Winthrop, Furman Set For Mid-Major Battle Saturday Afternoon At Winthrop Coliseum

12/18/2020 3:18:00 PM

Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball welcomes Furman to the Winthrop Coliseum Saturday afternoon in a battle of two programs ranked in the Top 5 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Furman enters the game 3^rd in the poll while the Eagles are 5^th. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. as the Eagles look to remain unbeaten.

WINTHROP (4-0, 2-0 Big South)

vs. Furman (5-2, 0-0 SoCon)	Dec. 19, 2020, 4 p.m.
Location	Rock Hill, S.C. \| Winthrop Coliseum
Television/Live Stream	ESPN+ \| pxp - Mike Pacheco / analyst - Tony Rizzuti
Radio	94.3 FM/104.1 The Bridge / ESPN 730 / WGNC AM1450/101.1FM \| pxp - Dave Friedman / analyst - Hunter Sadlon
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Game Notes	Winthrop \| Furman
Social Media	Youtube (Winthrop Athletics) \| @Winthrop_mbb \| @winthrop_mbb \| Facebook (Winthrop Athletics) #EverStand #ROCKtheHILL
Shop Winthrop Gear	Online Store

WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	Noteworthy
G	22	Kyle Zunic	6-2	Sr.	2.0	3.0	3.0	0.0	Has 103 career three-pointers, had season-high five assists vs. Little Rock
G	52	Chandler Vaudrin	6-7	R-Sr.	12.5	4.5	7.5	2.5	Named Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 7, Dec. 14), coming off 6th collegiate triple-double
G	11	Charles Falden	6-3	Sr.	10.5	3.0	0.5	2.0	1-of-5 Eagles averaging double-figures, recently surpassed 100 career threes (102)
G/F	3	Micheal Anumba	6-4	So.	6.0	5.5	0.5	0.0	Started 63-of-66 career games
F	30	D.J. Burns Jr.	6-9	R-So.	12.5	2.0	0.0	0.0	Averaging 15.5 minutes per game, has two games this season with 8 or more field goals

THE SERIES
Series Record: 5-6
Series Streak: L1
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 3-1
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W3
Kelsey vs. Furman: 2-1

SERIES HISTORY

Eagles and Paladins first played Nov. 28, 1981 in Greenville, S.C. as Furman earned a 58-53 victory
Furman won last year's meeting 80-73 at the Bon Secours Arena (Greenville, S.C.) and holds a 6-5 edge in the all-time series
Two of the last four meetings between the two programs have been decided by a single point
The matchup that took place in the Winthrop Coliseum saw the Eagles pull out a 58-57 win in overtime as Anders Broman hit a three with 1.2 left in the game
This will be the fourth meeting in the last five seasons

THE GAME

A matchup of Top 5 teams in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll
Eagles have won four straight to start the season and nine in a row dating back to the 2019-20 season
Furman ranks 26^th nationally in assist/turnover ratio while the Eagles are 31^st
This is a matchup of two of the top three-point shooting teams in the country as Winthrop ranks 29^th with 10.0 threes per game and Furman is 41^st at 9.6
Paladins are also one of the top teams defending the three, ranked 22^nd in three-point field goal defense
As of games through Thursday, Dec. 17, the Eagles are 1-of-45 teams remaining that are unbeaten

WINTHROP HEAD COACH PAT KELSEY

In his ninth season at the helm of the Winthrop program and holds a career record of 167-93
The 167 victories rank second all-time in program history and 5^th in Big South history
Has led the Eagles to two Big South Conference Titles (2016-17, 2019-20)
Is the 3^rd Winthrop coach to lead the Eagles to multiple conference titles
First coach in Big South history to reach 100 wins in first five seasons

WINTHROP

Off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2015-16 and looking for just the second 5-0 in start in program history
Opened Big South play last weekend, picking up two victories at USC Upstate
Feature one of the more balanced offense in the entire country with five players averaging double-figures
So far there are only three players averaging 20 or more minutes per game and a total of 11 players averaging between 14-19.5
Adonis Arms has come off the bench in all four games and leads the team with 13.3 ppg
Chandler Vaudrin is second on the team in scoring and averaging a double-double (12.5 ppg, 10.0 apg)
Vaudrin is coming off the sixth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists in the win over Upstate on Dec. 13
D.J. Burns Jr. is third on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg and he's joined in double-figures by Charles Falden (11.5) and Josh Corbin (10.8)
In the two games at Upstate the Eagles connected on a total of 29 threes by eight different players and six with multiple threes
Eagles are 2-0 in non-conference action this season

FURMAN

The Paladins are coached by Bob Richey, who is in his fourth season at the helm (78-28)
Coming off 83-80 loss at Alabama and are now 5-2 on the year
One of the top scoring team's in the country at 85.0 ppg, ranked 33^rd nationally
Offense is led by Mike Bothwell (18.4 ppg) and Clay Mounce (16.6 ppg)
Bothwell and Mounce each have a team-high 14 threes and are second on the team in rebounding at 5.1
Noah Gurley is the third Furman player averaging double-figures at 14.0 ppg
Bothwell led the Paladins with 23 points in the loss at Alabama while Mounce added 21 points
Both of Furman's losses have come by five of fewer points

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+. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. For more information how to subscribe, click here.

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