Senior Eddie Basden will play his final game at Halton Arena, Saturday vs. Southern Miss. |
|
|
GAME NOTES: #21 Charlotte Hosts Southern Miss
Feb. 25, 2005
Halton Arena -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The News:
The #21/#21 Charlotte 49ers (20-4; 11-2) host Southern Miss (10-16; 1-13), Saturday at 3:00 p.m. (Radio: WFNZ, Matt Swierad) in the school's annual Homecoming Game. Charlotte, which is ranked 21st in the latest AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' polls, has won six in a row in an unbeaten February (6-0) and eight of its last nine. Charlotte also boasts a Halton Arena single-season record nine straight home wins. The 49ers are tied with Louisville (23-4; 11-2) atop the Conference USA standings. Curtis Withers, who leads C-USA with an 18.5 scoring average in league games, has averaged 23.0 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 49% (53-of-108) over the last seven games (6-1), scoring 15 or more points in each game. He was named ESPN.com's National Player of the Week, Feb. 14 after averaging 30.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in a pair of wins. Senior Eddie Basden has averaged 20.0 points and 9.8 rebounds over the ast six games (6-0). Basden has scored 20 or more points in five of the last nine games; Withers has put up at least 20 in five of the last seven. Charlotte is 25-4 all-time vs. Southern Miss with wins in 11 straight.
Basden Wins Niners 3rd Straight C-USA Player of the Week Honor:
Senior Eddie Basden, dubbed by ESPN's Jay Bilas of College Gameday as the National Defensive Player of the Year, was named the C-USA Player of the Week, Feb. 21. He averaged a double-double of 21.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in a pair of wins, adding nine steals (4.5/gm) and eight assists (4.0/gm) while shooting .533 (16-of-30) from the field. He matched his career-high with 27 points at Tulane. It is Basden's second award in three weeks and the 49ers third straight honor. Curtis Withers, who scored a career-high 39 points at Saint Louis and 21 vs. Houston won the award, lastweek, averaging 30.0 points in two wins -- he was also named ESPN.com's National Player of the Week (Katz).
National Recognition:
ESPN.com National Player of the Week:
Curtis Withers, Feb. 14
National Def. Player of the Year*: Eddie Basden
* - According to ESPN's Jay Bilas
Three Straight C-USA Players of the Week:
Feb 7: Eddie Basden
20 pts; 11 rebs; 7 asts; 4 steals in win
over #18/#17 Cincinnati
Feb. 14: Curtis Withers
ESPN.com National Player of the Week (Katz)
30.0 pts; 9.0 reb; .553 FG% (21-38) in two wins
39 pts; 14 rebs. vs. SLU; 21 pts vs. Houston
Feb. 21: Eddie Basden
Two dbl-dbls in wins over DePaul; Tulane
21.0 ppg; 12.0 rpg; .533 FG% (16-of-30)
15 pts; 10 reb; 5 ast; 5 stl vs. DePaul
27 pts; 14 reb; 3 ast; 4 stl at Tulane
Notes:
The 49ers are 9-2 record vs. the RPI Top 100 ... only nine schools (The RPI Top 9: Kansas, Illinois, Boston College, Oklahoma State, Duke, Wake, North Carolina, Washington and Arizona) have won more Top 100 games ... 49ers are 2-2 in games against nationally-ranked foes ... Brendan Plavich leads the nation in 3FG/gm (3.9/gm) and Eddie Basden is 4th in the NCAA in steals per game (3.3) ... Charlotte has posted its 2nd straight 20-win regular season.
National Player of Year Candidate:
Junior Curtis Withers, a third-team all-America, last season, by Basketball Times and a starter on USA Basketball's Gold-Medal winning 2004 World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team, is a preseason candidate for each of the National Player of the Year Awards: Wooden Watch, the Naismith Trophy list and the Rupp Watch. In addition, the preseason third team all-America (Street & Smith's) was one of the Sporting News' Top 30 players.
Withers, who was named ESPN.com's National Player of the Week and C-USA Player of the Week, Feb. 14, scored 39 points with 14 rebounds at Saint Louis - the most points scored by a 49er since 1982. He has scored 15 or more points in each of the last nine games (21.3 ppg). He's averaging a team-best 17.0 points (5th in C-USA) with 8.2 rebounds (7th C-USA) and has posted eight double-doubles. He's scored 20 or more points seven times, including five of the last seven games. He's scored in double figures in 19 of the last 20. He was MVP of the Cable Car Classic.
|
|
 |
