BALTIMORE – Coppin State's men's basketball team will begin its season in the windy city taking on Loyola Chicago on November 9 and DePaul on November 10.
Event Information
Opponent: Loyola Chicago (0-0)
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 9 |8:00 pm ET
Location: Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena)
Media: NBC Sports Chicago |
Live Stats |
Listen
Event Information
Opponent: DePaul (0-0)
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 10 |9:00 pm ET
Location: Chicago, Ill. (Wintrust Arena)
Media:
Live Stats |
Listen
Opening Tip
The Eagles will be playing more games (10) in the month of November than any NCAA program.
Last Time Out
The Eagles played the Ramblers on Nov.12, 2019 and defeated them, 76-72 in what was Coppin's first victory over a non-MEAC Division I program since 2013 (74-straight losses).
The teams have met three times with the Eagles winning the last two meetings (1993 & 2019). Coppin State has never played DePaul.
Preseason Poll
Redshirt freshman
Nendah Tarke and sophomore
Kyle Cardaci were named to the Preseason
All-MEAC Teams. Tarke received first Team accolades while Cardaci earned seconnd Team honors. The Eagles were picked to finish fourth in the Preeseason Poll.
Coppin Contributors
Tarke earned third Team All-MEAC honors and was the 2020-21 MEAC Rookie of the Year last season. Over the final six games, Tarke averaged 16.5 points along with 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals.
Cardaci was the top 3-point shooter in the MEAC a year ago, making 54 3-pointers while averaging 9.3 points. He made 40.3% from deep and increased that percentage to 44.9% in MEAC play.
Connections
DePaul assistant coach Bino Ranson and
Juan Dixon were on staff together at University of Maryland and also worked at the AAU level together. He also coached with assistant coach
John Auslander at Maryland.
Eagle Returners
Returning from last season are
Nendah Tarke, the 2020-21 MEAC Rookie of the Year and a third Team All-Conference selection, as well as the league's top three-point shooter in
Kyle Cardaci.
Isaiah Gross is also back after appearing in 14 games last season following an injury plagued 2019-20 season.
Reggie James missed all of last season with an injury but played in 25 games for CSU during the 2019-20 season.
Justin Steers last played in a game during the 2018-19 season where he averaged 6.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and had 25 blocks.
New to the Nest
Nine new faces join the Coppin State program with four NCAA Division I transfers (
Sita Conteh,
Tyree Corbett,
Mike Hood &
Nathaniel Stokes), four JUCO transfers (
Remy Lemovou,
Alex Rojas,
Daniel Titus &
Jesse Zarzuela) and true freshman
Greg Spurlock.
Scouting Loyola Chicago
Under first season head Coach Drew Valentine, the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I is starting a new era with the Ramblers looking to get back to the NCAA tournament. Over the last four seasons, Loyola is 99-63 (.733) overall and 56-16 (.778) in the Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Ramblers bring a 22-game home-court winning streak, the fifth-longest active streak in NCAA Division I play. Loyola has won its last nine season openers and is 81-22 all-time in season openers.
Scouting DePaul
The Blue Demons welcomed in new head coach Tony Stubblefield in April 2021. DePaul returns six players including one starter from a year ago. Headlining the returners are Javon Freeman-Liberty and Nick Ongenda. Freeman-Liberty is the lone returning starter after starting 14 games a season ago and averaging 14.4 points per game. Ongenda played in 17 games with four starts with averages of 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Other returners include Brendan Favre, David Jones, Courvoisier McCauley and Max Williams. DePaul welcomes seven newcomers that includes six transfers and one true freshman.
Up Next
The Eagles stay on the road for two more back-to-back contests first traveling to Rider in Lawrenceville, NJ on Friday, November 12 then traveling to Storrs, Connecticut on November 13 to face Connecticut. Tip off for Friday's game is scheduled for 7 pm and Saturday's contest is slated for a noon start time.
