4 Factors - Presbyterian

Points Per Possesion
UNCG - 0.89
Presbyterian - 1.20

4 Factors

eFG %
UNCG - 42.6
Presbyterian - 73.9

TO %
UNCG - 20.3
Presbyterian - 19.4

OR %
UNCG - 32.6
Presbyterian - 9.5

FT Rate
UNCG - 23.5
Presbyterian - 73.9

Presbyterian Press Conference

Presbyterian Highlights

Blue Hose Completely Dominate UNCG

UNCG 66 - Presbyterian 87

UNCG Athletics
Presbyterian Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 22 - Presbyterian 37

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Paulos (22)
Leader Reboudns: Cain (11)
Leader Assists: Saddler (4)
Team FG: 24-68 (35.3%)
Team 3 Pt: 10-26 (38.5%)
Team FT: 8-16 (50.0%)
Rebounds: 38
Turnovers: 15

Presbyterian Stats
Leader Points: Downing (37)
Leader Reboudns: Truss (13)
Leader Assists: Dillard (8)
Team FG: 29-45 (63.0%)
Team 3 Pt: 8-14 (57.1%)
Team FT: 21-34 (61.8%)
Rebounds: 35
Turnovers: 14

Thoughts
From my preview ...

While on paper this looks like a game UNCG should win, I won't go quite that far. It's a game UNCG can win. But this is a D1 OOC opponent, and the Spartans haven't defeated many of those in the past 5 years. So, I have no desire to start counting chickens or eggs. UNCG will need to take better care of the basketball and try to force Presbyterian into playing a fast pace. The team will need to do a better job on the defensive end and stayed focused for the entire 40 minutes.

So about all that stuff ... yeah. UNCG didn't do any of it. This was by all available information, the worst offensive team in D1 and the Spartans literally offered up any shot the Blue Hose wanted. I'm not really going to spend much more time on this game as the stats really do tell the whole story and the story isn't very pretty.

For UNCG to get back to winning games, they are going to have to get back to playing the first 5 minutes like they are the most important in the world. Over the last 5 contests they have not really gotten off to good starts and the results haven't been particularly good. I'm not sure what caused the bad start last night, but this team isn't too a level where they can take any team lightly. Wins are wins and they have to be earned.

I'm assuming coach Miller will not allow his team to go on to his former court and embarrass him on Saturday night. So, I look for more effort and energy from the team. Go Spartans !!!

Presbyterian (1-7) @ UNCG (4-3)

When: Tuesday, December 3 7:00 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617)^
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

^ - Greensboro Coliseum is undergoing renovations and will not be using the upper deck for any seating at UNCG games this season. I do not have the official seat totals with these changes.

Presbyterian Athletics

Preseason Preview

UNCG Stats
Last Game: Stetson* (W 75-68) Recap
PPG: 80.4
RPG: 38.4
APG: 15.0
Leader Points: Kyle Cain (17.9)
Leader Rebounds: Kyle Cain (7.6)
Leader Assists: Tevon Saddler (3.7)
FG %: 49.7
3 Pt %: 39.7
FT %: 68.6

Presbyterian Stats
Last Game: Ga Southern* (L 66-76) Recap
PPG: 59.5
RPG: 31.5
APG: 12.6
Leader Points: Jordan Downing (17.6)
Leader Rebounds: William Truss (9.8)
Leader Assists: Austin Anderson (5.0)
FG %: 39.0
3 Pt %: 37.8
FT %: 58.3

* - Game played at a neutral location

Thoughts
The Blue Hose is not a very good offensive team. That is just putting it bluntly. UNCG is not a very good defensive team. That is also very blunt. Which team will be more adequate in their weakest spot is now the question.

Presbyterian has went over 70 point only once this season (their lone win versus Toccoa Falls) and is led by Davidson transfer Jordan Downing. Also playing a big part with Presbyterian is freshman Reggie Dillard from Greensboro Day. There was some interest in Dillard from UNCG during the recruiting process. Besides Downing, Dillard and William Truss, there is no Blue Hose player averaging over 6 points per game. Presbyterian has already lost to SoCon members Citadel and Georgia Southern. They will play Furman, App State and Samford before this month is over.

