ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop and Gardner-Webb are set to square off on a nationally-televised game on ESPNU when the two meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24 inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
 

Game 20: Winthrop (13-6, 5-1 Big South) vs. Gardner-Webb (12-7, 2-2 Big South)
Date	Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 7 p.m. (EST)
Location	Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum / 6,100)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPNU (click here) Matt Schick (PxP) – Kevin Lehman (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM/104.1 The Bridge / ESPN 730 | WGNC AM1450/101.1 FM (click here) / Mike Pacheco (PxP) -  Bobby Stevens (Analyst) – Extended Pregame 6 p.m.
Game Notes	Winthrop | Gardner-Webb
Social Media	@Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL | #WinthropMBB #WinthropEverStand
Promotion	"WHITE OUT" Wear White Shirt – 1st 500 students get free white shirt / First 500 fans (non-students) get York County Natural Gas Foam Finger / First Year Experience (FYE) Student Tailgate
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         0          Nych Smith (5-10, Sr., 17.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.7 apg)
G         3          Micheal Anumba (6-5, Fr., 6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G         13        Bjorn Broman (6-0, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.1 apg)
G         21        Kyle Zunic (6-2, So., 10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.4 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, Jr., 10.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.1 apg)

Gardner-Webb
G          4          Christian Turner (5-10, Jr., 4.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.6 apg)
G         5          Jose Perez (6-5, Fr., 15.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G         10        Nate Johnson (6-4, R-So., 10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.8 spg)
G         11        David Efianayi (6-2, R-Sr., 16.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.9 apg)
F          25        D.J. Laster (6-6, Sr., 13.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.6 bpg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record vs. Gardner-Webb: 21-9
Series Streak: W9
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 10-4
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W4
Kelsey vs. Gardner-Webb: 10-4
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet for the 31^st time and the 8^th time in the last three seasons
• The last meeting took place in the Big South Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Mar. 1, 2018 as the Eagles prevailed 72-68
• It was the third straight year the two teams squared off in the conference tournament
• Winthrop holds a 13-6 record against the Runnin' Bulldogs in regular season league meetings
• Eagles have won nine straight meetings with three of the wins by one possession and five of the wins by six or fewer points

THE GAME

• Winthrop and Gardner-Webb are two of the top scoring teams in the Big South
• Winthrop leads the league at 85.3 ppg while Gardner-Webb is 3^rd at 79.7 ppg
• These two teams are also the top two in the Big South in scoring margin as Gardner-Webb is first (+12.0) and Winthrop second (+9.2)
• Gardner-Webb leads the league in field goal percentage while the Eagles are 3^rd and both are one of three teams in the league to average 15 or more assists per game as a team
• Eagles have won two straight and look to stay near the top of the league standings while Gardner-Webb is coming off a win over Hampton and looking to move above .500 in league play

WINTHROP       

• Head coach Pat Kelsey is in his seventh season with the Eagles (134-77)
• Kelsey is now six wins behind former VMI head coach Duggar Baucom for 8^th on the all-time in Big South wins
• Coming off a strong defensive effort that held UNC Asheville to 45 points, which were the fewest points allowed by a Winthrop team since the 2009-10 season
• Eagles have held three of their last four opponents at home to 63 points or less
• Hit 13 threes in the win over Asheville and still rank 2^nd nationally in threes per game at 12.4
• Sitting at 5-1 in the league for the 2^nd time in three seasons
• Received five votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll
• Have five players averaging double-figures led by Nych Smith (17.1) as he's joined by Adam Pickett (12.5), Josh Ferguson (11.8), Kyle Zunic (10.3) and Bjorn Broman (10.1)
• Entered league play averaging 89.4 ppg and allowing 80.1 ppg
• Have scored 80 or more points in four of six league games but have only allowed 80 or more once (Won 90-86 at Campbell)
• Charles Falden hit two threes in the win over Asheville and is now seven players on the team with 20 or more on the season

GARDNER-WEBB

• Led by 6^th-year head coach Tim Craft (100-85), who earned his 100^th career victory in the win over Hampton
• Have two Power 5 victories this season with wins at Georgia Tech and Wake Forest
• Led by David Efianayi at 16.8 ppg as he's led the team in scoring in eight times this season and four of the last five games
• Efianayi is one of four players averaging double-figures as Jose Perez is scoring 15.9 ppg, D.J. Laster is averaging 13.3 ppg and Nate Johnson is scoring 10.3 ppg
• Johnson is the top three-point threat with 36 made on the year, but Efianayi is right behind him with 34 as both shoot over 40 percent behind the arc
• As a team Gardner-Webb makes 7.8 threes per game and attempts 19.9 per game
• The Runnin' Bulldogs are perfect at home this season at 7-0 and 4-5 on the road 

RECORD BOOK WATCH

• Bjorn Broman became the 8^th player in program history to hit 200 or more threes in a career as he reached 200 when he knocked down four in the win over Asheville on Jan. 21
• The Eagles are now through 19 games on the season and are currently averaging 12.4 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 averaged 89.4 ppg in non-conference action, 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 (85.3 ppg), defensive rebounds (30.4), assists per game (15.7), and three-point field goals per game (12.4). Winthrop has led the Big South in scoring, scoring margin and three-point field goals per game the last two seasons. Nych Smith's 17.1 ppg ranks 5^th in the league while Josh Ferguson ranks third in rebounds per game (7.5). Smith is also 5^th in field goal percentage and 4^th in free throw percentage. Austin Awad ranks 6^th in the league in threes per game at 2.3 and Bjorn Broman is 8^th at 2.2.

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.

20 YEARS AGO
This season marks the 20^th anniversary of the first ever NCAA Tournament team in Winthrop history. The Eagles posted a 21-8 record on the year and 9-1 mark in league play on their way to the team's 2^nd Big South title and first ever birth to the NCAA Tournament. That year the team was 12 straight contests and defeated Radford in the championship game (86-74) at the Asheville Civic Center. The Eagles were a 16 seed and faced number one seed Auburn in Indianapolis, IN as the Eagles fell 80-41 to the 4^th-ranked Tigers. The Eagles were paced by a balanced offense with four players scoring in double-figures with Heson Groves leading the way with 11.9 ppg while Tyson Waterman averaged 11.5 ppg, Robbie Waldrop scored 11.4 per game and Roger Toxey averaged 11.0.