The Eagles enter the game with a 7-3 record and are coming off a 88-81 road win at Georgia Southern.  Two of Winthrop's losses have come to SEC teams at Georgia (74-64) and at Alabama (72-60).  The Eagles have already started conference action and have won both of their first two conference games.
 
"We have another tough opponent in Winthrop," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said. "They are tall, athletic and can score a lot of points.  Our defense will need to continue to improve and we have to make shots early."
 
That combination worked for ASU in their last game, a last second loss to Coastal Carolina.  ASU shot 50 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and their defense held Coastal's high-scoring offense to only 68 points, more than 10 below their average.
 
"We did some good things in our last game just not enough," Jackson said.  "We have to make better decisions especially in a close game that is going down to the final horn."
 
Winthrop is led in scoring by Keon Johnson who averages 20.6 points per game.  Jimmy Gavin averages 16.2 and Zavier Cooks averages 13.4.  Cooks is also the team's leading rebounder averaging 6.7 per game while Gavin's 22 assists is the team-leader.
 
Corvon Butler, Jamel Waters and Steve Rogers are coming off back-to-back double digit scoring games.  Butler has scored 31 points on the present road trip while Rogers has 25 and Waters 24.
 
The ASU offense has also benefitted from the return of junior Tony Armstrong.  "It's been good to get Armstrong back and work him into the lineup," Jackson said. Armstrong continues to work his way back into game shape, but has scored 20 points in the two games and has also helped on the boards with 13 rebounds.
 
The game can be watched live on the Big South Network and live stats links will also be available.  All the information will be available on Game Day Central at bamastatesports.com.