While on paper this looks like a game UNCG should win, I won't go quite that far. It's a game UNCG can win. But this is a D1 OOC opponent, and the Spartans haven't defeated many of those in the past 5 years. So, I have no desire to start counting chickens or eggs. UNCG will need to take better care of the basketball and try to force Presbyterian into playing a fast pace. The team will need to do a better job on the defensive end and stayed focused for the entire 40 minutes. If those things happen, I feel better about their chances to pick up the win. Go Spartans !!!

4 Factors - High Point

Points Per Possession

UNCG - 1.12

High Point - 0.98

4 Factors

eFG %

UNCG - 46.4

High Point - 43.5

TO %

UNCG - 13.6

High Point - 14.7

OR %

UNCG - 24.0

High Point - 20.7

FT Rate

UNCG - 71.4

High Point - 43.5

SoCon Games - Week #2

I going to start posting all of the upcoming games for SoCon teams on Monday mornings. I'll aslso post TV/Internet listings in case you want to try to catch some of ther games.

Monday
Georgia Southern at Miami, FL (ESPN3)
Chattanooga at Radford (Big South Network)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Davidson (ESPN3)
Emory & Henry at Wofford
UNC-Asheville at Western Carolina

Tuesday
East Carolina at UNCG (Spartan All-Access)
Gardner-Webb at Furman
Campbell at Appalachian State
Presbyterian at The Citadel
Samford at Texas-Arlington

Wednesday
Western Carolina at Oregon (Pac-12 Network)

Friday
Elon at UNC-Charlotte
Florida Gulf Coast at Furman (CSS)
Western Carolina at Virginia Tech (ESPN3)
Samford at Indiana (Big Ten Network)

Saturday
Virginia vs. Davidson in Charlotte
Wofford at Iona
Appalachian State at Cincinnati (Fox Sports)
Montreat at Chattanooga
North Greenville College at The Citadel
Western Carolina at Liberty
Toccoa Falls at Georgia Southern

Sunday
Chowan at UNCG (Spartan All-Access)

High Point Highlights

Opening Night Scores

SoCon Scores
Citadel 71 - VMI 82
Covenant 56 - Chattanooga 119
High Point 74 - UNCG 82
Davidson 77 - (4) Duke 111
Washington & Lee 64 - Elon 114
Wofford 52 - Georgia 72
App State 77 - NC State 98
Wittenberg 55 - Western Carolina 77
Martin Methodist 62 - Samford 79
Sewanee 49 - Furman 66
Columbia International 74 - Georgia Southern 110

OOC Opponent Scores
NC Wesleyan 51 - East Carolina 97
La Tech - St Mary's
Florida A&M 84 - Rutgers 92
James Madison 41 - Virginia 61
Oakland 61 - UNC-CH 84
Presbyterian 57 - Georgia Tech 88
Colgate 78 - Wake Forest 89

Spartans Start Season Off Right

UNCG 82 - High Point 74

UNCG Athletics
High Point Athletics

UNCG 33 - High Point 32

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Locke, Cain (Tied - 21)
Leader Rebounds: Locke (9)
Leader Assists: Saddler (4)
Team FG: 26-56 (46.4%)
Team 3 Pt: 5-17 (29.4%)
Team FT: 25-40 (62.5%)
Rebounds: 42
Turnovers: 10
 
High Point Stats
Leader Points: Chaney (21)
Leader Rebounds: Chaney (12)
Leader Assists: McGaughy (2)
Team FG: 27-62 (43.5%)
Team 3 Pt: 1-14 (7.1%)
Team FT: 19-27 (70.4%)
Rebounds: 38
Turnovers: 11

Thoughts
It's really hard to sum up how much fun that was for me to watch. What I saw was a team that loved to share the ball with each other, played hard and played smart (for the most part). They definitely weren't perfect and have plenty of things to work on before Tuesday night. However, they stuck together and got the win.

There are a bunch of things to talk about with this game. I thought that the guys did very well making the most of their opportunities. Saddler and Locke did a great job of controlling the first half and Tyrone Outlaw came up big in the second half. Kyle Cain was as good as advertised and after fighting through 1st half foul trouble, he really showed a nice all around game. Diante Baldwin made some very nice plays in the second half. While Jordy Kuiper and RJ White didn't make a big impact on the stat sheet, they did well battling Brown & Chaney and buying Cain some minutes of rest. All-in-all there was a lot to like this evening.

