GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team returns home to the Greensboro Coliseum for a rare Sunday matinee as the Spartans host Southern Conference foe VMI at 1 p.m. The game will be produced by the UNCG athletic department and broadcast on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN App. Scott Pryzwansky and former Wake Forest and South Carolina head coach Dave Odom will provide the call of the game.
ESPN3 is available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 1320 WCOG AM and online via Tune In with Tim Bickford and Darryl Kosciak on the call.
UNCG enters Sunday's game with a 5-12 overall record and a 1-3 mark in Southern Conference play. The Spartans have played some of their best basketball recently and have been involved in last minute game's the past three times out against Furman, ETSU and Western Carolina. UNCG is 5-2 at home this season, including a 67-66 victory over Furman in its lone home SoCon game. The Spartans are averaging 70.5 points per game while allowing 74.2 points per game. UNCG is shooting 43 percent (445-of-1035) from the field and opponents are shooting 46.7 percent (430-of-920). The Spartans have connected on 147 3-pointers but opponents have hit 139 from distance.
The Spartans have four players averaging double figures this season. Junior center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) leads the team in scoring and ranks 11th in the SoCon at 12.3 points per game. White leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 7.1 rebounds per game. He leads the league shooting 62.9 percent (83-of-132) from the field. Freshman guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads all league freshmen in scoring at 11.6 points per game. Alonso has hit a team-high 41 3-pointers and is shooting 40.6 percent from distance. Additionally, he is shooting 84.8 percent (28-of-33) from the free throw line.
Senior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game while adding 5.0 rebounds per game. Junior guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) rounds out the Spartans in double figures scoring at 10.4 points per game. Baldwin also leads the team with 76 assists and 29 steals while grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game.
Sophomore forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) chips in 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Smith has hit 27 3-pointers this season at a 29.7 percent clip. Freshman Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) adds 7.1 points and 35 assists on the year.
Sunday's game marks the 18th meeting all-time between UNCG and VMI. The Spartans lead the all-time series by a 10-7 margin and have won 9 out of the last 10 meetings, including both meetings last year. UNCG posted a 75-63 victory over the Keydets at the Greensboro Coliseum last season and an 86-56 victory in Lexington. The Spartans connected on 46.5 percent (59-of-127) from the field and 40.5 percent (15-of-37) from long range in the two victory. UNCG held VMI to just 26.5 percent (39-of-147) shooting from the field and only 21.8 percent (17-of-78) from 3-point land in the two victories.
Former Spartan Nicholas Paulos averaged 18.0 point per game against the Keydets last year while Locke averaged 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) scored a career-high 12 points in 18 minutes at VMI last season. White added 9.0 points and 11.5 rebound per game. Phillip Anglade led the Keydets with 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while QJ Peterson played just one of the two games and finished with 8 points at the Greensboro Coliseum.
VMI enters Sunday's game with a 5-10 overall record and a 0-4 mark in Southern Conference play. The Keydets are just 1-8 on the road this season with their lone win coming at Gardner-Webb 76-75. VMI has dropped four straight to Furman, Wofford, Western Carolina and ETSU by an average of 22.5 points per game. The Keydets are averaging 66.5 points per game while allowing 72.4 points per game against. VMI is shooting 40.8 percent (356-of-873) from the field and 33.2 percent (120-of-361) from 3-point land.
QJ Peterson leads the Keydets in scoring at 17.7 points per game. Peterson has taken a team-high 225 shots, connecting on 40 percent. He has hit a team-high 38 3-pointers and is shooting 34.2 percent from distance. Additionally, he is shooting 90.4 percent (47-of-52) from the free throw line. Julian Eleby is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and second on the team with 27 made 3-pointers.
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