Men's Basketball | 11/11/2014 1:28:00 PM
BALTIMORE – The Coppin State men's basketball team begins its 2014-15 season against the University of Oregon at Matthew-Knight Arena in Eugene. For complete notes
CLICK HERE STORYLINE: This will be the first game at Coppin State for first-year head coach
Michael Grant. The Eagles return 11 players from last season's team that advanced to the MEAC tournament semifinals.
TIP TIME: 12:04 a.m. Eastern Standard Time/9:04 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
TV: Pac-12 Network. If you don't have the Pac-12 Network on your cable provider, you will be able to watch for free online at www.pac-12.com as part of a "Full-Court Friday" promotion being offered by the network.
ANNOUNCERS: Jason Knapp (play-by-play) and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude (color)
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the second all-time meeting between Oregon and Coppin State. The Ducks defeated Coppin State, 77-62 on Nov. 15, 1998 in Eugene.
A LOOK AT OREGON: Despite two straight NCAA Tournament appearances and four consecutive 20-win seasons, the Oregon men's basketball team was picked by Pac-12 coaches to finish eighth in the conference preseason poll this year. The Ducks rolled to a pair of exhibition wins over Northwest Christian (101-69) and Western Oregon (104-55). The Ducks had four players averaging double figures in the exhibition victories: Elgin Cook (19.5 points per game), Joseph Young (19.0 ppg.), Dillon Brooks (16.5) and Dwayne Benjamin (15.5). Oregon's roster includes six newcomers among its nine scholarship players.
PRESEASON HONORS: Coppin State senior guard
Taariq Cephas was named a first-team preseason All-MEAC selection. In addition, Cephas, along with junior guard
Sterling Smith were named to the preseason College Sports Madness MEAC preseason team. Cephas was a second team selection and Smith was a fourth team selection.
BACK TO OREGON: The Eagles play a Pac-12 school in the state of Oregon for the second straight year. The Eagles defeated Oregon State, 78-73, last season. In that game, the Eagles never trailed.
Sterling Smith had 21 points in that victory.
CONFERENCE CASTING CALL: Coppin State will play against schools from 10 different conferences this season (Pac-12, Big 10, ACC, American Athletic, MAC, America East, CAA, Summit, Central Atlantic Collegiate and Missouri Valley).
TIME TRAVELERS: Coppin State starts the season with a four-game road trip from Nov. 14-23 in which it play a game in every time zone in the contiguous United States: Oregon (Fri., Nov. 14), Illinois (Sat., Nov. 16), Notre Dame (Wed., Nov. 19) and Denver (Sun., Nov. 23).
COPPIN STATE IN THE COMMUNITY: Under first-year head coach
Michael Grant, Coppin State has been active outside of campus. The Eagles spoke at Windsor Hill Elementary School as part of the NABC's "Stay In To Win" program and held a team-bonding activity at Fells Point, which is near the Inner-Harbor. In addition, the Eagles worshipped together on Nov. 9 at New Shiloh Baptist Church near the Coppin State campus.
NEW UNIFORMS: Coppin State will be wearing new uniforms this season. They are part of Russell Athletic's men's Dri-Power® athletic cut sublimated collection. They are constructed with a more tailored fit to allow for ease of movement. The stretch-mesh material is 92% nylon and 8% spandex. Unlike previous years, the uniforms do not have the players names on them.
NEXT UP: Coppin State will visit Illinois Sunday afternoon for a game beginning at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time/5:00 p.m. Central Time. The Eagles-Illini game will be streamed live on the BTN2Go app, which is the official app of the Big Ten Network. It will be a BTN Plus production and will require an additional subscription. Fans can access all Big Ten content on BTN Plus for $119.95 per year or a $14.95 monthly subscription. The game will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis at a later date and time to be announced.
