Cougars Travel For Midweek Matchup at No. 2 Villanova

Wednesday, November 23

Villanova, PA

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Villanova (non-bracketed game)

Photo by: Tim Cowie

Cougars Travel For Midweek Matchup at No. 2 Villanova

11/22/2016 3:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Villanova Game Notes

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (3-2, 0-0 CAA) vs. VILLANOVA (5-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
ESPN GILDAN CHARLESTON CLASSIC (non-bracketed game)
Game #6
November 23, 2016 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
The Pavilion (6,500)
at Villanova, Pa.

Television: FS1
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: Series Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: Villanova def. CofC, 81-68, on Nov. 17, 2006 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.Villanova.com
Live Video: https://www.foxsportsgo.com
Twitter: @CofCBasketball

THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 29-40
Third Year Overall: 29-40
Villanova: Jay Wright
16th Year at VU: 359-157
23rd Year Overall: 481-242

TELEVISION (FS1)
Play-By-Play: Scott Graham
Color Analyst: Bob Wenzel

RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German

GAME PREVIEW
The College of Charleston men's basketball (3-2) will travel for a midweek matchup at No. 2-ranked and defending national champion Villanova (5-0) for a non-bracketed game of the ESPN Gildan Charleston Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. (ET) at The Pavilion in Villanova, Pa. The game will be televised live nationally on FS1. It will mark the fourth time in program history for the Cougars to take on the defending national champions next to North Carolina (2009-10), Louisville (2013-14) and Connecticut (2014-15). They have previously only faced one other team ranked No. 2 in the nation – a 72-54 loss to second-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 3, 1999 in the Food Lion MVP Classic held in Charlotte, N.C. CofC currently leads the Colonial Athletic Association in free-throw percentage (73.7%) and scoring defense holding opponents to 63.4 points per game. The Cougars also rank No. 4 in the country in free throws made (101) and No. 7 in free throws attempted (137) behind its their shooters in Joe Chealey (30-of-35) and Jarrell Brantley (23-of-28), who also lead the team in scoring averaging 15.6 and 12.8 points per game. CofC started off the season at 3-0 with victories over The Citadel, Coastal Carolina and Boise State, but fell in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic to UCF (40-60) on Nov. 18 and Wake Forest (61-78) in the third-place game on Nov. 20.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Villanova is coming off a 35-5 and national championship campaign under head coach Jay Wright. The Wildcats won the ESPN Gildan Charleston Classic with wins over Western Michigan (76-65), Wake Forest (96-77) and UCF (67-57). They remain undefeated on the season and moved up one spot in both national polls behind top-ranked Kentucky. Nova currently ranks No. 17 in the nation in three-point field goals per game (10.8 avg.) and are led by Charleston Classic MVP Josh Hart, who is averaging a team-leading 19.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

COFC ALL-TIME IN NON-BRACKETED GAMES
This will be the fourth non-bracketed game the Cougars will play in as an extension of an ESPN-sponsored tournament since 2012. They are 1-2 all-time in non-bracketed games having met No. 21-ranked Baylor as part of the 2012 Charleston Classic, Miami prior to the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, Calif., and No. 21-ranked West Virginia after the 2014 Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

2012 Charleston Classic – at No. 21 Baylor, W, 63-59 on Nov. 24, 2012 in Waco, Texas
2013 Wooden Legacy – vs. Miami, L, 54-70 on Nov. 19, 2013 in Charleston, S.C.
2014 Puerto Rico Tip-Off – at No. 21 West Virginia, L, 57-86 on Nov. 29, 2014 in Morgantown, W. Va.

COUGARS ON THE AIRWAVES
Fans can listen to all CofC men's basketball games throughout the 2016-17 season on ESPN Radio 910 AM in Charleston or via a live audio link at: www.charlestonsportsradio.com. Voice of the Cougars Everett German will call the action live from The Pavilion on the College of Charleston Radio Network.

PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 195, RS-Jr. (15.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 29.4 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (7.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 29.4 min)
#3 Payton Hulsey, G, 6-5, 225, Sr. (4.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 26.6 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (12.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 30.4 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (4.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.2 apg, 20.4 min)

PROJECTED VILLANOVA STARTERS
#1 Jalen Brunson, G, 6-2, 199, So. (12.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 29.4 min)
#3 Josh Hart, G, 6-5, 215, Sr. (19.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 32.2 min)
#25 Mikal Bridges, G/F, 6-7, 210, RS-So. (11.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 28.0 min)
#2 Kris Jenkins, F, 6-6, 235, Sr. (12.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 28.8 min)
#45 Darryl Reynolds, F, 6-9, 240, Sr. (4.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.4 apg, 28.4 min)

COUGARS AGAINST THE TOP 25
CofC will face its first ranked team of the season in No. 2/2-ranked and defending national champion Villanova on Nov. 23. The Cougars are 6-21 all-time versus teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 Poll having last faced No. 15 Miami as part of the last game in a 2-for-1 series a year ago with the Hurricanes (L, 63-85) in Coral Gables, Fla. Of the program's six all-time wins over Top-25 foes, all but one have occurred on the road or at a neutral-site tournament (preseason and postseason).

COFC ALL-TIME vs. TOP 25 OPPONENTS (6-21)
No. 20 Georgia Tech 77, College of Charleston 70 on Jan. 28, 1992 in Atlanta, Ga.
College of Charleston 84, No. 8 Georgia Tech 67 on Jan. 16, 1993 in Atlanta, Ga.
No. 21 Wake Forest 74, College of Charleston 64 on Dec. 17, 1994 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
No. 25 Syracuse 72, College of Charleston 61 on Dec. 16, 1995 in Syracuse, N.Y.
No. 7 Connecticut 77, College of Charleston 60 on Dec. 27, 1995 in North Charleston, S.C.
College of Charleston 82, No. 21 Stanford 78 on Dec. 29, 1996 in Anchorage, Alaska
No. 8 Kentucky 92, College of Charleston 65 on Nov. 30, 1996 in Anchorage, Alaska
College of Charleston 75, No. 22 Maryland 66 on March 13, 1997 in Memphis, Tenn.
No. 15 Arizona 73, College of Charleston 69 on March 15, 1997 in Memphis, Tenn.
No. 11 Stanford 67, College of Charleston 57 on March 13, 1998 in Chicago, Ill.
College of Charleston 66, No. 3 North Carolina 64 on Dec. 5, 1998 in Charlotte, N.C.
No. 2 North Carolina 72, College of Charleston 54 on Dec. 3, 1999 in Charlotte, N.C.
No. 14 North Carolina 64, College of Charleston 60 on Dec. 30, 2000 in Charlotte, N.C.
No. 15 Wisconsin 75, College of Charleston 49 on Jan. 3, 2004 in Madison, Wis.
No. 10 Louisville 78, College of Charleston 63 on Dec. 21, 2005 in Louisville, Ky.
No. 18 Arkansas 75, College of Charleston 49 on Nov. 18, 2007 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
No. 3 North Carolina 108, College of Charleston 70 on Jan. 7, 2009 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
No. 9 Tennessee 86, College of Charleston 69 on Nov. 27, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn.
College of Charleston 82, No. 9 North Carolina 79 (OT) on Jan. 4, 2010 in Charleston, S.C.
No. 25 North Carolina 74, College of Charleston 69 on Nov. 28, 2010 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
No. 4 Louisville 69, College of Charleston 62 on Dec. 20, 2011 in Louisville, Ky.
College of Charleston 63, No. 21 Baylor 59 on Nov. 24, 2012 in Waco, Texas
No. 5 Louisville 80, College of Charleston 38 on Dec. 4, 2012 in Charleston, S.C.
No. 3 Louisville 70, College of Charleston 48 on Nov. 9, 2013 in Louisville, Ky.
No. 17 Connecticut 65, College of Charleston 57 on Nov. 20, 2014 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
No. 21 West Virginia 86, College of Charleston 57 on Nov. 29, 2014 in Morgantown, W. Va.
No. 15 Miami 85, College of Charleston 63 on Dec. 19, 2015 in Coral Gables, Fla.

