GREENSBORO, N.C.  –  UNCG men's basketball faces its second Southern Conference challenge of the season on New Year's Day, opening up the 2020 calendar year at home against Mercer inside Greensboro Coliseum. 

Who: Mercer
Where: Greensboro Coliseum | Greensboro, N.C.
When: Wednesday, January 1 | 7 p.m. 
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Series History

-- UNCG is 6-7 against the Bears all-time, but have lost just one of their last seven meetings

-- The Spartans have not lost to Mercer at home since January 3, 2015, the first time the pair competed against one another at the Division I level

Five Facts To Know

-- The Spartans are currently ranked No. 7 in College Insider's "Men's Mid-Major Top-25", and are ranked higher than every member of the SoCon, MAC, C- USA, CAA, Big South, Big Sky, Big West, Sun Belt, OVC, WAC, Summit, Horizon, America East, NEC, MAAC, Patriot, SWAC and MEAC in the most recent NET rankings, at No. 61

-- Teams have shot just 38.4 percent against the Spartans this season, with that number shrinking to 36.0 when excluding the team's games against Kansas and NC State

-- No other team in the SoCon causes more turnovers per game (18.50) than the Spartans, nor makes as many blocks (66), they rank 11th and 27th in the nation respectively

-- The Spartans' 23 steals against William Peace was a new school record, while their 72-point margin of victory is the second-largest in program history

-- James Dickey moved into fourth on the Spartan all-time rebounding list with his nine boards against William Peace, he now sits at 879, 54 boards shy of the No. 3 spot

The Bears

-- Senior guard Ethan Stair is one of the top rebounders in the country, with his 135 boards ranking 14th in Division I basketball

-- Just four of the Bears' six wins have come against Division I teams this year, only two of which have come against squads ranked within the top-300 of the most recent NET rankings

Coming Up Next

The Spartans will be in the full swing of the SoCon schedule next week, getting on the road against Wofford on the 4th, before coming back to face ETSU (RV) on the 8th. The Spartans are just 16-28 when facing the Terriers all-time, but are 14- 16 against the Bucs.

-- UNCG –