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NCCU vs. Coppin State Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
For the first time since the 1999-00 season, North Carolina Central University has put together a five-game winning streak and sit at an unblemished 4-0 in MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) play. With two games remaining in the crucial three-game homestand, the maroon and gray hosts Coppin State University look to move to 5-0 in the league and tie for the longest win streak since that same 99-00 campaign.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Coppin State have met seven previous times on the hardwood with the team clad in maroon and gray leading the series 4-to-3. CSU took the last meeting 77-57 behind a barrage of three-pointers on Jan. 21, 2012 at the Physical Education Complex in Baltimore, Md. Prior to that encounter, NCCU had won the previous two matchups.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Tune in beginning at 1:45 p.m. for the Champps Pregame Show as play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will be joined by Darren Headrick to call the action in game one as Headrick will take the lead as the Lady Eagles look to earn their first win under head coach Vanessa Taylor, and in the second contest Hooks will return to his usual play-by-play position as NCCU Hall-of-Famer Joe Simmons hops into the color analyst chair for the men's matchup. Fans can interact with the crew via twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and by sending an e-mail to whooks@nccu.edu.
COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY "EAGLES"
The Eagles of Coppin State University enter this weekend’s matchup 5-15 overall, 2-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference after squeaking out a two-point overtime win (67-65) over the Pirates of Hampton University on Monday night at the HU Convocation Center in Hampton, Va. In that ballgame, freshman Patrick Cole scored a game-high 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. Cole also hit four three-pointers and grabbed six rebounds for the victorious Eagles. Despite struggling from the field going 2-for-10, Michael Murray ended the night with 12 rebounds, while 6-3 junior Andre Armstrong ended the night with 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting. CSU won in the extra session going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, despite shooting just 20 percent from the field (1-for-5). Coppin State is led by one of the top head coaches in all of college basketball as the legendary Ron "Fang" Mitchell is in year No. 27 where he has compiled a 414-388 record. In 35 years during his entire coaching career, Mitchell has amassed an astonishing mark of 641-433. CSU is well-known as a team that loves to shoot from the outside and the numbers show it. Entering Saturday’s game, the visiting Eagles have hit 40 more threes (151) than Bethune-Cookman (111) and have attempted nearly 150 more shots from behind-the-arc (506) than the Wildcats (360) after 20 games. As a team, Coppin State is third in the MEAC in steals averaging 8.9 per game, and second in the league in turnover margin +3.20. The Eagles are led by senior Michael Murray who blitzed NCCU last January with a career-high 28 points in the 77-57 runaway victory for Coppin in Baltimore. Murray is No. 11 in the MEAC in scoring dropping in 12.8 points a game, while his teammate Troy Franklin sits at No. 19 in the league averaging 11.8 points a game as well. Murray is the top rebounder in the league by 1.2 boards a game, grabbing 9.4 per contest. At 6-5, 210-pounds Murray has ripped down 70 offensive rebounds, which places him second, and sits 12th in the conference shooting 45.4 percent from the field. Sophomore point guard Taariq Cephas and his teammate Franklin are 14th and 15th respectively in the MEAC in assists averaging 2.7 helpers per game, while Franklin sits atop the league averaging 2.4 thefts per game with 36 on the season.
UP NEXT
The maroon and gray bring the conference-long homestand to an end as the Eagles battle the Bears of Morgan State University on Monday night, Jan 28 at 7:30 p.m. MSU downed NCCU 71-64 on Jan. 23, 2012 at Hill Field House in Baltimore, Md. The maroon and gray will hit the road for a Saturday, Feb. 2 showdown against Delaware State (4:00 p.m.) and will wrap-up the road trip on Monday night Feb. 4 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore at 7:30 to begin the month of February.
