UNC Asheville brings gaggle of unpredictability to NC State on Tuesday night

I don’t think I’ve encountered a team that has made it this impossible to write a preview about them, but here come those UNC-Asheville Bulldogs! They are brand new—a new head coach overseeing a program that returns almost no experience. The school’s game notes point out that UNCA returnees accounted for a mere 141 points last season.

Oh, and they opened the season against an NAIA school. Thanks a whole lot, guys!

There are eight freshmen and four sophomores on the roster, which is to say that this team has a uselessly small track record. The Bulldogs started three freshmen and two sophomores in their opener and were led by a pair of guards in scoring: DeVon Baker, who scored 27, and Tajion Jones, who added 14. Both are freshmen. So I guess watch out for those two guys? Who knows, man.

Perhaps the only instructive thing to take from the opener was the fact that nearly half of UNCA’s field goal attempts came from three-point range. And that was a game they won by 40 points, so it wasn’t the margin dictating the shot selection.

This group checks in at No. 268 in the Pomeroy Ratings, 81 spots lower than where it began last season. A youth movement at this mid-major level typically doesn’t bode well.

The Pomeroy Predictor likes State by 21.