High Point at UNC Asheville
WHEN: Saturday, March 1 | 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Asheville, N.C. | Kimmel Arena
SERIES RECORD: 55th meeting, UNC Asheville leads, 31-23
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 (15-14, 8-7 Big South) closes out the regular season Saturday (March 2) at UNC Asheville (4-25, 2-13). Tip-off from Kimmel Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
PAW PRINTS
• This will be the 55th meeting between the two programs, with UNC Asheville leading the all-time series, 31-23. High Point has won two of the last three contests, including a 65-61 victory at the Millis Center on Jan. 26.
• The final game of the regular season will have major implications on seeding for the Big South Tournament, which will begin on Tuesday (March 5). The Panthers can finish anywhere from the No. 4 seed to the No. 6 seed with a win and from the No. 6 seed to the No. 8 seed with a loss. The top-5 seeds earn a bye into the quarterfinals. Should the Panthers finish with a No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8 seed, they would host a first-round game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Millis Center.
• This will be the third time HPU head coach Tubby Smith has faced UNC Asheville in his head coaching career. He is 2-0 against the Bulldogs, including the win earlier this season.
• Last time out, the Panthers fell in its regular season home finale to Radford, 72-54, Wednesday night (Feb. 27) at the Millis Center.
• Junior Jahaad Proctor led all scorers with 22 points and now has 969 points for his HPU career. With another 31 points, Proctor will become the 11th player in HPU’s Division I history to score 1,000 points and the 34th overall in program history.
• Senior Jordan Whitehead is averaging 8.75 rebounds in his last four games. The former walk-on, who earned a scholarship for his fifth year, is averaging career highs in points (7.1), rebounds (5.8), assists (1.7) and minutes per game (28.4).
• Senior Ricky Madison had a career-high 23 points with 12 rebounds against Gardner-Webb on Feb. 23 at the Millis Center. Madison is second in the Big South with 8.3 rebounds per game and ranks 27th in the country with 3.21 offensive rebounds per game.
• High Point leads the Big South and ranks 11th in rebounding margin at +7.1 rebounds per game.
• HPU scores 56.8 percent of its points from 2-point field goals, the 11th-highest ratio in the country.
HISTORY vs. UNC ASHEVILLE
This will be the 55th meeting between the two programs, with UNC Asheville leading the series, 31-23. After dropping three games in a row in the series, the Panthers have won two of the last three, inlcuding a 65-61 victory at the Millis Center on Jan. 26. Junior Jahaad Proctor had a game-high 25 points and scored the last six points for the Panthers to seal the victory.
HISTORY vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
High Point has complied a 340-281 (.548) record all-time against Division I programs hailing from the Tar Heel State. HPU’s most common opponents are Elon (86-76), Appalachian State (60-36) and Western Carolina (42-23). The majority of those meetings came during the NAIA era. High Point is 87-80 (.520) against Big South programs from North Carolina and 253-201 (.557) against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. HPU is 5-2 this season against Division I opponents from North Carolina with wins against East Carolina, Western Carolina, UNC Asheville, Campbell and Gardner-Webb and a loss to Gardner-Webb and Campbell.
TUBBY SMITH vs. UNC ASHEVILLE
This will be the third time HPU head coach Tubby Smith has faced the Bulldogs in his head coaching career, with the second meeting coming earlier in the season. Coach Smith’s Kentucky Wildcats also defeated the Bulldogs, 86-41, on Dec. 7, 1999.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
UNC Asheville comes in with a record of 4-25 (2-13 in Big South play) after falling at Charleston Southern, 77-48, Wednesday night (Feb. 27) in North Charleston, S.C. DeVon Baker leads the Bulldogs with 16.5 points per game. UNC Asheville has one of the youngest teams in the country, as they only returned five starts from 2017.18.
NEXT UP
The Panthers conclude the regular season on the road at UNC Asheville on Saturday (March 2). Tip-off from Kimmel Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.