SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's basketball team opens the New Year at home Wednesday evening, welcoming Hampton University to the Hodge Center for the final non-conference game of the regular season.
The matchup between the Spartans and Pirates is the second meeting between the two programs with Upstate holding a 1-0 edge in the all-time series with a win in 1982. The 7:30 p.m. tip-off will mark the first action for both teams in the 2013 calendar year.
Fans can follow the contest through a live video broadcast on A-Sun.TV by clicking here and live in-game statistics by clicking here. ESPN Spartanburg 97.1 FM and 1400 AM will broadcast the game that can also be heard online by clicking here. Fans can follow on twitter @UPSTMBB and can join the conversation with the hashtag #UpstateHoops.
Story Lines
- Upstate's current 11-game winning streak is tied for the 16th longest in the country with Northern Iowa and Mississippi Valley. Syracuse holds the national mark at 30 consecutive home wins, followed by Kansas with 28.
- After opening the season with nine of 11 games on the road, the Spartans play the second of two straight home games before opening conference play on the road.
- Upstate has won its past three conference openers - the longest streak in the A-Sun. The Spartans open conference play with back-to-back road games, traveling to league newcomer Northern Kentucky Friday and Lipscomb Monday.
- Hampton opened the season with six straight losses, but have gone 2-3 since, picking up wins at home over Howard and American.
- The Pirates have played several familiar schools to Upstate, dropping games to Wofford, UNC Wilmington and Northern Kentucky. The loss to the Norse marked the first-ever Division I win for Northern Kentucky.
- Hampton features one of the most balanced scoring attacks the Spartans have faced all year, with Deron Powers (11.5) as the only player in double figures. Seven players average at least five points per contest, while nine different players have been inserted into the starting lineup.
- Torrey Craig continues to put up double-digit scoring efforts for the Spartans, having scored at least 10 points in all 11 games this season. Dating back to a 20-point performance at South Carolina last season, the Great Falls, S.C., native has reached double figures in 30 of his last 32 games.
- Ricardo Glenn's three straight double-doubles has the big man for the Spartans as one of the most efficient players in the league. The Augusta, Ga. native is second in the A-Sun with a .614 field goal percentage, while his 8.4 rebounds per game also ranks second in the league.
- The Spartans have reached the 40-rebound mark in each of the last two games, pulling down 40 boards at Tennessee State and a season-high 47 against Coastal Georgia. Upstate is 2-1 on the season when recording at least 40 rebounds.
- Jodd Maxey was reinserted into the starting lineup against Coastal Georgia and delivered one of his best games of the year, tying his season-high for points with 13 and finishing just two rebounds shy of his first collegiate double-double. His game-high five assists was also a career-high.
GLENN'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE MADNESS
Following his third straight double-double with an impressive performance against Coastal Georgia on Dec. 30, Ricardo Glenn was named the College Sports Madness A-Sun Player of the Week. He tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds against the Mariners and over a three-game stretch he has shot 79 percent from the field, going 19-for-24 from the floor.
AT HOME IN THE HODGE
The Spartans have seen plenty of recent success in the Hodge Center, winning 11 straight and 16 of their last 17 games for a .941 winning percentage. The last time Upstate dropped a game at home was Jan. 9 against Mercer. The nine-point loss to the Bears came over 350 days ago.
ROAD TRIP
The Spartans opened the season with nine of their first 11 games on the road, spanning coast-to-coast in November and December. Over those nine games, Upstate touched down or took off in 13 different cities and played in seven different states.
Following his third straight double-double with an impressive performance against Coastal Georgia on Dec. 30, Ricardo Glenn was named the College Sports Madness A-Sun Player of the Week. He tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds against the Mariners and over a three-game stretch he has shot 79 percent from the field, going 19-for-24 from the floor.
AT HOME IN THE HODGE
The Spartans have seen plenty of recent success in the Hodge Center, winning 11 straight and 16 of their last 17 games for a .941 winning percentage. The last time Upstate dropped a game at home was Jan. 9 against Mercer. The nine-point loss to the Bears came over 350 days ago.
ROAD TRIP
The Spartans opened the season with nine of their first 11 games on the road, spanning coast-to-coast in November and December. Over those nine games, Upstate touched down or took off in 13 different cities and played in seven different states.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: (Baylor's Scott Drew) "This is a game that as a coach, you know that your opponent is a lot better than people might realize. You can see them in the NCAA tournament winning a game."
(Kansas State's Bruce Weber) "They have a really good ball club. When we looked at it going into all these non-conference games they had 21 wins last year and the best turn-around in the country."
(Saint Louis' Jim Crews) "I thought they were good coming in, and I know they're good coming out. Every time we made a mistake, they drilled us every single time. It was uncanny. If we made a defensive slip, we got burned."
(Kansas State's Bruce Weber) "They have a really good ball club. When we looked at it going into all these non-conference games they had 21 wins last year and the best turn-around in the country."
(Saint Louis' Jim Crews) "I thought they were good coming in, and I know they're good coming out. Every time we made a mistake, they drilled us every single time. It was uncanny. If we made a defensive slip, we got burned."
Follow Upstate men's basketball all season long on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
COURTESY USC UPSTATE PRESS RELEASE
No comments:
Post a Comment