DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University will step onto the hardwood for its first tests of the 2017-18 season on the road at Illinois-Chicago and Evansville on Friday, Nov. 10 and Monday, Nov. 13, respectively. After these two games the Eagles will head south to visit Tennessee-Martin before returning to Durham to open McDougald-McLendon Arena on Friday, Nov. 17 against Warren Wilson.
GAME NOTES
2017-18 Regular Season
North Carolina Central (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
at
Illinois-Chicago (0-0, 0-0 Horizon)
Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 – 8:00 p.m.
UIC Pavilion – Chicago, Ill.
Video: ESPN3
Stats: UICFlames.com
North Carolina Central (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
at
Evansville (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 – 12:00 p.m.
Ford Center – Evansville, Ind.
Video: ESPN3
Stats: GoPurpleAces.com
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
STARTING FIVE:
1. NCCU is looking for its first season-opening win since Nov. 12, 2010 against Johnson & Wales.
2. NCCU will play nine games in November, the most since the 2012-13 season where the Eagles played eight.
3. Three games is the second-longest road swing to begin a season, behind NCCU's six game trip in the 2008-09 season.
4. NCCU's non-conference schedule puts the Eagles on the road nine times out of 14 games.
5. NCCU went 9-5 in non-conference play last year.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES:
UIC finished sixth in the 10-team Horizon League with a 7-11 conference mark and a 17-19 overall record in the 2016-17 campaign. The Flames are led by two players named preseason All-Conference within the Horizon League in Dikembe Dixson and Tai Odiase. Dixson played limited games last year, but averaged 22.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in nine full games. Odiase was named conference Defensive Player of the Year after swatting 2.89 shots per game, and has 249 career blocks which is the second-most in program history.
SERIES: First meeting.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE ACES:
Evansville held a 6-12 record within the Missouri Valley conference and a 16-17 overall record, and the Purple Aces landed eighth in the league. Ryan Taylor was named Preseason All-Conference Second Team after finishing seventh in the league in scoring with 14.1 points per game.
SERIES: First meeting.
NEXT MAN UP
NCCU is one of less than 10 schools that returns zero starters from its previous season. The Eagles bring back the second-fewest starts in the nation with 11, all coming from
C.J. Wiggins, and the third-fewest total minutes with 862, 626 of which came from Pablo Rivas.
50, 8-0
NCCU was a perfect 8-0 when shooting above 50 percent from the field last season, and didn't allow a single opponent to eclipse the 50 percent mark as well. Defensively, the Eagles topped the MEAC in opposing points per game, opposing field goal percentage and scoring margin, and finished 11th in the nation in field goal defense.
