Rock Hill, S.C. – It's "Homecoming" weekend and Winthrop men's basketball is set to host Mercer Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
WINTHROP (1-0, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
2.0 |
1.0 |
6.0 |
0.0 |
Dished out game-high six assists in opener / 8 away from 500 in career / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
32 |
Josh Corbin |
6-3 |
R-So. |
12.0 |
4.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
Posted 12 points in opener, his 8th career game in double-figures / 58 career threes in 35 games |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
5.0 |
4.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Started 86-of-89 career games / Has averaged 4.0 rebounds in each of the last two seasons |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
13.0 |
6.0 |
2.0 |
1.0 |
Had 13 points, 6 rebound in opener / Has 1,028 career points in 87 games |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
30.0 |
60 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
Career-high 30 points in opener / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 1-1
Series Streak: W1
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 1-0
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W1
Prosser vs. Mercer: 3-5
WHO'S HOT?
- D.J. Burns Jr.
- Career-high 30 points in season-opening win
- Was 13-for-17 from the field and is 29-for-37 from the floor in his last three games dating back to last season
- In those three games he's averaged 21.3 ppg
AT A GLANCE
- Winthrop and Mercer meet for the 3rd time
- Eagles are coming off a win in the season opener while Mercer fell 74-61 at Arkansas in its opener
- Both Winthrop and Mercer connected on 13 three-pointers in openers
- Eagles are coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons
- Bears have won at least 18 games in two of the last three years
- Both teams combined for one freshman on the roster as the Eagles have none this year
- This is the second straight home game for the Eagles before they four straight games on the road beginning with Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 16
- Today's game marks the Eagles 555th game inside the Winthrop Coliseum
WINTHROP
- Looking for a 2-0 start for the second straight season
- Put up 110 points in the season opener, the 8th most points in a single-game in program history
- Has won four straight home games and 15-of-16
- The last two seasons the Eagles have finish second in the country in bench scoring and received 48 points from the bench in the opener
- D.J. Burns Jr. posted a career-high 30 points in the season opener, going 13-for-17 from the floor
- Burns Jr. was 1-of-6 players that reached double-figures
- Cory Hightower and Kelton Talford each added 13 points as the Eagles frontcourt combined for 66 points
- As a team the Eagles had 13 threes in the opener, the first time hitting 10 or more in a season opener since 2015 when they had 13 in the win over Hampton at home
- After six assists in the opener, Drew Buggs is closing in on 500 in his career (492)
- Coming off back-to-back Big South Conference Championships
- Last season the Eagles posted the best winning percentage (.920) in the history of the program after opening the season 16-0
- Finished the season receiving votes in the Top 25 poll of the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll
- Eagles are 44-5 in the last 49 games
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (186) since the 2012-13 season
- Mark Prosser starts his first season as head coach of the Eagles, the 7th head coach in program history
- D.J. Burns Jr., the 2021-22 Big South Conference Preseason Player of the Year, is the team's top returning scorer at 10.1 ppg
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), 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.
UP NEXT
Winthrop will begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday, Nov. 16 when it visits Middle Tennessee State for a 7 p.m. (EST) tip.
