Carrollton, GA - The University of West Georgia men's basketball program will begin its 16th trip to the NCAA tournament on Saturday evening in primetime, as the 4th-seeded Wolves will take on 5th-seed West Alabama at Jenkins Field House on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. Tipoff for the first round game against the Tigers is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's Game
For the fourth time this season, the West Georgia Wolves and West Alabama Tigers will meet on the hardcourt in men's basketball. While the Wolves lead the all-time series in the 63 meetings between the two teams, the Tigers have won two of the last three, including handing UWG a 91-85 setback last weekend in the Gulf South Conference semifinals. In the regular season, the two teams split the series, with both teams winning at home. The Wolves and Tigers made of two-thirds of the 2015 Regular Season GSC Tri-Champions along with third-seeded Alabama Huntsville.
UWG Breakdown
The biggest thing to look forward to when playing the West Georgia Wolves in the 2014-15 season is an offensive explosion. With two players who can go off for 30 points at any given time in GSC leading scorer Deonta Stocks and
Alex Abreu, the Wolves are able to run on just about any team, leading the GSC with nearly 87 points per game on the year. Stocks averages 22.5 points per game on the year and Abreu 16.4, but the Wolves are a guard-heavy team, making them very difficult to press.
A Dangerous Trio
Senior points guards
Alex Abreu and Thomas HIgginbotham are an amazing 1-2 punch at the point for the Wolves. The pair have combined for 216 assists on the season, and Abreu alone has 129. He is in the top-50 in the country in assists per game and Higginbotham is second in the nation in assist-turnover ratio. Add GSC Player of the Year and First Team All-Region honoree Deonta Stocks to the mix and that is one dangerous trio.
Matchup to Watch
The matchup between Charles Eaton and Deonta Stocks was an amazing thing to watch in the GSC semifinals, and has the potential to be in the NCAA Tournament as well. Both can drive and shoot the three, and the one who wins that battle could put his team over the top.
