This week: In the Mountain East Conference Tournament, which runs from March 6 until March 10, No. 3 seed Notre Dame College men's basketball takes on No. 6 seed West Virginia State University at 2:15 p.m. on March 8.

Tournament bracket: No. 2 Fairmont State takes on No. 7 Shepherd in the other quarterfinal matchup on Notre Dame's side of the bracket. On the other side, No. 1 West Liberty battles No. 9 Wheeling Jesuit while No. 4 Charleston plays No. 5 Concord. All quarterfinal matchups take place on Friday, March 8.

Records: The Falcons are 20-8, overall, and 16-6 in the Mountain East Conference. West Virginia State has a record of 12-16 (9-13 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Tim Koenig is the head coach of the Falcons and is in his sixth season with an overall record of 90-87 and he is 61-71 in the MEC. In his 20th season at WVSU, Bryan Poore holds a record of 324-266, overall, and 42-90 in the MEC.

Rankings: NDC and West Virginia State are not ranked by the NABC Coaches poll. However, Notre Dame is ranked ninth in the Atlantic Region poll.

Series History: The Falcons are 9-5 against West Virginia State since the 2013-14 season. Notre Dame defeated the Yellow Jackets at home in December, but lost to them on the road in January.

Noting the Falcons: NDC reached 20 regular season wins for the first time in program history. The last time the Falcons had, at least, 20 total wins in a season was the 2015-16 campaign when they won three tournament games before falling to Concord in a tough championship game. Will Vorhees was named Mountain East Conference Player of the Year, becoming the first Notre Dame  player to earn the award from the MEC. He also grabbed All-MEC First Team honors for the third time in his collegiate career. This season, he ranks third in NCAA Division II at 28.9 points per game, second with 20 double-doubles, third in field goals made at 298 and seventh with 11.3 rebounds per game. Head coach Tim Koenig became the first NDC men's basketball coach to earn Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year after the team improved their conference win total by 12 games, and their overall win total by 14 games. Larenz Thurman was named First Team All-MEC. He is currently 10th in the MEC in scoring, scoring 17.8 points per game and is second in assist average with 5.04 per game. He shoots three pointers at a 45.8-percent clip, good for second in the conference. As a team, the Falcons are tied for third in the conference, and 15th in NCAA Division II, in scoring at 87.4 points-per-game. They are third in field goal percentage (.482) and free throw percentage (.776). On defense, the Falcons lead the MEC by holding teams to 43.8-percent shooting. They rank fourth by keeping teams to 35-percent from three point range, also rank fourth in defensive rebounding at 34.7 per game and are third in blocked shots with 3.21 per contest. They also bring down 12.7 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks second in the conference.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State has had a tough final month of the season, losing six straight games and seven of their last eight. Although they won nine home games, away from Institute, W.Va., they were 3-9. Gus Stone leads the team, and is 13th in the conference, with 16.3 points per game. He is also fourth in free throw percentage (85.9-percent). Ernest Jenkins makes 44.6-percent of his threes, which is third in the MEC while James Hagins is currently third with 1.04 blocked shots per game. WVSU has length, ranking ninth in NCAA-II with 4.6 blocks per game and 12th in total blocks, at 129. W.Va. State is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 47.2-percent. They are third in steals with 7.64 per contest and they grab 12.6 offensive rebounds per game, which is third best in the MEC.

Looking Ahead: If the Falcons advance, they will take on the winner of the Fairmont State and Shepherd game. That semifinal matchup would take place on March 9, at 8:15 p.m.

Championship Game: The championship game of the tournament will be held on March 10, at 4 p.m.