Winthrop-High Point men’s basketball game picked up by ESPNU

ESPNU has selected the High Point-Winthrop men’s basketball contest scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 14 as its Big South Wildcard Selection broadcast.

Game time will be 7 p.m. at Winthrop Coliseum. Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Adrian Branch (analyst) will handle the ESPNU call from courtside.

As league play resumes on New Year’s Eve, both teams are tied for first-place in the Big South standings with 2-0 records. Winthrop is 9-3 overall with its losses coming against N.C. State, Georgia and Alabama by an average of 7.67 points. It will be the Eagles’ first Big South regular-season game on ESPNU. High Point, which is the conference’s preseason favorite, stands at 9-4 overall after losses to Texas Tech, Georgia, N.C. State and William & Mary by an average of just 3.25 points. The Panthers will play a league contest on ESPNU for the fifth time in three years.

High Point, which swept the season series with Winthrop last year, is led by preseason player of the year John Brown. Brown ranks third in the Big South this season with 18.7 points and seventh with seven rebounds per contest. He also ranks 11th in Big South history with 1,923 career points - three away from the top 10 - and is just the second player in Big South annals with more than 1,900 points, 600 rebounds (693), 100 blocked shots (145), 100 steals (155) and 100 assists (148).

Winthrop’s top player is Keon Johnson, who is second in the conference with 20.4 points per game and third with a 47.8 three-point percentage. He became the 140th player in conference history with 1,000 career points on Monday night.

The High Point at Winthrop game is the first of four Big South ESPNU Wildcard broadcasts this season. ESPNU also has wildcard broadcasts scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 11 at 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m., and Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. Those selections will be determined 21 days in advance.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Winthrop-High Point men’s basketball game picked up by ESPNU."