HIGHLANDERS FACE NO. 1 VILLANOVA THURSDAY IN FIRST ROUND

GAME INFORMATION

Opponent: No. 1 Villanova Wildcats
Date/Time: Thursday, March 15 at 6:50 p.m.
Location: PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, Pa.
TV: TNT
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SETTING THE STAGE

Radford collected its first NCAA Tournament win in program history with a 71-61 victory over No. 16 LIU Brooklyn in the Final Four curtain raiser on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio
The win also gives Radford 23 on the season, setting a new school record by surpassing the 22 wins of 1990-91, 2013-14 and 2014-15
The tournament win is the second First Four win in Big South history, while giving the conference its fourth NCAA Tournament win

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Radford has made two previous trips to the Big Dance: the 1997-98 season and the 2008-09 season
In 1998, the 16th seeded Highlanders fell to a 1st seeded Duke team that featured Elton Brand and Shane Battier, 99-63, in the first round. The game was held in Lexington, Ky. as part of the South region
In in 2009, 16th seeded Radford fell, 101-58, to a 1st seeded UNC squad that was led by Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. The game was held in Greensboro, N.C. as part of the South region

SERIES HISTORY

The Highlanders and Wildcats will be meeting for the first time in program history
Radford last faced an opponent from the Big East in 2015 when Rashun Davis drained a buzzer beater 3-pointer to upset Georgetown 82-80 on Nov. 14, 2015 in the Highlanders' season opener apart of the 2K Classic

ABOUT TUESDAY NIGHT

Junior forward Ed Polite, Jr. recorded his 27th career double-double while redshirt freshman guard Carlik Jones recorded his first in the 71-61 win over No. 16 LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Jones was phenomenal, stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points on 6-for-14 shooting, a career-high 11 rebounds and seven assists as he entered a triple-double watch. He recorded two steals to round out a great day.
Polite, Jr., struggled from the floor, going 3-for-10 after starting the game 3-for-3 in the first three minutes, but he made up for it in other ways. He finished with 13 points thanks to a 7-for-8 day at the free throw line, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
His two steals tie him with Javonte Green (2013-14) for the Radford single-season steals record at 68.
Radford held a 30-28 lead at halftime as 38 of the combined 58 points came in the paint. The Highlanders and Blackbirds combined to go 5-for-20 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
It was the Travis Fields, Jr., show in the second half as the sophomore guard scored 10 of his 13 points after halftime.
An 18-6 run where Radford went 7-for-8 from the floor returned its lead to as many as nine in the second half, but the Blackbirds battled back each time the Highlanders looked to pull away.
A stretch that lasted more than four minutes went by without a field goal for the Highlanders, allowing LIU Brooklyn to pull within one at 56-55 with 5:07 left in regulation.
Radford's defense came up huge again, however, holding LIU without a field goal of their own for the final 6:47 of the game. Free throws weren't enough for the Blackbirds to keep up with Radford, who ended the game on a 10-2 run and came away with the victory.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Record: 23-12 (12-6 Big South) | RPI: 128
The Highlanders head into the NCAA Tournament First Round riding a seven-game winning streak including four to end the regular season and three to win the Big South Championship.
In those four regular season games, Radford outscored its opponents, 69.8 to 54.5 for a +15.3 scoring margin. The Highlanders shot 48.3% while holding opponents to 37.9%.
Radford defeated No. 10 Longwood, 59-53 in the quarterfinals, No. 3 Winthrop, 61-52, in the semifinals and No. 5 Liberty, 55-52, in the finals to win the Big South Championship.
In three games, Radford shot 35.2% from the floor while opponents shot 42.3%, yet the Highlanders earned a +6.0 scoring differential.
The Highlanders became the first Big South team to win the championship after shooting under 40-percent in all three wins.
Radford was out-rebounded in all three games as well, finishing with a -2.7 rebounding margin.
The Highlanders were able to overcome their deficiencies thanks to a superior ability to get to the free throw line and protection of the basketball.
They finished the tournament with only 19 turnovers committed while forcing 44 miscues for a +8.3 turnover margin. The Highlanders scored 53 points off turnovers in the three games.
They also went 56-for-73 from the free throw line while opponents went 20-for-23 across the three games.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Record: 30-4 (14-4 Big East) | RPI: 2
Villanova finished second place in the Big East regular season standings, but defeated Providence, 76-66, in the Big East Tournament Championship game.
Jay Wright, the Wildcats head coach, is in his 17th season and has a guided the Wildcats to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 13 seasons.
Wright has had a lot of recent success over the last five seasons during which Villanova has claimed four Big East regular season championships, three Big East Tournament titles (2015, 2017 and 2018) and the 2016 NCAA National Championship.
This season the Wildcats claimed a No. 1 seed (2^nd overall seed) in the Big Dance and were ranked No. 2 in the most recent AP Top 25 Poll.
Junior Jalen Brunson, who was recently named a finalist for the prestigious Citizens Naismith Trophy Award is the team leader.
Brunson averages 19.4 points per game with 4.7 rebounds per game. His scoring average ranks seventh in the Big East.
The Wildcats own best scoring offense in the country, averaging 87.1 points per game. They also have a +16.2 scoring margin against opposing teams, which ranks fourth nationally.
Shooting 50.4 percent as a team, the Wildcats have six players that average double-digit points per game.
Mikal Bridges is second on the team with 18.0 points per game and his 5.4 rebounds per outing is second on the team behind Omari Spellman.
Spellman leads the squad with 7.9 boards a contest and is one of the six averaging double figures.