| Game 9: Charleston Southern (3-5) vs. North Carolina Central (2-7) |
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern men's basketball opens their December home slate Saturday against North Carolina Central on the heels of a Power 5 win at Missouri Tuesday night.
Saturday the men's and women's teams will be hosting a Toy Drive as fans receive free admission to either game when they bring a toy to the Buc Dome.
Defense was a staple for the Bucs in pulling the upset in Columbia as they held the Tigers to a season-low .357 mark from the field and .154 from beyond the arc. The Bucs also turned 16 Tiger turnovers into 19 points on the other end taking a half-court game and outshooting the bigger Missouri roster.
The win was the second-straight after CSU downed Delaware State in their Maui on the Mainland finale and was the program's third win over an SEC school all-time. The back-to-back wins end what was a near month-long span between home contests that saw stops at Dayton, Michigan State, Johnson City, Tenn. and Columbia, Mo.
Saturday is also the first of three men's and women's doubleheaders on tap for Buccaneer Field House this season and the lone nonconference double dip.
For Openers
- Charleston Southern looks to keep the hot streak going as they finally return to the Buc Dome after nearly a full month on the road. In that time away from Charleston, the Bucs took on Dayton and Michigan State in a 48-hour span and had stops in Johnson City, Tenn. and Columbia, Mo. picking up wins in their latter two destinations.
- Tuesday's win at Missouri marked the third win over an SEC team in program history at Charleston Southern having defeated Ole Miss and South Carolina previously. CSU was also the second Big South team to collect a Power-5 win this season joining preseason favorite Radford who took down Northwestern.
- Saturday's matchup in the Buc Dome is the first all-time between Charleston Southern and North Carolina Central marking the fifth and final matchup with an opponent for the first time in the 2019-20 season. The Bucs are 1-3 so far in their first-time affairs this season falling on the road at North Carolina A&T, Dayton and Michigan State but are coming off one of the biggest wins in program history taking down Missouri.
- Charleston Southern is playing their third home game of the season, the latest the Bucs will play a third home game since Coach Radebaugh's initial season in 2005-06 when the third home contest came on Dec. 22 versus Newberry College.
Scouting The Eagles
- North Carolina Central enters Saturday having lost three straight, but still assume the role of MEAC favorites having won the league multiple times under head coach LaVelle Moton.
- The Eagles are 1-0 against the Big South this season taking down USC Upstate 73-64 at home in the first week of the season behind a game-high 29 points from Randy Miller Jr.
- The Eagles have struggled early offensively averaging less than 60 points a contest. It's been the duo of Jibri Blount and Randy Miller Jr. leading the way as the two have been the leading scorer in eight of the Eagles' nine game.
- Blount averages 16.6 points a contest and 9.1 boards for a near double-double while picking off 2.4 passes a game. Miller posts 14.3 points a night shooting a team-high .381 from deep in 29.4 minutes.
- The Eagles are 0-7 away from home this season with a pair of those coming at current No. 1 Louisville and Georgia, who was slated for a strong season in the SEC.
A Win on Saturday Would…
- Give the Bucs a three-game win streak after taking down Delaware State and Missouri.
- Move the Bucs back over .500 at home after splitting their first two contests.
- Push CSU to 2-1 against MEAC foes after splitting their first two with North Carolina A&T and Delaware State.
- Make CSU 2-0 in the month of December for their first 2-0 start to a calendar month this season.
- Bring CSU back within a game of .500 this season after a daunting nonconference schedule.
- Make it back-to-back wins in the first meeting of a series after taking down Missouri Tuesday night
Spark Off the Bench
- Redshirt-freshman point guard Travis Anderson and junior forward Ty Jones have provided key sparks off the bench this season accounting for the third and fourth-highest scoring marks for the Bucs.
- Anderson is averaging 7.1 points per contest after his career-high 15 at Missouri Tuesday night good for 5th in the Big South. Jones is averaging 6.9 points per night sitting 6th in the league.
- Anderson's 15 off the bench Tuesday night keyed the Bucs to a win while Jones poured-in 10 of his own in the upset effort.
