Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop looks for a third straight win when it travels to Elon for a non-conference matchup Wednesday night.
WINTHROP (6-4, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
5.3 |
1.4 |
3.8 |
0.2 |
Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (524) / Season-high 17 points vs. Hartford / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
13.7 |
3.6 |
0.9 |
1.3 |
Season-high 33 points at Washington State / Leads Big South in 3pt field goals per game (3.2) |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.7 |
4.0 |
1.4 |
0.0 |
Started 95-of-98 career games / Team-high 18 points in win over Furman / Closing in on 400 career rebounds (392) |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
12.8 |
5.5 |
1.9 |
1.7 |
Sat out game vs. Carver / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT / 11th in Big South (12.8 ppg) |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
16.2 |
4.6 |
1.2 |
0.4 |
9 games in double-figures / 4th in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 11-2
Series Streak: W4
Record at Schar Center: first appearance
Streak at Schar Center: first appearance
Prosser vs. Elon: First Meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Elon meet for the 14th time
- Eagles have won the last four meetings in the series, with the last meeting coming Dec. 21, 2019 in Rock Hill with an 85-80 win
- Prior to that meeting the series had been on hold since the Phoenix departed the Big South Conference in 2003
- While this is the first time the Eagles will play in the Schar Center they hold an all-time record of 4-1 at Elon
WHO'S HOT?
- Kelton Talford
- Coming off first career double-double as he posted career-highs in points (16) and rebounds (11)
- Finished 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe
- In the last two games he's 9-for-15 from the floor
- Over the last three games he's averaging 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg and is 12-of-14 at the foul line
AT A GLANCE
- This is the Eagles first contest against an opponent from the Colonial Athletic Association this season (Eagles are 7-8 all-time vs. the CAA)
- Elon ranks 23rd nationally in threes per game (10.3) while the Eagles are tied for 24th at 10.2 per game
- Patrick Good leads the Eagles in threes per game (3.2) while Elon is led by Hunter McIntosh with 2.6 per game
- Eagles enter the game having won two straight while the Phoenix are looking to end a seven-game losing streak
WINTHROP
- Looking for a third straight victory after wins over Furman (ranked 17th in the CI Mid-Major Top 25) and Carver College
- Eagles have played eight D1 non-conference games as their opponents are a combined 35-27 (all but Hartford have a record of .500 or better)
- Leads the Big South in scoring at 80.0 ppg (tied for 39th in the nation)
- Also lead the Big South in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage as well as three-point field goals per game
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring and is 4th in the conference at 16.0 ppg
- Burns Jr. has been in double-figures in 9-of-1 games
- Burns Jr. is third in the league in field goal percentage and 34th nationally
- Patrick Good is scoring 12.8 ppg and ranked 10th in the league and tied with teammate Cory Hightower
- Good leads the conference in threes per game (3.2) and three-point field goal percentage (.457)
- He is tied for 31st nationally in threes per game and tied for 24th in three-point field goal percentage
- The last two seasons the Eagles have finish second in the country in bench scoring and have averaged 42.0 bench points per game this season
- This year the team is averaging 34.5 ppg from the bench, which ranks 9th in the country (Cornell leads the country at 43.7 ppg)
- Earned the program's first ever win over a PAC-12 opponent with the win at Washington (Nov. 27)
- 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
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (190) 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
BIG SOUTH AWARDS
- Patrick Good – Co-Player of the Week (Nov. 29)
- Averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds in two games (at Washington State/at Washington)
- Poured in a season-high 33 points in the loss at Washington State
- Against the Cougars he tied his career-high of 11 threes (11-of-19)
- Finished the week 16-of-26 from the floor (62%)
- Scored 18 points (15 in the second half) to help the Eagles earn the win at Washington
400 WINS
On Dec. 1 against Hartford, the Eagles earned an 82-75 victory for the 400
th win all-time inside the Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles are now 401-156 (.719 winning percentage) in 40 seasons playing in the Winthrop Coliseum. The Winthrop Coliseum opened its doors in 1982 and played the first game on Nov. 17 in a 61-60 loss to Lander. Eagles have won at least 11 or more games in each of the last nine seasons.
20TH ANNIVERSARY
It's been 20 years since the 2001-02 Winthrop men's basketball team overcame a 2-5 start to capture a fourth straight Big South Conference Championship. The Eagles struggled in their season opener with an overtime win against Lander, 60-58. The Eagles went on to lose seven of the next 10 games as they entered conference play with a 4-7 record and fell 69-48 at Radford to open league play. That game seemed to have awakened the Eagles as they went on to win 10 of the next 13 games to earn the top seed for the conference tournament. The entire tournament took place in the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Va. as the Eagles opened with a 66-59 win over Liberty in the quarterfinals. Winthrop went on a defeat Elon in the semifinals and then left no doubt in the title game with a 70-48 victory over High Point. Greg Lewis was named the Big South Tournament MVP and Pierre Wooten also named to the All-Tournament Team. Eagles went on to the NCAA Tournament to face a loaded Duke squad, which was the number-one seed in the South Regional.
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
Eagles remain on the road as they head to Jackson, Miss. to take on Mississippi State on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. (EST). It will be a neutral site contest with the game taking place inside the Mississippi Coliseum.
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).
