Averett and Guilford College will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the second round after advancing on Friday in Danville, Ky. The Cougars beat No. 15 Centre 76-71, while Guilford edged Transylvania 71-67 in overtime. Saturday's meeting between the Cougars and Quakers will mark the second time the two schools, which are located 45 minutes apart, will play this season. Guilford defeated Averett 73-63 on Nov. 25 in Danville, Va.
Guilford has a 3-1 lead in the series during Averett coach Jimmy Allen's tenure. Averett's only win during that span was a 97-86 victory at Guilford on Jan. 4, 2006.
Like Averett, Guilford is in its third consecutive NCAA Tournament and the Quakers have a 4-2 record in NCAA Tournament play. The Cougars are 2-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Friday's win over Centre, Averett's only other NCAA win came in 1990.
Cougars impressive during their current 12-game winning streak
Since collapse down the stretch in their 88-83 loss at Christopher Newport on Jan. 24, the Cougars have been on a roll of late. Averett is averaging 81.8 points a game during its current school-record 12-game winning streak and has scored more than 90 points three times.
Averett's success during the Jimmy Allen era
Since Jimmy Allen took over the Averett program before the 2004-05 season, he has guided the Cougars to an 87-52 overall record, including three regular-season conference titles in four years. Allen's teams have a 11-2 record in the USA South Conference Tournament and have won the last three conference tournament championships to earn back-to-back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths.
Allen has led the Cougars to three of their four NCAA appearances, and Averett notched its first NCAA win under its fifth-year head coach by beating Centre 76-71 in the first round on Friday. Last season, Widener defeated Averett 87-78 in the first round in Greensboro, N.C. In 2007, Virginia Wesleyan came from behind to beat the Cougars 63-60 in Virginia Beach, Va.
Other game information
Tom Milstead and Tyler Williams will call the action on Averett's Web cast, which will also air locally on ESPN Radio 106.3 FM.
Centre College will provide live statistics, as well as a live video broadcast.
Click here for a PDF version of the complete game notes.
