Rock Hill, S.C. – After a seven day break between games, Winthrop men's basketball is back in action when it hosts UNC Asheville Jan. 28-29. The matchup Thursday (Jan. 28) night will air live on ESPNU at 7 p.m. with the second game of the series on Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
WINTHROP (15-0, 12-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
22 |
Kyle Zunic |
6-2 |
Sr. |
4.6 |
2.9 |
1.6 |
0.9 |
Has 115 career three-pointers, has hit at least one three in 8-of-9 games |
| G |
52 |
Chandler Vaudrin |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
12.6 |
6.9 |
7.6 |
1.5 |
Leads the Big South in assists per game, coming off 20 points in win at PC on Jan. 20 |
| G |
11 |
Charles Falden |
6-3 |
Sr. |
11.1 |
3.1 |
0.7 |
0.9 |
Moved into 16th all-time with 121 threes, has 5 steals in last three games |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
So. |
7.0 |
4.3 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
Started 74-of-76 career games, is 22-of-24 at the line in league play |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-So. |
9.4 |
2.8 |
0.5 |
0.7 |
Double-figures in four of the last five games |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 44-36
Series Streak: W3
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 27-11
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W8
Kelsey vs. UNC Asheville: 11-6
SERIES HISTORY
- This marks the 81st and 82nd meeting between the Bulldogs and Eagles
- Winthrop leads the all-time series 44-36 overall and 38-31 mark in regular season league matchups
- Eagles have won three straight in the series and the last eight meetings at the Winthrop Coliseum
THE GAME
- Winthrop is 15-0, which is the best start in the history of the program and the Big South Conference
- Dating back to last season the Eagles have now won a program record 20 straight games, which is the longest active streak (NCAA D1)
- Eagles are 12-0 in the Big South for a second straight season
- Winthrop is ranked 2nd in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll for a sixth straight week, tied for its highest ranking ever in the poll
- Eagles received 16 votes in the AP Top 25 Poll (1/25/21)
- This matchup features the top two scoring teams in the Big South as Winthrop ranks 1st at 82.9 ppg and Asheville next at 74.7 ppg
- Winthrop has held its opponents to 66 or fewer points in four straight games as it is now 4th in the league in defensive scoring (Only league member Top 4 in scoring and defensive scoring)
- Winthrop and Asheville rank 2nd and 3rd in field goal percentage and 3rd and 4th in three-point field goal percentage defense
- Eagles lead the league in steals per game at 8.2 while Asheville is second at 7.4
WINTHROP HEAD COACH PAT KELSEY
- In his ninth season at the helm of the Winthrop program and holds a career record of 178-93
- The 178 victories rank second all-time in program history and 5th in Big South history (one away from tying Cliff Ellis from Coastal Carolina for 4th)
- Moved into 3rd all-time in Big South history with 105 conference wins and passing former head coach Gregg Marshall (104)
- Has led the Eagles to two Big South Conference Titles (2016-17, 2019-20)
- Is the 3rd 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
- In 2019-20 the team won 24 games, which ranks 3rd most for a single-season in program history
- Eagles have three wins over teams ranked in the Top 12 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25
- Featuring one of the top scoring benches in the country, the Eagles average 39.9 points from its non-starters (2nd behind Samford at 39.9)
- Eagles have 11 players averaging 11.1 minutes per game or more and only three averaging 20 or more
- Chandler Vaudrin became the first player to score 20 points in a game this season as he did so in the team's 15th of the year in a 78-66 win at PC
- Vaudrin leads the team in scoring (12.6), rebounding (6.9), assists (7.6) and steals (1.5)
- No player in program history has ever lead the team in all four of those categories in the same season
- Adonis Arms has come off the bench in all 15 games and is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg
- Charles Falden is third on the team at 11.1 ppg and is tied with Josh Corbin for a team-high 25 made threes
- Outscoring league opponents 81.0 to 69.7 at home (+11.3) and outrebounding 41.0 to 29.8 (+11.2)
- Winthrop has hit 10 or more threes in six games this season, with all six against league opponents (twice at home, four on the road)
UNC ASHEVILLE
- Mike Morrell is in his third season with the Bulldogs and is 28-51 overall
- Hold a 9-8 mark this year and are third in the league standings at 8-4
- Coming off a 73-63 loss to Radford but have won five of the last seven games
- Led in scoring by Tajion Jones at 16.4 ppg, which ranks 4th in the Big South
- Jones is the league's top threat behind the arc at 3.5 per game (42 percent)
- Over the last three games Devon Baker has led the team in scoring as he returned recently after missing the first 11 games
- Baker has come off the bench in all six games he's played and averaging 13.0 ppg and is 12-of-24 behind the arc
- L.J. Thorpe is also averaging double-figures at 12.2 ppg and is second on the team with 56 assists
- Hold a 3-5 mark on the road this season, 3-3 in league play
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.
