NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT (NIT) - First Round
North Carolina Central (25-7, 16-0 MEAC, 9-6 Road)
vs. 
Miami (21-12, 10-8 ACC, 10-6 Home)
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
BankUnited Center (7,972) - Coral Gables, Fla.
National Invitation Tournament (NIT)
TV: ESPN2 / Video: ESPN3 / Audio: NCCUEaglePride.com   

Complete Game Notes   |   NIT Game Program   

THE GAME:  NCCU makes its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as a No. 7 seed against No. 2 seed University of Miami.  The Hurricanes have won all three prior meetings with the NCCU Eagles between January 2009-November 2010. NCCU repeated as MEAC regular-season champions with a 16-0 record. Miami finished sixth in the ACC with a 10-8 conference mark.  

SCOUTING REPORT:  MIAMI
- The Miami Hurricanes (21-12, 10-8 ACC) finished the regular season sixth in the ACC, then lost in the ACC Tournament to Notre Dame, the eventual champions.
- Sheldon McClellan (6-5, 205, R-Jr., guard) tops the Hurricanes in scoring with 14.7 points per game.
- Angel Rodriguez (5-11, 180, R-Jr., guard) averages 12.2 points per game with a team-high 4.0 assists per contest.
- Seven-foot center Tonye Jekiri, who averages 10.2 rebounds per outing, led the ACC in rebounding during the regular season.

SERIES VS. MIAMI
This will be the fourth meeting between the Miami Hurricanes and the NCCU Eagles. Miami leads the series 3-0. 
11/19/2010 - Miami 88, NCCU 65 (Coral Gables, Fla.)
11/14/2009 - Miami 83, NCCU 53 (Coral Gables, Fla.)
01/03/2009 - Miami 76, NCCU 42 (Coral Gables, Fla.)

EAGLES NO. 22 IN MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
NCCU moved up one spot to No. 22 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Mar. 9).

NCCU REPEATS MEAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
NCCU clinched its second straight MEAC regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the MEAC Tournament by defeating Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 28. NCCU is the first team to repeat as MEAC regular-season champs since Morgan State won three in-a-row from 2007-10. 

UNBEATEN IN CONFERENCE PLAY
NCCU completed a perfect conference regular season by beating North Carolina A&T on March 5, marking the first time in school history that the Eagles finish a regular season with an undefeated conference record.  NCCU is now the fifth team in MEAC history to post an unblemished conference record: 2012-13 Norfolk State, 1993-94 Coppin State, 1992-93 Coppin State and 1987-88 North Carolina A&T - all went 16-0.  

NCCU IN NCAA RPI
According to NCAA.com (as of March 16), NCCU's RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is 127 out of 351 teams across the nation.  Miami is 65.


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 March 16: 
CATEGORY        NCCU    NCAA 
Opp. Field Goal Pct.    35.6%    2nd
Opp. Three-Point FG Pct.    27.6%    4th
Opp. Points Per Game    54.6    5th
Field Goal Percentage    48.6%    10th
Scoring Margin    +14.4    11th

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 field goal percentage defense (35.6%), fourth in three-point percentage defense (27.6%), and fifth in scoring defense (54.6 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 third in the NCAA Division I at 65.3 percent, which leads the MEAC. Second on the national list is someone who also plays in Durham - Jahlil Okafor of Duke at 66.9 percent.

PARKS ON MEAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior forward Jordan Parks was voted to the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team. In two games, both double-double performances, he averaged 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, shooting 18 of 23 from the field. 

NIMROD THE PLAYMAKER
NCCU senior point guard Nimrod Hilliard, a transfer from Lamar University, continues to lead the MEAC and ranks 11th in the nation with an average of 6.4 assists per game. Hilliard's 191 assists during the 2014-15 campaign ranks third on NCCU's single-season list, behind Donald Sinclair's 200 assists in 1979-80 and Emanuel Chapman's 217 helpers in 2013-14.

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 seventh in the country with 3.2 made three-pointers per game. He has a MEAC-high 103 baskets from behind the arc, which sits seventh in Division I. McDonald is only the second Eagle in NCCU history to make 100 three-point field goals in a season, trailing record-holder Landon Clement's 109 in 2010-11 campaign.

NATION'S SECOND-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
NCCU boasts a 35-game home win streak, which ranks second in Division I behind 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 26 consecutive conference opponents have left McDougald-McLendon Gym with a loss. 

HOWEVER... NATION'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK IN CALENDAR DAYS
Although NCCU's 35-game home win streak ranks second 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 and is the only team in the country that has not lost at home since 2012.
Last Home Loss:
NCCU - Dec. 4, 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 62-13 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: 12-0 (1.000)
Total:     62-13 (.827)

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. The Eagles have now gone undefeated at home in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. 
2014-15: 12-0
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

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.

NCCU VS. MEAC
Now that NCCU is back and established in the  conference that it helped start back in 1970, the Eagles are 317-265 against MEAC opponents all-time.
Bethune-Cookman    8-4
Coppin State        8-3
Delaware State        19-14
Florida A&M        11-2
Hampton        46-31
Howard        40-26
Maryland Eastern Shore    20-16
Morgan State        48-40
Norfolk State        11-27
North Carolina A&T    71-75
Savannah State        10-8
South Carolina State    27-19

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    114    74    .606    2009-

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    25    7    .781
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