This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball stays in the Murphy Gymnasium to play Wheeling University on January 22, at 7:30 p.m., and then Urbana University on January 25, at 4 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame is now 4-12 with a 2-8 MEC record. Wheeling is sitting at 9-5 (6-4 MEC) while Urbana has a record of 4-12 (3-7 MEC).

Coaches Corner: All three head coaches are in their first season at their respective schools. Mark Richmond is at the helm of Notre Dame, Will Ryan coaches at Wheeling and Josh Gibson leads Urbana.

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

Series History: Notre Dame holds a record of 4-10 against Wheeling since the 2013-14 season. The Falcons have an all-time record of 14-4 against Urbana, with the series beginning in the 2001-02 campaign.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame ran into a tough stretch last week, playing two of the top-3 teams in the MEC standings. West Virginia State, who is currently third, came to town on Wednesday, and then the Falcons visited Charleston, who is in first place, on Saturday. Looking to turn the page, NDC has three consecutive home games, which is their longest home stand of the season. Notre Dame has three wins at home this season and they average 89 points in the Murphy Gymnasium, as opposed to an average of 72 points on the road. Entering the week, the Falcons sit one game behind Urbana in conference record and will get their first look at the Blue Knights, this coming Saturday. Levi Frankland has been a mainstay in the lineup this season. He is 23rd in the nation, and leads the conference, in minutes played per game with an average of 36:18. He is third in the MEC in field goals made (108) and third in three pointers made (39).

Noting the Cardinals: Wheeling started the season about as hot as any MEC team, but then ran into a few bumps in the road. The Cardinals won their first five games, before losing four of their next five. They bounced back from that by beating Glenville State, on January 8, at a time when the Pioneers were ahead of the Cardinals in the MEC standings. Wheeling now comes to South Euclid winners of three of their last four games, but they carry a road record of just 3-3, while they have gone 6-1 at home. Wheeling has been a disciplined team this season, ranking 10th in the nation in fewest fouls per game (220) and 19th in fewest turnovers (183). Jordan Reid leads the conference in free throws made, with 71, and is second with 98 free throws attempted. Emmanuel Ansong ranks third in the MEC with 2.62 offensive rebounds per game and ranks sixth in rebounds per game, at 7.3.

Noting the Blue Knights: Three of Urbana's four wins have come at home this season, and all three of their conference wins have been at home. In December, UU beat Concord and Davis & Elkins by a combined 10 points, but then had maybe their most impressive showing against Frostburg State, on January 11. In that game, the Blue Knights scored 37 first half points and limited Frostburg State to 18. Urbana went on to win that game, 72-55. The Blue Knights average just 67.6 points per game this season and have reached 80 points, twice. Although their offense has struggled, Urbana's defense has been solid, ranking second in the conference in blocks (58) and blocked shots per game (3.6). Kyle Kelly leads the team with 18 blocks on the year. The Blue Knights rank third in the MEC in scoring defense, allowing just 73.6 points per contest.