Jan. 22, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Samford University basketball team will play its second Southern Conference road game in three days Saturday as the Bulldogs head to Greensboro, N.C., for another critical league contest against the UNC Greensboro Spartans. The 3 p.m. (CST) matchup will be held at UNC Greensboro's on-campus Fleming Gym.

Fans unable to attend Saturday's game in person can listen live to Samford's broadcast on WVSU 91.1 FM or via the Internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. GameTracker will also be available at www.SamfordSports.com.

Samford (8-10, 2-4 SoCon) heads into the matchup looking to build upon its positive momentum from Thursday's thrilling 50-49 win at Elon. In the hard-fought victory, the Bulldogs' Kaylin Johnson knocked down the game-winning 3-point shot with only 15.1 seconds remaining in the contest. Johnson finished the game with a career-high nine points, all of which were scored in the second half.

On Samford's game-winning possession, the Bulldogs worked through their offensive sets a few times before Johnson came off a double screen on the left flank. On the play, he grabbed a hand-off pass from Andy King and calmly knocked down the 3-pointer from 21 feet away. Johnson finished 3-for-5 from the field with all of his attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Saturday's game will determine if Samford can win back-to-back SoCon games for the first time since Feb. 14, 2009. The Bulldogs head into the game looking to defeat their second straight SoCon opponent for the first time this season.

With Samford's 50-49 victory at Elon on Thursday, the Bulldogs are in position to post back-to-back regular-season SoCon wins for the first time since beating Elon and UNC Greensboro on Feb. 12 and Feb. 14 of last year.

Samford's Andy King returned to the starting lineup and promptly scored a game-high 16 points against Elon. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-8 center was 6-of-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the victory.

Davis, Samford's leading scorer, was held scoreless Thursday for the first time in 28 games. The last time he was held scoreless was against Davidson on Jan. 31 of last season. In his next game, Davis tallied a then season-high total of 17 points against Furman. The Bulldogs are hoping that Davis breaks out of his mini slump with a big outing Saturday.

Samford has made at least one 3-point field goal in 551-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against Texas-San Antonio. The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008 against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc.

UNC Greensboro (4-15, 3-5 SoCon) enters Saturday's matchup riding a wave of positive momentum after the Spartans rallied for a dominant 62-49 victory against Chattanooga on Thursday. In the come-from-behind win, UNC Greensboro overcame a 16-point deficit and outscored Chattanooga 40-20 in the second half.

Against Chattanooga, the Spartans were led in scoring by Mikko Koivisto's 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. UNC Greensboro's shooting guard from Vantaa, Finland, was only 2-for-9 from beyond the arc, but connected on 5-of-6 key free throws down the stretch. The Spartans were also aided by 23 turnovers from the Mocs.

Samford and UNC Greensboro will square off for the second time this season Saturday. On Dec. 5, the teams met at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala., and UNC Greensboro handed Samford a 73-40 defeat. The loss was the Bulldogs' worst in Pete Hanna Center history and the first against the Spartans. Samford owns a 4-1 record in the series.

After posting a pair of blowout victories against UNC Greensboro last season, the Bulldogs underestimated the Spartans on Dec. 5 and came out flat against them earlier this year. The consequence was the Bulldogs' first all-time loss to UNC Greensboro.

The Spartans have played against one of the nation's toughest schedules this season. UNC Greensboro is currently ranked No. 48 in the RPI's Strength of Schedule rating and have faced off against Duke, Virginia Tech, Clemson, East Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State and Maryland this season.

A key matchup in Saturday's game will be Samford's front line against UNC Greensboro's Ben Stywall. Stywall, the Spartans' athletic 6-foot-5 forward, is averaging a double-double this season and finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds in the first meeting between the teams. So far this year, Stywall is averaging a team-high 13.7 points and a conference-high 10.1 rebounds per contest.

Samford's front line consisting of Bryan Friday, King and Jeffrey Merritt will have to keep Stywall off the boards in order to limit UNC Greensboro's second-chance opportunities.

It is safe to say that Samford's offensive style is unique. While most teams play pressure defense and tend to run the ball up the court, the Bulldogs use patience and precision cutting on offense to get either a back-door layup or a wide open look at a 3-point shot. With that in mind, Samford's offense is hard to prepare for and often poses problems for the opposition's coaches in the league to scout.

Since head coach Jimmy Tillette incorporated the Princeton offense at Samford in 1997, the Bulldogs have reeled off a 78-49 record in games played against teams that have less than three days to prepare.

Following Saturday's game at UNC Greensboro, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs close out its arduous three-game, six-day road trip against the Furman Paladins at Timmons Arena (2,600) in Greenville, S.C.

Samford Basketball Game Notes
Live Stats - Samford at UNC Greensboro
Webstreamed Radio Broadcast