GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro men's basketball will hit the halfway point of Southern Conference play on Saturday afternoon when the Spartans host Mercer at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Five Facts To Know
--The Spartans will look to continue their best start in program history on Saturday afternoon. At 18-3, UNCG has its most wins through 21 games in any season. A win against Mercer would mark the 10th time in program history that UNCG has won at least 19 games in a season.
--A victory would also give UNCG a third winning streak of at least five games already this season. UNCG won six games between Nov. 13-Nov. 27 and seven games between Dec. 6-Jan. 5.
--Senior guard Demetrius Troy on Thursday became just the sixth player in program history to record 400 career assists. Troy is now 18 assists away from entering the top five, surpassing Derrick Nix's 421 career assists.
--Senior guard Francis Alonso (126) appearing in the game will tie him for the third-most games played in program history, joining Drew Parker. Former teammate RJ White (140) has the most appearances in program history followed by another former teammate, Kayel Locke (130).
--Mercer enters the game with an overall record of 8-12 with a 3-5 record in SoCon play. Mercer, however, has won its last two games against Samford and VMI respectively. While the Bears have lost five conference games so far this year, three of those decisions were by four points or less.
The Spartans This Season
Outside of a loss against Wofford on Jan. 10, UNCG (18-3, 7-1) has come out on top in the rest of its conference games this season.
On Thursday night, the Spartans held The Citadel – the nation's most prolific offense – to a season-low 60 points while redshirt freshman guard Kaleb Hunter finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. It was the third time this season Hunter has had at least a share of the scoring lead for the Spartans. UNCG has won all three of those games.
This season Alonso leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game, having reached double-digit scoring totals in all but one game.
Forward James Dickey, meanwhile, has rounded back into form since returning to the court earlier this month, as he leads all SoCon players in blocks per game during conference play and is fourth in rebounding.
Series History
This will be the 12th all-time meeting between the two schools dating back to their first matchup that took place on Jan. 5, 1981. Mercer maintains a lead in the series at 7-4.
Last year, the two schools split their games against each other, as UNCG knocked off the Bears 70-60 in overtime on Jan. 20 before Mercer returned the favor in a 77-74 decision on Feb. 17.
The last five games between the teams have been close, with the margin of victory in any game no more than six points.
Upcoming For The Spartans
The Spartans will remain in Greensboro for a third straight game on Thursday night, hosting VMI for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
-- UNCG –
