HPU Panthers vs. UNCG Spartans: a preview of the men's basketball game
December 19, 2023
High Point University and UNC Greensboro are both coming off
losses and are looking to get back on track and into the winning
column. This is a big game for both teams and not just because
13 miles separate the two universities, but because of the momentum
this game carries for both schools as they near conference play.
The Panthers are coming off a loss to the (7-3) University of Georgia
Bulldogs last Saturday in Athens, Ga. The Panthers led most of the
way throughout the game, however, the Bulldogs took control near
the middle of the second half and ended up winning, 66-58.
Coming into the game, the Panthers averaged 89.1 points per game, however, the Panthers put up a season-low 58 points which had a lot to do with the Panthers poor shooting performance. The Panthers shot 9-36 from beyond the arc, and 17-73 from the court overall which is unlike the Panthers to put up poor shooting numbers like those.
Before HPU's loss to Georgia, the Panthers were playing some of their best basketball, as they were riding high on a five-game winning streak that included wins over Morgan State, North Florida and Western Carolina. The Panthers are looking to get back on a winning streak, and that starts tonight against the Spartans at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN plus.
The Panthers have home court advantage and will need to protect that home court advantage against the UNC Greensboro Spartans that currently stands with a record of 8-2. The Spartans are coming off a tough loss to Marshall University (4-7), 72-65, which was a game that the Spartans should have won, but did not because the Spartans had a poor shooting performance themselves that included the team going 13-41 from beyond the arc and 24-65 from the court overall. The Spartans would rather not lose two games in a row, and instead get a big win on the road at the Qubein Center.
Before the Spartans loss to Marshall, UNCG was on a winning streak themselves, of seven games, that included wins over Elon, Eastern Kentucky, and No. 14 in the AP Top 25 Rankings, University of Arkansas.
The Spartans are led by their two senior guards, brothers Kobe and Keyshaun Langley, who are both from High Point, N.C. and attended Southwest Guilford High School, located 6.8 miles away from HPU. It will be the Langley brother’s first time playing HPU since arriving at UNCG, and the brothers are both looking to have a statement game in the city they grew up in.
Keyshaun Langley is averaging 14.3 points per game which is second on the team, along with 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals a game. His brother, Kobe, is averaging 10.5 points a game, and is leading the team with six assists and 2.2 steals a game. Kobe is shooting the ball at a very high efficiency this season as he is shooting 46.5 percent from the court overall, and 36.6 percent from beyond the arc.
The Langley brothers are both coming off big games against Marshall. Kobe contributed 20 points and Keyshaun added 26 points, six assists and four rebounds in the losing effort. UNCG will need big performances from the Langley’s if they are going to beat HPU.
The Spartans will also need a big performance from their 6’8” senior forward Mikeal Brown-Jones who is leading the team in points at 19.8 a game, and rebounds at 7.4 a game. Mikeal spent his first two years at Virginia Commonwealth University before transferring to UNCG to start his junior year. The forward has really taken a big leap this season as he is shooting 58.1 percent from the court overall, and 58.3 percent from beyond the arc which are outstanding numbers for a forward of his size and length.
The Spartans were without Brown-Jones in their loss to Marshall, but will definitely need him and for him to play extremely well on Tuesday. Brown-Jones has scored 20 plus points in two out his last three games and will look to do so again against the Panthers.
The Panthers are led by the Big South Conference’s leading scorer at 19.1 points a game, Duke Miles, who despite having a bad shooting performance against UGA, is looking to bounce back this evening against the Spartans. Miles, who is also leading the Big South Conference in field goal percentage at 58.8 percent, shot 5-17 from the court overall, and 1-8 from beyond the arc against UGA, which is very unlike the shooting performances Miles has been having before playing the Bulldogs.
The Panthers will need a bounce-back performance from Miles, as well as a big performance from their second leading scorer, 6’7” sophomore forward Kimani Hamilton, who is averaging 14.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Kimani recorded a double-double, 10 points and 11 rebounds, against Georgia and is looking to put up similar numbers against the Spartans.
The Hamilton and Mikeal Brown-Jones matchup will be very intriguing to watch as both size up well and are putting up very good numbers thus far this season. This is the toughest matchup Kimani has seen all season and it will be very interesting to see how he fares against a talented, versatile scoring forward like Brown-Jones.
One of the major keys to this game will be the guard play and how the guards perform. Both sides have loaded backcourts and it will be entertaining to watch the guards go at it. Sophomore 6’5” guard Donovan Atwell is a key player to keep your eyes on for the Spartans as he is averaging 12.6 points a game, and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. His presence will need to be felt for the Spartans tonight. On the other side, the Panthers will need to feel the presence of guards Kezza Giffa, and Abdoulaye Thiam. Both guards are averaging over 12 points a game and have provided major contributions for the Panthers thus far this season.
For HPU, they will need to shoot the ball better as a team, and get more production than the 15 points they got from Duke Miles in their last game against Georgia. The Panthers will also need to try and force UNCG to turn the ball over as the Spartans are averaging a Southern Conference best, 9.7 turnovers a game. Marshall forced 12 turnovers and translated those turnovers into 20 points against the Spartans which turned out to be a big reason for Marshall beating UNCG.
For UNCG, they will need to try and stop the high-scoring offense of HPU and that starts with stopping Duke Miles. HPU's offense runs through Miles who is also leading the team in assists at 4.2 a game, so the Spartans will need to game plan around Miles to try to put a stop to his scoring and facilitating. UNCG will also need to put a hand in the face of 6’4” junior guard Trae Benham’s on the perimeter. Trae recorded 18 points on 4-9 shooting from the 3-point line against Georgia, and is shooting 41.7 percent on the season from beyond the arc.
Both UNCG and HPU are looking to bounce back after losses in their last outings. The two last faced each other Nov. 18, 2016 in a game that resulted in HPU winning, 63-57. Seven years later, the universities that are 13 miles apart from each other, will go head-to-head on Tuesday at the Qubein Center at 7 p.m. ET. Both teams are going to give it their all as they look to get back on the winning track as they head into a big stretch of the season.
The question is: who is going to come out on top.
