in the league
• Cooks also ranks among the Top 5 in the league in rebounding (1^st), field goal percentage (1^st), assists per game (2^nd), blocked shots (1^st), and defensive rebounds
• In league games only the five players averaging double-figures are Cooks (19.1), Bjorn Broman (12.4), Anders Broman (11.8), Adam Pickett (11.4), and Josh Ferguson (11.3)
• This team is on pace to set the program record for three-point field goals per game (9.8), which would better last year's record-setting season at 9.5
• Ferguson is coming off his fifth double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) vs. Longwood and he just missed a double-double in the first meeting with Asheville (13 points, 9 rebounds)
• Winthrop is 7-3 in its last 10 conference road games 

UNC ASHEVILLE

• Coming off an 85-80 overtime win at Charleston Southern
• It was the second straight overtime game for the Bulldogs and third of the season
• Have won eight of the last nine games since falling to the Eagles on Jan. 18
• During that stretch Asheville has averaged 74.4 ppg while allowing 69.1 ppg
• Bulldogs are 12-1 at home this season with the only loss coming a week ago to Liberty in overtime (82-69)
• They are also winning their home games by almost 12 points a contest (+11.8)
• Ahmad Thomas leads league's third best offense (75.0) at 16.6 ppg followed by MaCio Teague (16.3), Raekwon Miller (10.3) and Kevin Vannatta (10.3)
• Thomas had 20 points, 11 rebounds and one steal in the first meeting against the Eagles
• Teague had 14 points while Miller and Vannatta combined for 10
• Bulldogs are 7-6 in games Thomas leads the team in scoring while going 8-1 in games Teague leads in points 

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 12-2 this year when scoring 80 or more in a game and since the arrival of head coach Pat Kelsey the Eagles are 63-11 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 nine of the last 15 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
• Against Radford Cooks became the program's all-time leader in rebounds, pass Charles Brunson's mark of 913 (a record that stood for 36 years)
• Cooks became the 4^th Eagle all-time to reach 1,600 career points and now the third player to reach 1,700 career points (1,730)
• Cooks also ranks first all-time in blocked shots (212), 1st in rebounds (950), 2^nd in field goals made (640), 5^th in free throws made (351), 6^th in free throws attempted (504), and T-6^th in career scoring average (14.1)
• Bjorn Broman now has 157 career threes (11^th all-time) as he's 3 away from cracking the Top 10
• Broman is also 9^th all-time in career three-point percentage (.377) while his brother Anders is T-6^th at .399