CHARLOTTE – One of the most highly anticipated conference openers in school history for the Radford men's basketball program got even sweeter as the Highlanders will take on rival High Point in front of a national audience on ESPNU on Thursday, January 2.

Tip for the conference showdown is set for 7 PM ET from the Quebein Center.

ESPNU and the Big South Conference announced the showdown between the Highlanders and Panthers will be the first Big South Wildcard broadcast of the 2024-25 season.

The match-up will mark the first between the two programs on ESPNU and the 17th Big South ESPNU Wildcard game for Radford all-time.

Both teams are currently tied for first place in the Big South standings at 9-2 overall. The Panthers are a perfect 7-0 at home to start the year, while the Highlanders three true road wins lead the conference.

Radford's 9-2 record is its best start to a season since 1988-89. Winners of five straight, the Highlanders are ranked No. 122 in the NET and their non-conference wins include William & Mary, Old Dominion, Evansville, Chicago State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Saint Francis, North Carolina Central and Bucknell.

Picked seventh in the conference preseason poll, Radford currently ranks first in the Big South in field goal defense (41.0 percent allowed), rebound margin (+8.0) and defensive rebounds (27.0). The Highlanders are also 31st in all of NCAA Division I basketball in bench points per game (31.91), 34th in winning percentage (81.8), 36th in rebound margin and 37th in rebounds per game (40.82), to go with being 28th in the nation in free throw attempts per contest (25.4) and 29th in free throws made per game (18.3).

This is the 12th year of the Big South's ESPNU Wildcard series, which again features six Thursday primetime broadcasts. A total of 53 games have been played in the series that began in 2013-14.

While the home teams are 33-20 in the Big South ESPNU series, the 53 contest have been decided by an average of just over nine points, with 30 (65.5 percent) of those being decided by single digits.

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