Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop is set to open Big South Conference play Monday night, when it welcomes Campbell to the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (7-6, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
4.3 |
2.3 |
4.1 |
0.8 |
Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (539) / 8 steals in last 3 games / Season-high 17 points vs. Hartford / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
11.7 |
3.2 |
0.9 |
1.3 |
Season-high 33 points at Washington State / Leads Big South in 3pt field goals per game (2.8), 3pt field goal percentage (.435) / Coming off four steals vs. Converse (leads team with 17) |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
6.7 |
4.3 |
1.6 |
0.1 |
Started 98-of-101 career games / Team-high 18 points in win over Furman / Reached 400 career rebounds / is 6-of-12 from three over the last five games |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
10.6 |
5.7 |
2.2 |
1.1 |
Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT / Had 11 rebounds vs. Converse and closing in on 600 career rebounds (594) / multiple assists in four straight games |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
17.2 |
5.1 |
1.0 |
0.7 |
20 or more points in three consecutive games / 12 games in double-figures / 2nd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 24-21
Series Streak: W7
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 15-7
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W7
Prosser vs. Campbell: First Meeting
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Campbell meet for the 46th time
- These two teams met in the Big South Conference Tournament Championship game back in March as the Eagles prevailed 80-53
- Eagles have won seven straight in the series and 11 of the last 12
- The last four meetings in this series have been played at the Winthrop Coliseum
BIG SOUTH OPENERS
- Winthrop has won eight straight league openers and is 19-17 all-time
- When opening league play at home, the Eagles are 8-8 all-time
- Eagles have played two of the last six league openers on the road
- Winthrop hasn't faced Campbell in a conference opener since 1992 when they lost 69-69 at home
- Eagles are 1-2 all-time against Campbell in league openers
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring at 21.0 ppg and is shooting 70 percent from the floor
- Eagles are scoring 67.3 ppg while allowing 62.3 ppg
- Outrebounding opponents 36.0 – 31.0 with Chase Claxton averaging a team-high 6.5 rpg and Cory Hightower next at 6.3 rpg
- Eagles have struggled behind the arc shooting 32 percent (22-of-69), but have defending the arc at .32 percent
- Eagles averaging 11.0 offensive boards
AT A GLANCE
- This game was originally scheduled for Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Winthrop Coliseum
- The Eagles were supposed to open league play at High Point on Jan. 5, but a COVID pause postponed that contest as well as the game vs. Campbell
- This is a rematch of the 2021 Big South Conference Championship game
- Winthrop and Campbell were both voted as the preseason favorites to finish first in their respective Big South divisions
- Eagles second in the league in scoring (77.7 ppg) while Campbell leads the conference in scoring defense (59.7 ppg)
WINTHROP
- Finished the month of December with a winning record (4-3) for the second straight season and the sixth time in the last seven seasons
- Over the last two years, Winthrop is 18-1 in the month of January and 44-10 over the last six seasons
- Held Converse College to just 40 points, its lowest total for an opponent since holding Lenoir-Rhyne to 35 points on Nov. 20, 2012
- One victory away from 750 wins for the program and 450th in home games
- D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring and is 2nd in the conference at 17.2 ppg
- Burns Jr. has been in double-figures in 12-of-13 games and has posted 20 or more points in three consecutive games (first time in career)
- Burns Jr. is 2nd in the league in field goal percentage (.628) and 10th nationally
- Patrick Good is scoring 11.7 ppg and ranked 15th in the league
- Good leads the conference in threes per game (2.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.435)
- He ranks 31st in three-point field goal percentage nationally and tied for 56th 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 32.5 ppg from the bench, which ranks 13th in the country (Cornell leads at 43.2 ppg through 12 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 (193) 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 402-156 (.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
The Eagles remain at home as they'll host UNC Asheville Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. with the game airing on ESPNU 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).
