ETTRICK, VA – The Virginia State Men's Basketball team will not even have time to unpack their bags after playing games on back-to-back days in the U.S. Virgin Islands Classic. The Trojans will have to prepare for another tough matchup hosting one of the CIAA-South's finest in Winston Salem State. The matchup will be streamed live on HBCU GO! on Thursday, January 5 at 8:00 p.m.
Virginia State (10-4) (3-0 CIAA) vs. Winston-Salem Sate (10-2, 2-1 CIAA)
Series History
The Trojans are an even 7-7 against the Rams in matchups dating back to 2006. VSU has won eight of the nine matchups but WSSU won their most recent meeting 90-88 in 2022.
Self-Scout
The Virginia State Men's Basketball team is 10-4 (3-0 CIAA) this season which makes them the team to beat in the CIAA as they are the only team without a conference loss to this point. Last time out, the Trojans had their five-game win-streak snapped by Tusculum in the semifinals YES! U.S. Virgin Islands Classic 67-59. The Trojans have dropped only one game this season to a team with under .500. Virginia State scores 75.4 points per game while giving up 66.6 (3
rd in CIAA). The squad still leads the CIAA in assists per contest (14.57). The Trojans maintains an assist/turnover ratio a 0.88 (3
rd in CIAA). VSU currently shoots 47.4% (3
rd in CIAA) from the field and leads the conference in three-point percentage shooting 36.9%. They get to the free throw line 14.9 times per game but look to shoot with more consistency maintaining a 64.5% free throw percentage. The squad allows teams to shoot just 40.1% from the field (Leads CIAA) and 29.3% from beyond the arc (Leads CIAA). They have forced 235 turnovers on the season and average 17.4 points per game off turnovers. They are currently plus 6.4 (3
rd in CIAA) in the rebounding category and have accounted for 110 steals this season. They also average 3.50 blocks per game (2
nd in CIAA). The Trojans currently have four players who average double figures.
Bucket Getter
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield ranks second in the CIAA in points per game averaging 18.1 (2
nd in CIAA) while shooting 69.6% (13
th in CIAA) from the free throw line. He also leads the team (1
st in CIAA, T-4
th in NCAA) with 34 steals averaging 2.4 per contest. Hunter-Whitfield ranks second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game (T-13
th in CIAA). Hunter-Whitfield has been deadly efficient from the field shooting 50.3% (3
rd in CIAA). He knocks down 31.9% of his shots from downtown and ties for second on the team with 15 three-pointers made (T-11
th in CIAA). He is third on the team with 28 assists this season (13
th in CIAA). Last time out, Hunter-Whitfield struggled a little their last time out scoring just 11 points with five rebounds with an assist, a block and a steal while shooting 3-of-9 (33.3%) from the field and 5-9 (55%) from the foul line against Tusculum.
Switchblade
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald continues to consistently stuff the stat sheet as he ranks second on the team in assists with 36 (T-8
th in CIAA). Fitzgerald has been committed to crashing the boards this season despite spending most of his time beyond the three-point arc as 8.1 rebounds per game leads the team (3
rd in CIAA). He also leads the team with 27 made three-pointers averaging 2.1 per game (T-3
rd in CIAA) which leads to 12.6 points per game (14th in CIAA). He also ties for ninth in the CIAA with seven blocks. Last time out, Fitzgerald led the game with 15 points shooting 6-of-15 (40%) while hitting 3-of-6 (50%) of his shots from downtown. Fitzgerald also grabbed five rebounds with a block, an assist and a steal against the Pioneers.
Signal Caller
The signal-caller for the Trojans in
Zach Newkirk currently leads the conference averaging 4.2 assists per game while maintaining a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio (6
th in CIAA). He is consistent from the free throw line knocking down 86.5% of his shots. Newkirk has been a consistent force from behind the arc hitting 15-of-32 (46.9%) three-pointers this season and ties for 11
th with 15 made three-pointers. He averages 10.4 points per contest on a 45.4% field goal percentage. Last time out, Newkirk
scored eight points while shooting 2-of-5 (40%) from the field, 1-of-2 (50%) from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 (100%) from the foul line. Newkirk
grabbed two boards and attained two steals in the contest.
Paint Beast
Tremere Brown has been a dominating force in the paint for the Trojans this season averaging 10.3 points per game along with 4.1 rebounds a game and leads the team with 25 offensive rebounds. Brown leads the team with a 60.6% field goal percentage along with seven blocks. (T-9
th in CIAA) Brown scored four points on 2-of-4 (50%) shooting from the field with five rebounds, a block and a steal. Against Tusculum,
Tremere Brown added seven points shooting 3-of-5 (60%) from the field.
Scouting the Rams
The Winston-Salem State Rams enter the matchups winning nine of their last 10 ball games with six of them coming by a deficit of 10 or more points. The squad averages 74.5 points per game while giving up just 61.7 (1
st in CIAA). The Rams also lead the conference in assist/turnover ratio (0.91) and rebounding margin (8.4). WSSU shoots 46.7% from the field and 32.9%. They shoot 15.4 free throws per game shooting 71.2%. They average just 13.3 turnovers while forcing 15.8 per contest and averaging 17.4 points off turnovers. They average 7.7 steals per game with 2.4 blocks. Jaylon Gibson leads the Rams with 14.6 (5
th in CIAA) along with eight rebounds per game (3
rd in CIAA). He leads the conference with 61.6%. Gibson ranks eighth in the conference shooting 73.9% from the free throw line. He leads his team with 12 blocks (5
th in CIAA). He also has made 3-of-5 of his three-pointers while shooting 68% from the foul line.
