Rock Hill, S.C.— Winthrop looks to move to 10-0 in the Big South for just the second time in program history as it hosts UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
 

Game 23: Winthrop (15-7, 9-0 Big South) vs. UNC Asheville (9-11, 3-6 Big South)
Date	Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020, 2 p.m. (EST)
Location	Rock Hill, S.C. | Winthrop Coliseum (6,100)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPN+ (click here) | Mike Pacheco (PxP) – Bobby Stevens (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM/104.1 The Bridge / ESPN 730 | WGNC AM1450/101.1 FM (click here) / Tony Rizzuti (PxP) – Bjorn Broman (Analyst) – Pregame 1:30 p.m.
Notes	Winthrop | UNC Asheville
Social Media	@Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand
Promotion	American Heroes Day (Active/Retired military, first responders free admission)
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         3          Micheal Anumba (6-4, So., 6.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.9 apg)
G         13        Hunter Hale (6-3, Gr., 12.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.7 apg)
G         54        Chandler Vaudrin (6-7, R-Jr.., 10.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.8 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, Sr., 12.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.2 apg)
F          30        D.J. Burns Jr. (6-9, R-Fr., 12.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.2 apg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record: 43-36 (Winthrop leads)
Series Streak: W2
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 27-11
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W6
Kelsey vs. UNC Asheville: 10-6
 
SERIES HISTORY

• This marks the 80^th meeting all-time between Winthrop and UNC Asheville
• The only other team the Eagles have faced more is Coastal Carolina
• Eagles lead the series 43-36 and have won two straight, six in a row at home

 
THE GAME

• The potential for a high scoring affair is present as Winthrop leads the league with 80.8 ppg and Asheville is third with 76.3 ppg
• Winthrop ranks first in the league with 9.3 threes per game and the Bulldogs are third with 8.7 per game
• A win for the Eagles would keep their two-game cushion intact over Radford and a win by Asheville could move them into a tie for 7^th
• Winthrop and Asheville are also in the Top three for field goal percentage, steals (Asheville leads the Big South) and turnover margin

 
WINTHROP       

• Head coach Pat Kelsey is in his 8^th season with the Eagles (154-90)
• Kelsey ranks 5^th all-time in Big South history in career wins
• The victory at Charleston Southern gave Kelsey 87 league wins all-time as he remains 8^th all-time
• Opened league play 9-0 for the first time since 2006-07 and looking for just the 2^nd 10-0 start to league play in program history
• Eagles are winning league games by a margin of +16.6
• Winthrop is 8-2 at home this year, 4-0 in league play
• Eagles finished the month of January at 9-0, which is the first undefeated January in program history
• The nine wins are the most by a Winthrop team in the month of January
• Josh Ferguson is closing in on 1,000 career points, just 1 away as he enters Saturday's game
• Hunter Hale and D.J. Burns Jr. lead the team in scoring at 12.7 ppg and 12.6 ppg respectively
• Hale has double-figures in 7-of-9 league games and Burns Jr. is coming off a career-high 23 points
• Ferguson is coming off a double-double as he's third in scoring at 12.0 ppg and leads the team with 7.0 rpg
• Chandler Vaudrin made it back to double-figure scoring on the year at 10.0 ppg after 11 at Charleston Southern
• Vaudrin leads the Big South in assists per game at 5.8
• This past Monday the Eagles went from not receiving any votes to 24^th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll

 
UNC ASHEVILLE

• The Bulldogs are led by second-year head coach Mike Morrell (13-38)
• Have dropped two straight after picking up wins over Longwood and Radford
• Led by DeVon Baker's 15.7 ppg as he's second on the team with 34 threes and has led the team in scoring six times
• Tajion Jones is scoring 15.5 ppg and leads the team with 47 threes
• Baker and Jones are 4^th/5^th in the league in scoring while Jones is second in threes per game (2.4)
• L.J. Thorpe leads the Bulldogs in scoring during lead play at 15.9 ppg (13.6 on the year) and has led the team in points the last two games
• Hold a 4-6 record on the road this season with wins at Charleston Southern and Longwood during league play
• Lead the Big South in steals and have 10 games with 10 or more steals

 
FERGUSON MAKING HIS MARK
Josh Ferguson reached the 500 rebound mark at the end of the 2018-19 season and became the 58th player in Big South Conference history to reach 600 rebounds. Ferguson pulled down eight rebounds in the win over Elon to reach exactly 600 rebounds for his career. He currently ranks 7th all-time in program history and is on pace to finish 3rd all-time. Ferguson is also closing in on 1,000 career points as he currently has 989 and looking to become the 26th player in program history to reach that mark.
 
TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR VAUDRIN
Chandler Vaudrin had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the league-opening win over Longwood on Jan. 2. It was the first triple-double by a Winthrop player since Xavier Cooks had 11 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists against Reinhardt. Vaudrin nearly averaged a triple-double over the first two games of Big South action as he posted 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists at Campbell. It was the second triple-double of the season in the Big South and 13^th nationally at the NCAA D1 level. For his efforts against Longwood and Campbell he was named the Big South Conference Co-Player of the Week. He is currently the active leader overall NCAA divisions for career triple-doubles (5).
 
HALE REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Hunter Hale surpassed 1,000 points in his collegiate career after scoring 17 points in the loss at Furman. Hale's career began at Central Michigan and this last spring Hale transferred to the Eagles from Grand Valley State to begin graduate school and arrived with 926 points in his career. This season Hale is averaging 12.7 ppg as he's started 19-of-20 games he's played this season.
 
WINTHROP SPORTS SHOW AT ROCO
Joins us on Mondays 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.
 
TUNE IN TO THE EAGLES ALL SEASON LONG
Fans can listen to the games all season long on OTS Media of Rock Hill (94.3 FM and 104.1 The Bridge), which is the flagship station for Winthrop Athletics. In addition, most games will simulcast on 730 ESPN Charlotte and AM 1450 WGNC Gastonia.
All home games as well as all Big South games home or away are available to watch through the Big South Network on ESPN+ unless otherwise picked up by another ESPN network. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. For more information how to subscribe, click here.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthrop_MBB), Instagram (@Winthrop_MBB) and Facebook (/WinthropEagles).