NCAA Division I Men's Basketball
Bethune-Cookman (10-18, 6-7 MEAC, 5-10 Road)
vs.
North Carolina Central (21-6, 13-0 MEAC, 10-0 Home)
Saturday, February 28, 2015 - 4:00 p.m.
McDougald-McLendon Gym (3,116) - Durham, N.C.
"SENIOR DAY"
TV/Video/Audio:
NCCUEaglePride.comComplete Game Notes as PDF Game Day Rosters as PDF THE GAME: SENIOR DAY. NCCU honors four seniors in pre-game ceremony. A lot is on the line for NCCU, including the nation's longest conference win streak with 31 straight victories over MEAC teams, and a 33-game home win streak, which ranks third in the country behind Gonzaga and Arizona. With a win, NCCU clinches its second straight MEAC regular-season title.
SCOUTING REPORT: BETHUNE-COOKMAN
- The Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman have won two of their last three games since losing to NCCU on Feb. 14 in Daytona Beach, Florida. B-CU beat NC A&T 78-56 and Florida A&M 64-57 before losing to Savannah State 58-49 on Wednesday.
- Senior guard Brandon Stewart has averaged 18.8 points in the Wildcats' last five games, including 26 points in a win over Delaware State on Feb. 7.
SERIES VS. BETHUNE-COOKMAN
This will be the 12th meeting between the NCCU Eagles and the B-CU Wildcats. NCCU has a 7-4 series advantage, including the last five in-a-row. B-CU's last win over the Eagles was in the 2012 MEAC Tournament (March 8, Winston-Salem, N.C.) when the Wildcats made a jumper in the closing seconds for a 60-59 victory.
EAGLES BACK IN MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
NCCU is back in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, reentering in the No. 25 spot. The Eagles were ranked as high as No. 24 before suffering a road loss at East Tennessee State University on Jan. 31 to end a 10-game winning streak. Since that time, NCCU has won five in-a-row to improve its overall record to 21-6.
NCCU'S RPI AMONG TOP 110
According to NCAA.com (as of Feb. 26), NCCU's RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is 106 out of 351 teams across the nation. Bethune-Cookman is 343.
EAGLES SOARING AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
NCCU is ranked among some of the top schools in the nation (NCAA Division I) in a few statistical categories listed below, as of Feb. 18:
CATEGORY NCCU NCAA
Opp. Three-Point FG Pct. 27.3% 2nd
Opp. Field Goal Pct. 35.4% 3rd
Opp. Points Per Game 55.0 5th
Scoring Margin +13.8 13th
Field Goal Percentage 47.9% 21st
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
Under the leadership of sixth-year head coach
LeVelle Moton, NCCU believes its identity is rooted in playing defense. As evidence, the Eagles rank among the NCAA Division I top-5 in three key defensive categories: second in three-point percentage defense (27.3%), third in field goal percentage defense (35.4%), and fifth in scoring defense (55.0 points allowed per game). At the end of NCCU's historic 2013-14 season, NCCU ranked fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.1%) and 10th in scoring defense (59.5 points allowed per game).
JORDAN PARKS NAMED TO LOU HENSON AWARD WATCH LIST
NCCU senior forward
Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) has been named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List, announced Jan. 21. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the Division I Mid-Major Player of the Year.
JORDAN PARKS ON THE MARK
After leading the nation in field goal shooting last season at 65.9 percent, NCCU senior forward
Jordan Parks ranks fifth in the NCAA Division I at 62.3 percent, which leads the MEAC.
NIMROD THE PLAYMAKER
NCCU senior point guard
Nimrod Hilliard, a transfer from Lamar University, continues to lead the MEAC and ranks 12th in the nation with an average of 6.1 assists per game.
McDONALD AN ARCH EXPERT
Ronald McDonald knows golden arches.
Anthony McDonald knows three-point arches. The NCCU senior sharp-shooter tops the conference and ranks eighth in the country with 3.3 made three-pointers per game. He has a MEAC-high 88 baskets from behind the arch, which sits ninth in Division I.
SCENARIOS FOR MEAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
NCCU has already clinched at least a share of the MEAC regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the MEAC Tournament. With a win on Saturday, the Eagles earn the outright MEAC regular-season title for the second straight year. NCCU would be the first team to repeat as MEAC regular-season champs since Morgan State won three in-a-row from 2007-10.
NATION'S THIRD-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
NCCU boasts a 33-game home win streak, which ranks third in Division I behind Gonzaga and Arizona. The Eagles have not lost at home since Dec. 4, 2012 (Eastern Kentucky, 57-63). The last MEAC team to beat NCCU in Durham was Savannah State on Feb. 11, 2012 (67-57). Since then 24 consecutive conference opponents have left McDougald-McLendon Gym with a loss.
