FAYETTEVILLE, NC – The Trojans and the Broncos have developed a bit of a rivalry as of late after losing to FSU 63-60 earlier this season following a go-ahead three-pointer that left just 1.1 second left for the Trojans. Virginia State is still seeking revenge after having their 2021 season cut short by the Broncos in the Quarterfinals of the CIAA Basketball Tournament. The Broncos enter play winning their last five games while the Trojans stand tall at 3-1 in the month of December with their lone loss being at the hands of FSU. The marquee CIAA matchup is slated for Saturday, December 17 at 4:00 p.m. in Felton J. Capel Arena.
Virginia State (7-3, 1-0) at Fayetteville State (6-6, 1-0)
Series History
This will be the 110
th meeting between the two teams as the Trojans currently lead 58-51 in matchups dating back to 1988. VSU will look to even the regular season series at 1-1 after FSU snuck out of Ettrick with a win 63-60. The Broncos have indeed won five of the last six matchups as three of the last five wins have been by no more than two possessions.
Self-Scout
The Virginia State Men's Basketball team is 7-3 (1-0 CIAA) this season. Two of their three losses this season have been by way of a last second three-pointer. Last time out, the Trojans kicked off their Carolina tour with a win against St. Augustine's 69-55 after shooting 50% from the field with nine steals. Virginia State scores 76.5 points (3
rd in CIAA) while giving up 67.3. The squad still leads the CIAA and ranks 10
th in the nation in assists per contest (17.00). The Trojans also currently rank second in the CIAA in assist/turnover ratio maintaining a 0.98. VSU currently shoots 47.1% from the field and leads the conference in three-point percentage shooting 39.5%. They get to the free throw line 15.1 times per game but look to shoot with more consistency maintaining a 64.3% free throw percentage. The squad allows teams to shoot just 40.3% from the field (2
nd in CIAA) and 30.2% from beyond the arc (2
nd in CIAA). They have forced 175 turnovers on the season and average 17.8 points per game off turnovers. They are currently plus 7.2 (2
nd in CIAA) in the rebounding category and have accounted for 84 steals this season. They also average 3.9 blocks per game (2
nd in CIAA). The Trojans currently have four players who average double figures and rank within the top-25 in the CIAA in points per game.
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield leads the team with 17.6 points per game (2
nd in CIAA) while shooting 78.0% (6
th in CIAA) from the free throw line. He also leads the team (1
st in CIAA, T-5
th in NCAA) with 28 steals averaging 2.8 per contest. Hunter-Whitfield ranks second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game (T-13
th in CIAA). Hunter-Whitfield has been deadly efficient from the field shooting 48.8% (T-7
th in CIAA). He knocks down 33.3% of his shots from downtown and ranks second on the team with 12 three-pointers made (T-12
th in CIAA). He is third on the team with 23 assists this season (13
th in CIAA). Hunter-Whitfield's off-season conditioning is paying off this season as he ranks second in the CIAA in minutes played per game with 32.5. Last time out, Hunter-Whitfield went 6-of-12 (50%) from the field which led to a team-high 16 points while grabbing three rebounds along with three steals in 31 minutes of play against St. Augustine's.
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald has shown his incredible versatility this season as he ranks second on the team in assists with 29 (T-8
th in CIAA) and second in assist/turnover ratio maintaining a 1.5 (T-5
th in the CIAA). Fitzgerald has been committed to crashing the boards this season as 7.4 rebounds per game leads the team (T-5
th in CIAA). He leads the team with 25 made three-pointers (2
nd in CIAA) which leads to 12.2 points per game (14
th in CIAA). He also ties for 10
th in the CIAA with six blocks. Last time out, Fitzgerald recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points along with 11 rebounds while shooting 5-of-9 (55.6%) from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from downtown with a pair of assists and a steal against the Falcons.
The signal-caller for the Trojans in
Zach Newkirk currently leads the conference averaging 5.0 assists per game (T-14
th in NCAA) while maintaining a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio (2
nd in CIAA). He is consistent from the free throw line knocking down 85.2% of his shots. Newkirk has found recent heat from beyond the arc after hitting 6-of-11 (54.5%) of his three-pointers through his last four games while hitting 12-of-26 (46.2%) three-pointers this season and ties for 11
th in the CIAA with 1.2 made three-pointers per game. He averages 10.9 points per contest (T-20
th in CIAA) on a 47.4% field goal percentage. Newkirk scored eight points and dished out four assists with a steal in the win over the Falcons last time out.
Tremere Brown has been a dominating force in the paint for the Trojans this season averaging 11.3 points per game (18
th in CIAA) along with 4.3 rebounds a game and leads the team with 22 offensive rebounds. Brown leads the team with a 62.0% field goal percentage along with five blocks. (T-11
th in CIAA) Brown scored 10 points in the win over St. Augustine's along with five rebounds.
Scouting the Broncos
The Fayetteville State men's basketball team has been on a heater as of late winning their five games which makes them undefeated in the month of December. Just like the Trojans, the Broncos started conference play 1-0 after wrangling the Bears of Shaw 71-66. The Trojans and the Broncos share a loss to #17 UNC-Pembroke after being defeated 68-58. While the Broncos are near the bottom of the barrel in the conference in scoring (63.8) they rank third in points allowed per game (63.1). They shoot 40.0% (CIAA-low) from the field, 35.0% (2
nd in CIAA) from three-point range and 64.0% from the foul line while shooting while shooting just 10.1 free throws per contest. FSU leads the CIAA in three-pointers made per game with 8.3 yet, average a CIAA-low 8.67 assists per contest. FSU is minus 0.3 in rebounding margin averaging 33.1 per contest. They average 6.08 steals per contest and force 12.9 turnovers per game. Senior Cress Worthy leads the team with 14.6 points per game (T-6
th in CIAA) and ranks ninth in the CIAA maintaining a 35.8 field goal percentage. He leads the team in three-pointers made with 23 (3
rd in CIAA) and ranks second on the team with 59 rebounds. Worthy leads the team in steals with 13 and assists with 33 which also ties for fifth in the CIAA. He currently leads the conference in minutes per game (36.4) as he is the only player in the CIAA with 400 total minutes this season (437).
