Complete Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University enters the weekend fresh off its second win in-a-row as the Eagles beat Coppin State 77-71 last Saturday. With that victory, head coach LeVelle Moton has already equaled his win total from last season. The Eagles are 3-1 against MEAC teams on the year, and look to equal its longest winning streak of the season at three games.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Norfolk State are meeting for the 34th time since 1964 with the Spartans holding a distinct 26-7 advantage over the Eagles. The last time these two former CIAA rivals met was on Jan. 7, 2008 as NCCU trailed Norfolk State by as many as 18 points in the first half, only to comeback behind great efforts from former Eagles Charles Futrell (34 pts) and Bryan Ayala (26 pts) dropping an 87-83 decision to the Spartans.
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY “SPARTANS”
The Norfolk State University Spartans enter the weekend on the heels of a Monday night win over last-place Howard University 63-53 where leading scorer Rob Hampton came off the bench to throw in a game-high 23 points and grab six rebounds as NSU earned its second MEAC win and kept the host Bison winless in league play. The Spartans are headed by fourth year head coach Anthony Evans is 43-65 during his tenure in the Tidewater area. Evans led Norfolk State to the MEAC title game two seasons ago and NSU finished 9-7 last season in league and are predicted to finish sixth in the league this season. NSU is led by Preseason All-MEAC team members Kyle O’Quinn (1st team) and Rob Hampton (2nd team). Both are tops on the team in scoring and are ranked high in the conference in a few categories. Hampton is fifth in the MEAC averaging 15.6 points a agame and just behind him in 11th is O’Quinn dropping in 13.4 points a game. At 6-10, O’Quinn is second in the conference grabbing 9.5 rebounds a game, third in the league averaging 2.8 blocked shots a game, while being 10th in the league shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 13th in the conference in free throw percentage at 75.4 percent. On the other hand, Hampton is seventh in the MEAC in three-point percentage at 35.7 percent, hitting 20-of-56 three-pointers on the year. Senior guard Aleek Pauline is seventh in the conference with 1.5 steals per game. As a team Norfolk State enters this weekend’s affair averaging 65.5 points a game which eighth in the league. The Spartans shoot 68.1 percent from the free throw which is fifth in the conference, and are second in the MEAC with 82 blocked shots as a team averaging 5.1 swats a game.
UP NEXT
After Saturday’s contest in Norfolk, Va. the Eagles have a quick turnaround as they come up on the final game of this four-game road swing, as they renew the rivalry with the Aggies of North Carolina A&T. Tipoff from the Corbett Sports Center is set for 8:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 24 in Greensboro, N.C. This will mark the 136th meeting between the rival programs, the first of which since the 2002-03 season when NCCU beat A&T at the buzzer 74-72 in the Legacy Classic in Charlotte, N.C. NCCU is in the midst of a stretch where they will play five games in nine days.
