This week: Notre Dame College men's basketball jumps back into Mountain East Conference play this week. They host Frostburg State University on Jan. 5, with a 6 p.m. tip-off, before heading on the road to No. 24 Fairmont State University on Jan. 8., for a 4 p.m. start time.

Schedule Note: The start time of the Frostburg State-NDC matchup on Jan. 5 has moved up to 6 p.m. The women's game has been postponed.

Records: Notre Dame has an overall record of 8-4 and a conference record of 5-1. Frostburg State has won three straight and currently sits at 5-7, with a 3-3 mark in the MEC. Fairmont State enters the week at 9-2 (4-2 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond is in his third season as the head coach of the Falcons. He has an overall record of 25-33 and has gone 20-24 in conference play. Sean Brown is the head coach of the Frostburg State Bobcats and enters his fourth season. He has put together a record of 29-53 (14-30 MEC). Tim Koenig is now in his third season at Fairmont State and has a record of 47-14 (32-12 MEC).

Rankings: Fairmont State is ranked No. 24 according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame has gone 2-2 against Frostburg State since FSU joined the conference in the 2019-20 campaign. Against Fairmont State, NDC has an all-time record of 5-14. However, four of Notre Dame's five wins against Fairmont State have come in the last six matchups.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame had a busy week prior to the holiday break. They defeated Bryant & Stratton College - Buffalo by a score of 86-75, at home, on Dec. 15. With the win, the Falcons improved to 8-2 on the season, their best start to a season in program history. NDC flew out to Melbourne, Fla. to play two tough opponents in Florida Tech and Lynn University on Dec. 19 and 20. After two losses, the Falcons look to get back to their winning ways in conference, where they have gotten off the best start in program history, going 5-1. The NDC Falcons are tied for first in the MEC standings.

Jaedon Willis has made his presence known in his first season with NDC. He ranks 24th in NCAA Division II in total points (254), while ranking 25th in the country in both points per game (21.2) and three pointers made (39). He leads the MEC by making 3.3 threes per contest, ranks fourth in the conference in scoring and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1). Michael Sampson ranks fourth in the MEC in defensive rebounds per game (6) and total rebounds per game (8.3), while ranking tied for fifth in total steals (25). Sampson has four double-doubles this season.

As a team, NDC ranks second in the MEC with 195 total assists and third with 16.3 assists per game. They are also second in both assist-to-turnover margin (1.37) and three-point percentage (38.9-percent).

Noting the FSU Bobcats: Frostburg State dropped five of their first six games, including an 82-75 loss to Davis & Elkins on Nov. 23. The Bobcats finished the calendar year strong, winning the final three games in December, including an impressive 99-93 win over Glenville State and a 90-74 blowout of Concord. After sneaking past District of Columbia, 64-63, Frostburg extended their winning streak to three games, the program's longest streak since they won three straight games in early February 2020. After going 0-8 on the road last season, FSU has already won three of their five road games this season.

Agyei Edwards leads the team in scoring with 15.8 per game and ranks second in the MEC in free throw percentage at 88.6-percent. He scored 40 points on 64-percent shooting against Glenville State on Dec. 8. Jihar Williams is a threat from three point range, ranking third in the conference three pointers made per game (2.8) and fourth in three-point percentage (38.8-percent). Sean Patterson blocks 1.4 shots per game, ranking third in the MEC.

Frostburg State ranks fourth in the MEC in both free throw percentage (72.9-percent) and three-point defense (holding teams to 30.7-percent shooting from long range).

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State headed east to close out the first half of the season against two non-conference opponents. They defeated Felician University (88-82) in Rutherford, N.J. and the University of Sciences (94-55) in Philadelphia. Fairmont's contest against NDC on Jan. 8 will be their first home game since defeating Concord on Dec. 8. Fairmont State has started this season 5-0 in the Joe Retton Arena.

Isaiah Sanders ranks ninth in NCAA Division II, and leads the conference, with 23.9 points per game. He is 14th in D2 total points with 263 and 16th in free throw percentage at 91.4. Sanders is seventh in the MEC in both field goal percentage (50.8-percent) and three pointers made per game (2.2). He is fourth in the MEC with 2.4 steals per game. Seth Younkin grabs 9.1 defensive rebounds per game, which is fourth best in the country. He also ranks 11th in D2, and leads the conference, in total rebounds per game (10.8) and is 14th in Division II in total rebounds (119). He blocks 1.3 shots per game, which is fourth highest in the MEC.

Fairmont State is eighth in the country with 30.6 defensive rebounds per game. On offense, they rank 19th in Division II with 86.1 points per game and are winning by an average margin of 14.5 points per game, which is 19th in D2. In the conference ranks, the FSU Falcons lead the MEC on the defensive side, allowing just 71.6 points per game and holding teams to a 40.3-percent field goal percentage. They also lead the MEC by grabbing 41.3 boards per game.