This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball begins the campaign at the Conference Challenge, hosted by Slippery Rock University. On Nov. 11, the Falcons battle Seton Hill University, at 7:30 p.m. The next day, NDC will play the host Slippery Rock, with a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Records: Last season, NDC finished with a record of 15-14, while going 12-10 in the MEC. In the 2021-22 campaign, Seton Hill put together a record of 3-24 (3-19 PSAC), while Slippery Rock was 17-12, overall, and 13-9 in the PSAC.

Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Falcons. He has an overall record of 32-43 with a 27-33 MEC mark. Ben Wilkins is in his first season as head coach at Seton Hill. Ian Grady will be on the Slippery Rock sideline as the head coach for the fifth season, but he has been with the program for 14 seasons. He has led the Rock to a 51-36 record.

Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame is 3-5 all-time against Seton Hill, since their first meeting back in the 2003-04 season. The Falcons have played Slippery Rock to open the regular season in three of the last four years. NDC holds the 2-1 advantage over the Rock.

Noting the Falcons: For the third consecutive season under head coach Mark Richmond, Notre Dame improved its overall win percentage and conference win total from the previous year. Last season, for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, NDC finished the season with an overall, and MEC, record above the .500-mark. NDC has a lot of experience this year with just four players listed as redshirt freshmen and no true freshmen on the roster. Major contributors Jaedon Willis, Tyland Crawford, Daylin Lee and DeAirius Barker all return.

The Falcons have already put upcoming opponents on notice by defeating Cleveland State last Monday, 72-68, in an exhibition. Willis led the team with 23 points, while Barker added 17.
 
Jaedon Willis, a 2021-22 First Team All-MEC member, returns for the Falcons. In the 2021-22 season, he was fifth in the Mountain East Conference with 20.5 points per game and ranked sixth with 594 points. He was second in the MEC in three pointers per game (2.9), second in total threes (85), third in three points percentage (.388) and tied for fourth in free throw percentage (.836). Willis led the Falcons in field goals made (191), three pointers made, free throws made (127), points, points per game, assists (86) and assists per game (3). Tyland Crawford averaged 5.9 rebounds per game, which was 14th best in the conference.
 
As team, the Falcons shot the ball well, rankings fourth in the MEC with a 36.9 three-point percentage and a 74.6 free throw percentage. On defense NDC held opponents to 79 points per game, which was second lowest in the conference.

Noting the Griffins:  Last season, Seton Hill had a very tough year. The Griffins did not win a game until Dec. 19, totaled just three victories and never won a game on the road. The program did not play any games in the 2020-21 season, due to COVID-19, and they have not won over four games in a campaign since 2018-19.
 
SHU scored just 67.2 points per game in the 2021-22 season, but their leading scorer Samuel Tabe (12.7 points per game) will return this year. Jimmy Moon, who averaged 6.6 rebounds per game to lead the team, along with 11 points per contest, also returns. Sean Dillon is on the roster for 2022-23, after he led the Griffins in three pointers (46), defensive rebounds (105) and assists (93).
 
This season, Seton Hill will look to rely on their experience as they have 10 upperclassmen on the roster. And all five of the players who averaged double-digit points last season (Tabe, Moon, Dillon, Ryan Meis and Drew Green) return.

Noting the Rock: Slippery Rock has found success under Ian Grady, since 2018-19. The team has not had a losing season with Grady in charge. Last season, after starting the year with an overtime loss to NDC, SRU turned it around by winning 10 of its next 12 games. The Rock also posted 11 wins on their home floor.
 
Last season, Slippery Rock ranked second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with 8.3 three pointers made per game and fifth in free throw percentage, at 73.2. However, the Rock will look to replace two big pieces in Frankie Hughes and Tyler Frederick. Hughes led the team in total points, points per game, three pointers made and steals. He was second in field goals made. Frederick led the team in field goals made, free throws made, total rebounds and rebounds per game. He was second in points and points per game.
 
Amante Britt is back on the roster this season after he led the team in assists (131), ranked second in steals (39), second in three pointers made (135), third in points (380), third in points per game (13.6), fourth in field goals made (144) and fourth in free throws made (50).
 
Slippery Rock is still a relatively young team with 11 players listed as either a freshman or sophomore.