FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood men's basketball hosts Morgan State to continue a four-game homestand to open the 2024-25 season. The weekend is also Homecoming for Longwood University.
THE OPENING TIP
• Longwood was picked to finish third in the Big South Preseason Poll, and the team returns six players from the 2024 Big South Championship squad.
•
Michael Christmas is the team's returning leading scorer after averaging 11.3 points per game a season ago.
• Christmas earned a Preseason All-Big South Second Team nod.
•
Elijah Tucker,
Emanuel Richards,
Johan Nziemi,
Jaylen Benard,
Trey Hicks and
Leo Nordberg also return.
LAST TIME OUT
• Longwood earned a season-opening win for the third time under head coach
Griff Aldrich with a 79-68 win over a hot-shooting Randolph side.
• The Lancers muscled their way to 40 free throw attempts to counteract Randolph's 13 triples.
• Redshirt-junior
KJ McClurg led the charge to the free throw line and cashed in 10 of 12 attempts en route to a team high 14 points.
• Sophomore
Colby Garland added 12 points and a team-best four assists, and redshirt-junior
Elijah Tucker chipped in 11 points.
• Redshirt junior
Angelo Brizzi led the team with nine rebounds to go along with nine points.
• The Lancers outrebounded Randolph 44-27 and snared 10 offensive rebounds.
• All 11 players that played, scored for the Lancers, and six players tallied at least seven points.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Longwood is in the midst of a four-game homestand to open the season, one of two such homestands this season for the Lancers.
• The Lancers will also play two four-game stretches away from home, including the Paradise Jam from November 22-25.
• The Paradise Jam features three NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, including the first matchup of the tournament that pits Longwood against UAB.
• The Lancers had 11 players play and score on opening night while having three players score in double figures.
• The 40 free throw attempts for Longwood were the most in a game since 1/20/24 against Presbyterian, when the team shot 41 free throws.
•
KJ McClurg attempted 12 free throws, the most for the team since
Walyn Napper attempted 17 at Presbyterian on 2/17/2024.
• For McClurg, it was the 12th time in his collegiate career he as attempted at least 10 free throws.
• The Lancers grabbed 10 offensive rebounds after grabbing at least 10 offensive 28 times a season ago.
• Longwood is ranked 192nd in the Kenpom preseason rankings, the third-highest team in the Big South.
• Three Big South teams are in the top 200 of Kenpom.
• Longwood is part of a short list of mid-major teams to make multiple NCAA Tournaments in the past three seasons, with only 24 mid-major teams doing so. Other names include teams like Gonzaga, Saint Mary's and Vermont.
• The Lancers have won two of the past three Big South Championships.
FEINSTEIN ON THE CALL
• John Feinstein will be on the call as the color commentator for all Longwood men's basketball home games on ESPN+.
• Feinstein is the author of 23 New York Times Bestseller books and also is a decorated journalist for the Washington Post.
• In total, he has authored 48 books that have collectively sold millions of copies. In 2020, Longwood featured prominently in his book, Backroads to March, about teams that compete in the shadow of the Goliaths of college basketball.
• The acclaimed author brings a perspective gleaned from decades covering the giants of the college basketball world--Dean Smith at North Carolina, Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, Bobby Knight at Indiana, and more.
• Over the past three years, he has served as a commentator during the men's basketball MTEs that have been in Farmville.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Record vs. MSU 3-2
Under Coach Aldrich 2-1
Current Streak W 2
First Meeting W 75-73 (2/3/2007)
Last Meeting W 88-54 (12/3/2023)
• Longwood has won two straight meetings against Morgan State.
• In the last meeting, Longwood outscored Morgan State 71-23 in the final 30 minutes of the contest.
•
Elijah Tucker posted his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
STAT COMPARISON
LWU MSU
2024-25 Record 1-0 1-1
Conference 0-0 0-0
Points 79 81
Opp. Points 68 77
Scoring Margin +11 +4
Rebounds 44 37
Opp. Rebounds 27 34
Off. Rebounds 10 11
Opp. Off. Rebounds 4 15.5
Rebounding Margin +17 +3
Field Goal Pct. .436 .535
Opp. Field Goal Pct .407 .406
3-Point Pct. .143 .500
Opp. 3-Point Pct. .361 .294
3-Point FGs 2 4
Opp. 3-Point FGs 13 7.5
Free Throw Pct. .725 .727
Opp. Free Throw Pct. .538 .838
Free Throws Made 29 16
Opp. Free Throws Made 7 15.5
Assists 10 9.5
Turnovers 11 17
Turnovers Forced 14 15
Turnover Margin +3 -2
Assist/Turnover Ratio 0.9 0.6
Steals 5 6.5
Blocked Shots 1 2
#GoWood #HorsePower
