WCU MBB: Game #9 - USC Upstate

Who: USC Upstate
When: Saturday, December 3, 2022
Time: 5:30 pm
Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV/video: ESPN+
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
Head Coach: Dave Dickerson enters his fifth season as the head men’s basketball coach at USC Upstate
   -Record at Upstate: 44-89
   -Career Record: 112-173
   -Dickerson's record vs. WCU: 0-1
   -Gray's Record vs. UNCA: 1-0
Nickname: Spartans
Colors: Green, White and Black
Students: 5,996
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Conference: Big South Conference
   -Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
   -Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/3
Upstate's Current Record: 3-4 overall, 3-0 home, 0-4 away, 0-0 neutral

The Series: The Cats and Spartans have met twice on the basketball floor, and are tied up at 1-1. Western beat Upstate last season in Spartanburg by a final score of 78 - 73. The only other meeting was played at a neutral site and will be their first time playing in Cullowhee.

The Cats have lost back-to-back games against Big South teams, and hope to break that streak today.  This game is part of a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday. 

Upstate's three wins are against Brevard (Div III), Coastal Carolina, & Columbia International (NAIA). Dickerson has some decent players, starting with last year’s Big South Freshman of the Year Justin Bailey. He shot a very impressive 49.3 percent from three-point range last year. He’s a solid player.

Jordan Gainey, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from Arizona, is a player to watch. He was second on the team in scoring last season as a freshman. He shot 49% on 141 3-point attempts last season.