THE GAME
North Carolina Central University returns to the Bull City winners of its last two games after earning the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic Championship down in their portion of the bracket in Niceville, Florida and gets set for a brutal four-game in eight-day span looking to build on this streak beginning with Johnson and Wales.

NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
The NCCU Sports Network will begin the Nationwide Insurance Pregame Show presented by the Amber Craig Agency at 6:40 p.m. as play-by-play voice Chris Hooks along with color analyst Joe Simmons will call the action from McDougald-McLendon Gym.  Fans can interact with the broadcast by sending an e-mail to whooks@nccu.edu or send a tweet to @NCCUAthletics.

SCOUTING REPORT:  JOHNSON & WALES
- Johnson & Wales University enters Tuesday's matchup against NCCU with a 4-4 mark on the year, while sitting 1-1 in league action.  The Wildcats are a part of the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association).  JWU boasts wins over Crown College (100-71), St. Joseph's (VT) (94-91), Montreat College (67-62), and Mid-Atlantic Christian (85-55).  The Wildcats hung tough with Livingstone College on Nov. 22 falling 82-72, but took hard defeats to UNC Asheville (87-48), and Johnson C. Smith (95-49).  

-Entering Tuesday's matchup with a three-game losing skid, the Wildcats are led by 6-5 junior forward Rickey Porter who leads the squad in points per game (15.4) and rebounds per game (8.4) as junior guard Nick Crawford tops the roster averaging 5.9 assists per game.  5-11 senior guard DeQuincey Bennett, who transferred from Middle Georgia College, is second on the team in scoring averaging 13.5 points per affair that includes shooting 38.3 percent from beyond-the-arc.  The Wildcats have three other players averaging eight points or more (Nick Crawford, 8.8 points per game, Thiago Conceicao, 8.4 points per game, and Joshua Cohen, 8.0 points per game).

-As a team, Johnson & Wales is shooting 35.9 percent from three-point range (46-for-128) and 45.8 percent from-the-field after eight games.  The Wildcats outrebound their opponent 32.0-to-31.8 and shoot 63.5 percent from the foul line.  

-Last season, Johnson & Wales finished No. 15 in the USCAA Division II power ranking after going 12-18 on the year and are now led by first-year head coach James Casciano who has coached at the collegiate level for 36 seasons.  Casciano is the program's third head coach and brings a wealth of experience from all over the country from schools such as University of Maine-Presque Isle to NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology).  He boasts a career record of 314-383 at stops suchs as Valley Forge Military, Union College (NJ), Castleton State, and King's College (PA).  He's earned two conference coach of the year honors, and has been published six times and has penned articles about his basketball philosphies that have been printed in Winnings Hoops, Coaching Basketball, The Basketball Clinic, and The Basketball Bulletin.  

SERIES VS. JOHNSON & WALES    
NCCU is 4-0 all-time against Johnson & Wales since the 2010-11 season.  Here are the results of the previous matchups.

11/11/13- vs. Johnson & Wales- 98-47 W
11/12/12- vs. Johnson & Wales- 109-46 W
11/13/11- vs. Johnson & Wales- 115-41 W
11/12/10- vs. Johnson & Wales- 90-30 W

2014 EMERALD COAST CLASSIC CHAMPS
With two wins down in Niceville, Florida, NCCU earned the title of 2014 Emerald Coast Classic Champions in their bracket as Ole Miss beat both Creighton and Cincinnati to win that distinction on the other side of the bracket by going 2-0.

KJ - ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
As voted on by the head coaches, senior forward Karamo Jawara earned Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament team honors with his consisent play against top-notch competition.  Over the four games played, Jawara averaged 9.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, dished out 9 assists and recorded 4 steals, while also shooting 6-for-13 (46.2 percent) from three-point range.

EAGLES CHOP DOWN LUMBERJACKS
Despite only no field goals over the last 8:28, NCCU used its defensive prowess to hold on to a late lead winning 40-36, beating a very impressive Northern Arizona squad picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference.  This victory marked the fewest points scored in an NCCU win since the Eagles beat West Virginia State 37-31 on Jan. 29, 1944.  During head coach LeVelle Moton's tenure, the Eagles scored just 36 points in a 44-36 defeat at Savannah State on Feb. 16, 2013.  

NIMROD, THE MIGHTY POINT GUARD
Senior point guard, Nimrod Hilliard IV has a name a unique name that comes from the Bible.  He is named after King Nimrod in the Book of Genesis and Chronicles.  The son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah.  He is depicted in the Bible as a man of power and a mighty hunter.  Extra-biblical traditions associating him with the Tower of Babel led to his reputation as a king who was rebellious against God.  Several Mesopotamian ruins were given Nimrod's name by eighth century Arabs, including ruins of the Assyrian city of Kalhu.

EAGLES SWOOPING AROUND PERIMETER  
NCCU is making the outside shot even more difficult for its foes as the Eagles are holding opponents to 29.1 percent from beyond-the-arc shooting 32-for-110 from-the-outside.  Opponents are also shooting just 37.7 percent from-the-field on the year.

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.