Carrollton, GA - UWG Athletics is looking for a sea of blue on Thursday evening at The Coliseum, as the UWG men's basketball team takes on the North Alabama Lions in Gulf South Conference action. To aid in the creation of the blue sea, 1,000 Paint It Blue T-Shirts will be available at The Coliseum as fans come into watch the Wolves take on the Lions.
UWG vs. North Alabama
The Wolves go up against one of their longest-standing rivals on Thursday evening, taking on the North Alabama Lions at The Coliseum. The Wolves and Lions have met 65 times in the history of the series, with West Georgia holding a slim 33-32 advantage. North Alabama has closed the gap significantly in the past three seasons, as UNA has won six of the last seven in the series. That includes a first-round defeat of the Wolves at the 2014 Gulf South Conference tournament, where UNA handed West Georgia an 84-69 defeat.
UWG Breakdown
The Wolves come into Thursday's contest with an 11-3 overall record this season and a 6-3 spot in Gulf South Conference play. West Georgia is coming off of a solid 82-65 victory over West Florida on Monday, as the Wolves were led by 22 points from junior
Marcus Dortch. The Wolves have been scoring at a scorching pace since December 20 at Union. That started a span of five straight games with at least 80 points, and the Wolves are averaging 90 points per game through that run.
UNA Breakdown
North Alabama comes into Thursday on a high of sorts after blasting Union out of the top spot in the Gulf South Conference with an 84-63 victory Monday night in Florence. The top two scorers for the Lions are Nathan Spehr and Brandon Herman, with Spehr averaging just under 14 points per game and Herman just over 13 per contest. North Alabama is one of the worst in the conference in terms of scoring offense at 79.3 per game.
Matchup to Watch
West Georgia's frontcourt is one of the strongest in the nation with Deonta Stocks,
Alex Abreu and
Thomas Higginbotham leading the way. Those three are just as dangerous on defense, averaging more than five steals per game which leads to a blitzkrieg-type transition offense. If UNA struggles against the Wolves in transition, the Lions will struggle to score in long stretches.
