GAME INFO
Wednesday, Jan. 8 -- vs Winthrop (Millis Center), 7 p.m.
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The High Point University men's basketball team (3-11, 0-1) returns to Millis Center to host its first Big South Conference game of the new decade against Winthrop (8-7, 2-0) on Saturday evening (Jan. 8).
 
Halftime entertainment will be provided by Champions Forever unicycle act as seen on America's Got Talent.
 
Smith vs Winthrop
Head Coach Tubby Smith is 2-1 all time against Winthrop with his two wins coming at Kentucky and Georgia.

Matchup History
Winthrop leads the series against the Panthers 14-30. The Eagles won the lone matchup between to the teams last season, 80-63. The Panthers last win against WU came in January of 2017, beating the Eagles on the road in overtime, 83-80. Winthrop returns to the Millis Center for the first time since 2018.
 
Across the Bench
Winthrop is off to a 2-0 start in Big South Conference play with wins over Longwood and Campbell. Winthrop's non-conference play was highlighted by a 61-59 road win over then No. 18-ranked St. Mary's.
 
The Eagles are led in scoring by Josh Ferguson with 13.3 points per game, while also leading the team with 6.3 rebounds per contest. Winthrop brought home two Big South weekly honors this week with DJ Burns Jr. being named Freshman of the Week and Chandler Vaudrin being selected as a Co-Player of the Week. Burns came off the bench in both contests, posting double figures in each victory. Vaudrin averaged a triple double on the week, scoring 10 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists over Longwood and chipping in with 16 points at Campbell.
 
WU is coached by Pat Kelsey, who is in his eighth season at Winthrop. Kelsey led to the Eagles to Big South Conference championship in 2017, the win gave WU their 10th NCAA tournament appearance.
 
Keep it Going
Sophomore Curtis Holland III extended his double-digit streak to nine against Radford as he scored 15 points in Saturday's game (Jan 4th). Holland's double-digit scoring streak ranks third in the Big South Conference and his 14.5 ppg rank seventh.

Five for Coleman
Eric Coleman Jr. put together a gutsy performance against Radford scoring 12 points, bringing in 5 boards, recording two blocks and had one steal. Coleman's 12 point marked the freshman's fifth double digit outing this season.

But He's Only a Freshman
Freshman John-Michael Wright leads all Big South freshmen in scoring averaging 13 per game, which also ranks him 13th in scoring in the conference overall. He is also the top freshman in rebounding with 5.2 boards per game, which is also ranked 14th overall in the conference.
 
Can I Help You?
Not only is John-Michael Wright a tremendous scorer but he is a great facilitator as well, leading the team in assists on the year with 24.
 
Millis We Missed Ya
The Panthers return to the Millis Center for the first time in 2020. The Panthers have played two road games since that last home appearance and return to host Winthrop after a 18-day hiatus.
 
Block Party
The Panthers rank 105th out of 350 schools in blocked shots per game averaging 2.5 per contest.

JMW Seeing Double
John-Michael Wright has recorded double digits in 10 of his first 14 games. He has reached the 20-point plateau twice, including a career-high 25 points against Valpo (12/18/19).
 
JUST BLOCKin' it
Redshirt junior Cliff Thomas Jr. ranks sixth in the Big South with 0.9 blocks per game.
 
Chairman of the Offensive boards
Redshirt sophomore Caden Sanchez ranks second in the Big South with 2.4 offensive rebounds a game.
 
They Are Free for a Reason
High Point ranks second in the Big South with a .725 free throw percentage.
 
Defensive Boards
High Point leads the Big South with a 32.1 a game rebounding defense.
 
Up Next: HPU will hit the road on Saturday (Jan. 11) when it travels to Presbyterian at 4 p.m.
 
 
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