GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team heads to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history Thursday afternoon as the 13th-seeded Spartans take on fourth-seeded Gonzaga in the first round of the tournament.
The Spartans and Zags will tip-off as the first game of the Boise site at Taco Bell Arena Thursday with a 1:30 p.m. (ET) start (11:30 a.m. local Boise time). The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT with Brian Anderson, Chris Webber and Lisa Byington on the call. The game will also air on WSJSS 600 AM in the Triad with Scott Pryzwansky on the call. Westwood One Radio will also carry the game on Sirius 145 and XM Radio 203 with Jason Benetti and Dan Dickau on the call.
The Spartans earned the NCAA Tournament berth by winning the Southern Conference Tournament Championship in Asheville last week. UNCG has won six-straight games and 11 out of its last 12 games entering the NCAA Tournament with a 27-7 overall record. The 27 wins are a program-record, surpassing last year's record of 25 wins.
The Spartans will be making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in program-history and the first since 2001. UNCG has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 as the 16th seed and 1996 as the 15th seed. The Spartans dropped games to Stanford (2001) and Cincinnati (1996) in their tournament history.
The Spartans advanced to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of their defensive prowess as the Spartans won the Southern Conference Tournament by only allowing 160 points in three victories over The Citadel, Wofford and ETSU. The Spartans held The Citadel to a season-low 58 points, 25 under its season average. Wofford scored just 55 points, its second-lowest scoring output and lowest against a SoCon Team (South Carolina 52 points). UNCG wrapped up the SoCon Tournament title with a dominating 62-47 victory over ETSU, holding the Bucs to a season-low point total. The Spartans rank sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 62.8 points per game. UNCG is limiting opponents to 40.9 percent (689-of-1685) shooting from the field and 32.2 percent (221-of-687) from 3-point land.
Junior guard Francis Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) leads the Spartans into their first NCAA Tournament experience in 17 years. Alonso leads UNCG in scoring at 15.6 points per game and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the SoCon Tournament. He leads the team with 110 3-pointers, connecting at 40.7 percent, while also ranking second on the team with 101 assists.
Senior forward Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game while also grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game. Smith helps the Spartans out-rebound opponents by a 37.1-30.3 margin this year. He ranks second on the team with 75 made 3-pointers, connecting on 33.2 percent. Sophomore forward James Dickey (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) leads the team on the glass with 8.3 rebounds per game while adding 8.5 points per game. Dickey earned the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the league with 71 blocked shots.
Junior guard Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God) was named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team after leading the Spartans in scoring in the three games, averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game. Troy connected on 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from distance in the tournament and shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field. Freshman guard Isaiah Miller (Covington, Ga./Newton) is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game despite coming off the bench in all 34 games. Miller is shooting 54.7 percent (127-of-232) from the field this season while also grabbing 3.2 rebounds per game. Senior forward Jordy Kuiper (Groningen, Netherlands/Canaries Basketball Academy) adds 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Kuiper scored a team-high 13 points in the SoCon Championship game against ETSU.
Gonzaga enters the NCAA Tournament with a 30-4 overall record and has won 14-straight games. The Zags went 17-1 in the West Coast Conference with their lone loss coming at home to Saint Mary's. Gonzaga has also lost to only San Diego State on the road, vs. Villanova and vs. Florida in overtime this year. The Zags are averaging 84.5 points per game this season while shooting 50.3 percent (1049-of-2085) from the field and 37.4 percent (309-of-826) form 3-point land. Opponents are averaging 67.1 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent (805-of-1987) from the field and 35.5 percent (252-of-709) from distance.
Five Zags average double figures this season with Jonathan Williams leading the way with 13.5 points per game. Williams leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game and has 40 blocked shots. He is shooting 56.5 percent (182-of-322) form the field and has gone to the free throw line a team-high 157 times. Killian Tillie is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game while grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game. Tillie is shooting 59.3 percent (178-of-300) from the field and 50 percent (45-of-90) from deep.
Josh Perkins adds 12.4 points per game and leads the team with 182 assists. Perkins has hit a team-high 80 3-pointers, connecting on 40.8 percent. Zach Norvell Jr. chips in 12.2 points per game and is shooting 36.3 percent (66-of-182) from deep. Rui Hachimura rounds out the Zags' double digit scorers at 11.3 points per game and shot 84.3 percent (91-of-108) from the free throw line.
-- UNCG --
