Jan. 24, 2008
Complete Upstate vs. North Florida Game Notes in PDF Format 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate travels to Jacksonville, Fla., Friday to take on old Peach Belt Conference rival North Florida at 7:00 p.m. The two teams were once members of NCAA Division II's Peach Belt Conference. North Florida made the transition to Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2004, while Upstate is in its first season on the Division I level as a member of the A-Sun. Upstate enters the game with a 3-16 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the A-Sun. North Florida enters the game with a 1-16 overall record and an 0-5 mark in the league. Spartan fans can listen to the game live on the radio in the Spartanburg area on ESPN 1400 AM or on the internet at www.espn1400am.com or www.upstatespartans.com. Follow the game online through ASun.TV by visiting the ASUN.TV website at www.asun.tv/uscupstate. Get live statistical updates through North Florida's athletics website at www.unfospreys.com.
Recapping Belmont
With the game tied at 26-26 in the first half, Belmont used a pair of big runs to open double digit leads and went on for a 76-52 victory over Upstate Saturday in Nashville.
Upstate battled back to trim a 17-point deficit to nine midway through the second half, but Belmont extended the lead back to double digits and went on for the win. Jeremy Byrd led Upstate with 15 points, while Shane Dansby led Belmont with 15 points.
Spartans, Ospreys Renew Rivalry
USC Upstate and North Florida renew a rivalry that began in 1997 and took a brief hiatus after the 2003-04 season. The two schools were once rivals in the Peach Belt Conference. However, North Florida left the conference after making the transition to NCAA Division I and gained membership into the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2004. Upstate has now joined UNF in the A-Sun, competing in the conference for the first time this year. Upstate owns a 5-3 lead in the series, however North Florida won the last contest, a 76-65 decision on Jan. 10, 2004.
Upstate 22nd In Latest Sagarin SSI Ratings
USC Upstate's current strength of schedule is ranked as the 22nd toughest schedule out of 341 Division I teams by Jeff Sagarin in his daily updated strength of schedule index. The strength of schedule ranking is the tops in the Atlantic Sun. East Tennessee State is second at No. 65 and is the only other A-Sun school to have a SSI in the Top 100.
Spartans Non-Conference Schedule 18th
Upon completion of the 14-game non-conference schedule on Jan. 2 at Iowa State, USC Upstate's schedule was ranked as the 18th-toughest schedule by Jeff Sagarin in his daily updated strength of schedule index of all 341 Division I teams.
Byrd Would Be No. 3 If...
Senior point guard Jeremy Byrd is used to sitting atop conference or national statistical lists for steals. He led the Peach Belt Conference in steals in each of the last three years and spent over half of the season last year atop the nation in steals in NCAA Division II.
While Upstate is playing in its first season of Division I competition and is in its reclassifying years, the NCAA does not recognize players on teams who are reclassifying on their statistical leader lists. However, if Byrd were eligible, he would rank third in the nation with 3.3 steals per game, trailing UT-Martin's Lester Hudson by 0.2 spg and South Carolina's Devan Downey by 0.1 spg. He does lead the A-Sun in steals, nearly a full steal ahead of No. 2 on the list.
Home Sweet Home
Despite playing just 10 games at home this season, the Spartans will be happy to do so. Upstate has a solid home record, going 56-19 in six years under head coach Eddie Payne.
Stop At 59
USC Upstate is 3-0 when holding opponents under 60 points this season and 0-16 when allowing opponents to score 60 or more. The Spartans claimed wins over Brevard (78-54), SMU (58-56) and Gardner-Webb (73-59) when holding opponents under 60 points.
Spartans Getting Defensive
The 2007-08 Spartans should not be confused with any team that plays with a run and gun style. The Spartans average nearly 62 points per game and attempt to dictate tempo on both ends of the court. Since beginning A-Sun play, Upstate's defense has proven to be battle tested. The Spartans are holding A-Sun opponents to 41.6 percent shooting from the floor and have forced 92 turnovers on the year.
Davis Keeps Plugging Along
Junior power forward Bobby Davis continues to spark Upstate with his play inside. The Spartans most potent post player, Davis has reached double figures in eight of the last 10 games. He turned in 12 points in the overtime loss at Lipscomb last Thursday night. He is averaging a strong 11.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in league play. He has increased his overall scoring average to 9.3 ppg.
Byrd Feeling Sunny In League Play
Senior point guard Jeremy Byrd has certainly come into his own during A-Sun play this year. Having served a three-game suspension earlier in the season, the Greenville, S.C., native seemingly lost confidence. Since league play began on Jan. 5, though, Byrd has returned to the form he had during his first three seasons when the electrifying player led the team as the floor general. He currently ranks a close second on the team in scoring during league games at 13.0 ppg. He also averages 3.4 rebounds per outing, has dished out a team-best 15 assists and picked a team-high 16 steals in the five league games. He has reached double figures in four of the five league games, including a season-high 15 Saturday at Belmont. Prior to the start of conference play, he had only reached double figures one time.
