North Carolina Central Eagles
MEAC (28-5, 15-1)
After losing at Florida A&M back on January 11th, North Carolina Central reeled off 17 consecutive wins to finish off the regular season. The MEAC tends to be top heavy, yet the Eagles still completely dominated. And the signs were there long before the massive winning streak. This is a team that beat North Carolina State back in November and their losses were against teams like Cincinnati, Wichita State and Maryland.
Big Wins: 11/20 at North Carolina State (82-72), 12/3 at Old Dominion (76-69), 12/18 Winthrop (72-66)
Bad Losses: 11/8 at Cincinnati (61-74), 12/7 at IUPUI (65-71), 1/11 at Florida A&M (60-63)
Coach: LeVelle Moton (5 seasons at North Carolina Central)
Why They Can Surprise:
NCCU wins with efficient offense and tough defense. The Eagles allow a mere 58.8 points per game. They rank in the top 25 in the nation in steals per game and allow the opposition to shoot just 37.2 percent from the floor. Usually a team that goes for steals will allow some easy buckets. But that is rarely the case with the Eagles. Emanuel Chapman, Jeremy Ingram and Karamo Jawara are all fine perimeter defenders. The efficient offense runs through Ingram. The shooting guard averages 20.6 points contest and is no stranger to dropping 30 or more points on anybody. Just ask Wichita State’s stellar defense which gave up 37 points to Ingram.
Why They Can Disappoint:
But that leads right into the biggest concern for North Carolina Central. Even though Ingram dropped 37 on Wichita State, the team only scored 66. Who else is going to step up and emerge as an offensive threat? Jordan Parks is a big guard who can give the team some more size on the floor and spark the offense on occasion. Like Parks, Alfonzo Houston is not a shooter, but will finish around the basket. Jay Copeland is the best inside scorer, yet he will have to concentrate on his defense if this team is going to pull off an upset. Coach LeVelle Moton does have scoring options behind Ingram, but it remains to be seen if one or two of them can step up when the pressure is on.
Probable Starters:
Emanuel Chapman, Senior, Guard, 6.8 ppg, 6.5 apg, 2.1 spg
Jeremy Ingram, Senior, Guard, 20.6 ppg, 1.2 apg
Alfonzo Houston, Senior, Guard, 9.6 ppg, 1.3 apg
Karamo Jawara, Juior, Forward, 7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.6 apg
Jay Copeland, Junior, Forward, 8.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Reggie Groves, Senior, Guard, 5.1 ppg, 1.4 apg
Jordan Parks, Junior, Forward, 10.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.6 (94th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 59.2 (8, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.0 (82, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 37.6 (5, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.2 (277, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 32.5 (241, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.2 (93, 2)
Rebound Margin: 3.2 (74, 2)
Assists Per Game: 14.8 (51, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.7 (106, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
No Tournament History
*all team stats through 3/9
