ESPNU Selects Presbyterian at High Point as Jan. 29 Wildcard Game
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – ESPNU has selected the Thursday, Jan. 29
Presbyterian at High Point men’s basketball contest as its first Big South Wildcard broadcast of the 2025-26 season, it was announced today by the Big South Conference office. The game will tip at 9:00pm inside the Qubein Center in High Point, N.C.
The match-up will mark the first meeting between the squads on ESPNU. It will High Point’s 14th all-time appearance in the Big South’s ESPNU Wildcard series, and fourth for Presbyterian. The Panthers currently sit in first-place in the conference standings at 4-0 following the first two weeks of league play, while the Blue Hose are 1-2 in Big South action.
High Point’s 16-3 record is its best start during the program’s Division I era. Winners of six straight -- as well as 15 consecutive Big South conference wins and 18 in-a-row against league opponents -- the Panthers are ranked No. 78 in the NET and No. 90 in KenPom. HPU, which was ranked No. 11 in the most recent Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, is second nationally in scoring margin (+25.4), fourth in scoring offense (93.9) and 11th in field goal percentage (51.9). The Panthers have opened 4-0 in conference play for the second time in three seasons, and have been led by
Terry Anderson (team-high 17.5 points in Big South games) as well as preseason All-Conference pick
Rob Martin (overall averages of 14.1 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals).
Presbyterian will be making its first ESPNU Wildcard appearance since 2021. The Blue Hose concluded non-conference action with notable wins over East Tennessee State, Georgia State, The Citadel and Morehead State, and won its Big South opener against USC Upstate on Jan. 3. PC ranks first in the conference in fewest rebounds allowed (30.2) and is second in overall scoring defense (70.0). Preseason All-Conference selection
Jonah Pierce leads the Blue Hose as well as the Big South in rebounding (9.2) and double-doubles (8), and is averaging 18.3 points and 11.0 boards in league play.
Jaylen Peterson is contributing 14.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in conference action.
This is the 13th year of the Big South’s ESPNU Wildcard series, which features four Thursday primetime broadcasts –- Jan. 29 (Presbyterian at High Point), Feb. 12 (7:00pm), Feb. 19 (7:00pm) and Feb. 26 (7:00pm) -- that are selected 14-21 days in advance. A total of 59 games have been played in the series that began in 2013-14, and the home teams are 38-21 while the 59 contests have been decided by an average of 10.07 points, with 32 (54.2 percent) of those being decided by single-digits.