Men's Basketball 1/5/2018 11:00:00 AM

UNC ASHEVILLE PROVIDES ANOTHER BIG SOUTH TEST SATURDAY

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GAME INFORMATION

GAME PROMOTION

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

SETTING THE STAGE

Radford is riding a four-game winning streak, the program's longest run of success since winning eight in a row during the 2014-15 season
The Bulldogs are 3-3 in their last six games including an 84-74 letdown against High Point earlier this week
UNC Asheville is a big opponent for a Radford team that is looking to compete for a conference championship this season

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's contest will be the 71^st meeting of all-time between Radford and UNC Asheville. The winner will break a 35-35 tie
The two programs first met back in March of 1986 when the Bulldogs escaped with a 64-62 victory over the Highlanders in the Big South Tournament
Last season, Radford defeated UNC Asheville, 80-77, in a Dedmon Center overtime thriller before the Bulldogs got revenge with an 80-69 win in Asheville

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 9-6 (2-0 Big South) | RPI: 80
Radford has begun the season 2-0 against Big South opposition for the second consecutive season
Junior forward Ed Polite Jr. is a big part of that. He is averaging 23.5 points on 58% shooting, 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in conference play this season
Four-time Big South Freshman of the Week Carlik Jones will look to bounce back against UNC Asheville after struggling against Winthrop on Wednesday. Foul trouble limited his minutes and he finished with only five points and an assist
Either way, Radford is now 4-2 with a starting lineup of Jones, Bradford, Hicks, Polite Jr. and Phillips – the team's best record of any combination this season
Sophomore guard Travis Fields Jr. has been extremely consistent as of late, providing multiple assists in six straight games including 12 in his last three
The Dedmon Center's streak of providing a home court advantage continues. The Highlanders are 4-0 in front of their home crowd this season and 50-23 across the last six seasons
The Highlanders rank third in the Big South in points allowed (67.7 per game), second in turnovers (12.4 per game) and first in offensive rebounds (12.8 per game)
Radford continues to get major contributions from its bench, outscoring the Winthrop Eagles 24-3 in that category on Wednesday

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Record: 8-7 (1-1 Big South) | RPI: 158
Head Coach Nick McDevitt is in his fifth season at the helm of the UNC Asheville men's basketball program. He has led them to an 85-60 record over that time
UNC Asheville received 23 of the 29 possible first-place votes to top the Big South Preseason Coaches Poll
Guards MaCio Teague and Ahmad Thomas were named to the Preseason All-Big South First Team. The duo currently lead the Bulldogs in scoring with 15.3 and 14.5 points per game respectively
Senior guard Kevin Vannatta was a Preseason All-Big South Second Team selection and was just named to the Senior CLASS Award candidate's list this week. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities
The Bulldogs have reached the postseason two seasons in a row, first playing in the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and then participating in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2017
UNC Asheville is an excellent free throw shooting team, knocking down 72.5% of their attempts from the line this season

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Players Mentioned