BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell opens Big South Conference play Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at pre-season favorite UNC Asheville.
 
The Camels (6-6) are coming off a 91-62 victory Dec. 22 over Allen.  Asheville (7-6) dropped a 95-69 setback Dec. 22 at Saint Mary's.
 
One of the nation's top shooting teams, Campbell enters Saturday's game leading the Big South Conference in overall (.502) and 3-point (.422) field goal percentage, while ranking 3rd in free throw accuracy (.709).  CU rates 11th in the country in 3-point percentage, 23rd in overall shooting accuracy.
 
Junior guard Chris Clemons, the pre-season Big South player of the year, sits on top of the Big South (23.2) scoring charts and rates 11th nationally.  Clemons owns the nation's longest active double-figure scoring streak (60 games). Sophomore guard Marcus Burk is 2nd in the league scoring race (18.2) and also tops the Big South in field goal (.562) and 3-point (.473) percentage. He has scored at least 20 points 7 times in the last 10 outings.
 
Campbell's six losses have come by an average of 6.5 points and CU leads all Big South schools with five single-digit setbacks.
 
The Bulldogs own non-conference wins over Austin Peay, Monmouth, Wofford, USC Upstate and UNCG.  Asheville is 5-0 at Kimmel Arena this year, stands 73-16 all-time at the building (which opened in 2011-12), including a 48-10 mark vs. Big South foes.
 
Asheville is led by a trio of pre-season all-conference performers in Ahmad Thomas, the 2017 league defensive player of the year, MaCio Teague, last season's freshman of the year, and senior guard Kevin Vannatta.  Teague (15.0) and Thomas (13.9) stand 8th and 9th, respectively, among conference scoring leaders, while Vannatta (11.7) is 18th and 9th in assists (2.8).
 
Notable:

• Campbell leads the Big South Conference in assists (17.6) and assist-turnover ratio (1.4), ranking among the nation's top 32 in both categories.
• CU dealt a season-high 28 assists (on 30 made field goals) - tops among all Big South schools - in its 93-74 win over USC Upstate on Nov. 26.
• Chris Clemons (2nd, 3.8), Andrew Eudy (5th, 3.3) and Shane Whitfield (11th, 2.8) all rank among the Big South assists leaders.
• The Camels have won 5 of 6 league openers since returning to the Big South Conference in 2011-12. UNC Asheville has claimed 19 of its last 21 Big South opening games.
• Saturday's game marks the first time the Camels and Bulldogs have squared off in a Big South opening date.
• Campbell dealt regular season co-champ UNC Asheville an 81-79 loss in last year's Big South Championship quarterfinal round at Rock Hill, S.C. Chris Clemons scored a conference record 51 points as the seventh-seeded Camels (16-16) shot 55.8 percent from the floor and made 11-of-21 threes. Clemons scored 23 of Campbell's first 25 points and had 25 at the break as the Camels took a 36-35 half-time lead over the defending champs.  Big South freshman of the year MaCio Teague led Asheville with 22 points, including 4-of-10 threes.
• Saturday's game is the 44th all-time between Campbell and UNC Asheville, dating to the 1967-68 season when both were members of the NAIA.  CU won 5 of the 8 meetings between the schools while the Camels were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (1994-2011).
• Campbell and Asheville have faced one common opponent this season - USC Upstate, which will join the Big South in 2018-19.  The Camels shot 62.5% from the floor and defeated the Spartans 93-74 on Nov. 26 at Buies Creek.  Three days later at Asheville, UNCA finished with a 25-13 edge in points off turnovers in an 82-70 victory.
• Both Campbell and Asheville participated in the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament (CIT) last year.  The Bulldogs dropped an opening-round 89-75 decision at UT-Martin.  Campbell topped Houston Baptist 98-79 in the first round and UT-Martin (73-56) in the second before bowing to Furman (79-64) in the quarterfinals.
• Following Saturday's game, the Camels start a two-game home stand next Wednesday (Jan. 3) vs. Gardner-Webb.