Well rested, Winthrop hosts Longwood Thursday night

Winthrop only practiced for about an hour and 15 minutes Wednesday night. If they hadn’t already covered something in the week-plus they had to prepare for Thursday night’s home game against Longwood, it probably wasn’t important.

“It’s weird. You typically don’t have a nine-day lay-off in the middle of conference play in February,” said coach Pat Kelsey. “We tried to make the best of it.”

Winthrop players had two days off directly after the Liberty game on Feb. 2, before two full tilt sessions over the weekend that Kelsey called “preseason-type practices.” The Eagles’ roster is almost entirely healthy, the lone exception being redshirt junior Rod Perkins. He broke his finger in early January and said last week he’ll likely be out until March 1. He’d like to get back earlier but for now he’s very limited in practice, his right hand covered in a bulky bandage.

Extra time to prepare didn’t hurt against a Longwood team that looks considerably different than when the two teams played on Jan. 24, an 82-68 win for the Eagles in Virginia. Two of the Lancers’ best players - Shaquille Johnson didn’t play and Lotanna Nwogbo, who was in foul trouble from the opening moments of the game - were non-factors.

Kelsey said the Lancers are different defensively from most of the teams in the league in that they try to deny players from catching the ball. It’s a more active style of defense that can feed one of their strengths, scoring in transition.

During Wednesday’s spirited but brief practice, Winthrop’s players and coaches looked ready for some competition. But how the break will impact the Eagles’ performance is hard to say.

“Whether it was good or bad, I’ll let you know tomorrow night about 9:30,” said Kelsey.

By the numbers

1 More pass was crucial for Winthrop the first time the Eagles played Longwood this season. Winthrop took advantage of the Lancers’ defensive slides to fire cross-court passes for open shots, or to dump off to diving players for easy layups and dunks. The Eagles’ 15 assists were the second most in a game this season.

2 Longwood comes into Thursday night’s contest with back to back wins over Campbell and Charleston Southern.

5a Lotanna Nwogbo fouled out when the two teams played Jan. 24. The wide-bodied 6-foot-8 post scored just seven points in the Eagles’ win. Nwogbo has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the Lancers’ last 15 games, but he was hampered by foul trouble during Winthrop’s win in Farmville. Nwogbo has recorded double-doubles in three of his last four outings and was the conference’s player of the week last Monday.

“It was the weirdest thing,” said Kelsey about Nwogbo’s early foul trouble on Jan. 24. “They were legit fouls, but it was odd. I remember looking at the clock, it was 19:45, and he had two fouls. He’s one of the best back to the basket post players in the league.”

5b Winthrop has won five straight versus Jayson Gee’s team.

6 The number of regular season games left for Winthrop. The Eagles want to at least finish in the top-5 to grab a first round bye in the Big South tournament.

10+ Winthrop is 8-2 when making 10 or more 3-pointers in a game. The Eagles hit 10 when they beat Longwood in January. The Lancers are 3-8 when allowing opponents to make 10 or more from beyond the arc.

11.1 Longwood senior Shaq Johnson is averaging double-digit scoring. The dangerous and athletic 6-foot-5 wing didn’t play in Longwood and Winthrop’s first meeting this season.

48.4 Winthrop’s league-leading field goal percentage.

91.7 The Eagles’ home winning percentage at Winthrop Coliseum this season. Kelsey’s team has won 17 of its last 18 in Rock Hill, the lone setback coming against Campbell on Dec. 31.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Well rested, Winthrop hosts Longwood Thursday night."