Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop looks to remain unbeaten in Big South Conference action as it heads to North Charleston, S.C. to take on Charleston Southern Jan. 4-5. The Eagles were initially off until Jan. 9-10, but a number of changes were made to the conference schedule on Jan. 1 and this series was moved from late January to this coming week.
WINTHROP (7-0, 4-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
22 |
Kyle Zunic |
6-2 |
Sr. |
3.9 |
2.6 |
2.0 |
1.0 |
Has 107 career three-pointers, coming off season-high 10 points vs. Campbell (Dec. 31) |
| G |
52 |
Chandler Vaudrin |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
12.0 |
7.7 |
8.9 |
1.7 |
Coming off 2nd triple-double of the season, averaging 13.0 ppg, 10.0 apg in Big South |
| G |
11 |
Charles Falden |
6-3 |
Sr. |
13.0 |
3.1 |
0.3 |
1.0 |
Five straight games in double-figures, Moved into 20th all-time with 109 threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
So. |
5.9 |
3.1 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
Started 66-of-68 career games, 9.0 ppg over last two games |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-So. |
10.7 |
2.9 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
1-of-4 Eagles averaging double-figures, leads Big South in field goal percentage (.667) |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 47-26
Series Streak: W3
Record at Buccaneer Field House: 17-15
Streak at Buccaneer Field House: W4
Kelsey vs. Charleston Southern: 12-5
SERIES HISTORY
- This series began on Jan. 8, 1987 in North Charleston as the Buccaneer won the game 58-49
- Bucs won the first five meetings in the series, which Winthrop leads 47-26
- The Eagles are 40-25 against Charleston Southern in regular season league contests
- Winthrop has won three straight in the series and four straight on the road
- Three of the last five meetings were decided by four or less points
THE GAME
- Winthrop is off to its first ever 7-0 start and is 4-0 for a second straight season to begin league play
- Winthrop is ranked 2nd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, tied for its highest ranking ever in the poll
- Eagles put their 12-game winning streak on the line as they won their final five games of the 2019-20 season and have won the first five this season
- Winthrop leads the Big South in scoring at 88.9 ppg while Charleston Southern ranks 3rd in scoring defense (70.2 ppg)
- In two road games in league play this season the Eagles have connected on 29 three-pointers
- Eagles are 2nd in the Big South in offensive rebounding while Charleston Southern is 3rd
WINTHROP HEAD COACH PAT KELSEY
- In his ninth season at the helm of the Winthrop program and holds a career record of 170-93
- The 170 victories rank second all-time in program history and 5th in Big South history
- 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
- Eagles are 4-0 for the second straight season to begin league play and the 5th time in program history
- Coming off a season in which it 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 43.4 points from its non-starters
- Adonis Arms and Charles Falden led the team in scoring at 13.0 ppg
- Arms has come off the bench in all seven games while Falden has started all seven games
- Chandler Vaudrin is also averaging double-figures at 12.0 ppg while leading the team in rebounding (7.7) and assists (8.9)
- Vaudrin is coming off his 2nd triple-double of the season and third as an Eagle
- His 7.7 rebounds per game are tied for a league-best and he leads the conference in assist per game (8.9)
- Arms leads the team in scoring in league play at 14.3 ppg and also has seven steals in four league contests
- Eagles currently lead the league in steals per game with 9.1 per game as no Winthrop team has led the conference in steals per game since 2005-06 (9.61)
- Eagles had the 4th most wins at the NCAA D1 level in 2020 with 25 (Kansas/Gonzaga/Belmont tied for most with 26)
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
- The Buccaneers are led by Barclay Radebaugh, in his 16th season at the helm (157-259)
- Looking to end a two-game skid after opening league play with back-to-back losses to Hampton
- In the midst of an eight-game home stretch that began on Dec. 8 with a win over Carver
- After hosting the Eagles, the Bucs will host Radford on Jan. 9-10
- Ranked third in the league in defensive field goal percentage
- Led by the Big South Preseason Player of the Year Phlandrous Fleming, who is averaging 18.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg
- Fleming has consecutive games with a double-double as he opened against Hampton with 21 points and 10 boards and followed that up with 19 points and 10 rebounds
- In the only meeting against the Eagles in 2020, Fleming had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three assists
- Ty Jones, who is averaging 6.4 ppg this season and leads the team with 15 assist, had 19 points against the Eagles last season
- Fleming is 1-of-3 players on the team averaging double-figures as JaQuavia Florence is scoring 11.5 per game and Melvin Edwards Jr. is averaging 10.2 ppg
- Four of the team's five losses have been by 10 or fewer points and three by eight or less
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.
