Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop looks for a fourth straight win as it will take on Charleston Southern Saturday evening in its first Big South Conference road test of the season.
WINTHROP (9-6, 2-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
5.3 |
2.5 |
4.3 |
0.8 |
Hit game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in win over Campbell / Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (550) / 11 steals in last 5 games / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
11.0 |
3.0 |
0.9 |
1.3 |
Season-high 33 points at Washington State / Leads Big South in 3pt field goals per game (2.7), 3pt field goal percentage (.433) / 241 career threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
6.9 |
4.3 |
1.5 |
0.1 |
Made 100th career start vs. Asheville and scored a team-high 18 points / Has back-to-back games in double-figures / Reached 400 career rebounds |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
11.4 |
6.3 |
2.1 |
1.1 |
Posted 2nd double-double this season with 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Asheville / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (602) / Tied career-high with five threes vs. Campbell / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
16.4 |
4.6 |
0.9 |
0.7 |
Leads Big South in field goal percentage (.635), 9th in NCAA D1 / 13 games in double-figures / 3rd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 49-26
Series Streak: W5
Record at Buccaneer Fieldhouse: 19-15
Streak at Buccaneer Fieldhouse: W5
Prosser vs. Charleston Southern: first meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Charleston Southern meet for the 77th time and for a fourth straight time at the Buccaneer Fieldhouse
- Eagles lead the all-time series 49-27 and have won the last five meetings
- The team that has led at halftime has gone on to win 22 of the last 24 meetings
- Eagles have won their last five trips to the Buccaneer Fieldhouse and 12 of the last 14
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Eagles are averaging 79.3 ppg while holding opponents to 64.0 ppg
- Team is shooting 49 percent from the field and outrebounding opponents 41.3 – 29.7
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads four Eagles in double-figures in the last three games at 14.3 ppg while shooting 68 percent from the field
- Cory Hightower is averaging 12.3 ppg and 10.0 rpg while shooting 56 percent from the floor
- Kelton Talford has averaged 12.0 ppg and Micheal Anumba is scoring 10.3 ppg over that stretch
AT A GLANCE
- Winthrop enters the game having won three straight and the Buccaneers have dropped six in a row
- Winthrop are 2nd in the league in scoring at 78.0 ppg while the Bucs are 5th at 69.9 ppg
- Dating back to the 2019-20 season the Eagles have won 12 straight road games in league play
- Eagles lead the league in field goal percentage and are second in assists per game as well as threes per game
- Over the last three seasons the Eagles are 20-1 in the month of January
WINTHROP
- Looking for four straight wins for the first time this season
- The win against Campbell gave the Winthrop program 750 wins all-time and was the 450th all-time home victory
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring and is 3rd in the conference at 16.4 ppg
- Burns Jr. has been in double-figures in 13-of-15 games and has posted 20 or more points in three of the last four games
- Burns Jr. leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.635) and 9th nationally
- Cory Hightower is averaging 11.3 ppg and Patrick Good is scoring 11.0 ppg
- Hightower is the team leader with 6.3 rpg and sits 4th in the Big South
- Good leads the conference in threes per game (2.7) and three-point field goal percentage (.433)
- 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 31.5 ppg from the bench, which ranks 17th in the country (Cornell leads at 41.0 ppg through 14 games)
- 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 (195) 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 403-156 (.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 remains on the road for its next contest when it travels to Clinton, S.C. to take on Presbyterian College on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.
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).
