NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES STORYLINES 

• The Aggies had a difficult time in Iowa last week. They lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes 112-71 before traveling to Iowa State and taking an 80-43 loss to the Cyclones. 
• A&T will step away from having to play Power Five competition as they will face two mid-major Division I North Carolina schools in Gardner-Webb and Wofford. 
• Gardner-Webb was a former conference mate when the Aggies played in the Big South, and Wofford will give the Aggies their first of two games against SoCon competition. 
• The weekend will likely give the Aggies a better idea of where they are as a basketball team. Their first game was a 100-61 blowout of Division II Edward Waters. 
• This weekend comes closer to some of the competition the Aggies will see during the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season. 
• Interim head coach Phillip Shumpert leads the Aggies. Shumpert won his first career Division I game on Nov. 7 when the Aggies defeated Edward Waters at Corbett Sports Center. 
• He is now looking for his first win over a Division I opponent, as he will get two opportunities this weekend to accomplish the feat. 
• Shumpert has coached at multiple levels of basketball, including high school, junior college, Division I and Division II. He even served as a head coach at the junior college. 
• He will not coach the Aggies on Saturday because he is sick. Bruce Martin will take his place on the sideline. 
• Martin played men's basketball at Clemson University and is coming off a stint as the head coach at Washington Academy.
• The Aggies return 11 players from last season's roster, with eight players seeing game action in 2021-22. 
• Wingmen Marcus Watson and Demetric were the Aggies top two scorers, respectively. In addition, they were their top two rebounders. 
•  Horton got off to a fast start this season, shooting 12-for-20 from the field and 11-for-17 from 3-point range over A&T's first two games. He was 0-for-6 against Iowa State the last time out, however. 
• Martin scored in double figures at Iowa. He averages 9.0 points per game. Junior college transfer Kam Woods leads the Aggies in scoring at 19.0 points per game. 

SCOUTING THE GARDNER-WEBB RUNNIN' BULLDOGS   

• Gardner-Webb is coming off an impressive showing against the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, who came off a Final Four run last season. 
• The Bulldogs lost 72-66 and trailed by only four, 26-22, at halftime. 
• Anthony Seldon led the way with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, and Julien Soumaoro contributed with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting. 
• Preseason second-team All-Big South performer Kareem Reid had 10 points. Reid is averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Soumaoro leads the Bulldogs in scoring, averaging 14.3 points. 
• GWU also has losses to Colorado State and Stephen F. Austin, losing those games by a combined seven points. 
• GWU head Tim Craft is in his 10th season with the Bulldogs. He led GWU to the NCAA tournament in 2019. 
• The Big South preseason poll has the Bulldogs finishing fourth this season. 
• Craft has two 20-win seasons at GWU, including the 2019 team that won a school-record 23 games. He will come into the weekend with a 156-137 (.532) record. 

SCOUTING THE WOFFORD TERRIERS 

• Wofford's only win this season came against Bob Jones University. 
• After losses to the Big South's High Point University Panthers and the Missouri Valley Conference's Drake Bulldogs, they are on a two-game losing streak. Drake is the preseason favorite in the MVC. 
• Corey Tripp led the Terries in their 80-72 loss to Drake with 17 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. B.J. Mack finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jackson Paveletzke finished with 15 points. 
• Mack and Messiah Jones made the All-SoCon preseason team, and the Terries are predicted to finish fifth in the SoCon preseason media and coaches polls. 
• Mack is averaging 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 55.6 percent shooting, and Jones is averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds. Tripp is the outside threat, with nine threes over the first three games. 
• Wofford head coach Jay McAuley is in his fourth season. He comes into the weekend 54-39 (.581). His Terrier teams have finished second and tied for third over the past two seasons. 
• McAuley was an assistant on the 2019 Wofford team that advanced to the NCAA tournament. He also spent time at Gardner-Webb as an assistant coach. 

THE SERIES:  A&T lost the first-ever meeting between the two teams last season with a 69-62 defeat in Boiling Springs, N.C. Wofford and A&T have never played. 

QUOTABLE: "I think the weekend will be a great test for our guys playing against two great teams." 

Interim head coach Phillip Shumpert