NC State welcomes in-state foe UNC Asheville on Tuesday
Game facts
UNC Asheville (1-0) at NC State (2-0)
Game time: Tuesday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. — PNC Arena in Raleigh
Television: ACC Network Extra
Probable starters
NC State
PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Jr., 10.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 6.0 apg)
SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 195, R-Jr., 12.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.5 spg)
SF — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 200, R-Soph., 7.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 spg)
F — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 25.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 0.5 apg, 2.0 spg)
C — 33 Wyatt Walker (6-9, 240, R-Jr., 6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 bpg)
UNC Asheville
PG — 20 Devon Baker (6-2, 190, Fr., 27.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 spg)
SG — 3 Tajion Jones (6-5, 185, R-Fr., 14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 3.0 spg, 1.0 bpg)
SF — 11 Jalen Seegars (6-5, 210, Soph., 8.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
PF — 22 Coty Jude (6-9, 185, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.0 apg)
C — 34 Jeremy Peck (6-9, 240, Soph., 5.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
UNC Asheville
Location: Asheville, N.C.
Nickname: Bulldogs
2017-18 record: 21-13 overall, 13-5 Big South
2017 postseason: Lost 103-98 in double overtime to USC in first round of NIT Tournament
Head coach: Mike Morrell
Notes
UNCA overview: The Bulldogs opened their season with a dominating 87-47 win over St. Andrew's, but the competition will drastically change Tuesday.
New coach Mike Morrell arrives after serving as an assistant coach under Shaka Smart at Texas. UNCA has done a good job of finding players over the years, but also has struggled keeping them. Keith Hornsby (LSU), Andrew Rowsey (LSU), Dwayne Sutton (Louisville), Dylan Smith (Arizona) and Macio Teague (Baylor) have all left over the years. Teague averaged 16.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last year.
Kenpom.com ranks UNC Asheville No. 266 out of 353 teams in the country, and picked to finish eighth in the Big South.
Backcourt: Freshman point guard Devon Baker was the revelation in the opener, going off for 27 points, six boards and three assists. He also shot the ball well, making 3 of 4 on three-pointers.
Baker is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and attended Spire Academy his last year of high school in Geneva, Ohio. He averaged 17 points and four assists per game, and made 40 percent from beyond the arc.
The all-freshmen backcourt also featured slender guard Tajion Jones of Oak Ridge (Tenn.) High. Jones redshirt last year, and averaged 18.5 points and 4.2 assists per game his senior year, and he made 43.2 percent of his three-pointers. Jones chipped in 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the opener, but went 0 of 8 on three-pointers.
Two other freshmen guards provide depth for the Bulldogs. Duncan Heath, who is 6-0 and 170 pounds, is from Banner Elk, N.C., and he had six points in 12 minutes in the opener. Freshman guard Cress Worthy is from Gastonia, N.C., and played at Hunter Huss High before attending Beckley Prep in W.Va. He logged 16 minutes against St. Andrew's and had six points and six rebounds.
Former NC State point guard Lavar Batts Jr. of Concord, N.C., is a sophomore for the Bulldogs and redshirting this season per NCAA rules.
Frontcourt: Skinny freshman forward Coty Jude is the third freshmen that is starting for the Bulldogs. The 6-9, 185-pound Jude had 11 points and three rebounds and went 2 of 4 on three-pointers against St. Andrews.
Jude, who is from Tolsia High in Fort Gay, W.Va., attended Believe Sports Academy in Athens, Tenn., for his last prep season. Jude averaged 21 points and eight rebounds his junior year at Tolsia High.
The athletic Jalen Seegars played on a talented High Point (N.C.) Christian squad, playing with center Edrice Adebayo of the Miami Heat. Seegars averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game last year. The sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., had eight points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes in the season opener.
Sophomore center Jeremy Peck started his career at Drexel and redshirt last year. He had five points and seven rebounds in the season opener. He only logged 121 minutes at Drexel in 2016-2017, scoring 31 points and grabbing 30 rebounds.
Freshman forward Stephen Edoka of Concord First Assembly Academy had three points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench in his first college game. The 6-4, 205-pounder averaged 18 points and 9.2 rebounds per game his senior year.
Senior power forward Donovan Gilmore, who is 6-8 and 210 pounds, started his college career at College of Charleston before making the move to UNCA. The former High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan Christian standout averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last year. The Greensboro, N.C., native had four points and two boards in 13 minutes off the bench against St. Andrew's.
Freshman Luke Lawson is also part of the youth movement this season. The 6-7, 180-pounder had three points and five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench in the season opener.
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UNC Asheville schedule/results
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