With the new foul rules, UNCG will have to shoot free throws better. If there was a big black eye of this evening it was definitely the 25-40 that the Spartans went from the charity stripe. If UNCG just makes 5 more to get to 75%, this game is not even in doubt for the last 5 minutes. I think this may be a bit of first game nerves and I expect the percentages improve in the coming games.

Finally, I want to thank High Point for buying a ton of tickets and showing up in force for this game. They helped to make the atmosphere in the stands "chippy", but they added a lot of extra money to the athletics department budget. In all honesty, it was a fun rivalry game and set an opening night attendance record for UNCG (5,734). I did receive a couple of middle fingers and was called a few choice names. I simply stood and gave a nice steady clap for the Spartans as they made their final free throws. It was a lot more fun to not talk shit to the departing fans in purple than to engage them.

After failing to pick up a win against a D1 OOC opponent last season, it feels good to go ahead and get one right off the bat this year. I'm not ready to crown this season as something special yet, but here are definitely things to like going forward. I can't wait to see them play again on Tuesday night.

Go Spartans !!!

High Point (0-0) @ UNCG (0-0)

When: Friday, November 8 7:00 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617)^
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

^ - Greensboro Coliseum is undergoing renovations and will not be using the upper deck for any seating at UNCG games this season. I do not have the official seat totals with these changes.

High Point Athletics

Preseason Preview

UNCG Stats*
Last Game: Lees-McRae Exh. (W 104-76) Recap
PPG: 71.7
RPG: 36.2
APG: 12.1
Leader Points: Kayel Locke (9.9)
Leader Rebounds: Kayel Locke (4.4)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (2.6)
FG %: 41.8
3 Pt %: 34.1
FT %: 67.3

High Point Stats*
Last Game: Bridgewater Exh. ( W96-53) Recap
PPG: 71.7
RPG: 37.2
APG: 14.8
Leader Points: John Brown (16.4)
Leader Rebounds: Allan Chaney (8.1)
Leader Assists: DeJuan McGaughy (2.5)
FG %: 44.7
3 Pt %: 31.2
FT %: 71.8

* - "Stats" are from 2012-2013 season. "Leaders" are best of the returning players.

Thoughts:
Well, it's time for real college basketball to start again. It feels awful good to be writing that sentence. It's the time when "wait til next year" becomes reality and everyone has that feeling of hope. All teams are potential conference champions and NCAA Tournament participants.

For the second straight year, UNCG opens with the High Point University Panthers. Last season, UNCG was coming off a North Division Championship and was predicted to win another. High Point had lost several major contributors and had a major college transfer plus freshmen with potential. The Millis Center was full of electricity and HPU rode that wave (and the strong play of their new players) to a pretty convincing win. UNCG wasn't able to achieve at a level of those lofty preseason expectations. Meanwhile HPU went on to win their conference's division title.

This season's game sees an almost identical script, just reversed. The Panthers return almost everyone from last season and are predicted to win the Big South and head to the NCAA Tournament. UNCG has lost almost all major contributors. A lot of the Spartans talent lies in potential, not experience. Also, this year's game will be played on UNCG's home court at the Greensboro Coliseum. Will the outcome change around too?

Well, let's first look back on what happened last year. UNCG dug a huge hole by turning the ball over and the Panthers exploited their weakness by pounding the ball inside. UNCG also didn't help itself by taking some ill advised early shots. By the time the Spartans settled down in the second half, they couldn't come all the way back and lost by 8. Those deficiencies stuck with UNCG almost all season. This season, though, UNCG seems to have fixed at least one of those problems. Kyle Cain, Jordy Kuiper and RJ White will add skill, size and depth to the lone returning post player (Kayel Locke). I expect our big guys to match up relatively well with the HPU big men. John Brown is a special player. He is going to make some plays. UNCG just needs to stay solid and continue to play focused, fundamental defense. I am afraid that the turnovers could be a problem in this game again. I'm not sure what's going on with Jordan Potts. If he's not available, Drew Parker is the only returning player with PG experience. That doesn't fill me with tons of hope. However, his team does appear to want to share the ball and find the best shot available. That should serve them well.

