Rock Hill, S.C. – Fresh off a battle for first in the South Division, Winthrop heads to take on North Division leader Longwood in a Big South Conference men's basketball matchup.
WINTHROP (13-7, 6-1 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
4.8 |
2.4 |
4.1 |
0.7 |
Hit game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in win over Campbell / Averaging 5.7 ppg, 4.0 apg in Big South / Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (567) / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
11.9 |
3.3 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
Hit game-tying three to force OT in win at Upstate / Had 31 points in road win at Presbyterian / Season-high 33 points at Washington State / 2nd in Big South in 3pt field goals per game, 1st in 3pt field goal percentage / 257 career threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.5 |
3.9 |
1.3 |
0.4 |
In double-figures in 3-of-7 league games (8.9 ppg) / 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. |
10.8 |
6.3 |
2.0 |
1.2 |
Posted 2nd double-double this season with 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Asheville / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (644) / In double-figures last 3 games / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
16.2 |
4.5 |
1.2 |
0.6 |
Leads Big South in field goal percentage (.630), 6th in NCAA D1 / 16 games in double-figures / 3rd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 16-3
Series Streak: W5
Record at Willett Hall: 6-1
Streak at Willett Hall: W6
Prosser vs. Longwood: first meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Eagles and Lancers meet for the 20th time
- This is the first trip to Willett Hall since Feb. 8, 2020 when the Eagles won 70-68
- Eagles have won six straight trips to Willett Hall and have won 15 of the last 16 meetings overall
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Eagles are 2-1 in the last three games and averaging 71.7 ppg while allowing 72.7 ppg
- Winthrop is shooting 47 percent from the floor, 30 percent from three and 72 percent at the line
- D.J. Burns Jr. averaging team best 18.0 ppg (shooting 67%) and also averaging 4.7 rpg
- Cory Hightower is the only other Eagle averaging double-figures at 13.7 and is second in rebounding at 6.0 per game
- Kelton Talford is averaging 9.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg while shooting 75 percent (18.3 minutes per game)
AT A GLANCE
- After facing USC Upstate in a battle for first place in the South Division, the Eagles now face the North Division leader in Longwood
- Longwood leads the league in scoring (78.3 ppg) and the Eagles are second at 75.8 ppg
- This marks the 13th home game of the season for Longwood, who is 11-1 at Willett Hall as the Eagles are 4-6 on the road (3-1 in league play)
- Winthrop bounced back from its first league loss with an overtime win at USC Upstate while Longwood enters the game having won seven in a row
- Longwood and Winthrop features two of the top bench scoring teams in the country
- The Lancers are 5th with 31.9 bench points per game and the Eagles are T-21st at 29.2 per game
WINTHROP
- Eagles are sitting at 6-1 and are playing their fifth game in 10 days
- The Eagles trailed by 11 points in the overtime win at USC Upstate, the fourth time this season the Eagles have rallied from 10 or more points to win
- In the seven conference games the Eagles and opponents have combined for 52 ties and 51 lead changes
- Following the win at Upstate the Eagles have been very good in the month of January the last three seasons, posting a 24-2 record
- Burns Jr. is coming off a 27 point performance off the bench in the win over Upstate and leads the team in scoring at 16.2 ppg
- It was the sixth time this year Burns Jr. scored 20 or more points as he's now 3rd in scoring in the Big South
- Burns Jr. leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.630) and 6th nationally
- Good is second on the team at 11.9 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 is second in the conference in threes per game (2.8) and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.455)
- Cory Hightower is third on the team in scoring at 10.8 ppg and leads in rebounding at 6.3 per game (5th 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 29.2 ppg from the bench, which ranks T-21st 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 (199) 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 return to Rock Hill for one game as they host North Carolina A&T on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. as part of the Big South ESPNU Wild Card series.
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).
