The Charlotte men's basketball team returns to action following an eight-day hiatus for a Saturday matinee home contest against Detroit Mercy. The opening tap from Halton Arena is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Fans can follow Saturday's tilt between the 49ers and Titans via the ESPN+ live stream, HERE, to hear Bobby Rosinski and Charlotte hoops alum Jobey Thomas on the call, on ESPN 730 The Game to listen to Matt Swierad and Charlotte alum Trevor Wilt describing the action, HERE, or via Sidearm live stats, HERE.
RACING DAY
Saturday's matchup will also be Racing Day inside Halton Arena. Charlotte Athletics has partnered with the Charlotte 49ers Racing Program for the Saturday matinee. The program will have a pair of cars on display outside the arena by the basketball and volleyball statues outside the East Entrance and members of the team will be in attendance to showcase all that the program has to offer.
LAYUP LINES
- Saturday's contest between Detroit Mercy and Charlotte will be both the second-all-time meeting between the programs and the second matchup between the sides this season.
- CLT comes into its final non-conference home tilt riding a three-game win streak after knocking off Davidson at the buzzer last Tuesday and coming from 23 points down to knock off App State by nine on Friday.
- A win on Saturday would give Charlotte a, 5-0, record at home on the season marking Charlotte's first, 5-0 start inside Halton Arena since winning its first six home contests in 2012-13. That season the 49ers opened the year with home wins over Charleston Southern, Georgia Southern, Lamar, East Carolina, Central Michigan and Radford. CLT finished the 12-4 on its home floor.
- A win would also up CLT's home win streak vs. non-conference opponents to seven dating to the end of December last season. Charlotte ended non-con play with home wins over Maryland Eastern Shore and Western Carolina, before earning victories in each of its first four home contests this season.
- Charlotte Head Coach Ron Sanchez earned his start in college basketball from Detroit Mercy Head Coach, Mike Davis. During Davis' second season at Indiana in 2001-02, Davis hired Sanchez as a GA, before Indiana earned a trip to the National Championship game where they fell to Maryland.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
- Detroit Mercy arrives at Saturday's contest in the Queen City after downing Tulsa, 76-72, in Oklahoma behind 20+ point scoring efforts from Gerald Liddell and Antoine Davis.
- On the stat sheet, Detroit is still led by the nation's fifth-leading scorer and son of Head Coach Mike Davis, Antoine Davis who is averaging an eye-popping 23.1 points per game, while starting in all nine games for the Titans this season.
- Davis currently ranks 12th in NCAA History in career scoring with 2,965 career points and is just 702 points behind Pete Maravich's NCAA-record of 3,667 points.
- On the bench, Detroit Mercy is led by college coaching veteran Mike Davis, who earned his 400th career victory against Charlotte last month. In his 23-year coaching career Davis has reached the NCAA Tournament nine times, doing so four times at his last coaching stop at SWAC member, Texas Southern.
SERIES HISTORY
- This will be just the second-ever meeting between the 49ers and Titans, with the first coming earlier this year. Saturday's game will conclude a rare in-season non-conference home-and-home series between the programs on the collegiate hardwood.
- When the sides met the day before Thanksgiving, a 26-point effort from coaches' kid, Antoine Davis led the Titans to a, 70-49, thumping of the 49ers in the Motor City. CLT was led in scoring by Brice Williams who poured in 16 points and reeled in eight rebounds.
CLT OVERCOMES 23-POINT DEFICIT VS. APP STATE
- After trailing by as many as 23 points in the opening half, the Charlotte 49ers used a dominant effort on the defensive end in the second half and timely offense to power past in-state foe, App State, 71-62. Friday night.
- The 49ers were led by a do-it-all effort from grad transfer, Tre' Gipson who concluded Friday's action with season-high marks of 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with no turnovers. Gipson was also efficient from the field finishing the night 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
- Gipson was joined in double-figures by sophomore Igor Milicic Jr. and junior Jackson Threadgill who added in 11 and 10 points respectively.
NOTHING BUT NET
- In the first Net rankings of the 2022-23 season, the Charlotte men's basketball team broke into the top-100 for the first time since the Net rankings began being tracked during the 2018-19 season, coming in at No. 73.
- Charlotte is one of five C-USA squads ranked inside the nations top-100 entering the month of December, trailing just FAU, UAB and North Texas in the league ahead of the start of conference action later this month.
- Charlotte's best win of the season based on the Net came at the Myrtle Beach Invitational when the 49ers downed No. 54 Boise State, 54-42, in its third game of the campaign.
