CofC Basketball Welcomes JMU to TD Thursday Night for Annual Black Out Game

Thursday, February 17

Charleston, S.C.

7 PM

College of Charleston

James Madison

Tickets

CofC Basketball Welcomes JMU to TD Thursday Night for Annual Black Out Game

2/16/2022 11:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME NOTES LISTEN WATCH TICKETS LIVE STATS

Tip off on FloSports is slated for 7 p.m.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston hosts James Madison on Thursday night in a rematch of a one-point thriller on Jan. 22. The game features CofC's annual Black Out Game at TD Arena with fans encouraged to wear black. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on FloSports.

STORYLINES

Since the last time Charleston faced James Madison and lost by a point in a wild contest, the Cougars have won five of their last seven games after downing Drexel on Monday night. During that stretch, five different Cougars are averaging at least 9.1 PPG and CofC is +7.3 on the glass.
The win over Drexel gave head coach Pat Kelsey his 200th career victory. Only two active Division I coaches have coached fewer than 10 full seasons and already have 200 career wins: Pat Kelsey and Texas coach Chris Beard.
CofC's bench outscored Drexel, 37-14, as sophomore Nick Farrar erupted for 17 points on 7-of-10 FGs in just 15 minutes. The Cougar reserves have scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games, outscoring opponents' benches by 88 combined points in that stretch. CofC improved to 4-2 this season when Farrar scores in double figures.
The Cougars are set for the rematch with James Madison looking to avoid a season sweep. Charleston is 11-6 all-time against the Dukes. The Cougars have won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series with James Madison and hasn't lost at home to the Dukes since Feb. 11, 2016.
Charleston has won three of its last four home games entering Thursday night's contest. After the four-point win over Drexel, CofC is 8-4 this season in games decided by five or fewer points.
CofC outrebounded the Dragons by nine and snagged 13 offensive rebounds. The Cougars rank fourth nationally in offensive rebounding behind UConn, Buffalo and South Carolina State. Only Baylor and Charleston have 24 games with at least 8 offensive rebounds this season.
Freshman Reyne Smith ranks second in the entire country in free throw percentage (min. 2.5 makes per game), shooting 93.9 percent from the foul line. He helped ice the win vs. Drexel, sinking a career-high seven free throws. He's missed one total free throw since Dec. 16. Smith hit two more triples against Drexel, and now has 65 for the season, which is nine threes shy of breaking the all-time CofC freshmen single season record and has him tied for 15th all-time regardless of class.
After Smith's 15 points vs. Drexel and Raekwon Horton's 11 at UNCW, a freshman has scored in double figures in 21 of CofC's 24 games.
CofC's relentless rebounding and torrid pace have the Cougars leading the country in KenPom's adjusted tempo metric (possessions per 40 mins.) at 74.
After surpassing the 1,000 career point mark at UNCW, John Meeks followed with 13 points to help close the door vs. Drexel. He's reached double figures in 17 of 21 game appearances this season and posted four 20+ point performances. Meeks is averaging 3.8 assists per game over his last five games after dishing just 2.3 APG during his first 16 outings.

GAMEDAY REMINDERS

If you selected mobile tickets, add your tickets to your Apple Wallet or Google Pay App prior to arriving at TD Arena for the smoothest entry experience.
Don't forget the College of Charleston has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for athletics events . CLICK HERE to read the policy. (Link: https://cofcsports.com/sports/2018/10/23/college-of-charleston-athletics-clear-bag-policy.aspx )
In accordance with College of Charleston policy, face coverings are required at TD Arena.

UP NEXT

Charleston hosts Towson on Saturday afternoon in what will be the final regular season home game of the 2021-22 campaign.
The pregame Senior Day Ceremony honoring the Cougars' senior class is set to begin at 3:45 p.m. ET before the 4 p.m. tip on FloSports.