1st Round - CBI vs. Charlotte 49ers

What: First Round - College Basketball Invitational

Who: The #3 seed - Charlotte 49ers
When: Saturday, March 18, 2023
Time: 5:30 pm
Where: Ocean Center - Daytona Beach, FL
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
     -announcer: Gary Ayers (PxP), Daniel Hooker (color)
TV/video: FloSports
     -announcer:
Live Stats:
Nickname: 49ers
Colors: Green, Gold, & White
Students: 30k
Conference: C-USA
Mascot: Norm the Niner
Message Board: NinerNation

Head Coach: Ron Sanchez is in his fifth season at the helm of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball program in 2022-23. He became the 11th head coach in the program's history on March 19, 2018.

Sanchez's record vs. WCU: 1-0
Gray's record vs. UNCC: 0-1

Charlotte's current record: 18-14 overall, 11-4 home, 5-8 away, 2-2 neutral, 0-11 C-USA
Charlotte's last season record: 17-14 overall, 11-4 home, 6-6 away, 0-4 neutral, 10-8 C-USA

The Series - This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams, with the 49ers winning all three previous meetings. The two teams last met in Charlotte last season, with the 49ers taking a 98-82 win over the Catamounts.

Charlotte was picked to finish 9th in the preseason poll of the 11 member C-USA. The 2022-23 Niners are largely a newlook squad from last season, featuring six newcomers, including four transfers from Division I programs. The 2022 class is led by grad transfers Josh Aldrich and Tre' Gipson, followed by sophomore's Lu'Cye Patterson and Igor Milicic Jr. and rounded out by true freshmen, Rich Rolf and Nik Graves. Joining key returners in Jackson Threadgill, Aly Khalifa and Brice Williams is CLT's 2022 signing class of Josh Aldrich, Montre' Gipson, Lu'Cye Patterson, Igor Milicic, Jr. Nik Graves and Rich Rolf.

The 49ers are currently ranked 10th in the C-USA in scoring offense, putting up an average of 66.72 points per game (ppg), and are ranked second in scoring defense, allowing only 62.75 ppg. Brice Williams leads the 49er in scoring averaging 13.4 ppg, followed by Aly Khalifa with 11.9 ppg. Khalifa is also the leading rebounder with 6.5 rebounds per game.