UNC Asheville faces Winthrop after Banks' 22-point game

Winthrop Eagles (13-7, 3-2 Big South) at UNC Asheville Bulldogs (12-6, 3-1 Big South)

Asheville, North Carolina; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Eagles -1.5; over/under is 166

BOTTOM LINE: UNC Asheville faces Winthrop after Josh Banks scored 22 points in UNC Asheville's 93-92 victory against the South Carolina Upstate Spartans.

The Bulldogs have gone 8-0 at home. UNC Asheville is fifth in the Big South with 34.7 points per game in the paint led by Jordan Marsh averaging 8.5.

The Eagles are 3-2 in conference matchups. Winthrop averages 85.9 points and has outscored opponents by 8.9 points per game.

UNC Asheville's average of 8.8 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.5 more made shots on average than the 8.3 per game Winthrop allows. Winthrop has shot at a 46.5% rate from the field this season, 1.9 percentage points higher than the 44.6% shooting opponents of UNC Asheville have averaged.

The Bulldogs and Eagles square off Saturday for the first time in Big South play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Banks is shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, while averaging 15.9 points.

Kelton Talford is averaging 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Eagles.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 8-2, averaging 91.6 points, 33.1 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 51.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.9 points per game.

Eagles: 6-4, averaging 87.5 points, 33.4 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 82.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press