THE GAMENorth Carolina Central University begins a four-game, six-day road trip as part of the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic as the Eagles will take on the Bluejays of Creighton University in the on-campus round of the event. NCCU enters the matchup 1-1 following the 123-56 win over the College of Faith on Tuesday night inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.
THE NCCU SPORTS NETWORKPlay-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network
Chris Hooks will hit the air with the Nationwide Insurance Pregame Show at 3:40 p.m. (EST) leading up to the second meeting all-time between these two programs. Please check your local listings to see what channel you can watch this matchup on. In the Raleigh area on Time Warner Cable (Ch. 400) and DirecTV (Ch. 219). To see where you can watch the game; go to the link:
http://www.foxsports.com/watch/foxsports1 and put in your zip code.
SCOUTING REPORT: CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS-Creighton enters Sunday's second meeting between the two programs at 3-0 following Wednesday night's 65-63 come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Oklahoma inside CenturyLink Center Omaha. After a horrible first half from-the-field that saw the Bluejays shoot 6-for-25 (24 percent) and take a 35-24 deficit into the locker room, Creighton picked it up from the outside in the second half shooting 6-for-12 (50 percent) from deep to climb back from an 18-point second half hole. It took a 24-4 run in the second frame to take a 48-46 lead on an Isaiah Zierden three-pointer with 11:35 remaining. The Bluejays went on to the two-point win over the Sooners.
-Creighton is in the middle of a five-game homestand to begin the 2014-15 campaign. The Bluejays are led by sophomore guard Isaiah Zierden who is averaging 15.0 points per game shooting 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) from beyond-the-arc. Three more Bluejays join Zierden averaging double figures as 6-11 center Will Artino drops-in 12.3 points per game, while senior guard Austin Chatman and 6-10 freshman forward Toby Hegner both average 10.7 points per affair. Artino and point guard Devin Brooks are tied atop the team averaginge 7.7 rebounds per game, while Brooks leads the Bluejays with 5.0 assists per contest.
-Creighton was picked to finish ninth in the Big East this season as voted on in a preseason poll of the Big East coaches. Defending league champion Villanova was the unanimous favorite followed by Georgetown, St. John's, Xavier, Providence, Seton Hall, Butler and Marqette tied for seventh, Creighton, and DePaul to round out the 10-team league. Creighton did not have any representatives on the preseason all-conference team for the first time since 2007-08. It's just the sixth time in the last 20 years CU did not have a first team all-conference honoree in the presason, and will mark the first time in Greg McDermott's five seasons at Creighton that his team did not have the Preseason Player of the Year. Four of the five previous Bluejay teams in the last 20 years without a preseason all-league honoree would reach either the NCAA or NIT.
-The Bluejays are led by fifth year head coach Greg McDermott who has led the Bluejays to three NCAA Tournaments in his tenure and has amassed a record of 110-38. In 21 years of coaching at the collegiate level, McDermott has compiled a record of 390-233. His son stole the headlines for the program over the previous four years as Doug McDermott swept all 14 National Player of the Year awards and led the country in scoring dropping in 26.7 points per game. He was also the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA Division I history scoring 3,150 career points and was the No. 11 pick of the Chicago Bulls.
MOTON WINS 90TH GAME ON NOV. 18th NCCU took down College of Faith on Tuesday, Nov. 18 123-65 to give head coach
LeVelle Moton win No. 90 of his six seasons at NCCU. Ironically enough, Moton recorded his first win at NCCU on Nov. 18, 2009 after beating NC Wesleyan 85-70.
HOME OPENERS UNDER COACH MOTON In head coach
LeVelle Moton's five seasons, the Eagles have handled their business on the court in the first home game of the season. In fact, NCCU is 6-0 with an average margin of victory of 53.5 points per game.
11/18/09 vs. NC Wesleyan 85-70 W!
11/12/10 vs. Johnson & Wales 90-30 W
11/13/11 vs. Johnson & Wales 115-41 W
11/12/12 vs. Johnson & Wales 109-46 W
11/11/13 vs. Johnson & Wales 98-47 W
11/18/14 vs. College of Faith 123-65 W*
-!- Moton's first win at NCCU-
-*-Set School Record for points
GRAND LARCENYNCCU recorded 20 steals in the 123-56 win over College of Faith. Here's a list of the top defensive performances by the maroon and gray in steals since the 1999-2000 season.
23- vs. Johnson & Wales (11/12/12)
20- vs. College of Faith (11/18/14)
19- vs. Toccoa Falls (11/20/12)
18- vs. St. Pauls (11/16/04)
18- vs. Johnson & Wales (11/13/11)
17- vs. Livingstone (2/3/2000)
16- vs. Washington Adventist (12/1/10)
16- vs. Winston-Salem State (3/14/09)
16- vs. at Wingate (12/5/01)
15- vs. Barber-Scotia (11/26/11)
15- vs. Longwood (2/25/09)
15- vs. Shaw (3/1/06)
14- at Florida A&M (2/4/12)
14- vs. Johnson C. Smith (2/21/04)
14- vs. Augusta State (12/8/06)
EAGLES VS. BIG EAST CONFERENCE NCCU has only competed against two of the current members of the Big East Conference (Creighton 0-1) and Georgetown (0-3). The Eagles are currently 0-4 against the league.
1976 vs. Georgetown 95-69 L
1/3/78 at Georgetown 107-51 L
1/10/79 at Georgetown 107-72 L
11/12/07 at Rutgers 73-48 L*
12/20/07 at Creighton 88-54 L
*-Rutgers was a member of the Big East at the time, now members of the Big Ten.-
