| Game 11: Charleston Southern (4-6) vs. Eastern Kentucky (3-8) |
RICHMOND, Ky. – Charleston Southern men's basketball hits the road once final time Saturday night before Big South play as they take on Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Bucs and Colonels matchup for just the third time in series history and second time in Richmond, Ky. with one meeting coming in Charleston. Eastern Kentucky took the last meeting just two seasons ago in the Buc Dome in what was a tightly-contested affair coming down to the final possessions.
The Bucs have gone 3-1 since defeating Delaware State just before the Thanksgiving break while Eastern Kentucky has dropped their last six contests after starting 3-2 this season.
For Openers
- Charleston Southern men's basketball closes their nonconference road slate with a Saturday night tilt against Eastern Kentucky of the Ohio Valley Conference. The matchup is just the third all-time against the Colonels with EKU taking both previous matchups from the 1974-75 season and 2017-18 campaign.
- Saturday's contest in Richmond is the second at Alumni Coliseum between the Bucs and Colonels as Eastern Kentucky took the 1974-75 matchup on their home floor. In the last matchup, the Colonels used a 10-0 run to close the game and stun the Bucs 70-65 from Buccaneer Field House. Christian Keeling had 26 for the Bucs in the loss while EKU was led by 19 points from Dedric Boyd.
- CSU has played seven of the current 12 Ohio Valley Conference members with victories over Eastern Illinois and Tennessee State. Saturday's matchup at Eastern Kentucky is the third in series history and will mark the longest series against an OVC member for the Bucs, who have also played Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech twice.
- The Bucs look for three wins over their final four road contests in nonconference play going 2-1 against Delaware State, Missouri and James Madison. Following Saturday's primetime tilt, the Bucs will have a week off for the Holiday then return to the Buc Dome for four of their next five stretching into the start of Big South action.
Scouting The Colonels
- Eastern Kentucky has dropped six-straight contests entering Saturday, but have faced stiff competition including No. 3 Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center as well as blue blood Kentucky and Marshall and FIU of Conference-USA.
- The Colonels are led offensively by Jomaru Brown, a sophomore guard from Raleigh, N.C. who posts 16.3 points a night. Brown went off for 41 earlier this season in a close loss to Western Kentucky and has scored at least 15 points in five games, all coming in a five-game stretch.
- Darius Hicks pulls down 7.4 boards a game to pace the post while JacQuess Hobbs dishes out 2.5 assists and steals 2.1 passes a game.
- Since starting 3-2, the Colonels have dropped six-straight scoring at least 70 points just twice in that stretch and holding opponents below 75 just once.
A Win on Saturday Would…
- Be the first against the Colonels in a short three-game series
- Be the third road win in CSU's past four attempts
- Close nonconference road play with a win
- Be the fourth state CSU has claimed a victory in joining South Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri
- Push CSU back over .500 on the road in December and make the Bucs 3-1 overall in the month
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 7.0 points per contest after his career-high 15 while Jones is averaging 7.0 points per night. The two Bucs sit tied for 4th among Big South bench scorers.
- 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.
