Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop puts its 5-game win streak on the line Saturday afternoon when it hosts Gardner-Webb in a Big South Conference South Division clash at the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (11-6, 4-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
5.1 |
2.4 |
4.0 |
0.8 |
Hit game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in win over Campbell / Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (554) / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
12.5 |
3.4 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
Coming off 31 points in road win at Presbyterian / Season-high 33 points at Washington State / Leads Big South in 3pt field goals per game, 3pt field goal percentage / 252 career threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.4 |
4.2 |
1.4 |
0.1 |
Made 100th career start vs. Asheville and scored a team-high 18 points / Averaging 9.5 ppg in Big South play / Reached 400 career rebounds |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
10.3 |
6.3 |
2.0 |
1.0 |
Posted 2nd double-double this season with 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Asheville / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (622) / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
15.8 |
4.5 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
Leads Big South in field goal percentage (.623), 6th in NCAA D1 / 14 games in double-figures / 3rd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 26-11
Series Streak: W3
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 14-3
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W7
Prosser vs. Gardner-Webb: 1-0
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet for the 38th time
- Eagles have won three straight in the series and seven in a row at home
- The last three games the Eagles have won by an average of 10 points, but the three games before that were all decided by four points with the Runnin' Bulldogs claiming wins in two of those matchups
- On Jan. 11, 2020 the Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs played a triple-overtime thriller as Winthrop prevailed 99-95
- It was the first triple overtime game since Winthrop moved to the NCAA D1 level
- In 37 meetings all-time, 15 of them have been decided by five points or less
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Eagles are averaging 72.0 ppg and led in scoring by Patrick Good at 17.3 ppg
- Good is scorching the nets at 74 percent from the floor and 65 percent from three (3.7 threes per game)
- D.J. Burns Jr. is the only other Eagle in double-figures in this span and averaging 13.0 ppg
- As a team the Eagles are shooting 52 percent from the floor and holding opponents to 39 percent
AT A GLANCE
- Winthrop is riding a five-game winning streak and looking for a ninth straight regular season league win
- Eagles have won 10 straight home games overall and are 7-0 at home this season
- This is a matchup of the top shooting team in the league at 48 percent while Gardner-Webb leads the league in field goal percentage defense at .391
- Winthrop is third in the Big South in rebound margin while Gardner-Webb is fourth
- Three of the top seven scorers in the league will appear in this matchup as Burns Jr. is 3rd (15.8) While Gardner-Webb's D'Maurian Williams (14.1) is 6th and Lance Terry (13.8) is 7th
WINTHROP
- Looking to start league play 5-0 for the 3rd straight season and 6th time in program history
- Eagles have been in some competitive contests over the first four league games, combining for 34 ties and 34 lead changes
- Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring and is 3rd in the conference at 15.8 ppg
- Burns Jr. has been in double-figures in 14-of-17 games
- Burns Jr. leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.623) and 6th nationally
- Patrick Good is second on the team at 12.5 ppg and is six points away from 1,000 in his career
- Good put up his second 30-point game of the season with 31 in the win at Presbyterian (Both 30-point games have come on the road)
- Good leads the conference in threes per game (2.9) and three-point field goal percentage (.472)
- Cory Hightower is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg and leads in rebounding at 6.3 per game (3rd in league)
- 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 29.5 ppg from the bench, which ranks 25th in the country (Cornell leads at 40.3 ppg through 15 games)
- Earned the program's first ever win over a PAC-12 opponent with the win at Washington (Nov. 27)
- The win against Campbell gave the Winthrop program 750 wins all-time and was the 450th all-time home victory
- 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 (196) since the 2012-13 season
- Mark Prosser starts his first season as head coach of the Eagles, the 7th head coach in program history
- 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
Eagles are back on the road for their next two contests beginning Monday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. when they travel to take on 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).
