ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop men's basketball hosts Radford Saturday afternoon with a chance to move to the top of the Big South Conference standings.
 

Game 22: Winthrop (14-7, 6-2 Big South) vs. Radford (15-7, 7-1 Big South)
Date	Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, 2 p.m. (EST)
Location	Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum / 6,100)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPN+ (click here) Jack Benjamin (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 1:30 p.m.
Game Notes	Winthrop | Radford
Social Media	@Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL | #WinthropMBB #WinthropEverStand
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         0          Nych Smith (5-10, Sr., 17.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G         3          Micheal Anumba (6-5, Fr., 7.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G         13        Bjorn Broman (6-0, Sr., 10.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G         21        Kyle Zunic (6-2, So., 10.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, Jr., 10.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.0 apg)

Radford
G         1          Carlik Jones (6-1, R-So., 15.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.9 apg)
G         5          Donald Hicks (6-3, Jr., 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.4 apg)
G         11        Travis Fields Jr. (5-10, Jr., 10.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.7 apg)
F          24        Ed Polite Jr. (6-5, Sr., 13.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.6 spg)
C          20        Mawdo Sallah (6-8, Gr., 6.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record vs. Radford: 36-38
Series Streak: L1
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 18-15
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W1
Kelsey vs. Radford: 6-7
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Winthrop and Radford meet for the first time this season and the 76^th time overall
• Radford won the last meeting between the two programs with a 61-52 victory in the Big South Conference semifinals on Mar. 2, 2018
• Over the last 10 meetings each team has won five times
• The Eagles won the meeting in Rock Hill last season, 75-57 and dropped the game in Radford, 85-79

THE GAME

• A lot is on the line for both teams as the Eagles can move into a share of first place with a win while the Highlanders can create a little space atop the league standings with a victory
• Radford has won three of the last five trips to the Winthrop Coliseum
• Currently Radford leads the league in victories with 15 while the Eagles are second with 14
• Winthrop leads the league in scoring at 86.1 ppg while the Highlanders are second in scoring defense at 67.7 ppg
• While the Eagles are the top team in the league for threes per game at 12.6, Radford has the league's top three-point field goal percentage at .389
• Both team's are coming off a loss as the Eagles fell at PC on Jan. 26 (99-91) and the Highlanders fell 68-67 on Jan. 30 at home on a buzzer-beater

WINTHROP       

• Head coach Pat Kelsey is in his seventh season with the Eagles (135-78)
• Kelsey is now five wins behind former VMI head coach Duggar Baucom for 8^th on the all-time in Big South wins
• Eagles in search of their ninth overall and third straight home win of the season (8-2 on the year)
• Coming off a game in which the Eagles allowed the most points to a league opponent since the 1993-94 season as PC posted 55 second-half points
• Nych Smith continues to lead the team in scoring as he's coming off a career-high 35 points in the loss at PC
• Smith is 6^th in the Big South in scoring at 17.4 ppg and 4^th in assists per game at 3.9
• Winthrop has shot the ball 50 percent or better from the floor the past two games and look to do so in a third straight for the second time this season
• Smith leads five players averaging double-figures as he's joined by Adam Pickett (12.5), Josh Ferguson (10.7), Bjorn Broman (10.5), and Kyle Zunic (10.2)
• Although the Eagles are averaging nearly 81 points per game in league play, there are just three players averaging double-figures (Smith/Pickett/Broman)
• Has connected on 10 or more threes in four straight games and a total of 16 on the year (record is 19 games set in 2017-18)

RADFORD

• Highlanders are led by 8^th-year head coach Mike Jones (131-123)
• Jones led the Highlanders to a Big South Conference Championship in 2018
• Earned two Power 5 victories this year over Texas and Notre Dame
• Are 6-5 on the road this season and 3-0 in league play
• There are three Highlanders averaging double-digits led by redshirt sophomore Carlik Jones at 15.5 ppg
• Ed Polite Jr. is scoring 13.0 ppg and Travis Fields Jr. is averaging 10.5 ppg
• Jones also leads the team in assists and free throw attempts
• Jones has led the team in scoring 11 times while Polite Jr. has done so six times
• Polite Jr. has also led Radford in rebounding in all but four games
• Ranked 24^th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll 

RECORD BOOK WATCH

• Bjorn Broman became the 8^th player in program history to hit 204 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 21 games on the season and are currently averaging 12.6 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 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 (86.1 ppg), assists per game (15.7) and three-point field goals per game (12.6). Winthrop has led the Big South in scoring, scoring margin and three-point field goals per game the last two seasons. Nych Smith's 17.4 ppg ranks 6^th in the league while Josh Ferguson ranks third in rebounds per game (7.3). Smith is also 5^th in field goal percentage, 4^th in assists per game and 5^th in free throw percentage. Bjorn Broman ranks second in the league in free throw percentage (.844) and 8^th in three-point field goals per game (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.