GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro men's basketball will be in search of its 20th victory of the season on Thursday night.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Five Facts To Know
--The Spartans will be in search of their 20th victory this season when they host the Keydets on Thursday. A victory would give UNCG a third 20-win season in a row, the first time the program has achieved such a feat. Additionally, it would be the fastest the team has reached 20 wins in a season. Last year's team that won a program-record 27 games reached the 20-win mark on Feb. 12.
--A victory would also give UNCG a third winning streak of at least six games. It would be the first time in program history that the team has compiled three six-game winning streaks in a single season. The 2016-17 team strung together two six-game winning streaks.
--Senior guard Demetrius Troy is 17 assists from entering the top five, surpassing Derrick Nix's 421 career assists for fifth place. If Troy is able to surpass Nix, he'll be just the third player in program history to rank in the top five in both assists and steals, joining Diante Baldwin and Courtney Eldridge.
--Senior guard Francis Alonso starting the game would tie him for the most starts in program history, joining Kyle Hines and Jay Joseph at 118.
--VMI enters the game with an overall record of 7-14 while the Keydets are 1-8 in SoCon games. Although the Keydets have won just one game in conference play, they have the league's leading scorer in Bubba Parham. He is averaging 21.1 points per game this season and has hit the 30-point mark five times already.
The Spartans This Season
Off to its best start in program history during conference play, UNCG is currently 8-1 in SoCon action for the first time in program history with the only blemish on the record a loss to first place Wofford. The Spartans also won a program-record 11 non-conference games as they have an overall record of 19-3 to date.
Offensively, UNCG has been led in scoring by senior guard Francis Alonso and his 17.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Isaiah Miller, meanwhile, has reached the 20-point mark four times already in conference play, having never done so before in his career prior to the SoCon opener on Dec. 22. He leads the Spartans in scoring during conference action at 16.4 points per game.
Defensively, Miller is third in the country in total steals (61) while junior forward James Dickey is averaging more than two blocks per game.
Series History
This will be the 25th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1978-79 season. The Spartans hold a 16-8 lead as UNCG is currently riding a five-game winning streak against the Keydets, sweeping the series each of the last two seasons. Earlier this month, UNCG knocked off VMI 71-68 in Cameron Hall.
Since VMI returned to the SoCon in 2014, the Spartans are 8-1 against the Keydets.
Upcoming For The Spartans
The Spartans will have the upcoming weekend off before returning to the Greensboro Coliseum next Thursday to host Samford for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
-- UNCG –
