GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team will play its second of three games this season against the Atlantic Coast Conference Tuesday night when the Spartans travel to PNC Arena in Raleigh for a meeting with NC State. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App with Andrew Sanders and Chris Corchiani providing the call. Additionally, the game will be on radio at 1320 WCOG AM and online via the Tune In App with Scott Pryzwansky and Darryl Kosciak providing the call.
UNCG enters Tuesday's game with a 4-7 overall record and an 0-5 mark on the road this year. The Spartans have dropped four out of their last five games with their lone win coming over Belmont Abbey. Last week, UNCG played two strong games on the road before falling in tough environments at Wake Forest and Elon.
The Spartans have four players averaging double figures this year and six payers scoring at least 8.0 points per game. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game and leads the team on the glass with 6.9 rebounds per game. White is shooting 57.7 percent (45-of-78) from the field and 62.3 percent on 2-point shots. Over the last five games, White has scored in double figures each game, averaging 12.8 points and shooting 71.1 percent (27-of-38) from the field on 2-point shots.
Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) leads the team in scoring at 12.0 points and is third on the team on the glass with 5.4 rebounds per game. Locke has played nine games in his career against ACC opponents and averages 15.8 points per game, shooting 54.7 percent (52-of-95) in those games. He tied his career-high last week with 25 points against Wake Forest.
Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game and has scored in double figures seven times this year. Alonso leads the team with 27 3-pointers made and is shooting 42.2 percent from distance. Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.6 points per game. Baldwin leas the team with 45 assists and 22 steals while grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game
Tuesday's game arks the 10th meeting all-time between UNCG and NC State. The Spartans trail the all-time series by a 9-0 margin and the two teams are meeting after taking a year off from the series. The team played a home-and-home series from 2012-13 with the Wolfpack posting victories in both games. In 2012, NC State was ranked No. 23 in the nation and posted an 89-68 victory over the Spartans.
Locke led the way for UNCG as he scored 21 points off the bench, connecting on 10-of-17 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds. The following year, UNCG gave NC State a scare in the Greensboro Coliseum before falling 68-64. The Spartans rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to pull within two points with 52 seconds remaining but the Wolfpack hit free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Locke again was the catalyst, scoring 19 points in the loss for the Spartans.
NC State enters Tuesday's game with an 8-3 record overall and a 5-2 mark at home at PNC Arena. The Wolfpack have picked up wins over South Alabama, IUPUI, LSU, Winthrop, Bucknell, USF, High Point and Missouri while dropping games to William & Mary, Michigan and Arizona State. NC State is averaging 77.5 points per game while allowing 70.1 points per game. The Wolfpack have been to the free throw line 310 times this year in 11 games, compared to just 155 attempts for the Spartans in the same number of games.
Anthony Barber leads the Wolfpack in scoring at 22.2 points per game as he has reached double figures in every game, playing a team-high 38.1 minutes per game. Barber leads the team in assists with 62 and is third on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. He has hit a team-best 86.2 percent (100-of-116) from the free throw line, an average of 10.5 free throw attempts per game.
Maverick Rowan is second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game and second on the team with 25 made 3-pointers. Caleb Martin is third on the team in scoring 13.3 points per gam and has hit a team-high 29 3-pointers. Abdul-Malik Abu leads the team on the glass with 7.5 caroms per game while BeeJay Anya is second at 7.3 rebounds per game.
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