Game Notes: NCCU at Florida A&M (PDF)
THE GAME
Following the 74-61 nonconference victory over Hampton on Tuesday, the North Carolina Central University makes the trek down to the Sunshine State to face Florida A&M to begin MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) play. NCCU is 5-1 against Florida A&M since becoming members of the league, including wins in the last three matchups.
THE SERIES
This will be the 10th matchup between these two teams in a series that dates back to 1940. Since playing a MEAC schedule, NCCU is 5-1 over the FAMU that includes wins in the last three matchups for the maroon and gray. The Eagles own an 8-1 advantage in the series all-time.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
The NCCU Sports Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of Saturday's doubleheader beginning with the Denny's of Durham Pregame Show at 3:45 p.m. Due to scheduling conflict, the men's contest will not be broadcasted on 99.9 HD3-The Ticket. Play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will call the live action from the Lawson Center. Fans can interact with the broadcast by following @NCCUAthletics on twitter using the hashtag #NCCUMBB, and by sending an e-mail to either whooks@nccu.edu or nccusn@nccu.edu.
SCOUTING REPORT: FLORIDA A&M
-Florida A&M enters the weekend fresh off of last weekend's 81-50 defeat at the hands of the Auburn Tigers to drop the Rattlers record to 4-11 on the year. FAMU shot a paltry 21.9 percent from the field, including a 5-for-31 effort (16.1 percent) from-the-field in the second half. Florida A&M was paced by Jamie Adams who finished with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting, 2-for-6 from behind-the-arc. As a team the Rattlers shot 4-for-18 (22.2 percent) in the loss.
-Two days earlier on Jan. 2 the Rattlers beat FIU 93-88 in overtime, a contest that FAMU trailed 73-64 with 1:59 to go in the game, but went on a 17-8 run to force the extra session. Senior Jomari Bradshaw led the charge with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting, while grabbing nine boards in the win. Adams shot 50 percent from the field (7-for-14) with 20 points.
-In a series that dates back to 1940, NCCU owns an 8-1 advantage over the Rattlers including a 5-1 record over FAMU since the Eagles became members of the MEAC. Here are the last six matchups in the series.
2/9/13 at NCCU 43-51 L
1/12/13 vs. NCCU 62-85 L
2/4/12 vs. NCCU 78-61 L
1/7/12 at NCCU 62-60 W
2/26/11 vs. NCCU 58-55 L
1/29/11 at NCCU 59-61 L
-Saturday's contest will be the fourth home game for Florida A&M as the Rattlers are unbeaten inside the Lawson Center on the year and are led by Adams in scoring as he stands fifth in the MEAC averaging 17.1 points a game, and is ninth in the conference averaging 2.9 helpers a game. His 37 made three-pointers are the most in the league. Junior transfer Bobby King is 10th in rebounding grabbing 5.9 boards, while his teammate Trey Kellum is 11th ripping down 5.8 rebounds per game. Kellum also sits 11th in the league in field goal percentage shooting 47.5 percent from-the-field.
-As a team, FAMU is third in scoring offense averaging 72.1 points a game, but is 10th allowing 78.1 points per contest. The Rattlers are currently 10th in free-throw percentage (65.8 percent), 10th in field goal percentage (39.3 percent), fifth in field goal percentage defense (45.0 percent), second in three-point percentage (33.3 percent). Only arch-rival Bethune-Cookman has more made three-pointers as a team with 108, as FAMU has 96 made threes on the year. On the other side, the Rattlers are third in allowing opponents to shoot a meager 32.4 percent from deep, and they sit third in the league racking up 7.4 steals a game.
-Despite the 4-11 mark, FAMU certainly presents major challenges to NCCU as the Rattlers boast wins over Stetson (63-60), Florida Memorial (100-82), Sacred Heart (75-70), and FIU (93-88 OT). The tough early season schedule shows opponents such as Rutgers, Princeton, Toledo, UAB, Mississippi State, and Auburn.
-Florida A&M is led by third year head coach Clemon Johnson who is 18-46 during his tenure in Tallahassee. Johnson is 50-134 overall in six seasons as a collegiate head coach.
NCCU VS. MEAC
Throughout NCCU's illustrious basketball history, the Eagles have taken on every team in the conference that it helped start back in 1970. NCCU is 283-263 against MEAC opponents all-time.
Bethune-Cookman- 4-4
Coppin State- 5-3
Delaware State- 17-13
Florida A&M- 8-1
Hampton- 45-31
Howard- 36-26
Md. Eastern Shore- 18-16
Morgan State- 45-40
Norfolk State- 8-27
North Carolina A&T- 67-75
Savannah State- 6-8
SC State- 24-19
