This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball will battle No. 10 Fairmont State University, on Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m. That game will take place in the Murphy Gymnasium. The Falcons will travel to Frostburg State University on Feb. 12 for a 4 p.m. tipoff.

Spectator Reminder: There will be no reserved seating or advance ticket sales for the game. Masks are required.

Records: Notre Dame has an overall record of 13-9 and they hold a 10-6 MEC mark. Fairmont State now has a record of 18-3 and they are 13-3 in conference play. The Frostburg State Bobcats currently sit at 6-16 (4-12 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond is in his third season as the head coach of the Falcons. He has an overall record of 30-38 and has gone 25-29 in conference play. Tim Koenig is in his third season at Fairmont State. He holds a record of 56-15 (41-13 MEC) at FSU. Sean Brown is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Frostburg State program.

Rankings: Fairmont State is ranked 10th in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame is 5-15 all-time against Fairmont State, but the FSU Falcons have not won inside Murphy Gymnasium since Jan. 13, 2018. Against Frostburg State, NDC is 3-2 since the 2019-20 season.

Noting the NDC Falcons: Notre Dame is currently riding a three-game win streak, their first three-game streak since Dec. 8-Dec. 15. Last week, the Falcons defended the home court by taking down West Virginia Wesleyan by a score of 87-71, on Feb. 2 and then won on the road on Saturday, defeating Davis & Elkins, 82-76. NDC had multiple players step up on the offensive end. Against WV Wesleyan, John Godinez went off for 22 points, just his second 20-point game of the season. In a win over D&E, Tyland Crawford knocked down six 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 26 points.

This season, Jaedon Willis is fourth in the conference in scoring (20.7 ppg). He is third in three-point field goal percentage (.391) and first in threes made each game (3.3). In the national rankings, he ranks seventh in the country with 72 made three-pointers and 10th with 455 total points. Michael Sampson is bringing down 8.2 boards per game, which ranks fifth in the conference, and is in the top six in offensive rebounds (2.3) and defensive rebounds (6). He also steals the ball 2.1 times per game, on average, which is fourth best in the conference.

As a team, the Falcons rank fifth in the conference on the defensive end by holding teams to an average of 78.4 points. Notre Dame has been solid behind the three-point arc, ranking second in the MEC at 38-percent shooting, while making 8.6 threes per game. At the free throw line, NDC is shooting 74-percent, ranking fourth in the conference. They also rank fourth in the MEC on defense, as teams shoot just 46-percent from the field against them. Notre Dame is fourth in turnover margin (plus-1.14), assist/turnover ratio (1.23) and assists per game, at 15.5.
 
Noting the FSU Falcons: Fairmont State is on a three-game win streak, which included an 81-66 win over Charleston. Last week, in a 98-87 victory over Glenville State, Fairmont State had three players score over 20 points. Cole VonHandorf scored 23 points and Zyon Dobbs had 22 points and seven assists. Briggs Parris scored 25 off the bench, on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 behind the three point line. The team currently sits one game out of first place in the conference.

Isaiah Sanders is third in the MEC, scoring 21.3 points per game. He is shooting 89.5-percent from the free throw line, which leads the conference. Briggs Parris leads the MEC in shooting from long range at 44-percent and makes 2.8 per game. Seth Younkin still leads the conference, and is ninth in Division II, with 10.7 rebounds per game and 8.3 defensive rebounds per game.

Fairmont State is currently third in the MEC with 88.3 points per game on the offensive side. Fairmont State is third in the conference by shooting 49.3-percent from the field and 37.3-percent from three and they also rank second in free throw percentage at 75.6-percent. On the defensive end, the FSU Falcons are second, allowing just 77.1 points per game and they are at the top of the MEC in opponent field goal percentage (43.1) and fourth in opponent three-point percentage (32.7). Fairmont State also rebounds the ball very well, ranking second in the conference at 38.2 rebounds per game and first in the MEC in defensive rebounding at 28.8 per game. Fairmont State ranks second in the MEC with a turnover margin of plus-1.9 per game and an assist-to-turnover margin of 1.43.

Noting the FSU Bobcats: Frostburg State has lost five in a row and hold a 3-8 record at home this season. Last week, despite 20 points from Michael Tate Jr., on 70-percent shooting, and 15 points from Juston Bailey off the bench, FSU lost to Concord in overtime (92-87). The Bobcats then allowed 100 points in a loss to Glenville State on Saturday.

Frostburg State's leading scorer is Agyei Edwards at 15.8 points per contest. Sean Patterson is fourth in the MEC with 1.1 blocked shots per game.

Frostburg State is not too far behind NDC on the offensive end, averaging 79.6 points per game, however, they are near the bottom of the conference by allowing 88.2 points per game.