WHEN: Wednesday, January 4, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Millis Center (1,750)
RECORDS: High Point (7-7, 1-1), Winthrop (9-4, 1-1)
SERIES RECORD: Winthrop leads 26-13
LAST MEETING: High Point def. Winthrop, 87-85, on Feb. 25, 2016
LIVE VIDEO: Big South Network
LIVE AUDIO: High Point Panther Radio Network
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team hosts conference rival Winthrop at the Millis Center in Big South action on Wednesday, January 4.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Kevin Burke and Stafford Stephenson will be back on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
 
PAW PRINTS
• The Panthers fell to 1-1 in the Big South this season with a 60-55 loss to Longwood in the Millis Center on Saturday, Dec. 3. Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr., led the team in scoring for the second-straight game with 17 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds while senior Anthony Lindauer put up 13 points and sophomore Andre Fox had 11 off the bench.
 
• High Point currently sits atop the Big South and 24th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 40.0 percent. HPU has shot over .380 in all but four games this season and set a program Div. I record in 3-point shooting percentage by going 12-15 (.800) at Vanderbilt on Dec. 6.
 
• The Panther defense is beginning to become a calling card for High Point in 2016-17. HPU sits second in the Big South in points allowed per game at 67.8, a number that ranks in the top 100 in the nation. The team is also 87th in the nation in turnovers forced per game at 14.93.
 
• Freshman Jamal Wright currently sits second in the Big South in assists per game (3.8) in his first collegiate campaign. He has 53 assists while committing just 35 turnovers and is third in the conference with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
• Bowman Jr. is one of 79 players nationally with at least five double-doubles in 2016-17. In his first full season with the Panthers, he is second in the Big South and 58th nationally in rebounds/game (8.7).
 
HISTORY vs. WINTHROP
High Point trails in the all-time series against Winthrop with a 13-26 record in 49 meetings. The Panthers and Eagles split their two games last season with each side winning on their home floor. High Point suffered a 22-point loss at Winthrop early in conference play but bounced back with an 87-85 win at home at the end of the regular season to clinch its fourth-straight Big South Regular Season title. Miles Bowman Jr., posted a double-double off the bench in the win over the Eagles with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes after coming in for an injured John Brown who had scored 19 points in just 12 minutes of action. The Panthers' last loss to Winthrop in the Millis Center came in 2007 when Winthrop escaped with a 64-63 win.
 
HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
High Point has complied a 75-89 (.457) record all-time against Div. I programs hailing from the Palmetto State. HPU's most common opponents are Winthrop (13-26, .333), Coastal Carolina (16-21, .432) and Charleston Southern (19-16, .543). High Point is 46-50 (.479) against Big South programs from South Carolina and 29-39 (.426) against the rest of the state's Div. I teams. HPU is 0-1 against teams from South Carolina this season having lost at Clemson back on Nov. 25.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES (9-4, 1-1 BIG SOUTH)
Winthrop sits at 9-4 overall and 1-1 in the Big South heading into 2017 after falling at home to Radford on Dec. 31. The Eagles were unanimously picked first in the Big South Preseason Poll after finishing last season with a 23-9 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the conference. Winthrop is tops in the league in scoring at 78.7 points per game and is led by the pair of Keon Johnson and Xavier Cooks. Johnson is second in the Big South and 29th in the country in scoring at 20.9 points per game while Cooks is fourth in the conference at 15.9 points per game. Johnson has 10 games this season in which has scored 20 or more points, including a 38-point performance in a Winthrop upset at Illinois and 37 against Radford. Johnson also leads the team in assists at 3.0 per game while Cooks is first on the team in rebounding at 6.8 boards per game.
 
UP NEXT
High Point returns to the road this weekend when the Panthers head to Asheville, N.C., to take on the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville on Saturday, Jan. 7. The Panthers are 21-28 all-time in 49 games against Asheville. Tip in the game is set for 2 p.m.
 
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