The Kentucky State University men's basketball team travels to Charlotte, N.C. for a pair of non-conference games at the Johnson C. Smith Tip-Off Tournament, playing host Johnson C. Smith 7 p.m. Friday and Livingstone 3 p.m. Saturday.
 
CONFERENCE INFORMATION: The Kentucky State University men's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the six-team West Division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 
    Miles was picked to win the West, followed by LeMoyne-Owen, Lane, KSU, Central State, Tuskegee, and Spring Hill. 
    In the East Division, Morehouse was voted as the preseason favorite. The Maroon Tigers were followed by Albany State, Clark Atlanta, Savannah State, Benedict, Fort Valley State and Paine.

LOST PRODUCTION: The Thorobreds must replace 75 percent of their scoring from last season, including the top four scorers. Senior Grant Goode is the top returning scorer for Kentucky State with 7.4 points per game. The guard shots 42.2 percent (68 of 161) from the field a season ago. 
    Graduate guard Felix Wilson is the only starter from last year, starting in all 25 games he played in. 

BRAND NEW FACES: Kentucky State welcomes nine new faces to the roster, including three Division I transfers and just one true freshman. Two of the transfers, Jordan Little (Morgan State University) and Damarri Moore (Tennessee State University) have started in all three games - two exhibitions and the regular season opener. 

FROM DISTANCE: Senior guard Kevin Wharton-Price is probably the team's best shooter. Last season, 42 of his 49 shots were from beyond the arc. Wharton-Price attempted seven of his shots from distance in Monday's victory over Wilberforce. 

ROTATION: In the regular season opener, eight players played at least 15 minutes with Jordan Little playing in 35 of the team's 40 minutes. He responded with career high's in points (24) and rebounds (17). 

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Against the Bulldogs, Shaq Athie pulled down 12 rebounds - 10 of which were on the defensive end. The Thorobreds dominated the glass in the opener with a plus-17 margin. 

DIVERSE GROUP: The 15-player squad comes from nine different states, and oddly enough, Michigan leads the way with three players. Two of the three players from the Mitten State - Jalen Fisher and Aaron Howard - were teammates at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School. 
    Kentucky State has two players from its home state, while the remainder of the team is from Ohio, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Illinois.

GETTING BUCKETS: In two of the last three seasons, Kentucky State has placed two scorers in the top five of the conference leaders. Last season, Ditalion Battle  led the way with 19.1 points per game, while Kevin Hayes was fourth with 17.5 points. 

SCOUTING JOHNSON C. SMITH: The Golden Bulls come into the game after an 85-73 loss to Belmont Abbey Wednesday. They are coming off a 10-18 season, including a 5-13 record in the CIAA. 
     Xavier Jones and Cayse Minor both recorded game highs of 19 and 17 points points apiece to lead Smith in scoring. Both grabbed five rebounds on the night.

SCOUTING LIVINGSTONE: The Blue Bears (1-1) split a pair of games in the CIAA/MEAC Challenge, beating Urbana, 67-63, and losing to West Virginia State, 99-93.
     Livingstone has three players averaging double figures, including 6-9 forwards Lydell Elmore and Navar Elmore - who are averaging double-doubles. Lydell Elmore is contributing 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Navar Elmore is dropping 16 points with 12 boards. Guard Roger Roy is adding 16.5 points per game, while shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc.