This week: Notre Dame College men's basketball will travel to West Virginia State University on January 30 to play at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons will come home to battle the University of Charleston on February 2 at 4 p.m.

Records: The Falcons are 13-5, overall, and 9-3 in the Mountain East Conference. WVSU is now 9-9 with a conference record of 6-6. Charleston has a record of 12-6 (7-5 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Tim Koenig is the head coach of the Falcons and is in his sixth season with an overall record of 83-84 and he is 54-68 in the MEC. Bryan Poore became the head coach of the Yellow Jackets in 1999 and has a record of 323-265. Dwaine Osborne is also in his sixth season as the head coach of UC with a record of 101-67.

Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the NABC Coaches poll.

Series History: The Falcons are 9-4 against West Virginia State since 2013-14 and they hold an all-time record of 2-9 against Charleston since 2013-14.

Noting the Falcons: Last week, Notre Dame went 2-0 against Wheeling Jesuit and Urbana, making NDC 5-1 in their last six games. Will Vorhees had another monster week, averaging 34.5 points-per-game and 9.5 rebounds. The Falcons' redshirt-senior poured in a season-high 41 points, including a season-high four three pointers, in a 95-76 win over WJU. Larenz Thurman scored 31 points against Urbana in a 100-72 win, and made eight three pointers, which tied him for second-most in one game in program history. The junior is 11th in the conference in scoring (18.6) and also hits free throws at an 85-percent clip, which is eighth in the conference and ranks second with a three point percentage at 46-percent. On top of his scoring ability, Thurman has had at least four assists in his last five games and is averaging 4.7 per game, this season, which ranks fourth in the MEC. Will Vorhees is ranked second in NCAA Division II with 13 double-doubles, he is sixth in points-per game with 25.2, sixth with 171 field goals made, fifth with four offensive rebounds-per-game and eighth with 10.8 rebounds-per-game. The Falcons are one of two teams (Concord) to have two players (Thurman, Vorhees) in the top-12 in scoring in the MEC. Bruce Hodges III has recorded a steal in 14 of the 17 games he's played and he's averaging 1.6 per game, good for ninth in the conference. Rebounding is the key to success for most teams and it certainly is for NDC. The Falcons have grabbed 26, or more, defensive boards in 11 of their 13 wins. They have won 11 games when hauling in 39, or more, total rebounds. Notre Dame is also strong defensively, ranking third in the conference, allowing just 77.9 points-per-game and they hold teams to a 43-percent shooting percentage, which is first. The team blocks 3.56 per game, ranking third in the MEC. NDC has won six out of the last eight matchups with WVSU.

Conference History: On January 26, Will Vorhees became the first player in MEC history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State defeated Virginia-Wise last Wednesday, for their fourth consecutive victory. However, the winning streak came to an end when they lost to Charleston by a score of 92-80. Over the two games, Gus Stone averaged 16.5 points and shot 48-percent while Ernest Jenkins had 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Ranking fourth in the conference in scoring is Pat Johnson-Agwu, who scores 21.5 points-per-game and he is ranked fourth in field goal percentage, shooting 60-percent. Johnson-Agwu brings in 2.82 offensive rebounds, ranking him fifth in the conference. Ernest Jenkins takes away 1.83 steals, on average, which is fifth best in the conference while James Hagins blocks 1.22 shots each game, which has put him in third place in the conference. West Virginia State is 13th in DII with 4.3 blocked shots-per-game. They lead the conference with 8.39 steals-per-contest and rank fourth, in offensive rebounds.

Noting the Golden Eagles: Last week, Charleston lost in overtime to Concord, when Tommy Bolte had a historic night, scoring 65 points for CU. They bounced back with a 12-point victory over WVSU. In the two games, Drew Rackley averaged 22 points and six rebounds. Josh Floyd shot 59-percent and scored 20.5. Drew Rackley ranks third in the MEC with 23.1 points-per-game, this season. Devon Robinson is third in the conference, averaging 9.2 rebounds-per-contest and ranks third by shooting 62.3-percent from the field. He also ranks third in conference with 6.39 defensive rebounds-per-game. Lamont McManus is at the top of the MEC, holding a 68-percent field goal percentage. Seth O'Neal is averaging 4.28 assists-per-game, fifth-best in the conference. UC has a high-powered offense, ranking second in the nation with a field goal percentage of 54-percent and seventh in scoring at 90.2 per contest and they are fourth in the conference with a three point percentage of 38-percent. Charleston has won the last four matchups against Notre Dame.