The Opening Tip
• Coming off a 78-69 win over Campbell Sunday at home, Longwood hits the road for a two-game set against the Big South preseason favorite and currently unbeaten Winthrop.
• The Big South Conference announced Wednesday that Thursday's game will be a late upgrade to ESPNU. The game will be Longwood's third nationally televised contest this season.
• The series at Winthrop will pit the Big South's top scoring team against one of the league's stingiest defensive teams. Winthrop enters the games ranked first in Big South play with 88.6 points per game, while the Lancers are second defensively, holding opponents to 66.6 points per game.
• The Lancer bench is averaging 28.6 points over the past eight games — compared to 16.8 in six games prior — which coincides with
Heru Bligen and
DeShaun Wade's full return to the lineup.
Last Time Out
• Riding a career-high 22 points from junior guard
DeShaun Wade, Longwood outscored Campbell 50-33 in the second half to pull away to a 78-69 win Sunday evening at Willett Hall.
• Wade was nearly perfect from the field, hitting 8-of-10 field goals and 5-of-7 three-pointers in the highest scoring night of his collegiate career.
• Wade's three-pointer with 16:30 in the second half tied the game at 40-40 and erased Campbell's last lead of the game, and he followed with back-to-back treys in the final 2:22 to keep the Lancers ahead by multiple possessions.
• Wade was one of four double-figure scorers for Longwood, leading a group that included fellow junior point guard
Juan Munoz (16 points), freshman point guard
Justin Hill (14) and sophomore forward
Leslie Nkereuwem (11). Munoz added six assists – including on four of Wade's five treys.
By The Numbers
• Longwood's defense has stepped up in Big South play, surrendering fewer than 70 points in six of eight Big South games, including three straight. The Lancers held Campbell's offense, ranked No. 2 in the Big South at 76.0 points per game, to just 67.0 per game in those two meetings.
• In Big South play, Longwood ranks second with 66.6 points allowed per game and a .304 opponent three-point field goal percentage.
• In Longwood's 14 games, the Lancers have allowed an opponent to shoot better than 35.0 percent from three-point range just three times. Longwood has held the opposition to 30.0 percent shooting from long range or lower nine times.
• Longwood also ranks fourth in defensive rebounding in conference games, grabbing 74.6 percent of available boards on their own glass.
• The Longwood-Winthrop series will feature two of the league's top three-point shooting teams over the past three seasons. Coinciding with Longwood head coach
Griff Aldrich's hiring in 2018-19, Longwood and Winthrop rank atop the league standings in both made three-pointers and three-point attempts during that three-year span. Winthrop leads both categories, hitting 798-of-2,206 (.362) of its treys, while Longwood ranks second in both with 718-of-2,076 (.346).
•
Jesper Granlund is one of only three freshmen in the Big South to have started every game this season, joining High Point's Ahmil Flowers and Presbyterian's Rayshon Harrison.
• In a college basketball season impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic, Longwood has played 14 games to tie with Radford for the most games played in the Big South.
• Freshman point guard
Justin Hill leads all Big South freshmen in assists per game (3.5 apg.) while ranking second in rebounds per game (5.1 rpg.) and third in points per game (10.6 ppg.).
Quotable
"The past two games are the best games he's had. We talked to him and said Juan, your job is to just lead this team, run the offense and execute the offense and defense. Do that to the best of your ability. I think he's done a phenomenal job against Campbell. He looked like a warrior out there tonight."
— Longwood head coach
Griff Aldrich on the play of redshirt junior point guard
Juan Munoz following Sunday win over Campbell
Series History
• Longwood and Winthrop meet for the 17th and 18th times in series history and 15th and 16th as members of the Big South Conference for a two-game series Thursday and Friday in Rock Hill.
• Winthrop leads the all-time series 13-3 and has won two straight in the series, including a 70-68 win in the last meeting on Feb. 8, 2020, in Farmville.
• Longwood's last win in the series came in Rock Hill on Jan. 16, 2019 in head coach
Griff Aldrich's first season leading the Lancers in 2018-19. Longwood pulled off a 75-61 upset that night for their first win over the Eagles as a member of the Big South.
#GoWood
