ESPNU Selects Radford at High Point as Jan. 2 Wildcard Game
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – ESPNU has selected the Thursday, Jan. 2
Radford at High Point men’s basketball contest as its first Big South Wildcard broadcast of the 2024-25 season, it was announced today by the Big South Conference office. The game will tip at 7:00pm inside the Qubein Center in High Point, N.C.
The match-up will mark the first meeting between the squads on ESPNU. It will be Radford’s 17th appearance in the Big South’s ESPNU Wildcard series, and 11th for High Point. The teams are currently tied for first-place in the Big South standings at 9-2. The Panthers are 7-0 at home this season, while the Highlanders’ three true road wins lead the conference.
Radford’s 9-2 record is its best start since the 1988-89 squad also opened 9-2. Winners of five straight, the Highlanders are ranked No. 122 in the NET and their non-conference wins include William & Mary, Old Dominion, Evansville, Chicago State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Saint Francis (Pa.), N.C. Central and Bucknell. Picked seventh in the conference preseason poll, Radford currently ranks first in the Big South in field goal defense (41.0 percent allowed), rebound margin (+8.0) and defensive rebounds (27.0). The Highlanders are led by
Jarvis Moss (15.5 points) and
Josiah Harris (9.4 points, 7.8 rebounds).
High Point is ranked No. 10 in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and 161 in the NET, and is coming off a 76-71 win over North Texas for its highest-ranked win over a Kenpom Top 75 team in program history. The Panthers have also defeated Coppin State, Jackson State, N.C. Central, UAB, American, Old Dominion and Hampton during non-conference play. High Point, the Big South’s preseason favorite, currently leads the league in scoring defense (65.8), field goal percentage (48.2) and free throw percentage (77.4). The Panthers are the lone Big South member with two players averaging 15.0 points per game --
D’Maurian Williams (15.9) and Big South Preseason Player of the Year
Kezza Giffa (15.1).
This is the 12th year of the Big South’s ESPNU Wildcard series, which again features six Thursday primetime broadcasts –- Jan. 2 (Radford at High Point), Jan. 16 (7:00pm), Feb. 6 (9:00pm), Feb. 13 (7:00pm), Feb. 20 (7:00pm) and Feb. 27 (7:00pm) -- that are selected 14-21 days in advance. A total of 53 games have been played in the series that began in 2013-14, and while the home teams are 33-20, the 53 contests have been decided by an average of 9.52 points, with 30 (56.6 percent) of those being decided by single-digits.