Longwood University Athletics

COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL • QUARTERFINALS Game 29: Longwood (12-16, 10-10 Big South) vs. Pepperdine (12-12, 7-6 WCC)
Date & Time	Monday, March 22 • 5:30 p.m.
Location	Daytona Beach, Fla. • Ocean Center
Bracket	2021 College Basketball Invitational Bracket
Game Notes	Longwood (PDF) | Pepperdine (PDF) | Big South
Statistics	Longwood (HTML) | Pepperdine (PDF) | Big South (HTML)
Live Stats	CBI Live Stats
Video/TV	FloSports
Radio	WVHL 92.9 Kickin' Country FM
Social Media	@LongwoodLancers | @LongwoodMBB

The Opening Tip
•    For the second time under third-year head coach Griff Aldrich, Longwood will play in the College Basketball Invitational. The program's second postseason bid of the Division I era — which begin in 2004-05 — the Lancers open the 2021 CBI against West Coast Conference fourth-place finisher Pepperdine Monday at the Ocean Center.
•    The Lancers earned that postseason bid on the strength of a record-breaking season in which they won a program-best 10 Big South games and reached the semifinals of the Big South Championship for only the second time since joining the conference in 2012-13. 
•    The top defensive team in the Big South, Longwood is holding league foes to a league-low 64.3 points per game this season. 
•    The Lancers enter the CBI winners of nine of their past 12 games.

Last Time Out
•    After reaching the Big South semifinals for the second time in program history, No. 5 seed Longwood fell victim to No. 1 seed Winthrop 82-61 at Winthrop Coliseum.
•    The Eagles, who went on to win the Big South Championship and reach the NCAA Tournament, rode a near triple-double from Big South Player of the Year Chandler Vaudrin. Vaudrin contributed 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Eagles used a game-changing run in the final five minutes of the first half to pull away for good.
•    Longwood guard Juan Munoz led Longwood with 17 points and was one of two double-figure scorers, joining backcourt mate DeShaun Wade, who added 12. 
•    Sophomore Leslie Nkereuwem also scored nine points after erupting for 18 points in Longwood's 77-61 quarterfinal upset over UNC Asheville.

By The Numbers
•    The Lancers enter the College Basketball Invitational having won nine of their past 12 games. Of the eight teams in this year's CBI bracket, only Bellarmine, at 10-2, has performed better in their past 12 games.
•    Longwood has won four of its past six games away from home, including a road upset over Big South No. 4 seed UNC Asheville in the quarterfinal round of the Big South Championship.
•    Longwood is 6-0 this season when holding opponents under 60 points and 10-6 when holding opponents under 70 points.
•    Longwood has allowed only seven teams to shoot better than 35.0 percent from three-point range this season. The Lancers' .312 opponent three-point field goal percentage is the second lowest in the Big South.
•    Longwood is one of only 42 teams in the nation to have played at least 28 games during the regular season and conference tournaments. The Lancers played the most games of any Big South team.
•    The Lancer bench is outscoring opponents by 8.0 points per game this season and has accounted for 39 percent of Longwood's total scoring.
•    Fifth-year point guard Juan Munoz ranks second on Longwood's all-time Division I list with a .380 three-point percentage. Munoz has hit multiple treys in seven consecutive games and is shooting .434 (23-of-53) from long range during that stretch.
•    Freshmen Jesper Granlund and Justin Hill rank No. 2 and No. 4 on the team in minutes per game this season at 26.3 and 26.7, respectively. Granlund is one of only three Big South freshmen to have started every game, while Hill ranks third among all league freshmen in minutes per game.
•    Since Griff Aldrich was hired three years ago, Longwood ranks No. 2 in the Big South in both made and attempted three-pointers, trailing on 2021 Big South Champion Winthrop on those lists.

Quotable
"For us, there has to be a fundamental understanding, respect and appreciation for what is required to strive for excellence. I think this group has really embraced that by trying to compete every single day on and off the court."
— Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich on the growth of Longwood's program since he took over in March of 2018

Series History
•    Longwood and Pepperdine meet for the first time in the history of both programs in Monday's College Basketball Invitational quarterfinal. 
•    Pepperdine will be the first team from the West Coast Conference Longwood has faced since taking on Pacific on Nov. 30, 2019 in Stockton, Calif. 
•    Longwood junior forward Zac Watson is the lone Lancer to have faced Pepperdine in his college career. As a freshman at UC Riverside, Watson scored 10 points with two rebounds, one assist and a steal in 21 minutes against Pepperdine on Dec. 6, 2018.

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