| 2020 Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational - Charleston Southern (0-0) at N.C. State (0-0) |
RALEIGH, N.C. - Charleston Southern opens their 2020-21 season in Raleigh, N.C. at the 2020 Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational taking on the host N.C. State and Eastern Kentucky.
Despite battling injuries down the stretch to end 2019-20, the Bucs return a deep squad and three potential day one-impact freshmen for a 2020-21 Big South title pursuit. Headlining the returners is the 2020 Big South Defensive POY and First Team member
Phlandrous Fleming Jr. who sat among the league's top-10 in nearly every statistical category a season ago.
The Bucs also have an experienced senior core of
Ty Jones,
Deontaye Buskey and
Sean Price alongside Fleming, playing countless minutes since stepping foot on campus.
That experienced core as well as three exciting freshmen led the Bucs to a No. 3 preseason rank in the Big South Poll, their highest since the 2013-14 season when they were South Division favorites.
Last Time Out
- Radford used a second half run over a span of nearly six minutes to erase a deficit and build a lead as they ended Charleston Southern's upset bid 62-48 in the 2020 Hercules Tires Big South men's basketball quarterfinals.
- Charleston Southern (14-18) saw a game-high 23 points in a double-double effort from Phlandrous Fleming Jr., but Radford's (21-10) Carlik Jones scored 15 of his points in the second half as the top-seeded Highlanders escaped the upset-minded Bucs.
- Ty Jones added 15 points and hit three of his four attempts from deep, but an 18-3 run over the final 9:31 gave the Highlanders the victory on their home floor.
- The loss ends the Charleston Southern season while Radford moves on to the semifinals against the winner of Longwood/Hampton.
A Win on Wednesday Would…
- Give the Bucs their second win over and ACC school in program history (Georgia Tech)
- Give CSU wins over Power 5 schools in back-to-back seasons after downing Missouri Dec. 3, 2019
- Make it four-straight seasons with a 1-0 start
- Be the first road win since a 92-83 2OT thriller at Gardner-Webb last season
Scouting the Wolfpack
- For the third-straight season, N.C. State finished with 20-plus wins under head coach Kevin Keatts including a 14-4 mark inside PNC Arena and the ACC's No. 4 scoring offense.
- The 2020-21 roster sees a mix of veterans and youth including 5 upperclassmen and 5 true freshmen. The top-two scorers from the 2019-20 season are gone but the Wolfpack do return D.J. Funderburk (12.8 ppg) and Devon Daniels (12.7 ppg) from a potent attack that averaged 74.6 points per contest.
- Funderburk and Daniels are also joined by Jericole Hellems (9.5 ppg) as the top-three returning scorers (35.0 ppg combined). Those three combined to up their scoring output to 36.0 ppg against ACC teams as the Wolfpack scored 75-plus points nine times in conference.
Last Time vs. N.C. State
- North Carolina State ended the first half on a 17-0 run to build a 21-point halftime lead, and withstood a strong second half from Charleston Southern to down the Bucs, 78-56, at PNC Arena on Sunday.
- CSU (0-2) trailed 25-21 following two Travis McConico free throws but NC State (2-0) ripped off 17 unanswered points over the final 2:25 of the half. The Bucs responded with their best basketball of the weekend in the second stanza, shooting 50 percent from the floor while outscoring the Wolfpack for much of the period. Sparked by Phlandrous Fleming Jr., CSU came as close as 12 with 12:44 remaining before NC State made enough plays to pull back away.
- The Bucs, starting three freshmen and mixing four other newcomers into the rotation, showed marked progress from Friday's opener at Davidson. CSU out-rebounded NC State, 37-34, and hustled its way to 13 offensive boards. Fleming tallied 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to pace CSU.
- McConico added 14 to reach double figures for a second consecutive game, while freshman point guard Deontaye Buskey settled in after intermission en route to eight points, five rebounds and two assists. McConico and Buskey committed 11 of CSU's 24 turnovers, though, as the Wolfpack's pressure forced untimely mistakes.
Veteran Presence
- For the first time in a few seasons, Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh and the Bucs are laced with veteran presence as well as exciting underclassmen.
- The class of Deontaye Buskey, Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Ty Jones and Sean Price have been staples in the CSU lineup since stepping foot on campus before the 2017-18 season.
- Junior class member Sadarius Bowser also has two seasons of starting experience under his belt making CSU one of the most battle-tested rosters in the Big South with five upperclassmen.
- The three seniors - Fleming, Buskey and Jones - combined for nearly 39.0 points per game last season and look to anchor the offense while the Big South's leader in bench points, Travis Anderson (8.9 ppg) looks to slide into a starting role in 2020-21.
On this Date in History
- Charleston Southern has played nine contests on Nov. 25 in program history with eight results including an upset win at Illinois State during the 2017-18 season.
- Of the nine contests on Nov. 25, five have been true road games with CSU sporting a 2-3 record with wins over BYU-Hawai'i and Illinois State.
- Wednesday's opponent, N.C. State, defeated the Bucs in their lone meeting on this date by an 89-51 margin in 2000.
All-Time CSU Results on Nov. 25
*Later vacated to NCAA - Home games in
Bold
1972 vs. Erskine L, 67-66
1985 at Texas L, 94-68
1989 at BYU-Hawai'i W, 67-63
1991 St. Andrew's W, 86-71
1998 at Stetson L, 82-74
2000 at N.C. State L, 89-51
20008 vs. The Citadel L, 84-80
*2014 Central Arkansas W, 80-67
2017 at Illinois State W, 64-62