INSIDE THE SERIES
College of Charleston and Villanova are tied 1-1 in the all-time series. Both teams last met during the 2006 Paradise Jam (L, 68-81) under former head coach Bobby Cremins in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Cougars previously won the opening game of the series in the 2002 Great Alaska Shootout under former head coach Tom Herrion. Led by tournament MVP Troy Wheless, CofC would win the Alaska Shootout in arguably one of the best stretches of wins in school history over Wyoming in the first round, Oklahoma State in the semifinals and Villanova in the championship game.

LAST TWO GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 68-81 (-13) on Nov. 17, 2006 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
W, 71-69 (+2) on Nov. 30, 2002 in Anchorage, Alaska

WAKE FOREST RECAP
Wake Forest 78, College of Charleston 61
• Joe Chealey has now scored in double figures in four of the last five contests including a game-high 19 points against Wake Forest.
• For the second-straight game, Jarrell Brantley was close to a double-double with 16 points and eight rebounds versus the Demon Deacons. He is currently on a five-game double-digit scoring streak.
• The Cougars attempted a season-high 35 free-throw attempts against the Demon Deacons which was seven short of the school-record of 42 versus Holy Cross on Nov. 11, 2011 and The Citadel on Nov. 11, 2016. They have now shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line in four-of-five games of the season with a 74.3 percent accuracy versus Wake Forest.
• With the win, Wake Forest remains an undefeated 3-0 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. It was the first meeting between both schools since 1994.
• CofC is now 4-5 all-time in Charleston Classic games having gone 2-1 in the 2008 tournament, 1-2 in the 2012 tournament and 1-2 in the 2016 tournament.

COUGAR SOUND BITES
"It's about the hardest challenge and highest level of competition you can get in any sport – playing the defending national champions. We will prepare for them (Villanova), get our players ready to play, put together a great game plan and do the very best we can. They play the game the right way and run their program the right way. It's going to be a big challenge, but, challenges aren't always bad. We need some tough things right now. It may look bad, if you don't win the game. But, our goal is to be playing our best basketball in March and that will always be our goal. Right now, it's November. You win some and you lose some. Last week, we didn't lose a game, but now we are licking our wounds against two really good teams (in UCF and Wake Forest in the Charleston Classic). It will be fun to go up to Philadelphia to play. We are excited about the challenge and opportunity to get better." – CofC Head Coach Earl Grant on playing the defending national champion Villanova Wildcats on their home court

"We will get back to the drawing board. We have to figure out what is the best way for us to play offensively with the different lineups and new guys we have in the rotation to find their rhythm. We will put it all together this year and it will be fun to watch." – Coach Grant on moving on from the Charleston Classic losses to UCF and Wake Forest

"I can see why they were the national champs. They do everything right on the court. They really focus on defense and try not to make too many mistakes. They are a really great team. But, it's just like any other game for us like our previous games. We have to learn from them by getting better for the next one. We attack these kind of games (with top-ranked opponents) like they are every day games." – Sophomore Forward Jarrell Brantley on facing defending national champion Villanova

"This is an entirely new team from last year. That's the case with any team. It (Wake Forest game) was only the fifth game of the year. We have to get better in a couple of areas this year. We just focus on one game at a time. We try not to get too caught up in the hype. We will go up there and compete and try to win a game. We played Louisville a couple of years ago and played them competitive until the last five minutes and UConn we also played them competitively in Puerto Rico. Deservingly so, they (Villanova) are the defending national champions, but at the end of the day, it's another basketball game to us." – Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey on playing another defending national champion in Villanova during his career