This Week: Notre Dame College men's basketball will look to get back on track against a couple tough opponents. On Jan. 11, the Falcons host No. 17 West Virginia State University, at 7:30 p.m. NDC then goes back on the road to play the University of Charleston, on Jan. 14, at 4 p.m.
 
Records: NDC has an overall record of 8-5, while going 5-3 in Mountain East Conference play. West Virginia State has gotten off to a 13-1 start, including a 7-1 mark in the MEC. Charleston enters the week with an 9-5 record, going 6-2 in conference play.
 
Coaches Corner: Mark Richmond enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Falcons. He has an overall record of 40-48 and has gone 32-38 in the MEC. Bryan Poore is now in his 24th season on the sideline with WVSU, holding a record of 389-293. Dwaine Osborne is in his 10th season with Charleston and has a record of 180-92.
 
Rankings: West Virginia State is No. 17 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 Poll.
 
Series History: Since the Falcons and W.Va. State first met in the 2013-14 season, the two teams have gone 10-10 in 20 matchups. NDC has a 3-14 mark all-time against UC.
 
Noting the NDC Falcons: Notre Dame went 1-1 last week as they jumped back into conference play after the new year. The Falcons defeated Frostburg State by a score of 83-77. Jaedon Willis had 18 points in the first half and finished with 26, along with hitting five threes. Daylin Lee went 9-for-10 at the free throw line and totaled 14 points with seven rebounds. Over the weekend, NDC fell to Fairmont State, 88-79. The Notre Dame Falcons had four players score in double-digits with Daylin Lee tying a season-high and leading the way with 18 points. Jaedon Willis scored 16 points and Andre Harris had a 13-point, 10-rebound, 3-steal performance.
 
NDC scores 83.2 points per game. Their defense leads the conference by holding opponents to a 40.3-percent field goal percentage, while ranking second in the MEC by allowing just 74.8 points per game. They also rank second by holding teams to 29.4-percent shooting behind the three-point line. The Falcons are fifth in rebounds per game (39.9) and second in defensive boards per contest (29.7). At the free throw line, NDC shoots 72.7-percent, which is fourth in the MEC. In national rankings, the Falcons are 11th in Division II with 29.7 defensive rebounds per game and 13th in free throws made per game at 17.
 
Jaedon Willis has moved into a tie for second in the conference with Frostburg State's Tairell Fletcher, averaging 20.3 points per game. He is second in free throw percentage (86.2-percent), third in three-point percentage (42.9-percent) and fourth in threes per game (2.5). Willis ranks 16th in Division II with 75 made free throws and 28th in points per game. Andre Harris is now tied for 10th in the MEC with 6.5 rebounds per game.
 
Noting the Yellow Jackets: So far this season, West Virginia State's only loss came against No. 4 West Liberty, 91-89, on Dec. 10. The Yellow Jackets had a three-day stay in the U.S. Virgin Islands on New Years Weekend, defeating Clinton College, Kentucky State and Tusculum. Their only conference game last week was on Saturday against West Virginia Wesleyan. In that game, WVSU led by one point at halftime, but then outscored W.Va. Wesleyan by 29 in the final 20 minutes for a 106-76 win. Five players scored in double-digits for WVSU as Samier Kinsler led the team with 26 points. Anthony Pittman had a solid game with 11 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Bobcats 44-25.
 
The Yellow Jackets are scoring 92.1 points per game, which is third highest in the conference. WVSU shoots 47.1-percent from the field and 39.3-percent from three, which ranks fourth and second, respectively. The team hauls in 28.2 defensive rebounds, which ranks third, along with 40.1 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the league. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets are near the top of the MEC by holding opponents to a 43.3 field goal percentage (3rd), 28.2 three-point percentage (1st) and blocking 4.31 shots per game (1st). In the national rankings, WVSU is second in free throws made per game with 19.6, fifth in scoring offense and ninth in three-point percentage defense.
 
Samier Kinsler is seventh in the MEC by scoring 16.8 per game and Malik Whitaker adds 14.7 points per game, which ranks thirteenth. Whitaker leads the conference, and ranks fourth in the country, with a 93.6 free throw percentage. He is second in the MEC with 9.4 rebounds per game and leads the MEC with 6.9 defensive rebounds per game. Whitaker has six double-doubles this season, which ranks 11th in Division II. Kinsler is second in the conference by shooting 44.1-percent from three and making 3.2 threes each game. He is fifth at the free throw line, shooting 84.2-percent. Dwaine Jones dishes out 3.8 assists per game, ranking seventh in the conference. The Yellow Jackets have two players in the top five in the MEC in blocked shots, with Noah Jordan (1.6) in fourth and Malik Whitaker (1.3) in fifth.
 
Noting the Golden Eagles: Charleston has won four straight games after starting the season 4-5. The offense has been a roller coaster this season as UC has four games of under 70 points and four games of 90 points, or more. The Golden Eagles swept the two games last week, starting off with an 82-57 victory against West Virginia Wesleyan. UC jumped out to a 26-point halftime lead in that game and cruised to the win with 11 players scoring at least two points. CJ Meredith led the team with 15 points and Keaton Turner added 13 points and five assists off the bench. In an 82-72 victory against Davis & Elkins, UC had four players score in double-digits. Shunta Wilson went 6-for-7 from the field, scoring 19 points in 20 minutes. Tyler Eberhart (13 points) and Keith Williams (15 points) were both a rebound away from a double-double.
 
The Golden Eagles do not score a high total on average, putting up just 80.4 points per game, but they lock down on defense and hold teams to an MEC leading 73.5 points per game. The team is fourth in blocks per game, averaging 3.29, and fifth in the league in defensive rebounds with 27 per game. UC's offense does rank third in team field goal percentage 48.8-percent and they take care of the ball with a 1.29 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Eddie Colbert III and Tyler Eberhart are leading the Golden Eagles by averaging 12.9 points per game. Eberhart brings down 7.1 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the league and Colbert is right behind, with seven. Eberhart is also top three in the league with a field goal percentage of 58.9-percent. Jeremiah Keene is just outside of the top five in the conference by averaging four assists per game.