ROCK HILL, S.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's basketball team travels to Rock Hill, S.C. to compete in the city's tournament hosted in partnership with their local school Winthrop University on Nov. 15-17. Besides Winthrop, the Eagles will battle against Georgia Southern University and the College of William & Mary this weekend. All of Saturday's and Sunday's contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
THIS WEEK: Rock Hill Classic
North Carolina Central vs Georgia Southern
Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 – 7:30 p.m.
Rock Hill Sports & Events Center – Rock Hill, S.C.
Live Stats | Tickets
First Meeting
North Carolina Central vs William & Mary
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 – 7:30 p.m.
Rock Hill Sports & Events Center – Rock Hill, S.C.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets
First Meeting
North Carolina Central vs Winthrop
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 – 2:30 p.m.
Rock Hill Sports & Events Center – Rock Hill, S.C.
Last Meeting: 72-66 NCCU at NCCU (12/8/2013)
Series: 2-0, NCCU
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
SERIES HISTORY
- NC Central will be playing two opponents for the first time. The Eagles have never played Georgia Southern or William & Mary.
- The Battle of the Eagles between Winthrop and NCCU has happened on two occasions with the Maroon and Gray winning both games.
- The last time the two Eagle programs faced off was in 2013 as NC Central won in McDougald-McLendon Arena 72-66
NCCU NOTES
· EAGLE's EIGHT: With eight returners, NC Central brought in eight new Eagles to the Nest. Two players are familiar faces as Dionte Johnson and Kelechi Okworogwo previously played at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. Aquan Smart is a Midwest product who last played at Southeast Missouri State University. Floyd Rideau Jr. also has experience in the MEAC after spending his first season at South Carolina State University before moving to USC Upstate. Anthony Peoples Jr. comes to Durham from the West Coast and Jaqai Murray is the only transfer by way of junior college. Isaac Parson is a North Carolina product formerly of Winston-Salem State University and Camren Daniels is the hometown kid and only true freshman on the team.
· New Number, Who's ThiS?: There have been some number changes this season for a few Eagles. Caleb Ellison will now wear 0, Keishon Porter adds a one to his jersey for number 11 and Gbenga Olubi goes from 32 to 7.
· draw the line: NCCU has already shown improvement in free throw percentage and are currently 29th nationally in the statistic. The Eagles finish 279th in 2023-24.
· EAGLE TRIPPING: NCCU will travel and host ten different non-conference opponents spanning from the Atlantic 10, Big South, Sun Belt, CAA and Big 12. The Eagles opened the season at George Mason University.
PRESEASON HONORS
· MEAC PRE-SEASON HONORS: NC Central earned two preseason All-MEAC honors announced during the 2024 MEAC Media Day Show on ESPN+ in October. Po'Boigh King was named to the first team and Keishon Porter earned third team honors. Both returning players bring back the most experience after playing their first season with NCCU in 2023-24. The Eagles were picked to finish third in the conference behind Howard University and Norfolk State University.
FLASHBACK 2023-24 SEASON
· Half-And-Half: NCCU has a 16-man roster with eight returners. The remaining eight are seven transfers and one true freshman.
· No ROOM beyond the arc: NCCU ended the 2023-24 season second in the nation in three-point percentage defense behind only Louisiana. The Eagles held opponents last season to 28.1 percent beyond the arc.
· On The Break: The Eagles not only led the MEAC in fast break points per game (14.52) in the 2023-24 season, but they also finished 17th in the nation for the same statistic.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
