NCCU Sports Network Broadcast Link (Utah Valley)
NCCU at Utah Valley Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University looks to end a two-game losing skid heading into the holiday break as the maroon and gray battles the Wolverines of Utah Valley University for the second time this season with the Eagles beating UVU 70-52 on Nov. 27 at McDougald-McLendon Gym. NCCU is coming off the near-upset of Drake University on Wednesday night falling 72-69 to the Bulldogs.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Utah Valley have met three times since the Eagles made the transition to the NCAA’s Division I level with the Wolverines taking currently leading the series 2-1. The maroon and gray are just 2-6 against teams from the Great West Conference, ending a two-game losing streak to teams from the league in November’s matchup.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Join play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network Chris Hooks on the Champps Pregame Show at 5:45 p.m. (EST) live from the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah as he counts listeners down to the fourth meeting all-time between the Eagles and Wolverines. Fans can either send Hooks and e-mail at nccusn@nccu.edu or send a tweet to @NCCUAthletics using the #NCCUMBB hashtag.
UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY "WOLVERINES"
Utah Valley University enters Saturday’s affair with a 6-7 overall record that includes a 3-1 mark inside the Utah Community Credit Union Center in the 2012-13 season. Eleven days removed from a double-overtime thriller in Alabama, Utah Valley University and Troy University battled to another dandy at the UCCU Center Wednesday night. Repeating the feat from earlier in the month, it was UVU pulling out a 67-64 overtime victory in front of its home fans. The Wolverines are current members of the Great West Conference, but will be moving to the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) in the 2013-14 academic year. The official date of joining the league is set at July 1, 2013. UVU is lead by 11th year head coach Dick Hunsaker who has compiled a 193-113 record during his successful tenure. In 19 seasons as a head coach he has a combined record of 360-190. The Wolverines are led by 6-9 center Ben Aird who averaged 12.8 points per contest along with grabbing 7.7 rebounds, also tops on the team. Holton Hunsaker is second on the squad averaging 11.5 points per game while shooting 37-for-42 (88.1 percent) from the foul line. 6-4 Alfonzo Hubbard is third on the team averaging 10.2 points a game as Thompson averages 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per affair while Hubbard is shooting 28-for-33 (84.8 percent) from the foul line to begin the season. 6-3 junior shooting guard Jason Johnson is shooting a deadly 40.5 percent from three-point range (17-for-42), while his teammate Antoine Hosley is just behind him hitting 13-of-36 shots from behind-the-arc (36.1 percent). The Wolverines boast six student-athletes that average more than six points a game, and average shooting 45.0 percent from the field as a team.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will have a short break to celebrate the holidays and will get back to action on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 2:00 p.m. against the Golden Eagles of Marquette University from the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis. NCCU has never met Marquette on the hardwood and has only matched up against two of the current members of the Big East, Georgetown (0-3) and Rutgers (0-1).
