2019–20 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2019–20 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Eagles, led by 11th-year head coach LeVelle Moton , played their home games at McDougald–McLendon Arena in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference . They finished the season 19-14, 13–3 in MEAC play, winning the MEAC regular season championship. They defeated Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament .[ 1] They were scheduled to play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Bethune–Cookman and Morgan State in the semifinals, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.
Previous season
The Eagles finished the 2018–19 season 18–16 overall, 10–6 in MEAC play, finishing in 3rd place. In the MEAC tournament , they defeated Delaware State in the quarterfinals,[ 2] North Carolina A&T in the semifinals,[ 3] advancing to the championship game against top-seeded Norfolk State , upsetting the Spartans, winning the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.[ 4] Also, for the third consecutive year, they received the No. 16 seed, and played in the First Four, this time losing to North Dakota State .[ 5]
Roster
2019–20 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
1
Mike Melvin
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Jr
Fayetteville, North Carolina
F
2
Jibri Blount
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS Sr
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G
3
Ty Graves
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
RS Jr
Greensboro, North Carolina
G
4
Joshua Dawkins
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Fr
Miami, Florida
G
5
Deven Palmer
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jr
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
F/C
10
Evan Clayborne
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS Jr
Dayton, Ohio
G
11
Randy Miller Jr.
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Sr
Odenton, Maryland
G
12
Jordan Perkins
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
Greensboro, North Carolina
F/C
13
Justin Whatley
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
RS So
Chesapeake, Virginia
F
21
Kobby Ayetey
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Jr
Apam , Ghana
G
22
C.J. Keyser
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
RS Jr
Baltimore, Maryland
G
24
Nicolas Fennell
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
RS So
Bowie, Maryland
F
25
Xavier McCoy
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Jr
Warsaw, North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: January 1, 2020
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2019 *2:30 pm, ESPN3
at Stephen F. Austin
L 64–94
0–1
William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,167)Nacogdoches, TX
November 11, 2019 *7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
USC Upstate Global Sports Shootout
W 73–64
1–1
McDougald–McLendon Arena (973)Durham, NC
November 15, 2019 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Akron Global Sports Shootout
L 47–57
1–2
James A. Rhodes Arena (2,103)Akron, OH
November 17, 2019 *5:00 pm, ACCN
at No. 4 Louisville Global Sports Shootout
L 58–87
1–3
KFC Yum! Center (14,874)Louisville, KY
November 19, 2019 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Youngstown State Global Sports Shootout
L 60–66
1–4
Beeghly Center (1,564)Youngstown, OH
November 21, 2019 *7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Bluefield State
W 68–44
2–4
McDougald–McLendon Arena (633)Durham, NC
November 26, 2019 *8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Illinois
L 48–64
2–5
Banterra Center (3,620)Carbondale, IL
December 2, 2019 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Wofford
L 59–77
2–6
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,241)Spartanburg, SC
December 4, 2019 *7:00 pm, SECN+
at Georgia
L 59–95
2–7
Stegeman Coliseum (7,738)Athens, GA
December 7, 2019 *5:30 pm, ESPN+
at Charleston Southern
L 53–58
2–8
CSU Field House (622)North Charleston, SC
December 11, 2019 *7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Christendom
W 109–28
3–8
McDougald–McLendon Arena (212)Durham, NC
December 14, 2019 *2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Coastal Carolina
L 71–91
3–9
HTC Center (987)Conway, SC
December 17, 2019 *7:30 pm, CUSA.TV
at Louisiana Tech
L 60–69
3–10
Thomas Assembly Center (2,156)Ruston, LA
December 30, 2019 *7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Mid-Atlantic Christian
W 108–63
4–10
McDougald–McLendon Arena (478)Durham, NC
MEAC regular season
January 4, 2020 4:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Florida A&M
W 61–45
5–10 (1–0)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (988)Durham, NC
January 11, 2020 2:00 pm
at Delaware State
L 66–68
5–11 (1–1)
Memorial Hall (519)Dover, DE
January 13, 2020 7:30 pm
at Maryland Eastern Shore
W 69–64 OT
6–11 (2–1)
Hytche Athletic Center (555)Princess Anne, MD
January 18, 2020 4:00 pm
at Bethune–Cookman
W 86–59
7–11 (3–1)
Moore Gymnasium (855)Daytona Beach, FL
January 20, 2020 4:45 pm
at Florida A&M
L 57–66
7–12 (3–2)
Teaching Gym (407)Tallahassee, FL
January 25, 2020 4:20 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Delaware State
W 72–45
8–12 (4–2)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (831)Durham, NC
February 1, 2020 4:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
South Carolina State
W 73–56
9–12 (5–2)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,229)Durham, NC
February 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Norfolk State
W 69–63
10–12 (6–2)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,486)Durham, NC
February 8, 2020 4:00 pm
at Coppin State
W 68–63
11–12 (7–2)
Physical Education Complex (942)Baltimore, MD
February 10, 2020 4:00 pm
at Morgan State
W 58–57
12–12 (8–2)
Talmadge L. Hill Field House (2,108)Baltimore, MD
February 17, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU
at North Carolina A&T
L 60–77
12–13 (8–3)
Corbett Sports Center (5,700)Greensboro, NC
February 22, 2020 4:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Maryland Eastern Shore
W 74–55
13–13 (9–3)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,287)Durham, NC
February 24, 2020 7:30 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Howard
W 80–65
14–13 (10–3)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,496)Durham, NC
February 29, 2020 4:00 pm
at South Carolina State
W 83–82 2OT
15–13 (11–3)
SHM Memorial Center (477)Orangeburg, SC
March 2, 2020 7:30 pm, NCCU Sports Network
Bethune–Cookman
W 71–68 OT
16–13 (12–3)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,338)Durham, NC
March 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU
North Carolina A&T
W 86–80
17–13 (13–3)
McDougald–McLendon Arena (3,026)Durham, NC
MEAC tournament
March 11, 2020 6:00 pm, FloSports
(1)
vs. (8) Delaware State Quarterfinals
W 92–75
18–13
Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA
March 13, 2020 6:00 pm, FloSports
(1)
vs. (4/5) Bethune-Cookman/Morgan State Semifinals
MEAC Tournament Canceled[ 6]
Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern .
Source[ 7]
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championship in bold