THE GAME
North Carolina Central University steps out of conference action for the final time in the 2013-14 campaign in the return match against NJIT as the Eagles won the first matchup 71-55 back on Jan. 16.  The Highlanders enter the matchup winners of four-in-a-row trying to climb back to .500 on the year.

THE SERIES
This will be the second meeting between these two programs as NCCU holds a 1-0 advantage over NJIT.  The Eagles outlasted the Highlanders by 16 (71-55) on Jan. 16 in Durham, N.C. in their first meeting.

NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Tune in to the Denny's of Durham Pregame Show at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening as play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network will count down to tipoff between the Eagles and the Highlanders.  That contest will be broadcasted on 99.9 HD3-The Ticket,  NCCUEaglePride.com, and on the NCCU Sports Network App.  Fans can interact with the broadcast by following @NCCUAthletics on twitter, using the hashtag #NCCUMBB, and by sending an e-mail to whooks@nccu.edu or nccusn@nccu.edu.

SCOUTING REPORT:  NJIT
-New Jersey of Institute of Technology (NJIT) enters the return match with NCCU riding a four-game winning streak following the 99-67 win over Fisher College, a NAIA institution out of Boston.  In that contest the Highlanders led 66-31 at-the-break and cruised from there as NJIT had five student-athletes recorded double-figures in the win, led by 6-6 sophomore Terrence Smith's 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.  Jake Duncan, a 6-4 freshman guard, shot 3-for-5 from three-point range to finish with 15 points, while both guard Montana Mayfield and forward Tim Coleman scored 13 points, Coleman finished with a double-double as he grabbed 14 rebounds.  Leading scorer Damon Lynn contributed 11 points, but struggled from-the-field going 4-for-12 overall, but 3-for-10 from beyond-the-arc.  In the win, NJIT forced 18 turnovers, converting those miscues to 33 points.  The Highlanders also outscored the Falcons 42-30 in-the-paint, and 22-6 in second chance points.

-In six seasons, Jim Engles has made quite the turnaround at NJIT from going 1-30 in his first campaign to winning 16 games last season, taking take the Great West Conference regular season crown and earning Great West Conference Coach of the Year honors.  In the 2010-11 campaign was one of 11 coaches to receive a vote for Associated Press National Coach of the Year.  Engles has also been named twice as a nation finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award presented by CollegeInsider.com (2011, 2013).  He has compiled a 70-110 record at NJIT.

-Last Meeting:  Jan. 16, 2014 (NCCU-71, NJIT-55)
-For the second straight game, North Carolina Central University held its opponent to single-digit field goals in each half, combined with redshirt junior Jay Copeland's second consecutive double-double as the Eagles led tape-to-tape on the way to a 71-55 convincing win over the Highlanders of NJIT on Thursday night inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.  In the victory, the maroon and gray outscored the Highlanders 40-to-10 in-the-paint, 22-to-8 in the points off turnovers battle as the Eagles forced NJIT into 22 errors to just 12 for NCCU.  The Highlanders finished the second half shooting 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) giving the Eagles their fourth consecutive half keeping the opponents under 10 made field goals.

-NJIT boasts one of the nation's top three-point shooters in 5-11 freshman Damon Lynn, who is fourth in the country in three-pointers made with 105 behind Ole Miss's Marshall Henderson (108) and East Carolina's Akeem Richmond (125) respectively.  Lynn is shooting 105-for-269 (39.0 percent) from deep, which he is also fourth in attempts from behind-the-arc.  Lynn also leads the team in scoring averaging 17.0 points per game.  Right behind him in that category is 6-6 sophomore forward Terrance Smith who is averaging 12.4 points per contest also leads the team in rebounding pulling down 6.0 boards a game.  Point guard Ky Howard is third on the team averaging 9.1 points a contest and leads the Highlanders with 105 assists on the year.

-As a team the Highlanders average 73.1 points a game, while allowing 70.7 points on the year.  NJIT enters the week shooting 38.3 percent from three-point range, which is good enough to sit in the top -50 in the nation.  The Highlanders 7.6 three-pointers made per game is in the top-70 in the nation, while the 213 shots-from-deep are in the top-60 in the country.

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 296-264 against MEAC opponents all-time.

Bethune-Cookman- 6-4
Coppin State- 6-3
Delaware State- 18-13
Florida A&M- 9-2
Hampton- 45-31
Howard- 38-26
Md. Eastern Shore- 19-16
Morgan State- 46-40
Norfolk State- 8-27
North Carolina A&T- 69-75
Savannah State- 7-8
SC State- 25-19