Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball closes out 2021 with a non-conference home contest against Converse College, Friday afternoon in the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (6-6, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
4.5 |
2.3 |
4.1 |
0.8 |
Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (535) / 7 steals in last 2 games / Season-high 17 points vs. Hartford / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
12.3 |
3.3 |
0.8 |
1.1 |
Season-high 33 points at Washington State / Leads Big South in 3pt field goals per game (3.0), 3pt field goal percentage (.444) |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.0 |
4.4 |
1.6 |
0.1 |
Started 97-of-100 career games / Team-high 18 points in win over Furman / Reached 400 career rebounds |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
11.0 |
5.2 |
2.0 |
1.1 |
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. |
16.9 |
4.8 |
1.0 |
0.6 |
Back-to-back games with 20 or more points / 11 games in double-figures / 3rd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: First Meeting
Series Streak: First Meeting
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: First Meeting
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: First Meeting
Prosser vs. Converse College: First Meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Mississippi State meet for the first time as Converse College is in its inaugural season for men's basketball
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Winthrop is averaging 69.0 ppg while allowing 66.3 ppg and is shooting .428 from the field
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring at 19.0 ppg and is tied with Micheal Anumba for a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game
- Kelton Talford is averaging 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and shooting 75 percent
- Eagles have a +7.0 rebound marging
AT A GLANCE
- This is the final tune-up for the Eagles before the dive into Big South Conference action on Jan. 5 at High Point
- Eagles look for a 57th straight victory over a Non-D1 opponent
- Winthrop is 4-0 at home this season and has won seven straight (18 of the last 19 at home)
WINTHROP
- Ranked 2nd in the league in scoring at 77.7 ppg while leading the league in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage
- Rank among the Top 3 (Big South) in five categories and Top 4 in seven categories
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring and is 3rd in the conference at 16.9 ppg
- Burns Jr. has been in double-figures in 11-of-12 games and has posted back-to-back games with 20 or more for the first time in his career
- Burns Jr. is 2nd in the league in field goal percentage (.627) and 13th nationally
- Patrick Good is scoring 12.3 ppg and ranked 12th in the league
- Good leads the conference in threes per game (3.0) and three-point field goal percentage (.444)
- He ranks 32nd in three-point field goal percentage nationally and tied for 38th in threes per game
- 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 31.8 ppg from the bench, which ranks 21st in the country (Cornell leads at 43.2 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
- D.J. Burns Jr. –Player of the Week (Dec. 27)
- Scored 20 points in the only game the Eagles played (vs. Mississippi State)
- Finished the game 9-of-11 from the field
- Posted back-to-back 20 point games for the first time in career
- It was his 4th game this season with 20 or more points
- 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
Winthrop will open up its Big South slate on Wednesday, Jan. 5 on the road against High Point.
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).
