DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University is making its way through the latter half of the MEAC schedule, and the Eagles make their second-to-last conference road trip at Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman.  This is NCCU's first trip to the Florida schools since the 2015-16 season.
 
GAME NOTES
2017-18 Regular Season
North Carolina Central (12-11, 6-3 MEAC)
at
Florida A&M (4-22, 3-7 MEAC)
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018 – 6:00 p.m.
Al Lawson Center – Tallahassee, Fla.
Audio: NCCU Sports Network
Stats: FAMUAthletics.com
 
North Carolina Central (12-11, 6-3 MEAC)
at
Bethune-Cookman (12-12, 6-3 MEAC)
Monday, Feb. 12, 2018 – 7:30 p.m.
Moore Gymnasium – Daytona Beach, Fla.
Audio: NCCU Sports Network
Video: CatEye Network
Stats: BCUAthletics.com
 
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
STARTING FIVE:
1. Head coach LeVelle Moton is one win away from passing Gregory Jackson for the third-most wins all time at NCCU.
2. NCCU has now won 1200 games in the 84th season of the program history.
3. With nine home wins already this season, NCCU has clinched its ninth consecutive home winning campaign.
4. Coach Moton is 92-30 all-time in regular season MEAC play.
5. NCCU is looking for its fourth regular season MEAC title in the last five seasons.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS:
Florida A&M heads into the weekend with a 3-7 record in MEAC play, and is 2-1 at the Lawson Center against league opponents.  Desmond Williams leads the Rattlers with 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and he has a team-high 28 steals.  FAMU lost a close one last time out, 61-62 at MDES and Williams had a joint team-high 17 points with seven boards.
 
SERIES: NCCU leads, 14-2 / Streak: W6
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:
Bethune-Cookman has had a strong run so far in MEAC play, and the Wildcats are 6-3 in conference play, and 7-2 within Moore Gym this season.  Brandon Tabb paces BCU with 17.2 points per outing, and he's knocked down 72 total three-pointers, shooting 33.8 percent from the perimeter.
 
SERIES: NCCU leads, 11-5 / Streak: W2
 
FREE BASKETBALL
NCCU played an overtime game for the first time since the 2015-16 season when the Eagles fell 84-78 at Howard.  Under Moton, the Eagles are 7-4 in games that go to an extra frame, and 3-3 against MEAC opponents in overtime.
 
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.
 
CRASHING THE BOARDS
NCCU pulled down the most rebounds in the Division-I era against Warren Wilson when the Eagles swept up 66 rebounds.  The Eagles topped the mark of 57 set against Barber-Scotia on Dec. 17, 2014.  This season, the Eagles also pulled down 58 boards against Christendom on Dec. 30.
 
COMING UP ACES
NCCU currently leads the MEAC in six categories after a strong showing during the non-conference schedule.  The Eagles are tops in the league in scoring margin (+3.7), points allowed per game (69.5), field goal percentage (47.4), three-point percentage (36.8), rebounding margin (+5.0), and rebounds allowed per game (32.4).
 
ROOKIE RANKING
Freshmen Reggie Gardner, Jr. and Jordan Perkins have found their way into the starting lineup, and are the first freshmen to start for the Eagles since C.J. Wiggins during the 2015-16 season.  Gardner and Perkins are both statistically ranked within the MEAC, as well.  Gardner is top-20 in scoring with an average of 11.9 points per game and is a volume shooter from the perimeter, ranking sixth in threes per game with 2.5.  Perkins has taken on his role as a point guard and is third in the league in assists with 4.9 per outing and is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio with a positive 1.9.