COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (15-4, 6-0 CAA) vs. UNCW (17-2, 6-0 CAA)
Game #20
January 19, 2017 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TD Arena/John Kresse Court (5,100)
at Charleston, S.C.
 
Television: American Sports Network
Radio: College of Charleston Radio Network (ESPN Radio 910 AM)
Series History: UNCW Leads 11-10
Last Meeting: UNCW def. CofC, 66-64, on March 5, 2016 in CAA Quarterfinals in Baltimore, Md.
Internet: Free Live Statistics at www.CofCStats.com
Live Video: Free Live Video via at www.americansportsnet.com/live
 Twitter: @CofCBasketball
 
THE COACHES
College of Charleston: Earl Grant
Third Year at CofC: 41-42
Third Year Overall: 41-42
UNCW: Kevin Keatts
Third Year at UNCW: 60-24
Third Year Overall: 60-24
 
TELEVISION (American Sports Network)
Play-By-Play: Dave Armstrong
Color Analyst: Daimon Beathea
 
RADIO (College of Charleston Radio Network)
Play-By-Play: Everett German
Color Analyst: Danny Johnson
 
GAME PREVIEW
Two undefeated teams, but only one victor will prevail as the College of Charleston men's basketball team (15-4, 6-0 CAA) plays host to preseason Colonial Athletic Association favorite UNCW (17-2, 6-0 CAA) on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will be televised live nationally on the American Sports Network. Check your local listings. Not only will it be a battle of the league's top teams, but one of contrasting styles – the No. 1 scoring defense (59.7 ppg) in CofC and No. 1 scoring offense (87.4 ppg) in UNCW. Both programs are also similar in the fact that each head coach – Earl Grant and Kevin Keatts – are in their third seasons at the helm and made turnarounds from top-to-bottom in the CAA in that time. The Cougars look to protect their home court and are 8-2 this season in the friendly confines of TD Arena. They are off to their best start in nine years and playing some of their best basketball of the season. Redshirt freshman guard Grant Riller is the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week and is fourth among freshmen in the league in scoring averaging 11.0 points per game. He is coming off an explosive 20-point performance in the Cougars' 77-67 come-from-behind victory over William & Mary on Jan. 14. Both teams are currently ranked No. 2 and No. 15 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. CofC ranks among the nation's top statistical leaders in scoring defense (No. 6), three-point field-goal percentage defense (No. 2) and turnovers per game (No. 11).
 
UNCW-AT-A-GLANCE
The Seahawks are riding a six-game win streak since a non-conference loss at Clemson (87-73) on Dec. 28. UNCW boasts three of the Top 5 scorers in the CAA in sophomore C.J. Bryce (17.7 ppg), redshirt senior Chris Flemmings (16.1 ppg) and redshirt senior Denzel Ingram (15.6 ppg). Last year, Wilmington won the conference tournament title and league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They later fell to fourth-seeded Duke in the first round.
 
WORTH NOTING …

• College of Charleston is currently No. 57 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings release on Jan. 17, while UNCW is No. 32. The Cougars are one of only 15 schools in NCAA Division I on a seven-or-more win streak next to Gonzaga, Kansas, New Mexico State, Oregon, Arizona, Cincinnati, Akron, Notre Dame, Florida, Illinois State, Vermont, Florida Gulf Coast, Belmont and Weber State.
• The Cougars are already 3-0 this season against the preseason Top 5-picked teams in the CAA Coaches Poll including preseason No. 2 Towson, No. 3 William & Mary and No. 5 James Madison.
• CofC last went 16-4 in its first 20 games of the season in 2003-04 and 2008-09. The Cougars also last won eight games in a row back in 2003-04 (season-best nine-game win streak).
• College of Charleston is 6-3 lifetime when playing UNCW at home, but 1-2 since joining the CAA in 2013.
• The College's last loss was one month ago at LSU on Dec. 19 in Baton Rouge, La. Both teams' last loss was to a Power 5 school – UNCW (Clemson on Dec. 28). The Cougars' four losses this season have only been to defending national champion Villanova, UCF, Wake Forest and LSU.

 
HOT START FOR COUGARS
The Cougars are off to an unbeaten 6-0 start to conference play for the first time as members of the CAA and since the 2010-11 campaign under former head coach Bobby Cremins as members of the Southern Conference. CofC last went 7-0 in 2009-10 (eight-straight league games won before the streak was halted at Western Carolina).
 
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 and color analyst Danny Johnson will call the action live from TD Arena on the College of Charleston Radio Network.
 