Just like last season, this game only counts as 1 in the win-loss column. This one game is not going to make or break the entire season. But it's a home game against a county rival. The will be some electricity in the coliseum and the game will count. I'm excited and looking for a good showing. On paper it's not as good of a match up as I'd like to see. But it's a chance to see my favorite team play again and there's always hope.

Go Spartans !!!

Preseason Preview: Presbyterian

Presbyterian College
@ UNCG December 3
Mascot: Blue Hose
Location: Clinton, SC
Enrollment: 1200
Conference: Big South
2012-2013 Record: 8-24 (4-12)
Postseason: N/A
Coach: Gregg Nibert (25th Season)

School Homepage
Athletics Homepage

Losses:
Khalid Mutakabbir G - 37.2 mpg, 15.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 24 apg
Ryan Hargrave F - 13.3 mpg, 3.7 ppg
Joshua Clyburn F - 28.8 mpg, 10.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Matthew Citron F - 3.8 mpg, 1.4 ppg

Top Returners:
Jordan Downing G - 34.3 mpg, 12.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Eric Washington G - 33.7 mpg, 8.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 6.5 apg

Additions:
Danny Herrera F - 6-5 215 (Transfer Miami Dade CC)
Markus Terry G - 6-1 200
Charlie Inclan G - 5-10 165
Ed Drew - F 6-5 205
Reggie Dillard G - 6-4 220

Preseason Preview: High Point

High Point University
@ UNCG November 8
Mascot: Panthers
Location: High Point, NC
Enrollment: 4500
Conference: Big South
2012-2013 Record: 17-14 (12-4)
Postseason: CollegeInsider.com Tournament (L 1st round)
Coach: Scott Cherry (5th Season)

School Hompage
Athletics Homepage

2012-2013 Stats
PPG: 71.6
RPG: 37.3
APG: 14.7
FG %: 44.7
3 Pt %: 31.2
FT %: 71.8

Losses:
Corey Law G - 14.6 mpg, 5.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Jarius Simms G - 16.8 mpg, 1.9 ppg, 3.2 apg
Landon Harris F - 3.4 mpg, 1.3 ppg
Branimir Mikulic F - 12.2 mpg, 3.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg

Top Returners:
Jon Brown F - 25.5 mpg, 16.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Allan Chaney F - 26.3 mpg, 14.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg
DeJuan McGaughy G - 22.8 mpg, 6.9 ppg, 2.5 apg

Additions:
Tarique Thompson F - 6-5 210
Jorge Perez-Laham - G 6-1 187
Anthony Lindauer - G 6-3 170
Matteo Bellusci G - 6-3 170 (Transfer Univ of Calgary)

Spartans Release 2013-2014 Schedule

UNCG released their 2013-2014 schedule on Monday. It features an odd mix of 4 ACC opponents and 3 non-D1 teams. The Spartans will also be playing in 2013 Gulf Coast Showcase in Naples/Ft Myers, FL. The brackets for that tournament have not been released yet.

11/2 Lees-McRae* (Exhibition)
11/8 High Point
11/12 East Carolina
11/17 Chowan
11/20 Greensboro College
11/25 TBD^ Gulf Coast Showcase
11/26 TBD^ Gulf Coast Showcase
11/27 TBD^ Gulf Coast Showcase
12/3 Presbyterian
12/7 UNC-Chappel Hill
12/11 Claffin
12/14 @ Rutgers
12/18 James Madison
12/21 @ Wake Forest
12/28 @ Viginia Tech
12/30 NC State
1/2 @ Western Carolina
1/6 Furman
1/9 @ App State
1/16 Citadel
1/18 Davidson
1/23 @ Samford
1/25 @ Chattanooga
1/30 App State
2/1 Georgia Southern
2/6 @ Elon
2/13 @ Georgia Southern
2/16 Western Carolina
2/19 Elon
2/23 Chattanooga
2/27 @ Davidson
3/1 @ Wofford
3/7 TBD# SoCon Tournament
3/8 TBD# SoCon Tournament
3/9 TBD# SoCon Tournament
3/10 TBD# SoCOn Tournament

* Fleming Gym (Greensboro, NC)
^ Germain Arena (Estero, FL)
# US Cellular Arena (Asheville, NC)

New SoCon Members !!!

Virginia Military Institute, East Tennessee State University and Mercer University have all been invited to join the Southern Conference, the league announced today.

