Saturday, March 8th, 4:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: North Charleston Coliseum (13,600) -- Charleston, South Carolina. Television: None. Home Record: UNCG 10-3, ASU 9-4. Away Record: UNCG 7-8, ASU 7-7. Neutral Record: UNCG 1-0, ASU 2-1. Conference Record: UNCG 12-8, ASU 13-7. Series Record: Appalachian State leads, 15-13.

GAME NOTES: A pair of evenly matched teams meet in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament today, as the fifth-seeded UNC Greensboro Spartans tangle with the fourth-seeded Appalachian State Mountaineers. The winner of this game will earn the right to take on either Davidson or Wofford in the semifinal round on Sunday. The Spartans closed out the regular season with four straight wins, as they secured the fifth seed in this event with a 12-8 finish in conference play. UNCG has gone an even 9-9 all-time in this tourney, capturing its lone title in 2001. As ASU, it dropped four of its last six contests, but the team was still able to earn a share of the North Division crown at 13-7. The Mountaineers, though, lost out on the tie-breaker with Chattanooga and therefor was given the fourth seeded in the tourney. ASU owns a 36-34 lifetime record in this event and it has won two championships. The Mountaineers and Spartans split a pair of meetings during the regular season, leaving ASU with a 15-13 edge in the head-to-head series.

The Spartans have done a solid job at the offensive end of the court this season, as they are averaging 71.7 ppg behind 46.0 percent shooting from the field. The squad is paced by arguably the top big man in the conference in Kyle Hines, who nearly averages a double-double with a team-high 19.5 ppg and a league-best 9.1 rpg. Hines is also a big time factor on defense, as he tops the roster in steals (54) as well as blocked shots (85). Kevin Oleksiak has done a nice job of feeding the big man, with 3.2 apg to his credit, and he also chips in with 11.9 ppg. Mikko Koivisto adds 11.1 ppg to the rotation and he is the squad' top three-point threat, knocking down 44.7 percent of his attempts.

The Mountaineers are connecting 47.9 percent of their shots from the field and 38.7 percent from long distance and that has led them to a scoring average of 72.3 ppg. Donte Minter leads the club in scoring with 14.3 ppg and he is also pulling down 6.0 rpg and shooting a blistering 60.2 percent from the floor. Donald Sims is next in line with 11.6 ppg and he is a three-point specialist, converting on 43.6 percent of his chances. Kellen Brand rounds out the double- digit scorers with 10.4 ppg, while Jeremy Clayton tops the roster in each rebounding (8.2 rpg) and blocks (71).

Both programs appear to be evenly matched, so whichever one can avoid making the most mistakes will surely come out on top. Go with the Spartans, who have played better down the stretch.

Predicted Outcome

UNC Greensboro 71, Appalachian State 70