clark at wofford
Mark Olencki

Men's Basketball

Keydets travel to UNCG for second meeting of season

LEXINGTON, Va. - After an exciting 82-70 win over rival The Citadel this past weekend, the VMI basketball team looks to ride the momentum Wednesday night when the Keydets face UNCG at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
The game is the second meeting between the schools this season after the Spartans earned a hard-fought 60-57 win over the Keydets in Lexington back on Saturday, January 25.
 
Broadcast Information
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Quick Hits
* The Keydets (12-13, 6-6) are coming off a big win against The Citadel Bulldogs,82-70, to earn VMI's second sweep of the season and first sweep over The Citadel since the 2019-20 season. It also ties the all-time series record at 62-62
* The Keydets are one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the league and rank second in the SoCon at 76.0 percent
* VMI's offense ranks fifth in the SoCon in points per game at 75.6 ppg. On the other end of the court, the Keydets rank third in the league in steals at 8.1 per game
* Tan Yildizoglu directs the offense and averages 4.3 assists per game, third-best in the league
* TJ Johnson ranks fourth in the league in minutes per game at 32.3.
*  Augustinas Kiudulas is fifth in the conference in offensive rebounds at 2.5 per contest and seventh in defensive rebounds at 4.2 per game
* AJ Clark is second in the league in steals per game at 1.9 and sixth overall in blocks at 0.9 per outing. He is also presently seventh in the SoCon in field goal percentage at 57.5 percent
* Rickey Bradley, Jr. ranks second in the SoCon in minutes per game at 33.4
 
A win over UNCG would ...
-- Improve VMI to 13-13 on the season and mark the Keydets' seventh league win of the year, its most in three years
-- Snap a five-game losing skid to the Spartans
-- Be VMI's first win in Greensboro over the Spartans since the 2021-22 season, a 76-65 Keydet victory
-- Be VMI's 11th all-time win against the Spartans
 
About UNCG (16-9, 9-3)
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 9-3 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 opened the month of February with a tough 62-74 loss to Wofford but are coming off two straight SoCon wins over The Citadel and Western Carolina this past week.
 
Kenyon Giles ranks among the league leaders in scoring averaging 15.8 points per game and is followed closely by Donovan Atwell's 14.1 ppg. Ronald Polite III also averages double figures putting in 13.8 points each outing. Jalen Breath is the team's top rebounder at 6.6 per game.
 
All-Time Series History vs. UNCG (10-26)
The Keydets and Spartans have only met 36 times in the all-time series history dating back to 1978 with UNCG coming out victorious in 26 of those contests. UNCG has won five in a row over the past few 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 82, The Citadel 70 – Saturday, Feb. 8 – Lexington, Va.
The VMI basketball team earned a hard-fought 82-70 victory over rival The Citadel Saturday afternoon at Cameron Hall to sweep the season series against the Bulldogs. The all-time series now stands at 62 win apiece for each program.
 
The Keydets (12-13, 6-6) move to .500 within league play at 6-6 and have now achieved two season sweeps against SoCon opponents as VMI has topped both The Citadel and Western Carolina in both contests this year. The Citadel falls to 5-18, 0-12 in conference play with the loss.
 
VMI and The Citadel played a tight contest for much of the opening half as VMI led by just a 30-27 tally with four minutes before the break. The Keydets went on a little run over the final stretch to build a 41-31 halftime advantage as junior Rickey Bradley, Jr. and freshman Linus Holmstrom converted three-pointers in that span to help the Keydets pull away.



 
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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