UNCG will play Florida State in the NCAA tournament. 5 things to know about Greensboro
The Spartans of UNC-Greensboro are a 13 seed in the NCAA tournament and will face fourth-seeded Florida State on Saturday in the first round.
Here are five things to know about the SoCon champions:
1. First NCAA tournament in 3 years
This will be UNCG’s first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2018 and the school’s fourth appearance in school history.
In 2018, then-No. 13 UNCG faced No. 4 seed Gonzaga and nearly pulled off the upset, but lost 68-64 in the first round.
2. How UNCG got here
UNCG (21-8) entered the Southern Conference tournament as the top seed after finishing the regular season with a 13-5 mark in league play.
The Spartans beat seventh-seeded Mercer in the championship game. 69-61. UNCG won all three of its SoCon tournament games by eight points or more.
3. 3-1 against in-state teams
UNCG was 3-1 against in-state teams this season. UNCG beat Elon, 71-64, on Dec. 19, N.C. A&T 86-65 on Dec. 22 and Western Carolina 77-56 on Feb. 22. It lost to Western Carolina 81-80 on Feb. 24.
4. Isaiah Miller does it all
Senior guard Isaiah Miller leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game; that is tied for 32nd in the country.
He also 6.9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.57 steals per game, with the latter being good for ninth-best in NCAA Division I.
5. UNCG’s coach is Wes Miller
Wes Miller is in his 10th season as the head coach at UNCG.
His teams have finished with 20 or more wins in each of the last five years, and have made it to the NCAA tournament in twice in that span.
Miller is a UNC-Chapel Hill grad and played under current UNC coach Roy Williams. He averaged 7.2 points per game during the 2005-06 season.
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 6:37 PM.
