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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will close out play in its key two-game Southern Conference homestand Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the UNCG Spartans in a marquee league showdown to be held at the Pete Hanna Center. The game is slated to be broadcast live by both the American Sports Network and ESPN3.
 
The action will be called by play-by-play specialist Pete Yanity and color analyst Dean Keener.
 
Samford (15-8, 6-4 SoCon) heads into Saturday's contest riding the positive momentum of a two-game winning streak. Since dropping a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to ETSU on Jan. 25, the Bulldogs have bounced back to secure consecutive wins over VMI, 69-67, and Western Carolina, 82-63.
 
At home this season, Samford boasts a 7-4 overall record, but just a 2-3 mark in SoCon play. The Bulldogs are scoring an average of 85.7 points per game at home this year and are shooting 49.5 percent from the field when playing in the Pete Hanna Center.
 

QUICK HITTERS
-- Samford boasts four players averaging double figures in scoring this season in Demetrius Denzel-Dyson (15.0), Wyatt Walker (12.8), Alex Thompson (11.1) and Christen Cunningham (10.4).
 
-- In SoCon games this year, Samford is averaging 78.5 points per game, shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range.
 
-- Samford's Cunningham is only FOUR assists shy of setting the school's single-season record with 152.
 
-- On Jan. 2, Samford freshman Josh Sharkey set a school record with seven steals at Western Carolina.
 
AUTISM SPEAKS
On Saturday, in Samford's home matchup against UNCG, the Bulldogs' coaches, staff and administrators will be wearing a special blue Autism Speaks puzzle piece pin during the game.
 
This weekend's games are all a part of 2017 Coaches Powering Forward for Autism, where basketball coaches around the country will all wear the pins to bring awareness and raise money towards finding a cure for Autism.
 
BULLDOGS IN THE MIDST OF A GREAT SEASON
Samford reached the 15-victory mark this year in 23 games and achieved the feat on Feb. 2. Therefore, the Bulldogs are in the midst of their best start to a season since 2005-06, when Samford opened the year with a 14-5 record and later advanced to the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
 

PADGETT IN HIS THIRD SEASON
Samford head coach Scott Padgett is in his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Padgett currently owns a 42-46 record at Samford and is in the midst of the school's winningest season in seven years, dating all the way back to the 2008-09 campaign.
 
Last year, the Bulldogs compiled an impressive 10-5 record in non-conference play and registered a pivotal 69-58 road victory at Nebraska. The win proved to be Samford's first triumph against a Big Ten opponent in school history.
 
"I'm really excited about where we're at right now," said Padgett recently. "We still have a long way to go, but I think we're on target to where we wanted to be in year three. We have a team that's right there talent-wise and that will be able to compete. I think Samford fans have been happy to come watch the team this season."
 
SCORING IS KEY
Since the beginning of last season, Samford has registered a 16-3 record when scoring at least 80 points. On Nov. 14, the Bulldogs opened the 2016-17 season with a dominant 83-65 road victory at San Diego and turned in a 46.9-percent shooting performance from the field, including a welcome 10-of-25 (40 percent) outing from 3-point range.
 
On Thursday, Samford cruised to an 82-63 SoCon home victory against Western Carolina held at the Pete Hanna Center. So far this season, Samford owns a 10-2 record when scoring at least 80 points.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
UNCG (16-8, 7-4 SoCon) heads into Saturday's contest looking to break out of its longest slump of the season. Since rattling off six-consecutive victories against Chattanooga, Western Carolina, ETSU, VMI, Mercer and The Citadel, the Spartans have suffered three straight losses in a nine-day span to Wofford, Furman and Chattanooga.
 
UNCG, which currently sits in sole possession of fourth place in the SoCon standings, is a half-game in front of Samford. So far this season, the Bulldogs and Furman have proven to be the only conference opponents to knock off the Spartans at home in the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
UNCG's leading scorer in 2016-17 is sophomore guard Francis Alonso, who is averaging 13.6 points per game this season. Alonso is shooting 45.7 percent from 3-point range and has already knocked down 63 baskets from beyond the arc this year.
 
Freshman forward James Dickey is averaging a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game this season. He is followed closely on the boards by senior center RJ White, who is pulling down an average of 6.3 rebounds per outing.
 
The Spartans' senior guard Diante Baldwin recently reached the 100-assist plateau this season and enters Saturday's game with a team-leading 100 assists this year.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES - - SAMFORD vs. UNCG
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will be squaring off against UNCG for the 20th time in school history. Earlier this season, Samford earned a 73-62 road victory over the Spartans to garner a 10-9 advantage in the all-time series between the teams. Prior to their New Year's Eve win, the Bulldogs had been defeated in each of the last four meetings against UNCG.
 
Last season, in the teams' annual matchup held in Birmingham, the Spartans rallied late to tally an 82-77 overtime victory against Samford.
 
BULLDOG BITES
-- Samford's Walker is averaging a double-double this season with 12.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He has already tallied 16 double-doubles in his young, up-and-coming career.
 
-- Samford is ranked No. 19 in the nation in free throws made this season with a total of 417.
 
-- Since the beginning of last season, the Bulldogs have compiled an impressive 19-9 record against non-conference opponents, including a pivotal 69-58 road victory at Nebraska last year. The Bulldogs' monumental win proved to be their first against a Big Ten opponent in school history.
 

-- Last season, Samford's Cunningham became the first player in school history to record back-to-back 125-assist seasons. He finished 2015-16 with a career-high 128 assists and an average of 3.9 pg.
 
-- Already this year, Cunningham has registered 148 assists at a break-neck pace of 6.4 assists per contest. At his current rate, Samford's floor general is on pace to tally 205 assists this season, which would well eclipse the Bulldogs' current school record of 151 achieved by Raijon Kelly in 2012-13.
 
MARK IT DOWN IN INK - - SAMFORD'S STARTING FIVE
The Bulldogs have used the same starting five in all 23 games this season. Samford's Padgett has opened every contest this year with the identical starting lineup comprised of Cunningham, Triston Chambers, Denzel-Dyson, Thompson and Walker.
 
DID YOU KNOW??
Samford's Sharkey is first cousins with 10-year NBA veteran and collegiate standout at St. Joe's Jameer Nelson.
 
KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE
Heading into Saturday's SoCon home game against UNCG, the Bulldogs boast four players shooting at least 40.0 percent from 3-point range this season, including Denzel-Dyson, who is shooting a sizzling 48.2 percent from beyond the arc.
 

As a team, Samford is ranked No. 26 in the country in 3-point shooting at 39.3 percent. Along with Denzel-Dyson's remarkable 3-point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs' Chambers owns a 44.3 mark, while Thompson is shooting 41.1 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, Samford's Gerald Smith is shooting 40.0 percent from long range at a 2-for-5 clip this season.
 
SAMFORD'S WALKER IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs' Walker heads into Saturday's game ranked 16th in the nation with 12 double-doubles this season. Walker, Samford's hard-nosed 6-foot-9 center is also ranked 20th in the country in rebounds per game (10.0), 21st in total rebounds (230) and 22nd in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.1).
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Saturday's marquee home showdown against UNCG, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs head to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to open a tough three-game SoCon road trip against the Wofford Terriers.
 
The highly-anticipated matchup will mark Samford's final time playing in Wofford's venerable Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Bulldogs will then face two more difficult road tests against Furman and ETSU.
 
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordHoopsFOE and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

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