Samford Game Information (Wednesday, Jan. 1 – 3 p.m. (Eastern) – Birmingham, Ala. – Pete Hanna Center)
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Western Carolina Game Information (Saturday, Jan. 4 – 1 p.m. – Charleston, S.C. – McAlister Field House)
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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel basketball team will open the 2020 calendar year with a couple of Southern Conference games this week, including one on the road and one at home. The Bulldogs will first travel to Samford on Wednesday, Jan. 1 to open the new year with a 3 p.m. Eastern tipoff before returning home to face Western Carolina at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4.

REPORT CARD GAME SATURDAY
On Saturday, Jan. 4, The Citadel will honor local honor students. Any student who brings their report card to the game with all As and Bs on it will receive a $5 ticket.

KIDET CLUB DAY SATURDAY
Saturday's game against Western Carolina will also serve as KIDet Club Day with all KIDet Club members being admitted for free.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior Kaiden Rice scored 19 second half points and The Citadel basketball team managed to close to within 12 points of NC State in the second half on Dec. 22, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs fell 83-63 at the hands of the Wolfpack. The Citadel ended the game shooting 33.8% (23-of-68) from the field, but the Bulldogs out-shot the Pack from long range, converting 14 treys compared to just eight by NC State. NC State shot 47.0% (31-of-66) from the field. Rice led all scorers with 19 points, including a game-high five 3-pointers. Senior Kaelon Harris ended his night with 13 points and six rebounds, while junior Alex Reed netted 10 points to go along with seven rebounds. Tyson Batiste led the 'Dogs with seven assists, while Eddie Davis, III finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Markell Johnson led the Wolfpack with a triple-double off 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Devon Daniels led the Pack in scoring with 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

THE BULLDOGS NATIONALLY
The Citadel enters this week in the top 50 in NCAA Division I in six different statistical categories, including in the top 20 in four of those. The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation in scoring with an average of 85.1 points per outing, fifth with 10.8 3-pointers made per game, tied for 13^th with 17.3 assists per game and The Citadel is 17^th in the nation with 130 triples made. The 'Dogs are tied for 40^th in the nation with 208 assists and tied for 45^th with 28.4 defensive rebounds per game.

TYSON WITH THE ASSIST
Graduate transfer point guard Batiste is currently tied for 16^th in the nation, and second in the Southern Conference, with an average of 6.3 assists per game and is 47^th in assist-to-turnover ratio with a +2.38. Batiste is currently tied for fourth in the nation for most assists in the first four minutes of a game with 13.

RICE NATIONALLY
Rice enters the week tied for 18^th in the nation, and second in the conference, with 3.25 3-pointers made per game.

K-RICE FROM LONG RANGE
With his five 3-pointers made against NC State on Dec. 22, Rice has converted at least one 3-pointer in 11 straight games, and multiple treys in nine straight. Rice has converted at least four 3-pointers in five games this season, giving him 16 games with at least four treys for his career.

RICE CLIMBING THE RANKS
Rice boasts 142 3-pointers made in his career, cracking the top-15 in program history for career made treys. Rice's 142 made 3-pointers are 12th in program history. He is 18 treys away from cracking the top 10 in program history.

HARRIS ECLIPSING THE 700-POINT MARK
With his 13 points scored at NC State on Dec. 22, Harris eclipsed the 700-point mark for his career. The senior from Atlanta, Georgia is the 72^nd Bulldog in program history to score at least 700 points in a career.

WINNING RECORD VS. NON-SOCON TEAMS
With the 102-99 win over Longwood on Dec. 19, the Bulldogs finished with a winning record against non-conference opponents for the fourth time in five seasons. Head coach Duggar Baucom is the first Bulldog coach since coach Les Robinson's final five seasons (1980-85) to have four winning records over non-SoCon teams over the span of five seasons.

TRIPLE OVERTIME
The triple overtime game at Longwood on Dec. 19 marked the first triple-overtime game for The Citadel since the 1980-81 season. Coincidentally, the date of the last triple-overtime game was Dec. 19, 1980 and was also on the road. The 1980-81 Bulldogs fell 83-81 at South Carolina. The Citadel did play a five-overtime game the next season, winning 107-105 at home against USC Aiken on Feb. 17, 1982.

ECLIPSING THE CENTURY MARK
The Bulldogs eclipsed the 100-point mark for the third game in a row and the 24th time in Baucom's tenure. The Citadel improved to 3-0 on the year when scoring at least 100 points. The 'Dogs are 21-3 when scoring at least 100 points under Baucom, and 51-5 all-time in program history.

THE HISTORY WITH SAMFORD
The Citadel holds a slight 12-11 advantage all-time over Samford, including a 10-8 mark in regular-season Southern Conference contests. The pair of Bulldog squads are knotted at 5-5 in Birmingham. Last season, Samford won two of the three meetings, including 80-77 in Birmingham and 100-71 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Basketball Championship, but The Citadel defeated Samford 87-83, in overtime, in Charleston on Feb. 23. The win broke a streak of three straight wins by Samford.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS FROM BIRMINGHAM
Samford enters Wednesday's game 6-8 overall, 5-1 at home, and on a three-game losing skid. The Bulldogs from Birmingham most recently lost at Hawai'i, at home to Alabama and at Georgetown. Samford boasts NCAA Division I wins over Troy, Manhattan College and Houston Baptist. Wednesday will mark the Southern Conference opener for the Bulldogs. Samford enters the game averaging 77.9 points per game, while opponents have averaged 77.5 points per outing. The Bulldogs connect on 46.0% of their shots from the field, including 36.4% from beyond the 3-point arc. Samford's opponents have converted 42.8% of their shots from the field, including 30.4% from long range. Samford's foes have converted 8.6 3-pointers per game compared to 7.3 per outing by the Bulldogs. Samford averages 16.7 turnovers per game compared to 15.6 per contest by their opposition.

