This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball takes on West Virginia State University in the Murphy Gymnasium, on January 15. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons will travel to the University of Charleston to play on January 18 with a tip-off time of 4 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame is now 4-10 with a 2-6 MEC record. West Virginia State has a record of 10-3, overall, and 5-3 in MEC play. Charleston currently sits at 12-2 (6-2 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond is in his first season as head coach at Notre Dame. Bryan Poore holds a record of 334-270 in 21 seasons with WVSU. Dwaine Osborne is now in his seventh campaign with UC and has an overall record of 121-72.

Rankings: Charleston is receiving votes in the NABC poll.

Series History: Notre Dame holds a record of 10-5 versus West Virginia State since the MEC began in 2013-14. Against the University of Charleston, the Falcons are 3-9 all-time. Last season, the Falcons went 1-1 against Charleston and 2-1 against West Virginia State, including a first round MEC Tournament victory against the Yellow Jackets.

Noting the Falcons: After a three-point loss to Frostburg State earlier in the week, Notre Dame completed an upset on Saturday over a Fairmont State team near the top of the MEC. NDC shot 58-percent in the second half and scored 49 points in that stanza, leading to the 85-83 victory. Notre Dame would shoot 54-percent for the game and outrebound Fairmont, 39-29. Against Frostburg, Deanthony Owens completed his first double-double of the season, with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Against Fairmont State, the Falcons had more balanced scoring with five players scoring in double-digits. Drew Scarberry led the team with 23 points and eight rebounds. The Falcons' senior is fourth in the MEC in three pointers made per contest (2.55) and ninth in defensive rebounds per game (4.82). Scarberry has made 281 three pointers in his career, which ranks fourth among active DII players. Levi Frankland was solid again last week, totaling 22 points over the two games. Frankland is now fourth in the conference with a three-point percentage of 44-percent, sixth in three pointers made per game at 2.5, ninth with 17 points per game and ninth with a 52-percent field goal percentage. After last week's win, Drew Scarberry said the team is starting to click and multiple statistical categories suggest he's right. Although NDC has seen numerous post players miss time with injuries, the team is still tied for fourth in the MEC in rebounds per game at 37.8 and they are one of five conference teams to have a plus rebounding margin (+2.1). NDC is also fifth in the MEC with a 1.15 assist-to-turnover ratio. Seven of the Falcons' 10 losses this season have been by fewer than nine points, two games have been decided in overtime, while three of their four wins have been by double-digits.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State is riding a four-game winning streak after defeating Davis & Elkins and sneaking past West Virginia Wesleyan, last week. Trailing by 10 points at halftime against WVWC, the Yellow Jackets put together a big second half comeback, shooting 59-percent, and won 85-84. Prior to the game against Wesleyan, WVSU's first three wins during this win streak were by an average of 24 points. Michal Seals scored 16 points per game and led the team in assists in both games last week, averaging 5.5 per game. Seals' 4.46 assists per game ranks fourth in the conference. He also averages 6.33 assists for his career, which is top among all active DII players. Anthony Pittman totaled five steals last week and now ranks 10th in steals per game (2.62) and 22nd in total steals (34), in all of Division II. West Virginia State scores 98.5 points per contest, which is fifth in NCAA Division II, with Glen Abram leading the way by averaging 17.5 points per game. The Yellow Jackets take away 9.2 steals each game, which ranks 25th in the nation, and force 17.3 turnovers which 21st in DII. This season, West Virginia State is 8-1 at home, while they have a 2-2 record on the road.

Noting the Golden Eagles: Charleston has won seven games in a row, which is the longest current winning streak in the MEC. The margin of victory against their previous seven opponents has not dipped below 10 points, with UC's last three wins coming by an average of 28 points. Some impressive wins during this streak have come against top MEC teams. On December 11, UC took down No. 22 West Liberty, by ten points, and then the Golden Eagles beat Wheeling University, by 24 points, on December 14. This past week, Charleston beat West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins. Drew Rackley made six 3-pointers against Wesleyan and totaled a season-high 32 points. However, he scored just five against Davis & Elkins. Rackley averages 2.69 three pointers per game, which is third most in the MEC. Over the two games, Lamont McManus shot field goals at a 67-percent clip. McManus is currently fifth in Division II with an average field goal percentage of 68-percent. For his career, McManus shoots 64-percent, which is fifth best among active DII players. Devon Robinson hauled in 22 rebounds last week, including a double-double against Davis & Elkins. He is 13th in the nation with 10 rebounds per game and he shoots 62-percent, which is second in the MEC. Seth O'Neal averaged 6.5 assists last week and comes into this week with an average of 5.15 assists per game, which ranks second in the conference. As a team, Charleston shoots at a 52.4-percent mark, which is third highest in the country. They also shoot free throws at 74-percent, which is second in the MEC. They are outrebounding teams by 9.6 per game, which is eighth in DII. Charleston scores 84.7 points per game and allows just 74.2 points per game, which ranks fifth and third, respectively, in the MEC.