CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the first time this season, ESPN has selected the High Point University men's basketball team to air on ESPNU in the Big South's first Wildcard game. The High Point versus Presbyterian game time on January 29 will be flexed to a 9:00 p.m. tip-off.

The match-up will mark the first meeting between the squads on ESPNU. It will be High Point's 14th all-time appearance in the Big South's ESPNU Wildcard series, and fourth for Presbyterian.  The Panthers currently sit in first-place in the conference standings at 4-0 following the first two weeks of league play, while the Blue Hose are 1-2 in Big South action.
 
High Point's 16-3 record is its best start during the program's Division I era. Winners of six straight -- as well as 15 consecutive Big South conference wins and 18 in-a-row against league opponents -- the Panthers are ranked No. 78 in the NET and No. 90 in KenPom. HPU ranked No. 11 in the most recent Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and have been in the rankings for 45 consecutive weeks, the second most in Big South Conference history. The Panthers also rank 18th in the Field of 68 Mid-Major Top 25. High Point is second nationally in scoring margin (+25.4), fourth in scoring offense (93.9) and 11th in field goal percentage (51.9). The Panthers have opened 4-0 in conference play for the second time in three seasons, and are paced by three players averaging double-figures including, Rob Martin (14.1 ppg), Terry Anderson (13.8 ppg) and Conrad Martinez (11.7 ppg).
 
Presbyterian has an overall record of 8-10 and are 1-2 in conference play with two back-to-back losses at Radford and Longwood. Jonah Peirce is leading the team averaging 15.1 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game – No. 1 in the Big South. He has registered a league leading eight double-doubles this season.
 
This is the 13th year of the Big South's ESPNU Wildcard series, which features four Thursday primetime broadcasts –- Jan. 29 (Presbyterian at High Point), Feb. 12 (7:00pm), Feb. 19 (7:00pm) and Feb. 26 (7:00pm) -- that are selected 14-21 days in advance.  A total of 59 games have been played in the series that began in 2013-14, and the home teams are 38-21 while the 59 contests have been decided by an average of 10.07 points, with 32 (54.2 percent) of those being decided by single-digits.