THE GAME
North Carolina Central University enters Monday's matchup with Florida A&M looking to avenge its lone loss in MEAC play as the Rattlers shocked the Eagles 63-60 back on Jan. 11 in Tallahassee, Fla. Since then the Eagles have reeled off nine straight wins and sits atop the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference).
THE SERIES
-In a series that dates back to 1940, NCCU owns an 8-2 advantage over the Rattlers including a 5-2 record over FAMU since the Eagles became members of the MEAC. Here are the last seven matchups in the series.
1/11/14- at Florida A&M- 60-63 L
2/9/13- vs. Florida A&M- 43-51 W
1/12/13- at Florida A&M- 62-85 W
2/4/12- at Florida A&M- 78-61 W
1/7/12- vs. Florida A&M- 62-60 L
2/26/11- at Florida A&M- 58-55 W
1/29/11- vs. Florida A&M- 59-61 W
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
The NCCU Sports Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of Monday's MEAC doubleheader beginning at 5:15 p.m. with the women's contest where Jonathan Duren will have the call, while play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will take the reins for the men's contest which will start 30 minutes following the first game of the evening. The live video stream is available for $8.95 for each game. Fans can tune in to the men's contest on 99.9 HD3-The Ticket in the Triangle area, but the NCCU Sports Network App and NCCUEaglePride.com are also available worldwide free of charge. To interact with the broadcast, follow @NCCUAthletics on twitter using the hashtag #NCCUMBB and by sending an e-mail to whooks@nccu.edu or nccusn@nccu.edu.
SCOUTING REPORT: FLORIDA A&M
-Florida A&M enters the week 8-15, 4-6 in MEAC play following an 84-78 loss to NC A&T on Saturday night inside the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Aggies were led by Lamont Middleton's career-high 35 points, while FAMU's senior guard Jamie Adams finished 3-for-14 from the field, 3-for-10 from deep, leading the Rattlers with 14 points in the loss.
--The Rattlers boast arguably the best backcourt in the MEAC starring senior point guard Jamie Adams who is all over the league leaders sitting seventh in scoring (16.7 points per game), fifth in assists (3.0 assists per game), 10th in free throw percentage (80.6 percent), tied for ninth in steals (1.4 steals per game), 10th in three-point field goal percentage (36.9 percent), and fifth in three-pointers made (2.2 per game). His backcourt-mate senior Reggie Lewis is 14th in the MEAC shooting 35.5 percent from three-point range and is second on the team averaging 11.3 points per game. Sophomore small forward Trey Kellum is ninth in the conference in rebounding at 6,4 boards a game and is second in the league ripping down 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.
-Last Meeting- Jan. 13, 2014 (FAMU-63 NCCU-60)
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – Leading 58-44 with 10:37 to go following a Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) alley-oop dunk, North Carolina Central University went cold going more than six minutes without a field goal, while the host Rattlers of Florida A&M University went on a 19-to-2 run the rest of the way to pull off the 63-60 win over the Eagles on Saturday evening from the Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Fla. From the 10:37 mark of the second half to the four minute mark, the maroon and gray committed four costly turnovers, and missed seven straight shots before Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) connected on a layup to give the Eagles a 60-54 lead. That was the last bucket the maroon and gray scored the rest of the way. NCCU led for 39 minutes and 38 second of the contest, but with the a one-point lead senior Jamie Adams drilled a 23-foot three-pointer that brought the home crowd to their feet, giving FAMU the led at 62-60 with 22.1 second left. The Eagles turned the ball over on the next possession and Lewis drilled one-of-two free throws to give the Rattlers the upset victory over the Eagles, as Ingram's heave from the backcourt fell short, sending the maroon and gray to the 63-60 defeat.
-As a team, FAMU is third in the conference in scoring offense (71.1 points per game), 13th in scoring defense (75.6 points per game), and fifth in three-point percentage (32.5 percent). The Rattlers have drilled 140 three-pointers on the year which is the third-most in the league (NCCU has hit 120 three-pointers). The Rattlers are No. 1 in the MEAC in rebounding at 38.6 boards a game and tops the league in offensive rebounds at 14.9 per contest.
-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 292-264 against MEAC opponents all-time.
Bethune-Cookman- 6-4
Coppin State- 6-3
Delaware State- 18-13
Florida A&M- 8-2
Hampton- 45-31
Howard- 38-26
Md. Eastern Shore- 19-16
Morgan State- 46-40
Norfolk State- 8-27
North Carolina A&T- 68-75
Savannah State- 6-8
SC State- 24-19
