This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball travels to No. 5 West Liberty University, on Nov. 22. The Falcons and Hilltoppers are scheduled to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

Records: NDC grabbed two wins last week to even up its season record at 2-2. They also defeated Wheeling University, on Saturday, to start conference play with a victory. West Liberty also won twice last week, including an MEC opening victory over Alderson Broaddus. They are now 4-0 to begin this season.

Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Falcons. He has an overall record of 34-45 with a 28-35 MEC mark. Ben Howlett is in his sixth season on the sideline at West Liberty, with a record of 128-21.

Rankings: West Liberty is No. 5 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 Poll. Last season, West Liberty qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament, but fell in the first round to West Virginia State.

Series History: Notre Dame is 3-17 all-time against West Liberty. In these teams' first meeting last season, Notre Dame defeated West Liberty, 82-81, right before Thanksgiving, when WLU was ranked No. 7.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame took out some frustration last week as they won two games by at least 20 points. The Falcons put up 61 points in the second half of the game against Bryant & Stratton College in a 102-66 victory. NDC shot 61-percent from the floor in the second half of that game and 56-percent for the game. Jaedon Willis led the way with 21 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, while five players reached double-digit scoring. DeAirius Barker totaled 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
 
Against Wheeling, on Saturday, NDC led 19-3 by the 13:05-mark in the first half. The Falcons' defense held WU to 25-percent shooting and 26 points in the first half. NDC would win 91-71 and Jaedon Willis, once again, led the way with 28 points, which included 14 free throws made. As a team, NDC made 26 free throws. Willis grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double to go along with teammate Kalil Camara's 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. DeAirius Barker dropped 18 points.
 
Jaedon Willis was named MEC Player of the Week after his tremendous two games, averaging 24.5 points per game and totaling 20 free throw makes. This season, he ranks 14th in Division II with 24.2 point per game, 16th in total points at 97 and sixth in free throws made, with 32. He leads the MEC in field throws made, is second in the conference in scoring, and is second three pointers made (11). He leads the team in rebounds, with 20, and rebounds per game, with five. NDC is averaging 84.5 points per game, as a team. The Falcons lead the conference with a 42.9-percent three point percentage and 41.8 rebounds per game.

Noting the Hilltoppers: West Liberty is averaging 97 points per game this season and have not scored fewer than 91 points in a game. Last week, against Pitt-Johnstown, WLU led by just nine (47-38) at halftime, but increased their lead in the second half to win 93-76. Pitt-Johnstown shot 62-percent in the game, but took 23 fewer shots than the Hilltoppers. Malik McKinney made nine baskets and led the team with 24 points. Bryce Butler finished with an 11-point, 10-rebound, five-steal performance.
 
WLU scored over 50 points in both halves against Alderson Broaddus University, in a 110-84 victory. The Hilltoppers shot over 50-percent and scored 59 points in the first 20 minutes of the contest. Four players scored in double-digits for West Liberty and Bryce Butler led the team with 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting. In just nine minutes off the bench, Chaz Hinds had 15 points and 11 rebounds. WLU outrebounded AB, 50-38.
 
The Hilltoppers rank in the top ten in the country with 13.2 steals per game (4th), 22.8 assists per game (5th), plus-9.2 turnover margin (6th) and 97 points per game (6th). The Hilltoppers make 11.3 three pointers per game, which puts them at the top of the conference. They also lead the conference in steals per game and assists per game. Bryce Butler is ninth in D2 with 25.2 points per game and 14th in total points, with 101. He leads the MEC with a field goal percentage of 65.2-percent. Alek West is seventh in Division II with 12 total steals. The Hilltoppers also have the top three players in the MEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (Steve Cannady, Malik McKinney, Christian Montague).