Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball returns home for a Thursday night matchup with North Carolina A&T on ESPNU as part of the Big South Conference ESPNU Wild Card series.

WINTHROP (13-8, 6-2 Big South)

vs. North Carolina A&T  (9-13, 4-4 Big South)	Feb. 3, 2021 | 7 p.m. (EST)
Location	Rock Hill, S.C. | Winthrop Coliseum | Buy Tickets
Television/Live Stream | Live Stats	ESPNU | Statbroadcast
TV/Radio	ESPNU | pxp - Matt Schick  / analyst - David Padgett  94.3 FM | ESPN730 |  WGNC AM1450/101.FM | pxp - Dave Friedman / analyst - Mike Pacheco
Social Media	Youtube (Winthrop Athletics) | @Winthrop_mbb | @winthrop_mbb | Facebook (Winthrop Athletics) #EverStand #ROCKtheHILL
Shop Winthrop Gear	Online Store

WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	Noteworthy
G	11	Drew Buggs	6-3	Gr.	5.3	2.4	4.0	0.7	Has multiple threes in each of the last two games / Hit game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in win over Campbell / Surpassed 500 career assists at Vandy (567) / Career assist leader at Hawaii
G	5	Patrick Good	6-0	Gr.	11.3	3.1	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.	7.7	3.8	1.3	0.4	In double-figures in 4-of-8 league games (9.3 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.	11.1	6.3	2.1	1.2	In double-figures last 4 games / Posted 2nd double-double this season with 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Asheville / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (651) / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT
F	30	D.J. Burns Jr.	6-9	R-Jr.	15.9	4.4	1.1	0.6	20 points away from 1,000 / Leads Big South in field goal percentage (.623), 6th in NCAA D1 / 17 games in double-figures / 4th in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year

THE SERIES
Series Record: first meeting
Series Streak: first meeting
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: first meeting
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: first meeting
Prosser vs. North Carolina A&T: 2-0
 
SERIES HISTORY       

• Eagles and Aggies meet for the first time

 
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES

• Eagles are averaging 79.7 ppg while allowing 82.7 ppg
• Shooting 49 percent from the floor, 37 percent from three (28-75) and 73 percent at the foul line
• Opponents are shooting 46 percent from the floor, 47 percent from three (29-62) and 83 percent at the foul line (10 more made free throws than the Eagles)
• D.J. Burns Jr. leads the team in scoring at 15.0 ppg while pulling in 4.0 rpg
• Cory Hightower has averaged 14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.3 apg

 
AT A GLANCE       

• Eagles take on their 4^th opponent from the Big South North Division as North Carolina A&T sits in third place (Have already faced Longwood, Campbell and High Point)
• Winthrop looks to remain in first place of the South Division, sitting at 6-2 and tied with USC Upstate but currently holding the tie-breaker
• Eagles sitting second in the league in scoring at 76.3 ppg while N.C. A&T is 7^th at 69.1 ppg
• Winthrop is tied with USC Upstate for second in the league with 8.8 threes per game

 
WINTHROP        

• This is the second ESPNU Wild Card game for the Eagles this year, who defeated UNC Asheville 86-60 in overtime on Jan. 13 at home
• Winthrop is 11-4 all-time in the ESPNU Wild Card series and 8-0 at home
• Eagles playing their second home game in a stretch of 6-of-8 games on the road as they'll finish that stretch on Saturday at Hampton
• Looking to extend home win streak to 12 straight as Eagles are 8-0 at home this year
• Eagles have also won nine straight regular season home league games
• In the eight conference games the Eagles and opponents have combined for 58 ties and 54 lead changes
• Burns Jr. continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.9 ppg, which ranks fourth in the Big South
• Burns Jr. leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.623) and 6^th nationally
• Good is second on the team at 11.3 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 (2.6) and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.447) which ranks 12^th in the nation
• Cory Hightower is third on the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg and leads in rebounding at 6.3 per game (4^th in league)
• In the loss to Longwood the Eagles had five players in double-figures led by sophomore Sin'Cere McMahon's 17 points off the bench
• 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 29.8 ppg from the bench, which ranks 15^th in the country (Cornell leads at 38.9 ppg through 17 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 450^th 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 7^th 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 4^th 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.
 
20^TH 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 is back on the road with another quick turnaround as it hits the road to Hampton, Va. for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with Hampton on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5:30 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).