DEFENSE LEADS CHARLOTTE THROUGH BUSY STRETCH
- In nine contests in 2022-23, Charlotte ranks second in Conference USA and 11th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up an average of just 57.0 points per game.
- During its start to the new year, CLT has given up 70 or more points just once and has held four of its opponents to fewer than 60, including a trio below 50 points this season.
- Through its most recent eight-game in 18-day stretch that saw the Niners go, 6-2, Charlotte held its opponents to 56.8 points per game and marks of 40 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.
- In its seven wins, the Niners are even more dominant on the defensive end, allowing just 54.7 points per game and shooting percentages of 37.7 from the field and 33.5 percent from long range.
- In wins the Niners are also beasts on the glass, holding a rebounding margin of +6.0, while averaging nearly 34 rebounds per contest, including over seven boards on the offensive glass.
SOPHOMORES PLAYING LIKE SENIORS
- Through nine games, Charlotte's sophomore trio of Aly Khalifa, Igor Milicic Jr. and Lu'Cye Patterson make up three of CLT's top five scorers and rebounds.
- Khalifa currently leads the Niners in scoring (10.0), rebounds (7.9) and assists (3.8), while Milicic and Patterson are averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds and 7.6 points and 3.2 rebounds respectively.
- As a collective, Khalifa, Milicic and Patterson have been responsible for 41 percent of CLT's points (246 of 595), 50 percent of rebounds (147 of 292) and 52 percent of assists (68 of 130).
WE LOVE KEN POMEROY
- Through nine games, Charlotte holds a 7-2 record and a current KenPom rating of 135--the highest since 2015 and highest under Head Man Ron Sanchez. Immediately following its victory over Davidson on Tuesday, Charlotte moved to No. 135 before dropping to 137 ahead of the Niners Friday night tilt with App State.
- Charlotte's victories over Boise State and Davidson are victories over 2022 NCAA Tournament teams and are tabbed as Tier B victories by KenPom who adjusts a results worth based on opponent, rank and game location.
- Coming into Friday, Charlotte is also in the top-100 in a number of KenPom Categories. The squads highest ranking is in Offensive Rebound percentage on the defensive end. The Niners are allowing an offensive board on just 19.9 percent of its opponents possessions which ranks fourth in the country and first in C-USA.
- The 49ers are also in the top-100 in free throw attempt percentage (21.6% - No. 26), defensive two-point percentage (43.1% - No. 28) turnover percentage (16.3% - No. 48), non-steal turnover percentage (7.8% - No. 55), offensive two-point percentage (53.9% - No. 74) and steal percentage (11.2% - No. 84).
NINER NUGGETS
- Each of Charlotte's victories last week over Davidson and App State marked CLT's first wins when trailing by double-figures at any point in the contest. Against Davidson, CLT erased an 11-point second half deficit, before knocking off App after trailing by as many as 23 in the opening half. In CLT's first five wins of the year, the Niners never trailed by more than five points and in their win over Presbyterian after Thanksgiving, the 49ers never trailed.
- A win Saturday would give Charlotte a perfect, 5-0, record at home in non-conference play. It would mark CLT's first perfect record at Halton Arena in non-con play since going, 7-0, in 2007-08. That Niners squad finished the year, 20-13 and earned a birth into the postseason NIT.
- Friday's win concluded Charlotte's daunting eight game in 18 day stretch that began on Nov. 14. During that time, the Niners went 6-2 with victories over 2022 NCAA Tournament foes, Boise State and Davidson and included a second-place finish at the 2022 Myrtle Beach Invitational. It marked the Niners most condensed set of games this season. The next stretch that will come close to emulating this is when Charlotte will play four games in seven days during the middle of January against UTSA, UTEP, Middle Tennessee and WKU.
- Charlotte is one of eight teams in C-USA with two or fewer losses during non-conference play. The only teams that don't fit that category are Middle Tennessee, FIU and UTSA who all have three losses through at least eight non-con tilts.
- Founded in 1877 originally as Detroit College near downtown Detroit, Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic University that is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy. UDM as it is often called is the largest Catholic University in the state of Michigan featuring three campuses, while offering more than a hundred academic degrees.
UP NEXT
Charlotte returns to action and concludes its non-conference season when it travels north to West Long Branch, New Jersey to take on CAA foe, Monmouth next Saturday afternoon. Tipoff from the OceanFirst Bank Center is slated for 2 p.m. ET on FloSports.
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