William & Mary looks for home win vs UNCW
UNC Wilmington (5-12, 0-4) vs. William & Mary (11-5, 3-0)
Kaplan Arena, Williamsburg, Virginia; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: William & Mary looks for its eighth straight win over UNC Wilmington at Kaplan Arena. The last victory for the Seahawks at William & Mary was a 62-61 win on Jan. 4, 2010.
SQUAD LEADERS: William & Mary's Nathan Knight has averaged 20.1 points and 9.9 rebounds while Andy Van Vliet has put up 15.1 points and 9.2 rebounds. For the Seahawks, Jaylen Sims has averaged 14 points and 5.3 rebounds while Marten Linssen has put up 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Tribe have allowed only 66 points per game to conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 72 per game they gave up in non-conference play.JUMPING FOR JAYLEN: Sims has connected on 41.1 percent of the 107 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 11 of 35 over the last five games. He's also made 67.8 percent of his free throws this season.
WINLESS WHEN: UNC Wilmington is 0-9 when scoring fewer than 63 points and 5-3 when scoring at least 63.
TWO STREAKS: UNC Wilmington has dropped its last six road games, scoring 61.5 points and allowing 80 points during those contests. William & Mary has won its last four home games, scoring an average of 81.5 points while giving up 56.3.
STIFLING DEFENSE: UNC Wilmington has forced opponents into committing turnovers on 19.6 percent of all possessions, the second-highest rate among all CAA teams. That figure has slipped to 19.2 percent during the team's nine-game losing streak, however.