SAMFORD INDIVIDUALLY
Samford has been led this season by a quartet of players in double-digit scoring, highlighted by Josh Sharkey's 17.5 points per game. Sharkey also leads the team, and the nation, with 9.5 assists per game, 104 overall. Brandon Austin is second on the team with an average of 15.1 points per game in his 14 starts, while Robert Allen averages 13.5 points per game and Jalen Dupree contributes 12.8 points per contest. Nine players have seen action in at least 11 games and of those players, Logan Dye leads the way with a 62.9% shooting percentage. Dupree is second, converting 56.0% of his shots from the field, including 52.9% from beyond the 3-point arc. Austin leads the team with 38 made treys and Dupree is the leading rebounder, averaging 6.9 boards per contest. Austin and Dupree are the only two Bulldogs to have started every game, but Allen and DeAndre Thomas have both started 13 games. Sharkey is the only other player to have started most of Samford's game, making 11 starts.

THE HISTORY WITH WESTERN CAROLINA
Saturday will mark the 78^th meeting on the hardwood between The Citadel and Western Carolina. The Catamounts hold a 41-36 record over the Bulldogs, but the 'Dogs are 21-15 against WCU in Charleston. Western Carolina holds a slight 38-34 advantage in regular-season SoCon contests. The Cats are currently on a four-game winning streak in the series. The last Citadel victory came in the 2016-17 SoCon Tournament with the Bulldogs winning 78-72 in Asheville on March 3, 2017.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
Western Carolina enters the week 9-3 overall, including 1-0 in SoCon action and 3-3 on the road, with no games before traveling to Charleston on Saturday. The Catamounts are in the midst of a two-game winning streak, including an 89-76 win at Tennessee Tech and a 108-47 victory at home against Piedmont on Dec. 28. Western posted a five-game winning streak from Nov. 21 to Dec. 7, and boasts NCAA Division I wins over Gardner-Webb, North Carolina A&T, Jacksonville, Stetson, Chattanooga and UNC Asheville. The Cats average 81.2 points per game, while holding their opponents to 71.3 points per outing, a +9.8 scoring margin. WCU has connected on 47.4% of their shots from the field compared to 43.3% from their opposition, and boast a .375 shooting percentage from long range. Their foes have connected on just 30.0% of their shots from beyond the 3-point arc. The Cats average 10.3 3-pointers per game compared to 6.5 per game by their opponents.

WESTERN CAROLINA INDIVIDUALLY
Western Carolina's top five scorers happen to be their starting five. Mason Faulkner, Carlos Dotson, Matt Halvorsen, Kameron Gibson and Onno Steger have started all 12 games for the Cats. Faulkner leads the way in scoring with 18.3 points per outing with Dotson second with 13.3 points per game. Halvorsen (10.8) and Gibson (10.2) are also in double figures with Steger just outside the mark with an average of 9.4 points per game. Eight total players have played in all 12 games, and of those players, Xavier Cork leads the way with a .636 shooting percentage. Faulkner leads the team with 76 assists and Dotson is the leading rebounder with an average of 8.8 boards per outing. Halvorsen leads the team with 35 made 3-pointers.

COMING UP
After Saturday's game against Western Carolina, the Bulldogs will be off for a week, traveling to Wofford on Saturday, Jan. 11 for a 7 p.m. game against the Terriers.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Fans attending ticketed athletic events at The Citadel this year are reminded of the new clear bag policy that has been implemented. Under the policy, fans will be allowed to bring with them a clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bag that does not exceed 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches, or a one-gallon plastic bag (such as Ziploc or Hefty bags). The bags may have a logo on one side that is no larger than 4.5 inches by 3.4 inches. Bags carrying a properly sized logo of other teams or venues are permitted. For more information, please click HERE.

PICK SIX PACKS AVAILABLE
"Pick 6 Pack" packages are now available for the upcoming 2019-20 Citadel basketball season and can be purchased through The Citadel Ticket Office for $72. The package allows fans to receive six undated vouchers that can be used in any combination towards tickets to any home game. Fans can use the vouchers to receive one ticket to six different games, or can get six tickets to one game and anything in between. To order or for more information, call The Citadel Ticket Office at (843) 953-DOGS (3647).

JOIN THE CITADEL BRIGADIER FOUNDATION
Membership in The Citadel Brigadier Foundation is open to alumni and friends of The Citadel who are interested in supporting Bulldog athletics. By joining, you provide annual charitable contributions that fund scholarships for cadet-student-athletes. Supporters interested in joining TCBF or for more information, please click HERE.

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on The Citadel basketball team, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @CitadelHoops and @CitadelSports on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.