In just his first season in charge of High Point hoops, Alan Huss has led a major renaissance. The Panthers had not won 20 games since 2015-16 and finished under .500 both overall and in Big South play for four consecutive seasons.
What a difference a year makes.
Despite being selected seventh in the Big South preseason poll, High Point has soared to the top of the league standings. With two games left to play, HPU holds a two-game lead over preseason favorite UNC Asheville. At 23-6 overall, Huss quickly engineered a stunning turnaround – and not just in the win-loss column.
High Point is also a gambler’s dream, consistently beating market expectations en route to a 17-8-2 record against the spread (68.0%). A steady climb up KenPom’s rankings included major non-conference scalps against Iona and Illinois State, as well as shocking in-state victories against Western Carolina and UNC Greensboro.
So, how did Huss and HPU get here? What kind of outlook should we have for the Panthers down the stretch?
Let’s dive into what makes the Panthers so potent, and how you may want to approach them on North Carolina betting apps.
High Point Basketball: Team Breakdown
Considering Huss’ background at Creighton under offensive guru Greg McDermott, it's not a huge surprise to see the Panthers’ offense surge. Becoming a top-35 unit in the entire country, per KenPom’s Adjusted Efficiency, though? That's a ridiculous achievement.
Think of it this way: In the past 15 years of the Big South, no team has had an Adjusted Offensive Efficiency ranking better than 55th – and that includes some pretty fantastic Winthrop teams under Pat Kelsey. Climbing into the top 10% of the country’s offenses is simply unfathomable for a team in this league.
Huss and his team have accomplished this goal by understanding the value of easy points. The Panthers rank highly in rim rate (61st nationally, per Hoop-Math) and low in 2-point jumper rate (325th), demonstrating their focus on shot selection.
This squad also lives at the free-throw line (seventh in free-throw rate) and gobbles up second shot opportunities (10th in offensive rebound rate, via KenPom).
That plan – bombard the paint, get a lot of high-value shots – makes sound mathematical sense. But it also requires talented individual players to execute it, and Huss searched far and wide to find them.
Snagging Kimani Hamilton from Mississippi State was Huss’ most important coup. A 6-foot-7 matchup nightmare, Hamilton is borderline unguardable for mid-major opponents. He can score inside and out, he's a smart passer and he's both quick and strong, allowing him to draw plenty of contact.
If not for UNC Asheville’s Drew Pember — an NBA prospect — Hamilton would likely be the Big South Player of the Year.
Huss also found gems in Kezza Giffa, a French guard who spent a year each at UTEP and Daytona State College, and Duke Miles, an oft-injured transfer from Troy.
Giffa lives in the lane with electrifying quickness, and his unconventional finishing package makes him one of the nation’s best foul drawers. Miles, meanwhile, is a stout lead guard who gets to the rim at will while also setting up his teammates.
Perhaps the most surprising key contributor, though, is freshman center Juslin Bodo Bodo.
A late addition to the Panthers’ recruiting class originally from Cameroon by way of Southern California Academy, Bodo Bodo has been a revelation in his rookie campaign. He's the best two-way rebounder in the Big South already, and he's given High Point’s defense an element of rim protection it would otherwise sorely lack.
Other than Hamilton, Bodo Bodo is HPU’s most impactful player per on/off numbers. Per CBB Analytics, the Panthers are 16.7 points better per 100 possessions when their freshman big man is roaming the court.
All told, this roster has players hailing from six different countries and six different states. It’s safe to say that Huss searched far and wide to load up this talented Panther bunch.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Despite Bodo Bodo’s presence at the cup, High Point has struggled mightily on the defensive end. The Panthers struggle to contain drivers, although some of that is by design to take away 3s and funnel them to Bodo Bodo’s waiting arms.
However, HPU also has the unfortunate double of not forcing turnovers (346th nationally in defensive turnover rate, per KenPom) while still struggling to avoid fouling.
Typically, those two stats are slightly correlated: more aggression equals more steals, but more fouls. Being prone to hacking while also not generating miscues is a poor combo.
How to Bet High Point
With the postseason fast approaching, High Point remains an intriguing proposition from a betting perspective. The team has printed money for bettors for most of the year, and that pace hasn't slowed of late. HPU is 3-1 ATS in its last four contests and 6-3 in its last nine.
That indicates that the market may still not have HPU properly valued, despite an enormous rise up predictive analytics since the start of the year.
One small caveat, however: High Point will be hosting the Big South Tournament at its usual arena, the Qubein Center. A dazzling new building opened in 2021, and HPU has certainly been a force there this year, going 14-1 there overall.
However, the Panthers are just 7-6 ATS at home – a stark contrast to their 10-2-2 record at all other venues.
Should HPU make the NCAA tournament, it’s hard to get a gauge on how it would fare against top competition. The Panthers generally have an athleticism edge against most foes at their level, but that would be moot against power-conference foes.
That could negate their ability to get to the free-throw line and hurt their chances of scoring at the rim.
Indeed, in the Panthers’ one test against a power-conference opponent (at Georgia), they shot a gruesome 8-of-37 (21.6%) inside the arc. If HPU struggles to score, its weaker defense could be a downfall against a dominant foe.
