UNCG Men’s Basketball & Furman Face Off On Saturday
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball team faces off against Furman University who are both 4-1 in Southern Conference (SoCon) play and tied for second on Saturday at Timmons Arena.
GAME INFO
Where: Timmons Arena | Greensville, N.C.
When: Saturday, January 14
Time: 4 p.m.
WATCH (ESPN+)
LAST TIME OUT
UNCG picked up its seventh win in the last 10 games with a 72-57 victory over VMI on Wednesday at Cameron Hall.
Three Spartans scored in double figures, including Keyshaun Langley, who recorded a career-best 25 points.
Langley went 10-for-13 in field goals, while shooting 4-for-6 in three pointers.
Bas Leyte was second on the team with 14 points, while Keondre Kennedy tallied 12 points.
The 4-1 start in SoCon play matches the Spartans start during the 2018-19 season.
The Spartans outscored the Keydets with points in the paint (36-24), second-chance points (12-10), fast-break points (13-6), bench points (11-0), points off turnovers (23-9).
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
UNCG is leading the conference in scoring defense (64.1), field goal percentage defense (39.5), and three point percentage defense (30.7).
Among the nation, the Spartans are 29th in field goal percentage defense (39.5), 52nd in scoring defense (64.1), 70th in three point percentage defense (30.7), 71st in assist/turnover ratio (1.23), 76th in assists per game (15.1), 82nd in defensive rebounds per game (26.78), and 94th in turnover margin (1.7).
In the nation, Kobe Langley is 37th in assist/turnover ratio (2.56) and 67th in steals (32).
His twin brother, Keyshaun Langley is also ranked in the nation: 27th in total three-point field goals made (50), 46th in three-point percentage (41.7), 50th in three pointers per game (2.78), and 52nd in three-point attempts (120).
The Spartans are outscoring opponents, 70.6-64.1, and outrebounding foes 36.9-34.5.
Keyshaun (13.5), Keondre Kennedy (13.4), and Brown-Jones (10.9) are leading the Spartans in points per game.
Kennedy (7.0) and Abdulsalam (6.3) are leading the team in rebounds per game.
JONES REACHING MILESTONES
· Head Coach Mike Jones earned his 200th career win as a head coach on Wednesday, January 4 with the win over Chattanooga at the Greensboro Coliseum.
· He had 174 wins with Radford and currently has 27 victories with the Spartans.
SCOUTING FURMAN
Furman enters the game 13-5 overall after defeating Mercer, 84-66 on Wednesday.
The Paladins are on a three-game win streak.
Furman was voted to take home the SoCon title in both the Preseason Coaches’ Poll and Media Poll.
Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson were both named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference team.
The Paladins are ranked in the top-25 in seven categories: third in effective field goal percentage (0.581), fifth in assists per game (19.2), 11th in field goal percentage (49.8) and three pointers per game (10.0), 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.53) and three point attempts per game (27.7), and 21st in scoring offense (82.1).
Jalen Slawson is 36th nationally in field goal percentage (58.1).
Mike Bothwell who is leading Furman with 19.4 points per game, is also 32nd nationally, 15th in field goals (126), and 16th in total points (349).
Furman is outscoring its opponents 82.1-71.3.
The Paladins are also outrebounding opponents 34.8 to 32.2.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Spartans then return home for a four-game homestand, hosting The Citadel (Jan. 19), Mercer (Jan. 21), VMI (Jan. 25), and Furman (Jan. 29).
On Jan. 19 vs. The Citadel, UNCG will host its Blue Out. All fans are encouraged to wear blue. The first 1000 students will receive a free t-shirt.
On Jan. 21, it is Scout Night. Scouts will receive free admission as well as a free patch.
SERIES HISTORY
· UNCG leads the all-time series, 22-20.
· The two schools have split the regular season home-and-home series in each of the past four seasons with Furman claiming victory in Greensboro last year before the Spartans edged the Paladins 58-56 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the most recent meeting.
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro