KENNESAW STATE AT USC UPSTATE
GAME 17 |JANUARY 10 | 2 P.M. ET
SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA | G.B. HODGE CENTER

GAME NOTES | VIDEO | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
 
TALKING POINTS
» The Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team starts conference play against USC Upstate on Saturday, January 10 at 2 p.m. Head coach Jimmy Lallathin got his first career win as head coach of the Owls against USC Upstate last season 68-58 in the Convocation Center.
» Junior point guard Yonel Brown won the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week award after averaging 28.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games against Tennessee State and Thomas University.
 
THE COMPETITION
USC Upstate                                  
USC Upstate comes into conference play with the best non-conference record in the A-Sun at 12-4. The two signature wins for them came at Georgia Tech and at Mississippi State. Their leader Ty Greene leads the Atlantic Sun in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game. Upstate is 15th in the latest mid-major poll.
 
All-Time Record: 2-7
Last Meeting: L, 65-48
 
Last Time Out
Led by a Division I school-record 36 points from junior guard Yonel Brown, the Kennesaw State men's basketball team cruised to a 92-66 victory over Thomas University Saturday (Jan. 3) at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw.
 
» NEWS AND NOTES
This Week in KSU Men's Basketball     
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team begins conference play with one game this weekend against USC Upstate on January 10 at 2 p.m. at the G.B. Hodge Center on ESPN3.
 
KSU as a Team                                                  
» The five wins that KSU had in non-conference play is the most the Owls have had going into conference play since the team had five in 2009-10. During that season, two of those five wins came against non-division I schools. This season the Owls only have one win against a non-division opponent so far this season.
» The winning recipe for the Owls this season has been to outrebound its opponents and to take a lead into halftime. KSU is 4-0 when it outrebounds its opponents and is 4-2 when it has a lead at halftime.
» Defensively, the Owls have been tough to score on in the paint all season. KSU leads the A-Sun in blocks with 68 on the season averaging 4.3 per game.
» With three guards on the floor, KSU plays with a fast pace and has made the 49th most threes in the nation making 114 on the season.
» The Owls currently lead the A-Sun in free throw percentage at .717. The team has shot at least 70 percent in eight of the past 11 games.
 
KSU Individually                                              
» Junior point guard Yonel Brown won the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week award after averaging 28.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games against Tennessee State and Thomas University. This is the first weekly award that the Owls have won since the 2012-13 season when Markeith Cummings and Aaron Anderson won the award.
» Senior Delbert Love has played the most minutes ever in a Kennesaw State basketball uniform. In his career, he has played in 3,535 minutes. He has also played in the fourth most games ever at 106.
» Since Damien Wilson has returned to action three games ago, he has scored a career high in each of the games against Illinois, Tennessee State and Thomas University. Against Illinois, he logged his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
» Brown's consistent scoring has him fourth in the league averaging 15.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures for the Owls in 13 of the 16 games and has been the leading scorer in eight of those.
» Brown also leads the A-Sun in free throw shooting making 87.7 percent of his free throws as well as in minutes played averaging 36.8 per contest.
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State men's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsMBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 
Season tickets are currently available for all the home court action for the Owls and can be purchased by following the link here.