Rock Hill, S.C. – In its final contest before Christmas, Winthrop heads to the state of Mississippi to take on Mississippi State Tuesday night. The game will be played in Jackson at the Mississippi Coliseum.
WINTHROP (6-5, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
4.8 |
2.3 |
4.0 |
0.5 |
Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (530) / Season-high 17 points vs. Hartford / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
12.7 |
3.4 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
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. |
7.2 |
4.5 |
1.5 |
0.1 |
Started 96-of-99 career games / Team-high 18 points in win over Furman / Closing in on 400 career rebounds (397) |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
11.3 |
5.6 |
2.0 |
1.3 |
Sat out game vs. Carver / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT / Closing in on 600 career rebounds |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
16.6 |
5.1 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
10 games in double-figures after 23 points at Elon / 3rd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 1-0
Series Streak: W1
Record at Mississippi Coliseum: 0-1
Streak at Mississippi Coliseum: L1
Prosser vs. Mississippi State: First Meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Mississippi State meet for just the second time
- The first meeting came during the Eagles historic 2006-07 as they squared off on Nov. 18, 2006
- Winthrop won the meeting 74-63 behind a 26-of-30 effort at the foul line
- This marks Winthrop's 33rd meeting with an opponent from the SEC
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Winthrop is averaging 76.3 points and shooting .467 from the field
- D.J. Burns Jr. has led the team with 16.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg while shooting .576 from the field
- Josh Corbin has played in two of the last three games averaging 11.5 ppg and shooting .412 (7-of-16 from three)
- Kelton Talford has also averaged double-figures (11.3) in that stretch while shooting .706 from the floor and 10-of-12 at the foul line
- Micheal Anumba is averaging 9.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 50 percent
AT A GLANCE
- Coming off a loss at Elon but have won four of the last six games
- Mississippi State has won back-to-back games after wins over Georgia State and Furman
- Eagles averaging 79.0 ppg while the Bulldogs are scoring 73.3
- Mississippi State ranks 48th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 61.3 ppg
- Bulldogs are 7th nationally in rebound margin and have at least 10 or more second chance points in six straight games
- Winthrop has averaged 34.0 rebounds per game and allowed 34.3 in three meetings with Power 5 opponents this season
- In the three games vs. Power 5 opponents the Eagles have averaged 77.0 ppg, 10.7 threes per game and shot .457 from the field
WINTHROP
- This is the 100th neutral site game in the history of the program
- 7-of-9 non-conference D1 opponents for Winthrop are currently sitting above .500 (games thru Dec. 19) and have a combined record of 53-48
- Second in the league in scoring at 79.0 ppg but lead the league in field goal percentage (.478) and three-point field goal percentage (.389)
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring and is 3rd in the conference at 16.6 ppg
- Burns Jr. has been in double-figures in 10-of-11 games and is coming off his third game this season with 20 or more points in a 23 point effort at Elon
- Burns Jr. is third in the league in field goal percentage (.611) and 21st nationally
- Patrick Good is scoring 12.7 ppg and ranked 11th in the league leads the conference in threes per game (3.2) and three-point field goal percentage (.461)
- He is 36th nationally in threes per game and tied for 23rd 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 32.7 ppg from the bench, which ranks 18th in the country (Cornell leads 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 (192) 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
Following the Mississippi State game the Eagles will have 10 days until their next game. Winthrop take on Converse College on Friday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. in its final non-conference game of the regular season.
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).
