NORFOLK – The Eagles (8-21, 6-10) earned the No. 11 seed in the men's bracket and will face the No. 6 seeded North Carolina A&T Aggies (10-21, 7-9) on Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m in the opening round of the 2016 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament .
ABOUT THE EAGLES· The Eagles have gone 8-21 with a 10-6 MEAC record and were seeded No. 11 entering the 2016 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament in Norfolk, VA … Coppin State is 1-0 in the month of March after winning their regular season finale 72-62 on the road against Delaware State on Thursday, Mar. 3 …. CSU went 2-6 in the month of February with two key home wins coming against Howard 90-66 (Feb. 13) and against NC Central 71-60 (Feb. 18) … In January, CSU went 3-2 with key road wins against Bethune Cookman and Florida A&M … In November they won back-to-back games against Division II opponents Goldey-Beacom and Chestnut Hill.
·
Christian Kessee scored a team-leading 22 points on Thursday night against the Hornets … Kessee has scored in double figures in 22 games including 13 of the last 14 Eagle contests … six times this season he has made five or more three pointers while leading the conference averaging 2.8 made per game.
· Coppin State has three players who have each averaged 10.0 or more points per game -
Christian Kessee (14.3),
Terry Harris Jr. (12.5), and
Joshua Treadwell (10.0) … Harris ranks fourth among all MEAC players in rebounding per game (7.3).
· The Eagles have made a 3-PT FG in 188 consecutive games, the longest streak in the NCAA.
MONDAY'S GAME· No. 11 seed Coppin State and No. 6 seed North Carolina A&T square off this Monday in the opening round of the 2016 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament in Scope Arena. Monday's game will mark the sixth time the teams have met in the MEAC Tournament with the Eagles holding a 5-1 lead in the series. Overall the Eagles have are 38-21 against the Aggies and have won the last three meetings. Four CSU players scored in double figures led by
Terry Harris Jr.'s 22 points, connecting on 7 of 14 shots helping the Eagles to a 73-68 win at home on Jan. 23, 2016.
ABOUT THE AGGIES· Under the direction of third-year head coach Cy Alexander, North Carolina A&T clinched the No. 6 seed heading into the MEAC Tournament after going 10-21 this season, posting a 7-9 mark in MEAC play. The Aggies are 6-6 at home (Memorial Hall) and 1-17 on the road. They lost in the first round of the tournament last year to South Carolina State 63-54 (Mar. 10, 2015), but won the tournament back in 2013.
EAGLES IN THE MEAC TOURNAMENT· Last season Coppin State went 1-1 in the MEAC Basketball Tournament defeating Bethune-Cookman (64-60) but falling to N.C. Central (91-43). The Eagles went 2-1 back in 2014 with wins over Bethune-Cookman (75-68) and Hampton (83-77). The Aggies and Eagles met five time in the MEAC Tournament with Coppin State holding a 4-1 advantage and winning the last two meetings.
SCORING DEFENSE & REBOUNDING LEADS TO WINS ALL SEASON· Coppin State is 6-0 when their opponents score less than 70 team points. In addition, the Eagles are 5-1 when playing MEAC opponents and win the rebounding battle.
EAGLES AMONGST THE MEAC· The Eagles are second in the MEAC in three point field goals made (7.6 avg/g) and in offensive rebounding (13.0 avg/g). Chrisitan Kessee leads the conference in three point field goals made while ranking 13th in scoring while Terry Harris is 20th in scoring.
KESSEE SHOOTS LIGHT OUT· Junior guard
Christian Kessee leads the Eagles in points (14.3 ppg), field goals made (4.6 per game), 3-Point FGs made (2.7 per game), free throw percent (81.1 %), and in minutes (31.7). He scored in double figures 23 times this season and in eight consecutive games. Eight times this season he has made four or more three-pointers in a game. He tied a career-high scoring 27 points twice in the month of February.
HARRIS HITS THE BOARDS· Junior forward Terry Harris, Jr. averages 7.3 rebounds per game. Eleven times this season he grabbed double digit rebounds and has eight double-double performances.
TREADWELL SPARKS LINEUP· Junior forward
Joshua Treadwell started for the Eagles in the last six games averaging 16.7 ppg and 8.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51% from the field and 43% from three point range. In all six games he scored in double figures and grabbed seven or more rebounds.
SERIES - Since both teams joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference the programs have met 59 times, with Coppin State leading the series 38-21. The Eagles have won the last three meetings against the Aggies including a 73-68 home win in the PEC Arena (Jan. 27, 2016). In the MEAC Tournament the squads met five times with the Eagles winning four games. Coppin State has won the last two meetings at the tournament; 66-63 (Mar. 12, 2009) and 81-74 OT (Mar. 8, 1997).
