Men's Basketball 1/2/2018 8:55:00 AM

RADFORD STARTS NEW YEAR WITH BOUT AGAINST WINTHROP

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GAME INFORMATION

GAME PROMOTIONS

Floyd County Night: 50% off tickets for all Floyd County residents
Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night: Two (2) free tickets for all Radford University Employees who show their RU ID at ticket office

SETTING THE STAGE

Wednesday's game marks the first of two straight home games for Radford. The team's last contest at home was vs. Erskine on Dec. 9th
The Highlanders are riding a three game win streak, the program's longest win streak against Division I opponents since topping Campbell, Gardner-Webb and Longwood between January 20-27, 2016
The Eagles have won five of their last seven games with the losses coming at Georgia and VCU. They topped High Point, 76-60, on Saturday night to start Big South action with a win

SERIES HISTORY

Radford owns a slim 36-35 advantage in 71 all-time meetings with Winthrop
The first meeting between the two programs came on Jan. 19, 1985 when Radford defeated Winthrop, 68-49
Most recently, the Highlanders and Eagles split the 2016-17 season series 1-1 with Radford winning 82-80 in Rock Hill, S.C. and Winthrop winning 81-65 in Radford, Va.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 8-6 (1-0 Big South) | RPI: 89
The Dedmon Center continues to provide a big home court advantage for the Highlanders, pushing the team to a 3-0 record there this season and bringing their total to 54-34 under head coach Mike Jones
Radford moved to 6-0 when holding opponents between 60-69 points this season when they defeated Presbyterian, 78-62, to open conference play Saturday night
The Highlanders boast the third-best scoring defense in the Big South, holding opponents to 66.9 points per game
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. has really come alive in the team's last two games, posting a combined 48 points on 60.7% shooting, 21 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals
Redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones has earned a spot in the starting lineup for five games in a row and has rewarded the team for that decision. He has scored in double-figures and pulled down at least six rebounds in all five games
Getting started on the right foot has become an essential part of the winning formula this season. The Highlanders are 7-1 when leading at halftime and 1-5 when trailing at halftime

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

Record: 7-5 (1-0 Big South) | RPI: 167
Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey is in his fifth season at the helm of the Eagles' men's basketball program. His teams have won 62 games in the past three seasons alone
Winthrop was picked to finish second in the Preseason Big South Coaches Poll just behind UNC Asheville, receiving three first-place votes
Senior guard/forward Xavier Cooks was named to the Preseason All-Big South First Team and has lived up to his lofty expectations, leading Winthrop with 15.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game
Redshirt senior guard Anders Broman is also averaging points in double-figures with 13.4 per game
The Eagles carry a high octane offense and they lead the Big South in scoring with 85.3 points per game through 12 games
They have won comfortably when they've come out victorious this season. They're outscoring opponents 85.3 to 75.1 for a +10.2 scoring margin (2^nd in Big South)
Winthrop leads the Big South in 3-pointers made with 10.1 per game

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Players Mentioned