Rock Hill, S.C. – It's a battle for first place in the Big South Conference South Division when Winthrop travels to USC Upstate for a showdown Wednesday night in the G.B. Hodge Center.
WINTHROP (12-7, 5-1 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
4.7 |
2.4 |
4.1 |
0.8 |
Hit game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in win over Campbell / Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (564) / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
12.1 |
3.4 |
0.7 |
1.2 |
Had 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 / 255 career threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.4 |
4.0 |
1.3 |
0.4 |
In double-figures in 3-of-6 league games / Made 100th career start vs. Asheville and scored a team-high 18 points / Reached 400 career rebounds |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
10.6 |
6.2 |
1.9 |
1.2 |
Posted 2nd double-double this season with 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Asheville / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (637) / 4th in Big South with 6.2 rpg / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
15.6 |
4.4 |
1.2 |
0.6 |
Leads Big South in field goal percentage (.627), 6th in NCAA D1 / 15 games in double-figures / 4th in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 15-8
Series Streak: W10
Record at G.B. Hodge Center: 9-4
Streak at G.B. Hodge Center: W6
Prosser vs. USC Upstate: first meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Eagles and Spartans meet for the 24th time
- Winthrop has won 10 straight in the series and leads 15-8
- Last three meetings the Eagles are averaging 102.0 ppg, hitting the century mark twice
- This will be the fourth straight road game in the series for the Eagles, who are 7-4 all-time at the G.B. Hodge Center
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Eagles are averaging 60.0 ppg while allowing 61.7 ppg
- Shooting 46 percent from the floor and holding opponents to 40 percent
- Averaging 20 turnovers per game and losing the battle on the boards 33.0 – 31.0
- Patrick Good is averaging a team-high 16 ppg and hitting 3.3 triples per game at 46 percent behind the arc
- D.J. Burns Jr. (12.0) and Cory Hightower (10.3) are also averaging double-figures
- Kelton Talford is scoring 8.7 ppg and averaging a team-high 5.7 rpg
- As a team the Eagles are shooting 73 percent at the line
AT A GLANCE
- First place is on the line in the South Division as the Eagles and Spartans sit at 5-1 in the league
- The Eagles are 3-6 on the road this year and 2-1 in league play
- This matchup features two of the top three-point shooting teams in the Big South
- Winthrop is second with 8.5 threes per game and third in three-point field goal percentage
- Upstate ranks third with 8.4 threes per game and leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage
WINTHROP
- Eagles are sitting at 5-1 and have played in five league games that have been decided by two possessions or less
- In the six conference games the Eagles and opponents have combined for 43 ties and 42 lead changes
- Despite the loss at High Point, the Eagles have been very good in the month of January the last three seasons, posting a 23-2 record
- Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring at 15.6 ppg (4th in the Big South) and has been in double-figures in 14-of-18 games
- Burns Jr. leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.627) and 6th nationally
- Good is second on the team at 12.1 ppg and recently surpassed 1,000 career points
- 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 (2.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.453)
- Cory Hightower is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 ppg and leads in rebounding at 6.2 per game (4th 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 28.2 ppg from the bench, which ranks 36th in the country (Cornell leads at 40.1 ppg through 16 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 (197) 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
Winthrop heads to Farmville, Va. for the final game of the three-game road trip when it takes on Longwood on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 3 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).
