| Games 7 & 8: Charleston Southern (1-5, 0-2) vs. Winthrop (7-0, 4-0) |
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern opens the 2021 calendar year with the preseason favorite Winthrop Eagles in a pair of Palmetto State showdowns.
After adjustments to the schedule, the Bucs stay home after having played all four games since Dec. 1 on their home court with a pair versus Radford scheduled for Jan. 9 & 10 from Buccaneer Field House.
After just one installment of the rivalry last season, the Bucs and Eagles square off for a pair of matinees in a matchup of two preseason top-3 squads.
Winthrop brings a 12-game win streak into the series dating back to last season, the fourth-longest in the nation. Chandler Vaudrin also posted his third triple-double as an Eagle in their last time out defeating Campbell.
Monday also marks the earliest CSU and Winthrop meet in a season since the 2016-17 campaign when they played Dec. 29 from Buccaneer Field House.
Last Time Out
- Charleston Southern erased a 20-point second half deficit with a furious rally, but a Russell Dean floater with 1.4 on the clock gave Hampton a 70-68 win Tuesday night in Big South action from Buccaneer Field House
- After a three-point basket from Chris Shelton to make it 41-21 at the 17-minute mark, Charleston Southern fought back behind a spark from Melvin Edwards Jr., Sean Price and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. for a 59-58 lead with just 4:13 to play.
- Hampton, however, answered with a 10-5 spurt and 68-64 lead with :58 to play. CSU wasn't done as a Fleming transition layup cut it to 68-66 then a quick steal and score tied it with 19.4 seconds on the clock.
- Dean hit a left-handed floater with just 1.4 on the clock for the game-winner as the Pirates escaped the Buccaneer rally.
- Charleston Southern got another double-double from Fleming (19 points, 10 rebounds) and two-near double-doubles from Price (16 points, nine rebounds) and Edwards (21 points, eight rebounds) but a game-high 29 from Davion Warren and 19 from Dean was just enough to counter.
Scouting the Eagles
- Preseason Big South favorite Winthrop comes into Monday and Tuesday's series with a high-powered attack scoring 88.9 points per contest - 11th in the NCAA - and outscoring opponents by nearly 14 points.
- Four players sit in double figures for the high-flying Eagle attack led by Charles Falden and Ardonis Arms' 13.0 points each while Chandler Vaudrin (12.0 ppg) and D.J. Burns Jr. (10.7 ppg). That four-headed attack accounts for 55% (48.7 points) of Winthrop's offense while Vaudrin and Arms are each grabbing 5-plus rebounds a night.
- In their four Big South contests, Winthrop has averaged 95.0 points scoring a season-high 107 in a win at USC Upstate. Their 84-83 win over Campbell Dec. 30 was the lowest scoring effort in league play for the Eagles who have scored 94-plus in their other three contests.
- Winthrop also leads the league in rebound margin at +9.0 grabbing just over 40 per night with 13 coming on the offensive glass.
Series History
- Since the turn of the century, Winthrop has taken control of the series lead behind a 35-7 run erasing what was a 17-12 CSU lead before 2000.
- Charleston Southern and Winthrop have split the last two meetings with both taking 15-plus point margins while the three previous were decided by two baskets-or-less.
- Winthrop has defended home court well in the series winning 26 of the 36 matchups in Rock Hill while taking 18 of 31 in Charleston including five-straight.
- Monday and Tuesday's series marks just the second time the Bucs and Eagles have met in the same building three-straight contests with Winthrop hosting three-consecutive games during the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons.
A Series Win Would…
- Kick off 2021 with a 2-0 record
- Give CSU back-to-back wins for the first time in 2020-21
- Bring CSU to 26 wins all-time in series history
- Move CSU to 3-0 all-time on Jan.4/5 versus Winthrop
- Knock Winthrop from the ranks of the unbeaten
On this Date in History
- Charleston Southern is 13-14 all-time between Jan. 4 and Jan. 5 with a 10-8 mark on Jan. 5 with four road wins.
- Of the 13 wins between the two dates, eight have come in Big South play including CSU's first-ever conference win over Augusta in 1986.
- CSU has won back-to-back road games on Jan. 5, both coming inside Big South play over UNC Asheville and VMI.