Three In Double Figures
While Luke Payne is the only Spartan to average in double figures overall (14.4 ppg), three Spartans average in double figures in league games. Payne still leads the way at 13.2 ppg, but Jeremy Byrd is close behind at 13.0 ppg. Bobby Davis, who ranks second overall at 9.3 ppg, averages 11.2 points per game against A-Sun competition. Mezie Uzochukwu narrowly misses averaging in double figures at 9.8 ppg.
Preston Plays Key Minutes
Prior to the Jan. 5 game at East Tennessee State, red-shirt freshman Matt Preston had seen action in just one game, the 78-54 victory over Brevard on Dec. 6. With Rory Spencer out of the lineup and Spartan post players in foul trouble, Preston was called upon to log some minutes. He did such an impressive job during his time on the floor that the coaches have found a way to get him in the lineup three of the next four games. He scored a career-high four points and played a career-high 23 minutes in the overtime loss to Lipscomb last Thursday.
Shaking Up The Lineup
Head Coach Eddie Payne has used eight different starting lineups in 19 games this season. Bobby Davis is the only Spartan to start every game this season. Luke Payne has started 18 of the 19 games this year, his lone missed start coming against IUPUI when he did not start because of a severe thigh bruise. Despite not starting, he played 30 minutes in the game and finished with nine points.
Payne Receives A-Sun Weekly Honor
Senior guard Luke Payne became the first basketball player (men or women) at USC Upstate to receive weekly honors from the Atlantic Sun Conference when he was named the league's player of the week on Dec. 24. Payne received the honor after averaging 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game and leading Upstate to their first win over a Division I opponent, a 58-56 victory at SMU (Dec. 18).
Payne Receives BP TOWC Honor
Despite playing the final two games, and part of the first, with a deep thigh bruise at the BP Top of the World Classic Nov. 16-18, starting guard Luke Payne played well enough to garner All-Tournament honors. He scored 43 points in three games, averaging 14.3 points and three rebounds per outing in the tournament. He scored 17 points against Akron and Oregon State and nine against IUPUI.
Payne Receives Sun Bowl Honor
Luke Payne had a tremendous tournament at the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, Texas, Dec. 21-22. His performance, in particular, in the second game of the tourney against Buffalo not only secured his spot on the All-Tournament team, but it overshadowed a standout two-game performance by teammate Bobby Davis.
Payne finished the UTEP game (Dec. 21) with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. In the tourney finale against Buffalo the next day, the senior guard went for a career-high 26 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. He was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Payne's efforts overshadowed those of Davis who turned in his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds against UTEP and finished with 13 points and six boards against Buffalo. Davis averaged 12.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the tournament.
Monumental Win
USC Upstate's 58-56 win at SMU (Dec. 18) was another milestone victory for the Spartans this year. Upstate claimed its first win in the Division era against Brevard on Dec. 6. However, Brevard is a Division II member, making the SMU win the first against a Division I program this year as well as the first win over a Division I opponents in the history of the school.
Upstate has several wins over programs currently competing on the Division I level, but the wins came in the 1970s and 80s when the institutions played in the NAIA before moving to NCAA Division I membership.
Payne Reaches Milestone
Senior guard Luke Payne notched his 1,000th-point at UNC Greensboro (Nov. 24). The Spartanburg High School graduate sank a three-pointer with a little over seven minutes to play in the game to give him 12 points in the contest and 1,000 for his career. He went on to finish with 15 points in the game.
Payne became the 17th player in the history of the storied program to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He currently has 1,206 points in his career and has cracked the top 10 all-time in scoring, Darren McDuffie (11th), Todd Gambrell (12th), Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame member Mike Smith (12th) on the list as well as Charles Ford (14th), Terrance Gist (15th), Carlos Bryson (16th) and Willie Murdaugh (17th) on the all-time scoring list.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Payne ranks among the program's all-time leaders in 14 other statistical categories.
Playing No Gimmies
Upstate's ambitious schedule in 2007-08 certainly has no slouches on it. In fact, when you combine the win-loss records of the 17 Division I opponents the Spartans have played so far this year, the opponents are a combined 165-131 for a winning percentage of .557. Upstate's non-conference opponents are a combined 120-84 for a winning percentage of .588.
In the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll released by CollegeInsider.com, the Spartans have played two teams ranked in the poll. Akron, who gutted out a tough 64-60 victory over Upstate in the first game of the BP Top of the World Classic, is ranked fifth. IUPUI, the second-day opponent of the Spartans in the BP TOWC, is ranked 23rd.
Upstate Road Warriors
By season's end, USC Upstate will have played 30 games with two-thirds of the games being played away from the G.B. Hodge Center. In fact, the Spartans opened the season playing their first seven games away from the friendly confines of the Hodge Center before playing its home opener against Brevard on Dec. 6. Upstate played 13 of its first 15 games on the road this season. In all, Upstate will travel more than 12,000 miles away from Spartanburg, and nearly 24,000 miles round trip, this season to play 20 games away from home.
