Men's Basketball 1/26/2018 11:00:00 AM

CSU COMES TO TOWN FOR ALUMNI WEEKEND

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GAME INFORMATION

GAME DAY EVENTS

Alumni weekend: Radford is excited to welcome back alumni of the men's basketball program
1997-98 Team Recognition: Halftime of Saturday's game will feature a recognition of Radford men's basketball's first Big South Champion and NCAA Tournament squad
Marty Smith: Radford alumnus and ESPN personality Marty Smith will be at the Dedmon Center to visit his old stomping grounds and help with alumni weekend festivities

SETTING THE STAGE

The Highlanders maintained sole possession of first place in the Big South thanks to Carlik Jones' buzzer-beater to defeat High Point, 78-76, on Wednesday
Three teams – Winthrop, Campbell and UNC Asheville – are tied for second just one game behind Radford so each game continues to be crucial
Charleston Southern has lost seven of its last eight games, but that one win was an 83-68 victory over Gardner-Webb

SERIES HISTORY

The Highlanders own a 46-27 lead over the Buccaneers in the all-time head-to-head series
The 1990-91 season was the first to feature a matchup between the two programs after Charleston Southern changed its named from Baptist. Radford earned two wins over CSU in the regular season and then topped them a third time in the first round of the Big South Tournament
Radford earned a narrow 64-61 victory at the Buc Dome earlier this season behind 15 points from Carlik Jones and 13 points from Caleb Tanner

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 14-8 (7-2 Big South) | RPI: 121
After going 14-18 during the 2016-17 season, Radford has already matched its win total from a year ago. One more win in conference play would bring this year's squad level with last year's, who went 8-10 in the Big South
The Highlanders have overcome a 10+ point deficit three times this season: JMU, Liberty and High Point
Crunch time equals go-time for the Highlanders who are 3-0 in overtime games this season
Radford is 7-0 at the Dedmon Center this season to extend its home winning streak to 10 games dating back to Feb. 9, 2017
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. leads the Big South with 9.0 rebounds per game during conference play. He also ranks top-10 in scoring at 16.2 points per game with a league-leading 56.7 shooting percentage
Polite Jr. needs just two more rebounds to become the ninth player in program history with 700 in his career
Redshirt freshman Carlik Jones ranks second in the Big South with 3.8 assists per game during conference play. Radford is 9-4 since he entered the starting lineup
In limited minutes, freshman forward Leroy Butts IV is shooting 50-percent from the field (20-for-40)
Junior guard Caleb Tanner bounced back from an 0-8 skid on 3-point attempts by going 2-for-2 at High Point. Radford has 10 wins when he hits multiple threes in a game

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS

Record: 7-13 (2-7 Big South) | RPI: 331
Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh is one of the longest tenured coaches in the Big South having reached his 13th season with the Buccaneers. He has accumulated a record of 167-219 in that time
CSU was picked to finish eighth in the Big South Preseason Poll, just behind Radford who was tabbed seventh
The Bucs have experienced some ups and downs this season, earning a four-game win streak in November before grinding out a four-game losing streak in December and a six-game losing streak in January
A seven-time Freshman of the Week honoree last season, guard Christian Keeling leads the Bucs in scoring (16.6 ppg), assists (2.2 apg) and rebounds (4.9 rpg)
Sophomore forward Jordan Jones has developed into a strong rim protector, tallying 23 blocks this season including 1.5 per game in conference play
The Bucs' strength is in their defense. They have held opponents to 68.6 points per game through 20 games
Even with a losing record, CSU's scoring margin stands at +2.0
Life at the perimeter hasn't been easy for the Bucs who are last in the Big South for 3-point FG percentage (.309) and last for 3-point FG percentage defense (.398)

NEXT HOME GAME

Radford hosts Gardner-Webb on ESPNU on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at radfordtickets.com or by calling the Radford Athletics ticket office at (540) 831-7889. Remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the ticket office inside the Dedmon Center on game day

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