Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Samford University basketball team will square off against the first-place Davidson Wildcats on Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs open their toughest road trip of the 2013 Southern Conference schedule at Belk Arena (5,223).
 
The game will be aired locally on the radio at ESPN 97.3 FM The Zone. Fans will also be able to follow along on the Internet via Live Stats.
 
Following Thursday's challenging matchup at Davidson, Samford (7-13, 5-2 SoCon) will continue its key league road trip Saturday with a first-place battle at Elon. Elon currently leads the SoCon North Division with a 6-2 conference record, while the Bulldogs follow closely just a half-game back at 5-2.
 
Samford heads into Thursday's contest looking to rebound from a hard-fought loss at UNCG on Jan. 24. In the slight 66-64 decision, the Bulldogs finished with four players scoring in double figures and were paced by Tim Williams' 19 points and nine rebounds.
 
Samford also received double-digit scoring performances from Tyler Hood (14), Clide Geffrard, Jr. (13) and Raijon Kelly (12) against UNCG on Jan. 24.
 
Davidson (13-7, 8-1 SoCon) enters the contest boasting the best record in the league at 8-1. The Wildcats are in the midst of a four-game winning streak and are 6-1 at home this season.
 
Davidson leads the nation in free-throw percentage (79.9) and boasts the nation's top free-throw shooter in senior guard Nik Cochran. Cochran, who has made 69-of-73 attempts this season, is shooting 94.5 percent from the free-throw line. De'Mon Brooks leads the Wildcats in scoring at 13.7 points per game, while Jake Cohen follows closely at 13.4 per contest.
 
Thursday's game will mark the ninth all-time meeting between Samford and Davidson. The Wildcats own a 7-1 advantage in the series, which dates back to Jan. 28, 1992. Last year, the Bulldogs picked up their lone victory in the rivalry as they tallied a 77-74 win at home in Birmingham, Ala. Davidson then answered with an 81-54 win on Feb. 15, 2012.
 
Samford's Tim Williams and Raijon Kelly are both ranked in the SoCon's top 10 in scoring this season. Williams enters the game as the eighth-ranked scorer in the conference with a 14.6 points per contest average, while Kelly is listed ninth in the league with a 14.5 points per game scoring average.
 
The Bulldogs' Williams, who is only a true freshman this season, is also highly ranked in the SoCon's rebounds standings. Williams heads into this week as the No. 7 rebounder in the conference with an average of 7.3 per game. He is currently the only freshman to be ranked among the top 20 in the league's rebounding list.
 
Kelly, Samford's 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from St. Paul, Minn., is ranked third in the conference in assists with 4.1 per game. He is also the second-ranked player in the SoCon with a brilliant 44.9 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
 
Already this season, the Bulldogs have faced one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the nation. Three of Samford's 13 out-of-conference games have been against opponents ranked in the top-25, and Wisconsin opened the season ranked as the No. 17 team in the nation. Two of the Bulldogs' 2012-13 opponents started the year ranked in the top 10.
 
On Nov. 15, the Bulldogs played in Louisville, Ky., and were defeated by the No. 2-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 80-54. Just two days later, Samford squared off against the 16th-ranked Memphis Tigers at the FedExForum and nearly pulled off the upset, 65-54.
 
On Dec. 4, Samford played at No. 19-ranked Kentucky and suffered an 88-56 defeat in front of 21,221 fans against the defending national champions at Rupp Arena. Recently, on Dec. 29, the Bulldogs were defeated at Wisconsin, 87-51. The Badgers opened the season ranked No. 17 in the nation.
 
Samford fans have noticed a huge change in the Bulldogs' offensive attack this season. For the previous 14 years, Samford perennially ran its version of the Princeton offense under former Head Coach Jimmy Tillette.
 
This season, the Bulldogs have deployed an entirely different offensive theory as Head Coach Bennie Seltzer has utilized fast breaks, pick and rolls and slashing cuts to the basket.
 
During Samford's annual Media Day held Nov. 7 at the Pete Hanna Center, Seltzer described how he has taken an active role in allowing Kelly to take advantage of his newfound freedom in the Bulldogs' offensive sets.
 
“The other day, I blew the whistle and stopped practice and told Raijon in front of the entire team that he has the ability to break off any single play that he feels he can go and make a drive towards the basket,” said Seltzer. “I told him that about three times in front of all his teammates to also let them know that he has that freedom to go make plays. Raijon is an extremely talented point guard and I don't even think he realizes how good and how talented he really is.”
 
A key mantra in Seltzer's philosophy is Intensity. The Bulldogs' first-year head coach always played with Intensity throughout his illustrious playing career at Washington State, and he brings that same mindset to Samford University and his Bulldog players.
 
This season, Samford's practice shorts have INTENSITY prominently featured on the backside, because Seltzer wants his players to always be reminded about what it takes to win games.
 
Following Thursday's showdown at Davidson, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Elon Phoenix in another key SoCon matchup to be held at Alumni Gym in Elon, N.C.

Game Notes
SoCon Release
Samford Media Guide