Charlotte 49ers vs. Davidson: Different trajectories, A-list stars and more to know

The Davidson Wildcats and Charlotte 49ers play Tuesday night at Halton Arena. To the winner goes the Hornet’s Nest Trophy, symbolic of Mecklenburg County Division I college basketball supremacy.

Here’s 10 things to know about the annual battle for the Hornet’s Nest:

1. Different trajectories

The 49ers (3-2) and Wildcats (2-2) are heading in different directions. After dropping consecutive games to Oklahoma State and College of Charleston, the 49ers got back on track last week with strong defensive efforts in victories against Big South foes Presbyterian and High Point. The Wildcats got off to a blazing start, opening with convincing victories against Charleston Southern and UNC Wilmington. Since then, Davidson’s normally sharp-shooting offense has fallen off in losses at Nevada and Appalachian State.

2. A-list stars

In the ACC-mad Charlotte region, it’s often difficult for the best players at schools such at Charlotte and Davidson to be recognized beyond their campuses and leagues. But 49ers junior point guard Jon Davis and Wildcats senior forward Peyton Aldridge can play with anybody, anywhere. Davis averages 15.8 points and 5.8 assists and has been active on the boards, with 3.8 rebounds per game. The versatile Aldridge fills several roles for the Wildcats, leading the team in scoring (21.3) and rebounding (7.3) and is on pace to become the school’s third all-time leading scorer behind Stephen Curry and John Gerdy.

3. Emerging rookies

There will be several new faces on the floor Tuesday. Davidson freshman guard Kellan Grady embodies the Wildcats season – he started hot (averaging 23.5 points against Charleston Southern and UNCW), but has cooled considerably since (including an 0-for-7 shooting game against Appalachian). Charlotte has found a tough and productive inside presence in Milos Supica, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Serbia who averages 9.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.

4. Unsung difference makers

Davidson’s style is fun to watch, an offense predicated on constant motion, cutting and 3-point shooting. But as much as Aldridge and Grady are the offensive stars, sophomore guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson is the guy holding things together. He averages 16.8 points (on 59 percent shooting), 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Charlotte’s offense runs through its backcourt of Davis and Andrien White, but the team’s most athletic player is probably sophomore Najee Garvin, who took over much of the scoring load (13 points) last week against High Point when Davis went out with an ankle injury and White and Austin Ajukwa were in foul trouble.

5. Clash of styles

The Wildcats make 39.4 percent of their 3-pointers and lead the nation in 3-pointers made per game (15.3), assist-turnover ratio (2.64) and are third in assists per game (21.8). Charlotte holds opponents to a 46.0 shooting percentage, 7.8 3-pointers per game (a 38.6 percentage) and is forcing 15.4 turnovers per game.

6. Going for the Hornet’s Nest Trophy

Charlotte leads the all-time series 28-15 and is 12-3 against Davidson at Halton Arena. But the Wildcats have won four consecutive games in the series, including a 79-57 decision at Davidson’s Belk Arena last season.

7. Overseas influence

Both teams rely heavily on foreign players. In addition to Gudmundsson (Iceland), the Wildcats have forward Dusan Kovacevic (Serbia), forward Nathan Ekwu (Nigeria), forward Oskar Michelsen (Finland) and forward Will Magarity (Sweden). Supica and freshman guard Luka Vasic, who has worked his way into Charlotte’s starting lineup, are from Serbia, as is assistant coach Ivo Simovic.

8. Bet you didn’t know

Davidson coach Bob McKillop once briefly recruited a talented shooting guard from The First Academy in Orlando, Fla. That player made an unofficial visit to Davidson, but would eventually sign with Texas Christian before transferring to Charlotte, where he starts and averages 7.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. The player? Hudson Price, 49ers coach Mark Price’s son.

9. Injury update

Mark Price said Davis, who hurt his right ankle against High Point and missed 10 minutes of the second half, will play Tuesday. McKillop said a decision on whether Ekwu (knee) will play at all this season will be made within the next 10 days.

10. The coaches say

McKillop on Charlotte: “They’ve really got the ability to attack. They can knock down 3s from a number of spots. But they can really put it on the floor and that’s a big challenge for us to guard them. It’ll take a team of defenders to respond to that.”

Price on Davidson: “They have their system that they run. They can just plug pieces in. They have some good young players they’ve had out there. They do shoot a lot of 3s, but we have to guard them and hope they don’t go crazy from out there like they have a couple of times this season.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers vs. Davidson: Different trajectories, A-list stars and more to know."