Saturday, January 15th, 7:00 PM -- vs North Carolina A&T
Watch (ESPN3) | Live Stats | High Point Hoops Media Guide 2021-22 | Game Notes
The High Point University men's basketball team will host their first home Big South contest of the season as they welcome North Carolina A&T (Saturday, Jan 15). Saturday night's game will also be High Point University admissions night. It will be only the third time HPU has played NC A&T. It will be the first time Coach Smith has coached against the Aggies.
Across the Bench
NC A&T is currently at the top of the table with a 3-0 start in Big South play. The Aggies have victories coming against Presbyterian, Radford, and most recently Hampton on Wednesday night.
NC A&T's leading scorer is Marcus Watson who averages 12.8 points per game. Watson's season best came against St. Francis Brooklyn in which he scored 28 points.
Last Time Out
HPU dropped a last-second heartbreaker to USC Upstate 66-65. Upstate was able to score in the final seconds to win despite a valiant effort from the Panthers. Three of the six Panthers that played ended their nights with double digits in points. Alex Holt led the way with 16 points, Bryson Childress was right behind him with 15 points as he went 5-9 from three-point land. John-Michael Wright was the final Panther in double digits with 12 points on the night
Lexington Legend
Prior to the game, The University of Kentucky honored its 1998 national championship coach Tubby Smith. When it was time for the ceremony, Coach Smith made his way out of the visitor's tunnel at Rupp Arena for the first time in his career. As soon as the Wildcat faithful got as much as a glimpse of Coach Smith 19,735 fans rushed to their feet greeting the national championship coach with a chill-inducing reaction.
Five Time Freshman
Austin had 15 points against MSU and eight rebounds nearly a double-double. Against Kentucky, Austin had 12 points and six rebounds. Part of the reason National Player of the Week Oscar Tshiebwe had only eight rebounds just a few nights removed from his 28-rebound game against Western Kentucky. It was only the second time Tshiebwe recorded single-digit rebounds this season. The other game was Notre Dame's upset win over the Wildcats earlier in December. This is the fifth time in seven weeks that Austin has earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors.
PowerHOUSE
Jaden House had a good showing in the last week of 2021 against two Power-5 teams. 18 points and brought in four rebounds against #10 Michigan State. Recorded eight points while bringing in four rebounds against #18 Kentucky.
The Wright Way
Wright is averaging 19.1 points per game which leads the Big South and gives him the 41st highest points per game average in the nation. Wright is currently 7th all-time on the Division-I HPU scoring list with 1194. He is 65 points away from moving into 6th and surpassing Adam Weary.
Tubby and the Three
The Panthers are shooting at 37.7 percent behind the arc, which is the 34th highest three-point percentage in the nation. This is the second time since his 1998 National Championship winning team that Tubby Smith has coached a team in the top 100 of three-point percentage. High Point (37.8, 32nd, 2021-22) Minnesota (39.9, 9th, 2009-10).
Block Party
Austin is second in the Big South and 18th in the country in blocks per game with an average of 2.87.
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