USC Upstate, Winthrop meet in Big South quarters
South Carolina Upstate (13-19, 8-11) vs. No. 2 seed Winthrop (21-10, 15-3)
Big South Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Dedmon Center, Radford, Virginia; Thursday, 12 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina Upstate is set to face Winthrop in the quarterfinals of the Big South tourney. In the regular season, Winthrop won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last faced each other on Feb. 27, when the Eagles outshot South Carolina Upstate 51.6 percent to 46.7 percent and made 10 more foul shots en route to a 90-82 victory.
SAVVY SENIORS: Winthrop’s Chandler Vaudrin, Hunter Hale and Josh Ferguson have combined to account for 41 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 46 percent of all Eagles points over the last five games.EFFECTIVE EVERETTE: Everette Hammond has connected on 29.1 percent of the 127 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 7 for 15 over his last three games. He’s also made 84.2 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: South Carolina Upstate is 0-14 when scoring fewer than 64 points and 13-5 when scoring at least 64.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Eagles are 12-0 when holding opponents to 40.4 percent or worse from the field, and 9-10 when opponents shoot better than that. The Spartans are 5-0 when the team records at least eight steals and 8-19 when falling short of that total.
DID YOU KNOW: The Winthrop offense has scored 80.8 points per game this season, ranking the Eagles eighth among Division 1 teams. The South Carolina Upstate defense has allowed 73.6 points per game to opponents (ranked 262nd).