ETSU and Mercer have accepted the invitations to join the conference next year, while VMI is expected to formally ratify joining the league Friday when its Board of Visitors meets.

All school will begin play as  SoCon members in 2014. I'll have a profile of each school and team coming up soon.

The Mercer Press conference can be seen here.

Panthers Turn Back Spartan Comeback Attempt

UNCG 73 - High Point 81

UNCG Athletics
High Point Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 33 - High Point 39

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (18)
Leader Rebounds: Trevis Simpson (7)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (4)
Team FG: 26-60 (43.3%)
Team 3 Pt: 8-20 (40.0%)
Team FT: 13-23 (56.5%)
Rebounds: 40
Turnovers: 17

High Point Stats
Leader Points: John Brown (28)
Leader Rebounds: John Brown (8)
Leader Assists: Jairus Simms (7)
Team FG: 30-68 (44.1%)
Team 3 Pt: 5-18 (27.8%)
Team FT: 16-22 (72.7%)
Rebounds: 41
Turnovers: 13

Thoughts:
Two things doomed the Spartans on Friday night. The first was the inside the paint. It was obvious the the Panthers were the much stronger team. John Brown and Allan Chaney absolutely controlled the game. High Point did UNCG a huge favor in the middle of the second half by completely going away from their inside duo. It allowed the Spartans to get back into the game, However, they closed the game out by going back inside to put the game away.

The second problem was turnovers. 11 first half turnovers really hurt UNCG and kept them from really making any progress in a half where they could have taken a lead. It was obvious that the Panthers were going to try to grind the pace down against UNCG and the Spartans responded by not being sure handed with the ball.

On the bright side, UNCG really showed some energy and poise in the face of a 19 point deficit to make a solid comeback. However, it was too little too late. It should be a good learning experience for a team that is trying to find some chemistry.

While the result is disappointing, it's way too early to draw any conclusions or look to throw in the towel. Go Spartans !!!

UNCG (0-0) @ High Point (0-0)

When: Friday, November 9 7 pm
Where: Mills Center (1,750)
TV: None/Big South TV (Internet)

High Point Athletics

Preseason Preview

UNCG Stats (2011-2012)
Last Game: Bluefield State (W 102-74) Recap
PPG: 67.9
RPG: 35.8
APG: 11.6
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (18.3)
Leader Rebounds: David Williams (5.3)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (2.6)
FG %: 40.3
3 Pt %: 33.8
FT %: 68.5

High Point Stats (2011-2012)
Last Game: Mars Hill (W 96-62) Recap
PPG: 71.1
RPG: 34.3
APG: 12.5
Leader Points: Corey Law (9.5)
Leader Rebounds: Corey Law (7.2)
Leader Assists: Jairus Simms (2.6)
FG %: 43.9
3 Pt %: 40.1
FT %: 68.5

Thoughts:
This is an interesting game to start the season. High Point has a very impressive front line and last season they were one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the country. Allan Chaney is one of the best stories in college basketball and you can't help but be happy for a guy who's been through all that he has and is still able to play.

Having said that, it should be interesting to see this new UNCG frantic pace against a D1 team. During the exhibition contest on Saturday, the Spartans started slow and turned the ball over a too much. When they settled down, the second half was an impressive showing. I expect to see a similar effort on tonight.

At this point, I've not seen enough to make any bold predictions. I'm just going to hope for the best.

Go Spartans !!!

Preseason OOC Preview - High Point

High Point
Location: High Point, NC
Conference: Big South (RPI #27)
Last Year: 13-18
Finish: Tie 6th (out of 11)
Post Season: None
Last 10: 6-4
Coach: Scott Cherry (4th yr)

Top Returners:
Corey Law 9.5 pts, 7.4 rebs

Losses:
Shay Shine 15.5 pts, 5.4 rebs, 3.0 assists
Nick Barbour 20.4 pts, 2.5 rebs, 1.4 assists

Additions:
- Cliff Cornish PF (6'-8" 240 lbs)
- Lorenzo Cugini SF (6'-5" 200 lbs)
- Haiishen McIntyre SG (6'-2" 165 lbs)
- Adam Weary SG (6'-2" 195 lbs)
- Allan Chaney PF (6'9" 235 lbs) Transfer (Virginia Tech)