Fresh Off Win Over UNC Asheville, Lancers Head to USC Upstate Monday
Men's Basketball /
The Opening Tip
• Coming off a 10-point win over Big South preseason No. 2 UNC Asheville, Longwood heads to the Palmetto State for a two-game Big South series against USC Upstate Monday and Tuesday.
• Including the USC Upstate series, Longwood's final eight Big South road games will all take place in South Carolina with upcoming road trips to Winthrop (Jan. 14-15), Presbyterian (Jan. 29-30) and Charleston Southern (Feb. 11-12).
• Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich and USC Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson were both hired at their respective institutions within eight days of each other in March of 2018.
• Longwood has gotten a combined 19 starts from freshmen this season, the most in the Big South. Three Lancer freshmen are averaging double-digit minutes, including Justin Hill and Jesper Granlund, who are both averaging more than 27.0.
Last Time Out
• Behind 14 points from Heru Bligen and a second straight 30-point effort from the bench, Longwood took down Big South unbeaten UNC Asheville 65-55 on New Year's Eve in Willett Hall.
• Bligen, in only his fourth game back since injury, came off the bench to lead a resurgent Lancer team by hitting 5-of-9 shots from the field and playing lockdown defense against UNC Asheville's high-powered attack.
• Fellow reserves Justin Hill and Ilija Stefanovic scored eight points apiece as the once-injury-plagued Lancers used their newfound depth to outlast the Bulldogs in their final game of 2020.
• With Bligen returning to form and DeShaun Wade moving into the starting lineup also in his fourth game back since injury, Longwood had eight players score at least five points. Freshman Jesper Granlund also scored a career-high 12.
By The Numbers
• In a college basketball season impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic, Longwood is tied with Presbyterian for playing the most games in the Big South. The Lancers have played 10 contests, with only three getting canceled or postponed.
• Since guards Heru Bligen and DeShaun Wade returned to the lineup four games ago, the Lancer bench is averaging 31.3 points per game. While those two were hampered by injuries in the six games prior, Longwood's bench contributed just 16.8 points per game.
• Bligen and Wade have both played more than 20 minutes apiece in each of the past three games. Together they are averaging 20.7 points per game during that span.
• Wade and Bligen have accounted for three of Longwood's nine double-digit scoring performances since their return to the lineup four games ago.
• Longwood's freshmen have accounted for 39 percent of the team's total minutes.
• 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.
• Granlund is averaging 7.5 points per game over his past four contests compared to 4.3 in his six games prior.
• Through the first 10 games, six different Lancers have led the team in scoring, while five had led the team in rebounding.
• Longwood is averaging 33.2 points in the paint this season compared to 22.6 in 2019-20. Leslie Nkereuwem leads the team with 6.3 points in the paint per game in games he has played this season, while Hill ranks second with 5.6.
• Longwood is among the top three-point defending teams in the Big South, holding opponents to a .310 clip that ranks second in the league.
Quotable
"One of the things I love about [Jesper Granlund] and one of the reasons he plays so much is he embodies our culture. He plays hard, he's aggressive, he's physical. He can defend a point guard all the way up to the four, and he can probably guard a five too."
— Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich on freshman Jesper Granlund, who has started every game this season
Series History
• Longwood and USC Upstate meet for the 10th time in series history and the fifth and sixth times as members of the Big South Monday and Tuesday in Spartanburg, S.C. USC Upstate leads the series 7-2 since it began in Jan. 13, 1990.
• The series is split 2-2 since USC Upstate joined the Big South in 2018-19.
• Both of Longwood's two wins in the series have come under head coach Griff Aldrich. Those two victories have come within the past three meetings.
• As members of the Big South, Longwood and USC Upstate have traded wins in the four prior matchups. Longwood won the most recent meeting by 10 points on Feb. 20, 2020 in Spartanburg. Both teams are 1-1 on their home courts in the Big South era.
#GoWood
January 04, 2021 at 01:20AM
https://longwoodlancers.com/news/2021/1/3/mens-basketball-fresh-off-win-over-unc-asheville-lancers-head-to-usc-upstate-monday
Fresh Off Win Over UNC Asheville, Lancers Head to USC Upstate Monday - Longwood Athletics
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