NCCU at NC A&T Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University begins a season-ending five-game road trip that will conclude the 2011-12 regular season. With four conference tilts remaining and one non-league affair the Eagles sit at 7-5 in the MEAC and have a great opportunity to improve their seeding heading into the conference tournament as the maroon and gray try to sweep the regular season series against arch-rival North Carolina A&T State University.
THE SERIES
NCCU and NC A&T are meeting for the 139th time in program history. The Eagles are going for the first season sweep of the Aggies since the 1988-89 NCAA Division II National Championship campaign. NCCU beat A&T back on Dec. 3, 65-46 to earn their first-ever MEAC win, but the Aggies lead the all-time series 64-74. The Eagles are 264-259 against MEAC opponents all-time.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. begins at 1:45 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Feb. 18th and can be heard only online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network Chris Hooks along with Hall-of-Famer Joe Simmons will call the live action of the doubleheader from the Corbett Sports Center. Fans can also follow the twinbill via Twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and @NCCUradio and by using the hashtag #NCCUNCAT.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY "AGGIES"
The Aggies of North Carolina A&T State University enter the weekend with an 11-16 record overall, a game behind North Carolina Central University at 6-6 in league play sitting in seventh place heading into the latter stages of February. A&T is coming off a disappointing 66-59 loss to Savannah State on Monday night and have lost four out of the last five contests after winning five-straight in January to put the Aggies in the upper portion of the standings. NC A&T boasts three student-athletes in the top 30 of the league in scoring led by senior Nic Simpson who is 16th in the conference averaging 11.6 points a game, while point guard Marc Hill is 21st averaging 11.1 points a game. Junior forward Austin Witter is 28th in the MEAC at 10.1 points. Witter is currently tied with NCCU’s Ray Willis for 14th in the league with 5.4 rebounds per game. In the 30-point win over South Carolina State, Simpson became the 27th Aggie to break the 1,000 point barrier. Simpson currently has 1,007 points. Hill has complied 94 assists in 27 games this season and now sits eighth in the league dropping 3.5 assists per game. Simpson is shooting 82.6 percent from the foul line this season which is good enough for third in the league. Junior forward Adrian Powell is fifth in the conference in steals with 43, averaging 1.6 steals per game. As a team, the Aggies are third in the MEAC in scoring putting up and average of 71.3 points per game and are second in the conference in three-pointers made with 195. Coppin State is no. 1 in the category hitting 248 three-pointers after 25 games. NCCU on the other hand, is third in the MEAC in three-pointers made with 155 just one ahead of Savannah State. In his ninth season at the helm, NC A&T head coach Jerry Eaves has accumulated a 99-176 record.
UP NEXT
The Eagles continue their season-ending road swing as the maroon and gray take one final step out-of-conference to face the No. 18/20 Hoosiers of Indiana University on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 p.m. from historic Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. The Eagles are 0-2 all-time against the Hoosiers, 0-5 against Big Ten teams since making the move to Division I. Following that contest, NCCU gets back into conference action with a rematch with the league’s top team, Savannah State on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4:00 p.m. from Tiger Arena in Savannah, Ga.
GO FOR THE SWEEP
With the NCCU’s 65-46 victory over NC A&T back on Dec. 3, 2011, the Eagles have the opportunity to earn their first series sweep over the Aggies since the 1988-89 season when the maroon and gray beat A&T 66-54 on Nov. 30, 1988 and 75-40 on Jan. 18, 1989. During that season, NCCU went 28-4 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship under the tutelage of head coach Michael Bernard. Last season, the Eagles won the first matchup between the two rivals 90-84 OT in Greensboro, N.C.) only to drop a 72-67 decision in Durham, N.C. In the Dec. 3 meeting, the 19-point win for NCCU was the largest margin of victory in the series since a 76-57 Aggie win over the Eagles on Dec. 15, 1984.
