NCCU Sports Network Broadcast link (GameCentral)
NCCU vs. Florida A&M Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
With the 82-54 win over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the North Carolina Central University Eagles recorded its ninth consecutive victory for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign, when current head coach LeVelle Moton led the maroon and gray to a 20-7 record. The Eagles look to make it 10-in-a-row and finish off the season sweep to begin the two-game homestand with Florida A&M on Saturday.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Florida A&M have met eight previous times as the Eagles own a 7-1 advantage in the series that dates back to 1940. The last meeting in Durham took place on Jan. 7, 2012 with the Rattlers winning 62-60, but the Eagles have won the last two matchups by an average of 20 points. NCCU is 276-261 against MEAC foes all-time.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
The NCCU Sports Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of Saturday's MEAC Doubleheader beginning at 1:45 p.m. with the Champps Pregame Show as Darren Headrick will call the action along with Chris Hooks in the first contest while Hooks will move into the driver's seat along with NCCU Hall-of-Famer Joe Simmons for the second contest. Fans can interact by following @NCCUAthletics on twitter and by using the hashtag #NCCUMBB or via e-mail at whooks@nccu.edu.
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY "RATTLERS"
The Rattlers of Florida A&M University enter this Saturday’s tilt with a 6-16 record on the year with a 3-5 mark in league player after dropping a buzzer-beating affair to Bethune-Cookman 67-65 on Sunday, Feb. 2 In that contest, the Rattlers had four student-athletes in double-figures led by Reggie Lewis’s 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while leading scorer Jamie Adams dropped in 15 points going 3-for-4 from behind-the-arc, and D’Andre Bullard contributed 11 points as Trey Kellum finished with a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds. FAMU is led by second year head coach Clemon Johnson who is currently 16-39 at the helm, 44-113 during his six seasons as a head coach. Since the last matchup between the two squads, FAMU has fallen to 2-5 over the last seven ballgames falling by an average of 12.5 points per game, but has close loses against defending regular season champ Savannah State (57-55) and a nine-point loss to Delaware State. The Rattlers surprised many in last year’s MEAC Tournament making a run all the way to the semifinals as the No. 11 seed, falling to eventual tournament champion Norfolk State. Florida A&M is the number two scoring team in the MEAC averaging 67.4 points a game, while sitting fourth in the league in steals averaging 8.4 thefts per game. As a team , FAMU is second in the conference from three-point range shooting 32.3 percent. Four student-athletes occupy the top 30 for FAMU led by Adams 14.4 points per game which places him fifth in the league, shooting guard Reggie Lewis is sitting at No. 23 dropping in 11.0 points per contest, Bradshaw is No. 26 in the MEAC averaging 10.2 points while Muhammad Abdul-Aleem is 30th in the league contributing 10.3 points per contest. Bradshaw currently sits sixth in the league in three-point percentage shooting 35.8 percent from behind-the-arc (29-for-81).
UP NEXT
After Monday night’s rematch with Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. from McDougald-McLendon Gym, the maroon and gray hit the road for two straight games beginning with the long-awaited matchup against the defending regular season champion Savannah State University on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 6:00 p.m. from Tiger Arena. NCCU and SSU could have only one-combined conference loss entering the matchup. This will mark the matchup No. 13 between the two with the Tigers leading the series 7-to-5. SSU has a 6-1 record against the Eagles since the 2008-09 season.
