North Carolina A&T vs. Radford
When: Saturday, January 8, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Dedmon Center (Radford, Va.)
TV/Radio: ESPN+ / Spencer Turkin (Aggie Sports Network-WWBG 1470 AM)
A&T Team Leaders
Points: Marcus Watson (12.4 PPG)
Rebounds: Marcus Watson (5.8 RPG)
Assists: Kameron Langley (5.7 APG)
Blocks: Harry Morrice (17)
Steals: Kameron Langley (24)
Field Goal Percentage: Webster Filmore (.545)
3-pt Field Goal Percentage: Demetric Horton (.392)
Free Throw Percentage: Tyler Maye (.792)
A&T Big South Leaders (Top-10)
Points: Marcus Watson (12.4) – 10th
Rebounds: Marcus Watson (5.8) – 8th
Assists: Kameron Langley (80) – 1st
Blocks: Harry Morrice (17) – 6th
Steals: Kameron Langley (24) – t-3rd
A&T National Leaders (Top-100)
Assists: Kameron Langley (80) – 17th
Steals: Kameron Langley (24) – 88th
NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES (6-9, 1-0 BIG SOUTH): The Aggies began their Big South era in a big way on Wednesday night, beating the Presbyterian Blue Hose, 65-57, even though they were down four players.
A&T looked like a different team in the game than they have all season, winning the rebounding battle, 42-41, and outshooting their opponent from the free throw line. The Aggies knocked down 10-of-14 (.714) shots from the line in the final two minutes to ice the game.
Marcus Watson secured his second double-double of the year (16 points, 11 rebounds), and the redshirt sophomore is one of three players in the Big South's top-10 in scoring and rebounding. In addition, junior guard Demetric Horton is coming off his best game, a career-high 26-point performance on 10-of-13 shooting.
On Wednesday, the Aggie defense showed out, holding Presbyterian College to just 57 points. In addition, a&T has forced their opponents into 237 turnovers, tied for 18th-most in the country.
Head coach Will Jones is now in his third season overall and second full season after initially taking over on an interim basis on December 24, 2019. Since then, he has compiled a 20-5 conference record and the program's first regular-season conference title since 1990. Jones even earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) coach of the year honors in 2019-20. He is 31-25 (.554) overall as Aggies head coach.
RADFORD (5-8, 1-0 BIG SOUTH): The Highlanders are coming off an 82-77 victory over USC Upstate on Thursday thanks to 23 points from senior guard Josiah Jeffers. The win broke a four-game skid.
Much like the Aggies, the Highlanders have one player leading the team in both scoring and rebounding – junior forward Rashun Williams, who posts 9.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He is coming off a 12-point, six-rebound game against Upstate.
An area that Radford struggles in is taking care of the ball. They are last in the Big South in turnover margin (-3.77) while the Aggies are third at +2.5. The Highlanders have coughed up the ball 219 times this season.
Darris Nichols is in his first year as a head coach. Before taking over the Highlander men's basketball program, many considered Nichols one of the top assistants in the country at the University of Florida, where he spent six seasons coaching the Gators. Before his coaching days, Nichols was a four-year letterwinner at West Virginia, where he scored 993 career points and made three NCAA appearances (2005 Elite Eights, 2006 & 2008 Sweet 16). He has an overall 5-8 record in his inaugural head coaching year.
THE SERIES: This will be the 11th all-time matchup between these two schools, with Radford leading the series 8-2. In their last meeting, the Highlanders beat the Aggies, 66-60, in a neutral-site contest on Dec. 22, 2017. The last A&T win was on Jan. 2, 2013, an 81-77 triumph inside Corbett Sports Center.
QUOTABLES: "Radford is a great program. They have an expectation of winning there. When you have two programs where winning is the expectation, it makes for a great game. We are looking forward to competing, and we are preparing for a battle."
Head coach Will Jones ahead of Saturday's inter-division matchup
GAME NOTES:
- After their win on Wednesday in their inaugural Big South Conference game against Presbyterian, this game will be A&T's first inter-division contest.
- Big South head coaches projected the Aggies to finish third in the league's preseason polls, receiving 92 overall points and three first-place votes, while the poll slated the Highlanders to finish fourth with 83 total points and three first-place votes.
- The Aggies will be looking for their first win at the Dedmon Center, where they are 0-4 all-time to date.
- In January, A&T is 13-1 (.929) under head coach Will Jones, with his only loss coming on Jan. 18, 2020, a 79-75 bout against Coppin State.
- This year, the Aggies are 1-7 on the road, but they did win their latest away game in an impressive 69-67 triumph over East Tennessee State on Dec. 14.
- Marcus Watson is one of three players in the conference inside the top 10 in points per game (12.4) and rebounds per game (5.8).
- Watson is also one of four players with more than 85 rebounds and is the only Aggie with multiple double-doubles this season (2).
- Graduate guard Kameron Langley leads the Big South in assists per game (5.7). His 837 career dimes are the 23rd-most in NCAA history.
