Don’t be expecting this to happen very often.

But some history is about to be made on Monday night at McDougald-McLendon Gym, when NCCU (5-6) hosts East Carolina (7-6) in a 7 p.m. men’s basketball game.

The contest will mark the first time the Eagle men’s team has ever hosted the team from a school whose football team plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) of NCAA Division I.

And it’s a well-known fellow member of the UNC system.

Folks, the ACC isn’t coming to East Durham unless NCCU builds a new basketball facility and somebody agrees to appear for a dedication game. For now, this is as big a home game as the Eagles are ever going to get.

The women’s basketball team had something of a similar experience on Dec. 21, when No. 6 West Virginia visited The Nest, inspired a few hundred extra fans to attend and left with a 71-39 victory over Joli Robinson’s club.

But that kind of score was expected. WVU, which came to Durham once in exchange for two NCCU visits to Morgantown, is one of the top teams in the nation.

This men’s basketball game shouldn’t be like that.

Will the Conference USA member Pirates, under first-year coach and former UNC star Jeff Lebo, be favored? Of course they will.

But do the Eagles have a reasonable chance to win? This time the answer is yes — if they play at the top of their game and, once again, have a strong sixth man in the stands.

These two programs have met twice in the last three seasons in Greenville at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, and both times the Pirates emerged victorious but the Eagles still had their pride intact. ECU won just 68-58 last season after winning 79-62 during the 2007-08 season. In November of 2006 prior to NCCU’s move to Division I, the Eagles took on East Carolina in an exhibition game where the Pirates won only 68-47 after breaking away down the stretch.

“I think (ECU visiting) is big, just for the program and the community and for all parties involved,” NCCU coach LeVelle Moton said. “It generates some excitement. Our fans need to understand what D-I basketball is like. We chose to go this route and we’re here now. So we have to come out and give our best showing.

“In all honesty, they’ve been better and more talented, which is going to be the case when you’re playing Conference USA schools. We have to find a way. It’s no different than if we were playing them in football, one through 53 or however many they have, they’re going to be more talented. But we can throw in some twists and perks to kind of throw them off, and that’s why we play the game. That’s why we jump the ball up, to see if we can win.”

Monday’s game is part of a four-year contract with ECU which was commonly called a “three-for-one” deal. NCCU will visit Greenville again next season, and then if the schools will play again after that there will have to be a new contract.

“We’re going to be the underdogs, but we know what to expect,” NCCU senior forward C.J. Wilkerson said. “They have a new coach, but it’s so many of the same players. They’ll come in very aggressive looking to get a win, and we’re just trying to protect our court.

“We just need to be focused, concentrate the whole game and limit our mistakes. We know we can score the ball, but we’re not just going to outscore teams. When we play really good defense we show how good a team we can be. We can’t lose people in transition and give them open shots.”

Wilkerson talked about protecting the home court. That’s something the Eagles have been able to do quite well during the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, which is in its fourth year and concludes next season when NCCU is eligible to compete for MEAC championships and in NCAA Tournaments.

NCCU is 11-4 at home including 4-0 this season under Moton, who is in his second season as head coach.

“We’re undefeated on our floor this year and we’re trying to keep it that way,” said junior forward Nick Chasten, who played against the Pirates last season.“We’ve just got to play hard, be tough and learn how to close games out. I think we’ve got the pieces this year to stay together and play hard.

“All we’ve got to do is compete and play hard to the end. A full house would mean a lot for our school and our community. Hopefully we’ll get a packed house and we can give the fans a big win.”

Landon Clement, the junior transfer guard from UNC Greensboro, played against the Pirates once when he was a Spartan. He said the chances to win are all about community.

“We’ve got to come together as one and play for the four letters on our chest, NCCU,” Clement said. “We’ve got to have each other’s backs. When somebody helps somebody else you help the person who helped that person. If everybody just does his job and we stay together, we’ve got a good chance to win.

“It would mean a lot to have a sellout. I don’t even know who knows the last time there was a sellout in here. We need the students, the community, the fans and our parents all to come out. If you’re from North Carolina you know ECU is a big school. If they come into our house and we come out with the ‘W’ it would mean a whole lot.”

Moton, who saw plenty of packed houses at home during the time he was playing for NCCU in the CIAA, is hoping returning students and local fans and anyone else who wants to come can fill every seat for the game. But he said it’s the responsibility of him and his team to encourage that on a regular basis.

“I hope we can get a full house,” Moton said. “I hope people come so they can experience the electricity. We certainly enjoy being at home because we know the spots on the floor and the goals, so it’s a comfort. The atmosphere isn’t where I would like for it to be yet, but we have a major part in that also. Those people are paying their hard-earned dollars and we have to give them a product to go see. As I told the guys, I know this is the hip-hop generation and if you go see your favorite rapper and he just sits on the couch in the middle of the stage and runs off his 10 songs you’re not going to pay 50 dollars to see him next time. He has to give a good showing. And that’s what we have to do.

“For us to win everything has to go right. The stars have got to be aligned. We’ve got to get some bounces and some breaks. We’ve got to be fortunate. But we’ve got to generate some of our fortunes by playing hard. We won’t be intimidated because we’ve played the best of the best and the highest of the highest. We’ve got to play extremely hard and create our own breaks, and when you do that good things happen.”