johnson-holmstrom-clark-bradley vs furman
Randall K. Wolf

Men's Basketball

VMI faces UNCG seeking fourth straight win

LEXINGTON, Va. – Looking to pick up a fourth straight conference win for the first time in three years, the VMI basketball team plays host to league foe UNCG Saturday at 1 p.m. at Cameron Hall.
 
The game is being promoted as a Red Out as all fans are encouraged to wear red to the game.
 
Broadcast Information
Watch on ESPN+  |  Live Stats |  Tickets | Game Program
 
Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Game
Saturday's game is also recognized as the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers game sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Coaches from both teams will don sneakers with their suits to support the charitable cause. 
 

Quick Hits
* The Keydets (9-11, 3-4) are coming off a huge 91-82 win at home against Furman this past Wednesday as sophomore Augustinas Kiudulas led the way with 22 points. The win marked VMI's third straight SoCon victory, which has not happened since the 2021-22 season
* The Keydets are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league and rank second in the SoCon at 75.6 percent
* VMI runs a high-scoring offense that ranks fourth in the SoCon in points per game at 77.0 ppg spurred by 11.3 offensive rebounds a game, fifth-best in the league. On the other end of the court, the Keydets rank third in the league in steals at 8.2 per game
* Tan Yildizoglu directs the offense and averages 4.4 assists per game, third-best in the league
* TJ Johnson ranks fifth in the league in minutes per game at 31.5. One of VMI's top defenders, he is averaging 1.4 steals per game to rank sixth in the league
*  Augustinas Kiudulas ranks sixth in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 2.3 and sixth in overall rebounds per outing at 6.4. He is presently seventh in the conference in scoring with 15.8 ppg
* AJ Clark is fourth in the league in steals per game at 1.7 and fifth in assist/turnover ratio at 2.7
* Rickey Bradley, Jr. ranks fourth in the SoCon in minutes per game at 32.0 and eighth in points per game at 15.7
 
 
A win over UNCG would ...
-- Improve VMI to 10-11 on the season and mark the Keydets' fourth straight league win, which has not happened since the 2021-22 season
-- Snap a four-game losing skid to the Spartans
-- Be VMI's first win in Lexington over the Spartans since February 17, 2021, an 88-77 VMI victory
-- Be VMI's 11th all-time win against the Bulldogs
 
About UNCG (12-8, 5-2)
The Spartans opened the season with a 7-6 record with losses to the likes of SMU, Indiana, San Jose State and UTEP but have rebounded nicely in SoCon play with a 5-2 mark against league opponents. The Spartans started out hot with conference wins over Wofford, Furman and Chattanooga before falling at Samford by a close 76-69 score. UNCG then defeated The Citadel and Western Carolina but are coming off a close 78-79 loss at home to Mercer.
 
Kenyon Giles ranks among the league leaders in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game and is followed closely by Donovan Atwell's 14.3 ppg. Ronald Polite III also averages double figures putting in 13.3 points a contest.
  
All-Time Series History vs. UNCG (10-25)
The Keydets and Spartans have only met 35 times in the all-time series history dating back to 1978 with UNCG coming out victorious in 25 of those contests. UNCG has won four in a row over the past two seasons as VMI last earned a win over the Spartans on February 2, 2022 by a 76-65 score in Greensboro.
 
Last Time Out: VMI 91, Furman 82 –Wednesday, Jan. 22 – Lexington, Va.
The VMI basketball team earned a hard-fought 91-82 victory over visiting Furman University Wednesday night at Cameron Hall to mark the first time in three years the Keydets have won three straight league contests.
 
With the win, the Keydets improve to 9-11, 3-4 in conference play while the Paladins fall to 15-5, 3-4 in Southern Conference action.
 
The win is significant for VMI in that it snapped a five-game losing streak to Furman and is the first win over the Paladins since claiming a 76-67 win in Lexington on January 1, 2022. The victory is VMI's 38th win over the Paladins in the all-time series.
 





 
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Players Mentioned

AJ Clark

#5 AJ Clark

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
Rickey Bradley, Jr.

#1 Rickey Bradley, Jr.

G
6' 2"
Junior
Augustinas Kiudulas

#11 Augustinas Kiudulas

F
6' 8"
Sophomore
Tan Yildizoglu

#30 Tan Yildizoglu

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
TJ Johnson

#44 TJ Johnson

F
6' 6"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

AJ Clark

#5 AJ Clark

6' 4"
Sophomore
G
Rickey Bradley, Jr.

#1 Rickey Bradley, Jr.

6' 2"
Junior
G
Augustinas Kiudulas

#11 Augustinas Kiudulas

6' 8"
Sophomore
F
Tan Yildizoglu

#30 Tan Yildizoglu

6' 4"
Sophomore
G
TJ Johnson

#44 TJ Johnson

6' 6"
Sophomore
F