PREVIEW: Men’s Basketball visits unblemished Anderson squad for SAC opener

ANDERSON, S.C. – The Catawba College men's basketball team is back in action on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., kicking off its South Atlantic Conference slate on the road against Anderson.

#22 Goes for 22

- Kris Robinson tied his career high in three-pointers made last Wednesday, drilling six treys in a 22-point affair to help Catawba take down Young Harris, 73-69

- The senior guard has been Catawba's top scorer in each contest, posting a per-game average of 19.7 points

- In conference standings, Robinson slots second in points per game and tops the league in both threes attempted and made

Banks Blocks

- Justin Banks paces the SAC with two blocks per game, swatting three Mountain Lion shots in last week's home win as the big man grabbed six boards and dished out two assists

- The Schaumburg, Ill. native's last stop sent the Goodman Arena crowd into a frenzy as he stuffed a fast-break lay-in with 30 seconds to play

- Banks was one of the league's best blockers as a sophomore last year, ranking second with 36 total blocks and third at 1.44 stops per game

SAC Outlook

- In preseason, Catawba nabbed one first-place nod and was projected to finish third behind Carson-Newman and Lincoln Memorial who tied for the top spot in the coaches' poll

- The blue and white received no representatives on the preseason all-conference list, but the SAC highlighted Robinson, Banks, O'Mazeon Tinsley, and Montraivis White as players to watch

- Anderson was voted into the sixth position, wedged between Tusculum and Coker to make up a trio separated by just six points

- Austin Webb earned a Preseason All-SAC placement on the second team while AJ Wright Jr., Dallas Jones, and Cole Middleton were tabbed to the watch list

All-Time Series

- The Catawba Indians boast a 19-17 lead over the Trojans all-time

- Anderson has stood tall on home court, posting a 10-7 record against Catawba

- Once trailing in the series 11-17, the blue and white have taken down Anderson in the last eight meetings

- The previous 10 matchups featured no true blowouts only one contest was decided by more than 13 points; that occurrence was Anderson's last win on Feb. 26, 2020 (82-66)

Scouting the Trojans

- Off to a 3-0 start, the Trojans have won each of its three games by double-digit margins and are coming off a 92-77 victory over Lees-McRae

- Anderson received votes but landed just outside the 10 ranked programs in the D2CSC Southeast Region Poll released Monday

- In 2023-24, AU finished 15-14 with an even 10-10 conference record

- So far this season, Webb is the Trojans' leading scorer with 17.7 points per game bolstered by a team-high seven three-pointers

- Wright Jr. has been AU's most efficient shooter, hitting 65.0 percent from the field, while averaging 5.7 assists and 3.0 steals per contest

Follow Along

The game will be broadcast live from Abney Athletic Center on FloSports ($) with live stats on autrojans.com.