GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team wraps up non-conference play with its third and final game against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Monday night when the Spartans travel to Chapel Hill to take on No. 7 North Carolina. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU and will also be available online via the Watch ESPN App with Roy Philpot and Dino Gaudio on the call. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online via Tune In with Scott Pryzwansky and Darryl Kosciak on the call.
Monday's game marks the third meeting all-time between UNCG and North Carolina, all of which have come in the last three years. The Spartans and Tar Heels first met during the 2013-14 season when UNCG dropped an 81-50 contest in Chapel Hill. Forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) and former Spartan Kyle Cain added 13 points apiece to pace the Spartans. Last season, UNC travelled to the Greensboro Coliseum and posted a 79-56 victory over UNCG. Locke added 17 points while guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) chipped in 13 points. Kennedy Meeks led the Tar Heels with 18 points while Joel James added 11 points.
The Spartans enter Monday's game with a 4-8 overall record and a 0-6 mark on the road this season. UNCG has dropped three straight and five out of its last six games on the road during the month of December. The Spartans are averaging 69.3 points per game while allowing 70.2 points per game. UNCG is shooting 41.9 percent (309-of-737) from the field and 34.3 percent (104-of-303) from 3-point land.
UNCG has four different players averaging double figures this year and six different players averaging at least 8.0 points per game. Locke leads the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game and is third on the team in scoring at 5.3 points per game. He is shooting 47.5 percent (48-of-101) on 2-point shots this season and has also hit nine 3-pointers. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) is second 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 56.8 percent (50-of-88) from the field and has connected on 62.3 percent (48-of-77) on 2-point shots.
Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) is third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game. Alonso leads the team with 28 3-pointers and is shooting 42.4 percent from distance this year. Baldwin rounds out the Spartans averaging double figures scoring at 10.8 points per game. He leads the team with 49 assists and 24 steals while also grabbing 5.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) adds 9.2 points per game and is second on the team with 18 3-pointers.
North Carolina enters the game ranked seventh in the nation and owning a 10-2 record on the season. The Tar Heels are 6-0 at home at the Dean Smith Center and their only two losses have come at Northern Iowa and at Texas. UNC is one of the top scoring teams in the country, averaging 86.3 points per game while holding opponents to just 70.7 points per game.
Five different Tar Heels are averaging double figures on the year. Brice Johnson leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game and on the glass with 9.3 rebounds per game. Johnson is shooting 65.3 percent (79-of-121) from the field ad 84.1 percent (37-of-44) from the free throw line. Marcus Paige is second on the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and has hit 16 3-pointers while dishing out 26 assists.
Justin Jackson is third on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game while second on the team with 45 assists. Joel Berry rounds out the double figure scorers at 11.8 points per game and leads the team with 54 assists.
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