GAME NOTES
2020-21 Regular Season
North Carolina Central (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
at
#5 Iowa (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 – 3:00 p.m. CT
Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Iowa City, Iowa
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network
Stats: HawkeyeSports.com
 
North Carolina Central (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
Vs.
Southern (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020 – 3:00 p.m. CT
Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Iowa City, Iowa
Stats: HawkeyeSports.com
 
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
STARTING FIVE:
1. NCCU begins its 88th season with over 1,220 wins.
2. LeVelle Moton will coach his 12th season at NCCU in 2020-21, and is just the third coach in program history to coach 10+ campaigns.
3. NCCU will play six of its seven non-conference games away from home.
4. NCCU will face just one new opponent during non-conference play.
5. NCCU has gone 18-1 at home in non-conference games since 2016.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa enters the 2020-21 season ranked fifth in the nation in the Associated Press poll after a strong campaign last season that resulted in a 20-11 record, and an 11-9 mark in the Big Ten.  The Hawkeyes ended the year ranked 25th in the nation, and senior forward Luka Garza was named National Player of the Year by multiple outlets after averaging 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest.  This will be the second all-time meeting with Iowa after LeVelle Moton's inaugural season as head coach of the Eagles in the 2009-10 season.
 
LAST FIVE VS IOWA:
11/28/09       at Iowa         63-73 L
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
Southern went 17-15, and finished second in the SWAC with a 13-5 mark in league play.  The Jaguars also finished the season on an eight-game winning streak, including a 67-53 win over Alabama State in the SWAC quarterfinals before the season was cut short.  SU is led by returning guards Ashante Shivers and Micah Bradford who were both named Preseason Second Team All-SWAC.  Shivers averaged 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last year, and Bradford contributed 8.8 points and 3.4 assists per contest.
 
LAST FIVE VS SOUTHERN:
11/24/18       at Emerald Coast Classic      83-71 W
11/19/17       at NCCU        80-67 W
12/21/15       at Global Sports Shootout    63-68 L
11/15/12       at Global Sports Hoops Showcase   59-55 W
3/22/41         vs. Southern  42-48 L
 
MEAC PROGNOSTICATORS PICK NCCU
The Eagles will compete in divisional play for the first time since leaving the CIAA, and were picked to lead the Southern Division in the Preseason MEAC Poll as voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors.  Senior guard C.J. Keyser earned First Team honors, and senior point guard Jordan Perkins was tabbed for the Second Team.  Keyser scored 11.6 points per game over the season, and 15.8 points per contest in 11 MEAC games, and Perkins served out 154 assists to average 5.0 per game, and finished second in the league in assists per game, and in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.8.
 
FOUR ACES
North Carolina Central University captured its fourth MEAC regular season crown by defeating rival North Carolina A&T, 86-80 on March 5 in Durham.   NCCU has now won four MEAC regular season titles in the last seven seasons, stretching back to the 2013-14 season.  The Eagles have also won the last three MEAC Tournament championships.
 
WAIT FOR IT
NCCU opens its season with six consecutive games on the road, which is the longest road swing to start a season in the Division I era.  The previous mark was five in the Eagles' first year at the DI level in the 2007-08 season.  Dec. 15 is also the latest recorded date for a home opener for the Eagles, stretching all the way back to the 1948-49 season when NCCU hosted Tennessee State on Jan. 5, 1949.