Men's Basketball 1/6/2023 12:00:00 PM

Highlanders Make Trip To Gardner-Webb on Saturday

RADFORD, Va. – Playing in front of the Dedmon Center crowd for each of the last two games was wonderful, but the Highlanders will have to march back into enemy territory to play Gardner-Webb on Saturday.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (6-7, 1-1 Big South)
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Paul Porter Arena (Boiling Springs, N.C.)

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Watch: CLICK HERE (ESPN+)
Listen: CLICK HERE (WRAD 101.7 FM)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE

SERIES HISTORY
A thorn in the Highlanders' collective side from the very beginning, Gardner-Webb leads the all-time series, 16-11. While Radford is just 5-9 at home against GWU, they are 6-6 on the road. The 2018-19 Big South Championship game, which went Gardner-Webb's way, is considered a neutral site contest.

The Bulldogs best Radford, 93-83, in the first-ever meeting between the two programs back on Nov. 17, 2007 and have won each of the last four games, including a 61-42 contest in Paul Porter Arena last season.

In that game, Josiah Jeffers scored six points and pulled down eight rebounds in a team-high 35 minutes played. Shaquan Jules notched five points and six boards in just 15 minutes. D'Maurian Williams and Lance Terry combined for 30 points on 50.0% shooting to pace the Bulldogs.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Under the guidance of Head Coach Tim Craft for the last 10 years, the Gardner-Webb program has brought a tenacity and well-disciplined style of play that gives opponents fits nightly. GWU was picked to finish fourth in the Big South Preseason Poll and is off to a 7-8 start, including a 2-1 record in conference play.

The Bulldogs narrowly missed out on a pair of Power 5 upsets early in the season, falling 65-63 to Colorado State and 72-66 to #1 North Carolina. They did win each of their first two Big South duels, besting Charleston Southern and High Point before losing to Campbell on their last trip.

Returning upperclassmen Anthony Selden (12.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Kareem Reid (11.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg) are leading the charge this season while a supporting cast full of impact transfers, i.e. DQ Nichols who is averaging 10.6 points and 3.1 assists after coming over from SEMO, give the team a sturdy cast to rely on.

BIG SOUTH STATS
Three games into the conference season, Radford's stats are looking quite different from the non-conference slate. The starkest contrast comes in the scoring column, where 74.1 points scored and 66.8 points allowed per game is now 62.3 points scored and 59.3 points allowed per game in a low-scoring start to Big South competition.

DaQuan Smith is the Highlanders' hottest player right now, averaging 17.7 points on 58.8% shooting through three games. No other player is in double-digits heading into Saturday's contest.

One category that Coach Nichols and company will hope to move back closer to non-conference trends are turnovers. Radford gave up the ball just 11.9 per game in the first 13 games this year but have 14.7 turnovers per game after playing UNC Asheville, Presbyterian, and USC Upstate.

FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team throughout the season, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordHoops on Twitter, 'radfordhoops' Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#13 Shaquan Jules: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#1 DaQuan Smith: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#13 Shaquan Jules
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#1 DaQuan Smith
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers

#13 Shaquan Jules

#1 DaQuan Smith

Players Mentioned

#2 Josiah Jeffers

#13 Shaquan Jules

#1 DaQuan Smith