High Point MBB Hosts USC Upstate Wednesday

High Point vs. USC Upstate

WHEN: Wednesday, January 16 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: High Point, N.C. | Millis Center
SERIES RECORD: 4th meeting, USC Upstate leads, 2-1
LIVE STATS: Click Here
AUDIO: High Point Panther Radio Network
VIDEO: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: Click Here

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team (9-8, 2-1 Big South) continues Big South Conference play Wednesday (Jan. 16) against conference newcomer USC Upstate (5-13, 0-3). Tip-off at the Millis Center is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

PAW PRINTS
• This will be only the fourth meeting between the two schools and the first in 36 years. It will also be the programs’ first meeting since USC Upstate joined the conference in the summer of 2018.
• HPU head coach Tubby Smith will face USC Upstate for the first time in his head coaching career.
• The Panthers are coming off of their first conference loss of the season, an 80-63 defeat at Winthrop on Saturday (Jan. 12) in Rock Hill, S.C.
• Senior Ricky Madison recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He tallied 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against Presbyterian.
• Madison now has four double-doubles on the season. He also posted double-doubles against Air Force and The Citadel. He has grabbed eight of more rebounds in 10 games this season.
• Senior Jordan Whitehead is averaging nine rebounds over his last four games after averaging 4.8 rebounds per game in the first 13 contests of the season.
• Junior Jahaad Proctor led all scorers at Winthrop with 22 points, the 10th time this season he has scored 20 or more points.

HISTORY vs. USC UPSTATE
This will be the fourth meeting between the two programs and the first in Big South play. USC Upstate and Hampton joined the conference in July 2018. The two programs have not played in 36 years, a 78-57 Spartan win on Jan. 12, 1983 in Spartanburg, S.C. In the three meetings, the home team has won each meeting.

HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
High Point has complied a 83-101 (.451) record all-time against Division I programs hailing from the Palmetto State. HPU’s most common opponents are Winthrop (14-30), Charleston Southern (22-18) and Coastal Carolina (16-21). High Point is 54-57 against Big South programs from South Carolina and 29-44 against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. The Panthers are 2-3 this season against teams from South Carolina, winning against Charleston Southern and Presbyterian, but falling to Wofford, The Citadel and Winthrop.

TUBBY SMITH vs. USC UPSTATE
HPU head coach Tubby Smith is facing USC Upstate for the first time in his head coaching career.

A LOOK AT THE SPARTANS
USC Upstate are 5-13 on the season and 0-3 in Big South play after falling at Gardner-Webb, 64-59, Saturday (Jan. 12) in Boiling Springs, N.C. Malik Moore leads the Spartans with 16.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Deion Holmes is also averaging double figures with 13.7 points per game.

NEXT UP
The Panthers have their bye in the conference schedule and return to action next Thursday (Jan. 24) at Longwood in Farmville, Va. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.