University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Saint Francis
November 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball
By Bobby Hundley
Saint Francis (SFUAthletics.com)
Location: Loretto, Pa.
Rankings: No. 174 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 1-2
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 1-0 (Carolina 103, Saint Francis 54, Jan. 2, 2011, Chapel Hill)
Saint Francis visits the Smith Center Monday night for the back half of what figures to be among the toughest road trips in all of college basketball this season. The Red Flash played Friday night at Pauley Pavilion, dropping a 95-58 decision at UCLA for their first of two campus games as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. Three nights and 2,500 miles later, Rob Krimmel's team will take the floor in Chapel Hill for the second time in program history.
SFU finished tied for second last season in the Northeast Conference, a traditionally balanced league that has not produced an NCAA tournament team seeded higher than the 15 line since Central Connecticut State was a 14-seed in 2002. The Red Flash return the bulk of their scoring from last year's 18-13 squad and feature a wealth of talented upperclassmen.
Four double digit scorers are back from 2018, including redshirt junior Isaiah Blackmon, who suffered a torn ACL in the third game of the season. As a sophomore in 2016-17, Blackmon was among the best outside shooters in the country, making 50 percent of his attempts from deep. In Blackmon's absence, Andre Wolford was just as lethal from behind the arc, making 97 of 196 attempts as a junior in 2017-18.
All-NEC guards Keith Braxton and Jamaal King are back as well, and the backcourt duo is averaging nearly 30 points per contest as a pair this season. Braxton is also the team's leading rebounder at 11.0 boards per game and is among the leading candidates for the league's player of the year honors come March. Bolstering the front court are a pair of international big men in 6-9 Luidgy Laporal (France) and 6-10 Deivydas Kuzavas (Lithuania).Â
Saint Francis visits Virginia Tech on Saturday for its final major conference opponent of the regular season. The Red Flash will not meet another KenPom top-100 foe without making the postseason, and SFU is in search of its first trip to the Big Dance since 1991. The NEC tournament is played entirely at campus sites, so winning the league's regular season title can provide a big advantage come March.Â
Saint Francis (SFUAthletics.com)
Location: Loretto, Pa.
Rankings: No. 174 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 1-2
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 1-0 (Carolina 103, Saint Francis 54, Jan. 2, 2011, Chapel Hill)
Saint Francis visits the Smith Center Monday night for the back half of what figures to be among the toughest road trips in all of college basketball this season. The Red Flash played Friday night at Pauley Pavilion, dropping a 95-58 decision at UCLA for their first of two campus games as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. Three nights and 2,500 miles later, Rob Krimmel's team will take the floor in Chapel Hill for the second time in program history.
SFU finished tied for second last season in the Northeast Conference, a traditionally balanced league that has not produced an NCAA tournament team seeded higher than the 15 line since Central Connecticut State was a 14-seed in 2002. The Red Flash return the bulk of their scoring from last year's 18-13 squad and feature a wealth of talented upperclassmen.
Four double digit scorers are back from 2018, including redshirt junior Isaiah Blackmon, who suffered a torn ACL in the third game of the season. As a sophomore in 2016-17, Blackmon was among the best outside shooters in the country, making 50 percent of his attempts from deep. In Blackmon's absence, Andre Wolford was just as lethal from behind the arc, making 97 of 196 attempts as a junior in 2017-18.
All-NEC guards Keith Braxton and Jamaal King are back as well, and the backcourt duo is averaging nearly 30 points per contest as a pair this season. Braxton is also the team's leading rebounder at 11.0 boards per game and is among the leading candidates for the league's player of the year honors come March. Bolstering the front court are a pair of international big men in 6-9 Luidgy Laporal (France) and 6-10 Deivydas Kuzavas (Lithuania).Â
Saint Francis visits Virginia Tech on Saturday for its final major conference opponent of the regular season. The Red Flash will not meet another KenPom top-100 foe without making the postseason, and SFU is in search of its first trip to the Big Dance since 1991. The NEC tournament is played entirely at campus sites, so winning the league's regular season title can provide a big advantage come March.Â
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