Byrd Flies To The Top
Jeremy Byrd collected six steals in the season-opening game at Utah, surpassing Terrance Gist (276) to move atop the all-time steals list at Upstate. Byrd now has 328 picks in his stellar four-year career with the Spartans.
Byrd, from Greenville, leads the Atlantic Sun with 3.3 steals per game, nearly a full steal ahead of second place on the list. He led the Peach Belt Conference in steals the first three years of his collegiate career, recording 94 steals as a reserve his freshman campaign and 90 each as a sophomore and junior.
Hines Gives Schneiders Props
Reigning Southern Conference player of the year and UNC Greensboro standout Kyle Hines gave Upstate center Nick Schneiders praise on his blog. Hines was in the middle of recapping recent action when he talked of Schneider's thunderous dunk over him.
"USC Upstate had a 7-2 player on their team that I had to guard in the game," Hines blogged. "He was the tallest player I had played against. I faired well against him until one play in the second half, he dunked on me pretty bad. Coach (Mike) Dement showed the play like five times during our film session. I must admit it looked really bad on film. The coaches and rest of the team got a good laugh out of that one."
A-Sun Makes Some Noise
If the start if the season is any indication of how good the Atlantic Sun Conference is going to be this year, the league will be tough. Belmont, East Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, Mercer and Upstate have pulled off impressive wins early in the season. Below is a listing of the notable wins this season by A-Sun schools.
N7--Gardner-Webb def. No. 22 Kentucky, 84-68
N9--Belmont def. Cincinnati, 86-75
N10--Mercer def. No. 18 Southern Cal, 96-81
N19--Belmont def. Alabama, 85-83
D18--USC Upstate def. SMU, 58-56
D21--East Tennessee State def. Georgia, 76-58
Greensboro Newbies Have Solid Pedigrees
When coaches bring in new recruits, they not only look for individual talent, they also look to see how well a player helps their former team and the how well the teams do in competition. Josh Chavis and Mezie Uzochukwu, both from Greensboro, N.C., come to Upstate after strong senior seasons.
Chavis, from Dudley HS, played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game. He also spent the summer playing for the N.C. Gaters AAU team. He was the starting point guard on the team that won the AAU 19-Under National Championship. Uzochukwu, from Northeast Guilford HS, also played in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game. He finished the game with a team-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, leading the West squad to the 81-75 victory and earning MVP honors. He joined a prestigious club of East-West MVP winners, including recent honorees Kevin Swinton and William Graves, both of whom now play in the ACC.
Burrows Brings Experience To Sidelines
First-year assistant coach Bill Burrows is anything but new to the game. The veteran of the sideline has been a head coach on the high school level in North Carolina for nearly 30 years and was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech and Towson. He can tell stories of coaching greats such as Brad Daugherty and Brad Johnson, but his best quality may be his ability to tell stories that both entertain and educate.
Paul Makes Good
Former Spartan starting point guard C.J. Paul is now living the life around the NBA. No, he is not playing in the world's top league, he is serving as the personal assistant/manager for his younger brother, Chris, the former NBA Rookie of Year now in his third season with the New Orleans Hornets.
Scouting North Florida
North Florida enters Friday's game with a 1-16 overall record and an 0-5 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Ospreys have lost their last 14 games following their 57-41 victory over Concordia on Nov. 16. North Florida has lost non-conference games to Maryland, Tulsa, Florida, Charleston Southern, Savannah State, William & Mary, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, Miami (Fla.), IPFW and Notre Dame. The Ospreys have lost conference games to Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson, Mercer, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville.
About The Team
Tom Hammonds is the team's leading scorer and the only player to average in double figures. He scores at a 13.8 ppg clip. He has made a team-high 26 three-pointers on the year and averages 4.2 rebounds per outing. James Grimball ranks second on the team at 7.9 points per game. He grabs a team-best 6.2 rebounds per outing. He leads the team with 29 blocks on the year. Chris Timberlake leads the team with 53 assists and averages 7.2 points per outing.
North Florida, like Upstate, does not score a lot of points. The Ospreys average 57.8 points per outing and allow opponents to score 73.8 points per game. North Florida shoots 36.4 percent from the floor, including 25.5 percent from behind the three-point arc. Opponents shoot at a 45.7 percent clip against the Ospreys, including 37.2 percent from three-point land. North Florida hits 61.7 percent of their free throws.
North Florida rebounds at a 34.7 rpg average, while the Ospreys give up 39.4 rpg. Opponents have grabbed 213 offensive rebounds on the year. The Ospreys have 126 more turnovers than assists on the year (305-179), but have come up with 127 steals.
About The Coach
Head coach Matt Kilcullen is in his ninth season at the helm of the North Florida program and his 19th overall. He owns a 208-301 overall record and an 88-154 mark at North Florida. The winningest coach in program history, he was previously the head coach at Castleton State (1979-82), Jacksonville (1991-94) and Western Kentucky (1994-98). He led the 1994-95 Western Kentucky squad to 27 wins and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. As an assistant coach, he worked at Delaware Valley College, Siena, Notre Dame and Manhattan.