HOWEVER... NATION'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK IN CALENDAR DAYS
Although NCCU's 33-game home win streak ranks third in the NCAA Division I in terms of the number of games, when looking at the length of the streak in calendar days, NCCU tops the nation.
Last Home Loss:
NCCU - Dec. 4, 2012
Gonzaga - Dec. 8, 2012
Arizona - Feb. 10, 2013
Wichita State - Feb. 27, 2013
NEST HAS BEEN PROTECTED
In Moton's six seasons, the Eagles have done just that - Protect the Nest, compiling a 60-13 home record during his coaching career. Here's how NCCU has fared at home since 2009:
2009-10: 7-4 (.636)
2010-11: 9-4 (.692)
2011-12: 8-3 (.727)
2012-13: 12-2 (.857)
2013-14: 14-0 (1.000)
2014-15: 10-0 (1.000)
Total: 60-13 (.822)
WE MUST PROTECT THE NEST
During the 2013-14 season, North Carolina Central University went unbeaten at home going 14-0, marking that feat for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign.
2014-15: 10-0
2013-14: 14-0
1989-90: 13-0
1997-98: 12-0
1987-88: 12-1
1992-93: 11-1
1993-94: 11-1
1995-96: 11-1
1988-89: 9-1
MOTON SITS AMONG NCCU TOP 5 IN WINS
Head coach
LeVelle Moton recorded his 100th victory against S.C. State on Jan. 10, 2015, becoming the fifth coach in NCCU men's basketball history to reach the 100-win milestone. Here is a list of the coaches with the most wins in program history:
Most Victories W L Pct. Years
1. Floyd Brown 251 194 .564 1952-70
2. John McLendon 239 68 .779 1940-52
3. Gregory Jackson 164 78 .678 1991-00
4. Michael Bernard 115 56 .673 1985-91
5.
LeVelle Moton 110 73 .601 2009-
NCCU VS. MEAC
Now that NCCU is back and established in the conference that it helped start back in 1970, the Eagles are 313-264 against MEAC opponents all-time. The Eagles have beaten 31 straight MEAC teams, and have a 47-3 record against league foes since the start of 2012-13 season.
Bethune-Cookman 7-4
Coppin State 7-3
Delaware State 19-13
Florida A&M 11-2
Hampton 46-31
Howard 40-26
Md. Eastern Shore 20-16
Morgan State 48-40
Norfolk State 11-27
North Carolina A&T 70-75
Savannah State 9-8
SC State 27-19
20-WIN SEASONS
NCCU's victory over Florida A&M on Feb. 16 provided the Eagles with a third consecutive 20-win season, something that has not happened for the Eagles since 1990 under the direction of head coach Michael Bernard. John B. McLendon was the only other coach to lead the Eagles to three straight 20-win seasons from 1948-51. Here's a look at all 18 of NCCU's 20-win seasons.
Year Coach W L Pct
1939-40 William Burghardt 22 4 .846
1946-47 John McLendon 20 5 .800
1948-49 John McLendon 25 5 .833
1949-50 John McLendon 24 5 .828
1950-51 John McLendon 28 7 .800
1953-54 Floyd Brown 24 7 .774
1954-55 Floyd Brown 20 7 .741
1956-57# Floyd Brown 23 6 .793
1987-88% Michael Bernard 26 3 .896
1988-89$ Michael Bernard 28 4 .875
1989-90% Michael Bernard 23 5 .821
1992-93& Gregory Jackson 26 4 .867
1993-94 Gregory Jackson 20 5 .800
1995-96% Gregory Jackson 20 7 .741
1996-97% Gregory Jackson 20 6 .769
2012-13
LeVelle Moton 22 9 .709
2013-14@
LeVelle Moton 28 6 .823
2014-15
LeVelle Moton 21 6 .778
20-win seasons = 18
#-Advanced to Second Round of NCAA Playoffs
%-Advanced to NCAA Regional Championships
&-Advanced to NCAA Quarterfinals / "Elite Eight"
$-Won the NCAA Division II National Championship
@-Won MEAC Regular Season & Tournament
ALL STARTERS ALL-MEAC; PARKS MEAC MVP
Breitbart Sports announced all five NCCU starters to its 15-player men's basketball All-MEAC Teams, and has NCCU senior forward
Jordan Parks as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player. Parks, a 6-7, 200-pound forward out of Queens, New York, earned Conference MVP honors as the top-ranked player in the MEAC, coming in at #200 among NCAA Division I players at ValueAddBasketball.com. Parks and senior point guard
Nimrod Hilliard were named to the All-MEAC First Team, senior center
Karamo Jawara and senior shooting guard
Anthony McDonald were selected to the All-MEAC Second Team, and junior guard
Dante Holmes was placed on the All-MEAC Third Team.
