The Opening Tip
• Longwood has won 18 games in a season for the first time in the program's Division I history, and the 10 Big South wins tie the program record for conference wins in a season set last year when the team went 10-10.
• The 11 straight wins match the 1993-94 team that won 11 straight, and the streak is only the fourth time the team has won at least 10 games in program history.
• The Lancers are one of six unbeaten teams in league play nationally, joining Vermont, Wagner, Murray State, South Dakota State, and Gonzaga.
• Longwood last won 18 games in 2000-01, when the team went 23-8 and was ranked as high as 21st in the DII national poll while in the CVAC.
• The Lancers were ranked 25th in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 for the first time. The poll is voted on by mid-major coaches from around the nation.
• The Lancers are 12-1 in Willett Hall, the most home wins since the '08-09 team went 13-2.
Last Time Out
• Longwood edged USC Upstate 85-72 behind five double-digit scorers and a defense rallied with a strong second-half effort after a high-scoring first half.
•
DeShaun Wade paced the Lancers with 23 points while hitting five three's.
Isaiah Wilkins and
Zac Watson each added 16 points apiece.
DA Houston chipped in a career-high 13, and
Nate Lliteras added 10 for a Longwood side that was missing two of its top four leading scorers in
Justin Hill and
Leslie Nkereuwem.
• USC Upstate trimmed the lead to 72-68 in the second half, but Wilkins drained a wing three, and the Longwood defense held firm to pull away.
• The two sides traded buckets and leads in the first half before the Lancers created separation heading into halftime.
• Jordan Gainey led USC Upstate with 16 points but was scoreless after halftime.
By The Numbers
• Longwood's offense has been one of the top outfits in the Big South sharing the basketball all season. The Lancers are first in the league with 14.9 assists per game. Point guard
Justin Hill ranks second in the league in assists per game (4.1).
• Longwood has totaled more assists than turnovers in 16 of 23 games this season. The team has had less than 10 turnovers in a game seven times.
• The team's 12.2 turnovers per game rank as the second-fewest in the Big South, and the team leads the Big South in turnover margin (+2.5).
• Longwood's bench is contributing 29.2 points per game, with 10.4 of those coming from
Leslie Nkereuwem. Nkereuwem leads the Big South in scoring off the bench.
• The Lancers lead the Big South in scoring offense (77.8 points per game) and rank third in scoring defense (64.7 points allowed per game). Longwood is one of two Big South schools ranked among the league's top five in both categories. Longwood leads the conference in scoring margin with an average of +13.1 points per game.
• Longwood has excelled on its home court under fourth-year head coach
Griff Aldrich, amassing a 39-17 record in Willett Hall during his tenure. That includes an 13-1 mark this season, an 8-5 record in 2020-21, an 8-6 record in 2019-20 and a 10-5 mark in 2018-19.
• Only ten teams have scored more than 65 points  against Longwood. The Lancers have held seven teams to 55 points or fewer.
• The Lancers' +7.7 rebounding margin ranks 12th nationally, while their 12.8 offensive rebounds per game lead the league and are 24th in the nation.
• Longwood's defense is second in the Big South in steals per game (7.9) and has racked up 182 steals on the season.
Quotables
"I usually don't notice the crowd. I noticed it tonight. They were great. They gave our guys a lot of energy, and that was critical for us tonight playing a little shorthanded."
— Longwood head coach
Griff Aldrich on the atmosphere in front of a sold-out crowd at Willett Hall, the second straight sellout for the Lancers
Series History
• Longwood took down North Carolina A&T on January 26 in Farmville by erasing a 12-point second half deficit led by 24 points from
Leslie Nkereuwem.
Justin Hill added 15 points, and
DeShaun Wade chipped in 13.
• Longwood has won the past two meetings, which have both come in Farmville. N.C. A&T last won 52-41 over Longwood on Dec. 4, 2019 in Greensboro, N.C. by holding Longwood's offense to one of its worst shooting nights of the season that year.
• Longwood won the return trip in Farmville a year later, 77-60, by shooting the lights out.
Christian Wilson had 15 points in that outing, and
Juan Munoz and
Nate Lliteras each added 13 points.
#HorsePower
