North Carolina Central (5-4, 0-0 MEAC)
vs.
Marquette (6-3, 0-0 Big East)
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 – 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CT)
Fiserv Forum - Milwaukee, Wisc.

Complete Game Notes PDF

STARTING FIVE:
1. NCCU begins its 90th season with more than 1,200 wins.
2. NCCU has won four MEAC Tournament championships since 2014, including three consecutive titles from 2017-19. (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)
3. NCCU won the NCAA Division II national championship in 1989.
4. NCCU became an official NCAA Division I member at the start of the 2011-12 season.
5. NCCU is 29-1 at home in nonconference games since 2016.

BROKEN RECORDS
On Dec. 3, 2022, NCCU broke school records for most points scored and largest margin of victory during a 127-40 win over St. Andrews University inside McDougald-McLendon Arena. The previous record for most points scored in a game by NCCU was 123 (Nov. 18, 2018 vs. Warren Wilson), and the prior standard for largest margin of victory was 85 points in a 119-34 win over St. Augustine's on Feb. 18, 1944. 

EAGLES FROM DISTANCE
As a team, NCCU tops the MEAC and ranks fifth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, converting 84 of 199 triples for a 42.2% success rate.

MONROE ON FIRE
Kris Monroe continued his hot streak from long distance on Dec. 3, connecting on 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. In the past three games, the senior forward has drained 15-of-25 from 3-point range, a 60% success rate, including a 6-of-8 performance at Radford on Dec. 1.

WRIGHT ON TARGET
Justin Wright has knocked down 15 of 31 attempts for a 48.4% success rate this season.  Most impressively, he nailed nine consecutive treys in three straight games, starting with his desperation three at App State to send the Eagles to overtime  on the road.  After that game, he went 4-for-4 at Liberty, and 3-for-3 against Mid-Atlantic Christian.

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
NCCU proved that it won't relent until the game has ended when the Eagles recovered 34 points in two games against Howard and Norfolk State.  The Eagles trailed by 24 in the first half against the Bison and forced that game into overtime after taking the lead with seven minutes to go.  NCCU then went on to win after trailing NSU by 10 by snatching the lead with just 1:37 remaining after a three by Kris Monroe.  The Eagles came back to take leads after trailing by 10 points or more six times last season, and won five of those games.  NCCU once again stormed back from a double-digit deficit to start the 2022-23 season at #18 Virginia, by rattling off a 12-0 run to erase a 16-point first half deficit. At Radford, the Eagles rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to take a five point lead, before falling 80-78.

EAGLE QUARTET EARN PRESEASON HONORS
Four Eagles earned Preseason All-MEAC honors, the most in the Division I era at NCCU.  Justin Wright was listed on the First Team, Eric Boone and Kris Monroe both were named to the Second Team, and Brendan Medley-Bacon was placed on the Third Team.

ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF...
Brendan Medley-Bacon is no stranger to NCCU or the MEAC, as he started his career at Coppin State from 2018-20.  He earned Third Team All-MEAC acclaim as a sophomore in 2019-20, and ranked 31st nationally with 2.1 blocks per game.  Of note, current Director of Operations Patrick Cole also started his career at Coppin State in 2012-13, where he was a MEAC All-Rookie selection and later transferred to NCCU to finish his career from 2015-17, where he won a championship and recorded the only triple-double at NCCU in the Division I era.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Sophomore guard Justin Wright broke out for an impressive sophomore campaign, and became the youngest Eagle to be named First Team All-MEAC in the Division I era last season.  Wright is the 10th Eagle to be named First Team All-MEAC in the Division I era, and it marked four consecutive years with a First Team selection for NCCU.  Wright scored 20+ points seven times against MEAC opponents, including a career-high 32 points against Delaware State.  In 11 MEAC games, he averaged 20.1 points per game.

ALL-MEAC ALL-AROUND GUARD
Eric Boone was a dynamic player on both sides of the ball, and the agile guard earned a Second Team All-MEAC nod last season.  Boone finished the regular season ranked fourth in the nation with 2.5 steals per game, and ranked second in the MEAC with 3.7 assists per game.  Offensively, Boone chipped in 9.6 points per game to rank in the top-20 of the MEAC.

RUN IT BACK
Just one season after returning only three student-athletes, NCCU brings back 10 players and three starters from the 2021-22 season.  Notably, Nicolas Fennell will suit up for his fifth season as an Eagle.

UNFAMILIAR GROUNDS
NCCU played three different opponents for the first time in program history, all in Virginia, beginning with the season opener.  The Eagles met Virginia on Nov. 7, Liberty on Nov. 14, and Radford on Dec. 1.

LONG ROAD HOME
NCCU started the last two seasons with four consecutive road games, and this year it was three games away from McDougald-McLendon Arena to start the year.  The Eagles visited Virginia, Appalachian State, and Liberty from Nov. 7-14, and later will go on another three-game road trek from Dec. 6-17 at Marquette, LSU, and Gardner-Webb.