PROJECTED COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STARTERS
#13 Joe Chealey, G, 6-4, 195, RS-Jr. (15.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.1 apg, 32.8 min)
#1 Grant Riller, G, 6-3, 185, RS-Fr. (11.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 22.8 min)
#12 Cameron Johnson, G, 6-4, 200, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 31.5 min)
#5 Jarrell Brantley, F, 6-7, 250, So. (13.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 32.1 min)
#23 Nick Harris, F, 6-10, 250, So. (5.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, 22.9 min)
 
PROJECTED UNCW STARTERS
#10 Denzel Ingram, G, 6-0, 175, RS-Sr. (15.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 5.7 apg, 32.6 min)
#12 C.J. Bryce, G, 6-5, 185, So. (17.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 33.8 min)
#00 Ambrose Mosley, G, 6-2, 185, Gr.-Sr. (7.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 23.2 min)
#1 Chris Flemmings, G, 6-5, 175, RS-Sr. (16.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 35.3 min)
#15 Devontae Cacok, F, 6-7, 240, So. (13.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 0.4 apg, 25.8 min)
 
SERIES NOTES
Last season, UNCW went 3-0 by swept the regular-season series and edging out College of Charleston in the CAA Semifinals (64-66) on March 5, 2016 in Baltimore, Md. The Seahawks have also won the last seven-straight meetings between the two Coastal schools. Four of the last seven games have been decided in overtime and double overtime. Prior to CofC's conference realignment, both programs previously met in non-conference play each year from the 2001-02 season through the 2008-09 season.
 
LAST 13 GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 64-66 on 3/5/16 in Baltimore, Md.^
L, 55-59 (OT) on 2/20/16 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 55-65 on 1/30/16 in Wilmington, N.C.
L, 53-79 on 3/7/15 in Baltimore, Md.^
L, 45-58 on 2/11/15 in Wilmington, N.C.
L, 56-58 (OT) on 1/21/15 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 55-57 (2OT) on 2/22/14 in Wilmington, N.C.
W, 75-70 on 1/22/14 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 100-80 on 12/19/08 in Charleston, S.C.
L, 91-98 on 11/10/07 in Wilmington, N.C.
W, 91-70 on 11/26/06 in Charleston, S.C.
W, 81-77 on 12/27/05 in Wilmington, N.C.
W, 59-57 on 12/16/04 in Charleston, S.C.
^ CAA Tournament
 
WILLIAM & MARY RECAP
College of Charleston 77, William & Mary 67
• With the win, College of Charleston snapped a two-game skid in the all-time series with William & Mary. It was the first game in the last four meetings between both schools not decided in single digits.
• The Cougars have now won seven games in a row – their longest win streak since winning seven-straight games in 2009-10 and 2010-11. They are also off to a 6-0 start in conference play for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign under former head coach Bobby Cremins.
• Grant Riller scored in double figures for his third-straight CAA game with a team-high 20 points including a career-best three 3-pointers against William & Mary. It marked his third career 20-point outing.
• Jarrell Brantley recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds versus William & Mary. It marked his 10th double-double of his career and 16th double-digit scoring game of the season.
• Joe Chealey scored 14 points to turn in his eighth double-figure scoring game in the last nine games.
• Evan Bailey came off the bench and registered a season-high 11 points on a season-best 3-of-5 shooting from long range.
• The Cougars made their second-most blocks in a single game this season (6) against the Tribe behind two each from Jarrell Brantley and Nick Harris.
• CofC scored 77 points against William & Mary tying its second-highest scoring output of the season next to Western Carolina on Dec. 22 and Hofstra on Jan. 7.
 
COUGAR SOUND BITES
"We are almost halfway through the first part of CAA play. We have certain things we are working on and are trying be really good at. It's a big game for us. It's the team that won the league last year. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure we stick to our standards, do what we set out to do every game and let the chips fall as they may. We have lot of good teams in this league. Every game that we have played has been a challenge and I expect the next one to be. " – College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant on the UNCW game
 
"You can only be the best version of ourselves. We do not compare ourselves to anybody. We are who we are and we do what we do. We have the personnel we have and the staff that we have. We have done a great job of moving the program forward to the best of our ability, but we still have a lot of work to do." – Coach Grant on the comparison of UNCW's growth to the similar growth and success at CofC over the last three years
 
"It's the biggest game of the season, because it's the next game. We are undefeated in the conference, but we've had to win games where we had to come back. We are pretty much tested. No game has been a walk in the park, even in games where we were expected to win. They've (UNCW) always been a battle. This game will be like the rest of them. We just have to play defense, play to our standards and listen to Coach (Grant) and execute the game plan. We know anyone can get hot at any time, because offensively we have a lot of depth. It will be a fun game to see." – Junior Guard Cameron Johnson the matchup with UNCW on Thursday night
 
"Every next game is pretty big for us. With both of us undefeated, it brings a lot more pressure. You learn so much from it (games leading up to this one) win-or-lose. Every time we played them (UNCW), we think of how close we were last year and what could have happened. Just to have an opportunity to play those guys again will be fun, especially in front of our home crowd." – Redshirt junior guard Grant Riller on playing UNCW for the first time after missing last season due to injury