The Citadel is off to a 6-5 start and have already lost to Georgia and Illinois from Power Five Conferences.

Senior guard Kaelon Harris leads the way for The Citadel, averaging 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Junior wing Kaiden Rice is right behind him with 14.6 points per game.

The Citadel (6-5) travels to NC State (8-3) for a 6 p.m. contest Sunday on the ACC Network.

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The Citadel enters Sunday’s game with five wins out of six, but only victories against Marist and Longwood came against Division I opponents. Four different players have led them in scoring during that six-game stretch.

The Citadel lost junior forward Hayden Brown, who has only played in five games due to a hamstring injury. The 6-5, 225-pound Brown led the team in scoring with 15.4 points plus 4.0 rebounds per game. Brown had 26 points in the 95-86 loss at Georgia on Nov. 12, and he added a team-high 18 points in the 87-73 loss vs. Campbell on Nov. 16.

Rankings

In the NET rankings done by the NCAA, The Citadel is currently No. 280 in the country. KenPom.com has The Citadel at No. 302, and ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Bulldogs at No. 254.

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 247 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

The Bulldogs are shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 36.6 percent on three-pointers this season. Four players have made at least 10 three-pointers, but two are bombing away with regularity.

Freshman guard Fletcher Abee of Morganton, N.C., is shooting 43.1 percent on three-pointers (31 of 72) and Rice is shooting 38.6 percent (34 of 88). Reserve freshman point guard Rudy Fitzgibbons II comes off the bench and is 17 of 36 from beyond the arc for 47.2 percent.

Rebounding

The Citadel is averaging 38.9 rebounds per game, including 10.5 on the offensive boards. Harris leads the way with 8.2 rebounds a contest and senior center Eddie Davis III chips in 6.1 boards per game. The latter has started six of 11 games.

Harris is just 6-3 and 225 pounds, but he has led the team in rebounds in eight different games this season. He averaged 5.2 rebounds per game his freshman year, but fell to 3.1.

Defense

The Citadel doesn’t have a shot-blocker but has three players in double figures for steals en route to 91 on the season. The Bulldogs have held opponents to just 29.8 percent on three-pointers and 43.2 percent from the field.

Reserve freshman center Brady Spence, who is 6-9 and 200 pounds, has eight blocks, and senior guard Tyson Baptiste leads the way with 15 steals.

Depth

The aforementioned Fitzgibbons is averaging 9.6 points per game off the bench. Junior wing Alex Reed of Garner (N.C.) High is another bench regular and is chipping in 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds a contest. The duo combined for 29 points and 15 rebounds off the bench in the triple-overtime 102-99 win at Longwood.

The rest of the bench against Longwood had Spence and junior wing Derek Webster combine for just five minutes played in the 55-minute game.

Senior forward Kaelon Harris is easily having his best season at The Citadel.

The Atlanta native started just 10 out of 21 games last year in what was his worst year for the Bulldogs. He averaged 2.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game in 2018-19. The 6-3, 225-pounder has bounced back to average 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season.

Harris is fresh off of scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Longwood. He has five double-doubles for points and rebounds this season. He went for 19 points and 10 rebounds in the loss at Illinois.

Harris was third-team All-Southern Conference his freshman year and had similar numbers his sophomore campaign. He had 11 points in the season opener against Clemson last year, and then didn’t crack double figures the rest of the season.

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 13.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.6 apg, 2.0 spg)

SG — C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 16.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.9 spg)

G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Jr., 8.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.7 apg)

PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Soph., 10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Fr., 6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.4 apg, 3.3 bpg)

The Citadel

PG — 13 Tyson Baptiste (6-3, 200, Sr., 6.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.3 apg, 1.4 spg)

SG — 11 Kaiden Rice (6-6, 185, Jr., 14.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)

G — 5 Fletcher Abee (6-2, 180, Fr., 12.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg)

F — 23 Kaelon Harris (6-3, 225, Sr., 14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.3 apg)

C — 31 Eddie Davis III (6-7, 255, Sr., 8.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 0.9 apg)

5.5 Free-throw attempts per game for senior wing Kaelon Harris, who is 45 of 61 at the free-throw line. The next player for free-throw attempts, was Rudy Fitzgibbons, who has 32 free-throw attempts.

9 Days off for The Citadel for its next game after playing NC State. The Bulldogs won’t play against until at Samford on Jan. 1.

358 Career three-pointers made at Morganton (N.C.) Freedom High for freshman guard Fletcher Abee. He shot 49.0 percent from three-point land his senior year.

Junior wing Kaiden Rice isn’t on the floor to get assists, but he can fill it up from the perimeter.

Rice only has nine assists on the season, with five games where he didn’t record one assist. However, he made six three-pointers against both Marist on Nov. 23 and at Longwood on Thursday. He has made three or more three-pointers in six contests this season.

Rice poured in 30 points and went 11 of 16 from the field in the 96-84 loss vs. East Tennessee State on Dec. 4. He also had 27 points against Marist and 21 against Longwood.

Rice was steady last year, chipping in 11.3 points per game off the bench, but he had 11 assists in 28 games played. The Columbia, S.C., native shot 36 percent from beyond the arc, and has improved to 38.6 percent this season.

NCSU fifth-year senior wing C.J. Bryce is fresh off of having 21 points and 11 rebounds Thursday in the loss at Auburn. Bryce is averaging 16.4 points per game this season.

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