South Carolina State (1-16, 1-6) vs. NC Central (4-7, 2-4)
McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium, Durham, North Carolina; Monday, 12 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: NC Central looks for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over South Carolina State. In its last five wins against the Bulldogs, NC Central has won by an average of 9 points. South Carolina State’s last win in the series came on Feb. 24, 2018, a 102-79 victory.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: C.J. Keyser is putting up 17.2 points to lead the way for the Eagles. Jordan Perkins has complemented Keyser and is maintaining an average of 6.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and five assists per game. The Bulldogs have been led by Rahsaan Edwards, who is averaging 9.6 points.
RAMPING IT UP: The Bulldogs have scored 70 points per game and allowed 75.3 points per game across seven conference games. Those are both substantial improvements over the 55.4 points scored and 82.4 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.EFFECTIVE EDWARDS: Edwards has connected on 36.9 percent of the 84 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 5 of 14 over the last three games. He’s also converted 60.6 percent of his free throws this season.
COLD SPELL: South Carolina State has lost its last 11 road games, scoring 58.5 points, while allowing 82.5 per game.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Eagles have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Bulldogs. NC Central has an assist on 24 of 54 field goals (44.4 percent) across its past three games while South Carolina State has assists on 26 of 67 field goals (38.8 percent) during its past three games.
STIFLING DEFENSE: NC Central has held opposing teams to 70.9 points per game, the second-lowest figure among all MEAC teams.
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