By: KSU Sports Information
Listen Watch
Live Stats Game Notes
Coach Preston Pregame
A-Sun Weekly Release
SPARTANBURG, S.C.- The Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball team goes on the road for the start of four straight road games beginning Saturday, when they take on the USC Upstate Spartans at the Hodge Center at 2:00 p.m.
The Owls (3-12, 0-4 A-Sun) will be looking to snap a three-game slide on Saturday against the Spartans (8-7, 2-1 A-Sun), after a pair of hard-fought, single-digit losses at the KSU Convocation Center this past week. Most recently, they fell, 62-55, to Florida Gulf Coast, a game in which they held the lead heading into the second half and were within three points with 2:05 remaining, but saw the Eagles make eight consecutive free throws to seal the contest and keep Kennesaw State searching for the first conference win. Previously, they fell to Stetson, 66-62, on Monday, despite seeing four Owls score in double figures.
Following Saturday, the Black and Gold will travel to East Tennessee State to take on the ETSU Bucs on Monday evening in another A-Sun contest. That game is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.
Listen to Both Games Live: Fans can listen to every Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball game live and free-of-charge all season long on KSU All Access. Coverage on Saturday’s game is slated to begin at 1:45 p.m. Live stats will also be available, and fans can watch the game through the Atlantic Sun Conference’s video streaming service, ASun.tv.
Switching Things Up: Saturday and Monday will see the Owls play a road doubleheader with the Lady Owls for just the second time this season. What will be unique about Saturday’s twin bill is that the men will tip things off first, with the Lady Owls slated to begin against Upstate at 4:30 p.m. in Spartanburg.
Stars of the A-Sun: Aaron Anderson and Markeith Cummings enter Friday at or near the top of their respective statistical categories. Anderson leads the A-Sun with 8.8 rebounds per game, while Cummings is second in the league with 16.3 points per contest.
Painting The Town Black and Gold: Kennesaw State had 22 points in the paint on Wednesday night to Florida Gulf Coast’s 18, marking the third straight game in which they have had more interior points than their opposition.
Owls Schedule Strongest in the A-Sun Thus Far: The Black and Gold enter their contest on Saturday with the 131
st toughest schedule in the nation to this point, well within the top half of Division I, according to ESPN.com. The slate is rated tougher than any of their A-Sun peers. Their non-conference strength of schedule is also the highest ranked in the conference, at No. 64 in the land.
The Iron Men: One constant for the Owls this season has been the consistent court presence of Owls Spencer Dixon (36.5 mpg) Delbert Love (36.5) and Markeith Cummings (34.1). Entering Friday, the trio rank first, second, and third in the A-Sun in minutes per game, respectively. Love, for his part, played 295 out of a possible 320 minutes during the month of December.
Improving Defense Pacing the Owls: The Owls have held their last four opponents to a combined 46.4 percent shooting, after their first 11 games yielded an opposing shooting percentage of 50.8 percent.
Delbert Among Top A-Sun Freshmen: Owls freshman Delbert Love has made his mark as one of the top newcomers in the Atlantic Sun Conference during the first half of the regular season. Entering Friday, the Cleveland, Ohio, native ranks first among freshmen in minutes per game (36.5) and three-point field goals made (35) and is second among first-year college players in points per game (11.0) and third in assists (3.3).
Aaron is Making His Shots: After Wednesday evening’s 7-for-9 performance from the floor, Anderson moved into third place in the conference with a .552 field goal percentage. The Tucson, Ariz., native is 13-for-16 over his last two games, as he went 6-for-7 on his way to notching 12 points in the Owls loss to Stetson on Monday.
About South Carolina Upstate (8-7, 2-1 A-Sun):
Head Coach: Eddie Payne/128-153, 10th season at USCU; 388-386/27th Season Overall
All-Time Match-up: USC Upstate leads, 15-9
All-Time Match-up at Division I Level: USC Upstate leads, 5-2
Last Season: 1/31/11- Spartanburg, S.C.: Upstate 59, Owls 54; 1/3/11-Kennesaw, Ga.: Owls 78, Upstate 71
-The Spartans are most recently coming off of an, 88-73, road loss to East Tennessee State on Wednesday, their second straight loss.
-The Spartans are in their first year of NCAA Division I postseason eligibility after going through the mandatory
four-year re-classification period.
-Upstate boasts a pair of players who currently average double figures in scoring, including sophomore Torrey Craig.
the 2010-11 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, who is currently scoring at a 17.3 points per game pace. Craig is also third in the league with 7.2 rebounds per contest.
-The Spartans have had a pair of close calls this season against major players in the college basketball landscape.
They most recently fell just 72-66 to South Carolina on New Year’s Eve, and three weeks earlier fought to the end in a, 72-68, defeat at the hands of Atlantic 10 power Dayton, both
games coming on the road.
-The youth movement is in full swing for the Spartans this season, with a total of 10 freshmen and sophomores having seen action for Eddie Payne’s squad. The youngsters are paced by freshman Ty Greene, who is joins Craig in double figures with 10.6 points per game.
