2023–24 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team

The 2023–24 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 15th-year head coach LeVelle Moton, played their home games at McDougald–McLendon Arena in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 18–13, 9–5 in MEAC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the MEAC tournament, they defeated Maryland Eastern Shore before losing to Delaware State in the semifinals.

2023–24 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball
ConferenceMid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record18–13 (9–5 MEAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Garrett Bridges
  • Reggie Sharp
  • Nigel Thomas
Home arenaMcDougald–McLendon Arena
Seasons
2023–24 MEAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Norfolk State 11 3   .786 24 11   .686
North Carolina Central 9 5   .643 18 13   .581
South Carolina State 9 5   .643 14 18   .438
Howard 9 5   .643 18 17   .514
Morgan State 7 7   .500 11 20   .355
Delaware State 6 8   .429 15 19   .441
Maryland Eastern Shore 4 10   .286 9 20   .310
Coppin State 1 13   .071 2 27   .069
2024 MEAC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Eagles finished the 2022–23 season 18–12, 10–4 in MEAC play to finish in second place.[1] They defeated Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament,[2] before falling to Norfolk State in the semifinals.[3]

Roster

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2023–24 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Fred Cleveland Jr. 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Chicago, Illinois
G 1 Guy Fauntleroy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Upper Marlboro, Maryland
F 2 Kye Dickson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Jr Toronto, Canada
G 3 Terrence Crawford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Graham, North Carolina
F 5 Timmy Adedire 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Jr Baltimore, Maryland
F 10 Devin Gordon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Powder Springs, Georgia
G 11 Keishon Porter 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Pinetops, North Carolina
F 12 Perry Smith Jr. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Augusta, Georgia
F 13 Emmanuel Izunabor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Fayetteville, North Carolina
G 22 Chris Daniels 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Raleigh, North Carolina
G 23 Brock Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Burlington, North Carolina
G 25 Caleb Ellison 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 148 lb (67 kg) Fr Winston-Salem, North Carolina
G 30 Josh Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Chicago, Illinois
G 31 Cobey Harraway 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Jr Seattle, Washington
F 32 Gbenga Olubi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Corona, California
G 35 Po'Boigh King 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
G 52 Ja'Darius Harris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Trenton, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 10, 2023

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 1 Kansas
John McLendon Classic
L 56–99  0–1
 12  Harris   5  Smith Jr.   3  Cleveland Jr.  Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, KS
November 9, 2023*
7:00 pm
Virginia–Lynchburg W 107–54  1–1
 26  King   10  Adedire   7  Smith  McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,471)
Durham, NC
November 12, 2023*
5:00 pm, ESPN+/SECN+
at Georgia L 54–64  1–2
 12  Izunabor   8  Izunabor   6  Cleveland Jr.  Stegeman Coliseum (5,699)
Athens, GA
November 14, 2023*
7:00 pm
Mid-Atlantic Christian W 113–50  2–2
 20  Harris   8  Smith Jr.   7  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,264)
Durham, NC
November 18, 2023*
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Longwood L 66–73  2–3
 16  King   5  Izunabor   3  Fauntleroy  Joan Perry Brock Center (1,373)
Farmville, VA
November 20, 2023*
7:00 pm, FloHoops
at Campbell
Campbell Classic
W 78–75 OT 3–3
 24  Cleveland Jr.   9  King   6  Cleveland Jr.  Gore Arena (1,109)
Buies Creek, NC
November 21, 2023*
4:00 pm, FloHoops
vs. The Citadel
Campbell Classic
L 61–67  3–4
 17  Cleveland Jr.   10  Izunabor   3  Cleveland Jr.  Gore Arena 
Buies Creek, NC
November 26, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Coastal Carolina W 70–58  4–4
 21  Harris   9  King   4  Cleveland Jr.  HTC Center (1,039)
Conway, SC
December 2, 2023*
3:00 pm
USC Upstate L 82–85  4–5
 17  Smith Jr.   5  Smith Jr.   4  Smith  McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,017)
Durham, NC
December 5, 2023*
7:00 pm, ACCNX
at Virginia L 47–77  4–6
 12  Smith Jr.   7  Porter   2  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (13,459)
Charlottesville, VA
December 9, 2023*
4:30 pm, ESPN+
at Radford L 74–82  4–7
 19  Smith   7  Tied   3  King  Dedmon Center (839)
Radford, VA
December 12, 2023*
7:00 pm, FloHoops
at North Carolina A&T
Rivalry
W 67–62  5–7
 18  Harris   8  Izunabor   10  Cleveland Jr.  Corbett Sports Center (4,033)
Greensboro, NC
December 15, 2023*
7:00 pm
St. Andrews W 102–50  6–7
 30  Cleveland Jr.   14  Adedire   4  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,263)
Durham, NC
December 20, 2023*
3:00 pm
Longwood W 79–70  7–7
 21  Harris   10  Harris   6  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (782)
Durham, NC
January 3, 2024*
7:00 pm
Truett McConnell W 112–70  8–7
 23  Cleveland Jr.   8  Gordon   6  Tied  McDougald–McLendon Arena (616)
Durham, NC
MEAC regular season
January 6, 2024
12:00 pm, ESPNU
Howard W 73–54  9–7
(1–0)
 24  Cleveland Jr.   11  Adedire   7  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,852)
Durham, NC
January 8, 2024
7:30 pm
Norfolk State W 60–58  10–7
(2–0)
 20  Harris   9  Adedire   7  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (2,162)
Durham, NC
January 20, 2024
4:00 pm
at South Carolina State L 68–71  10–8
(2–1)
 19  Tied   7  Adedire   3  Cleveland Jr.  SHM Memorial Center (875)
Orangeburg, SC
January 27, 2024
4:00 pm
at Maryland Eastern Shore W 65–57  11–8
(3–1)
 21  Harris   9  Cleveland Jr.   4  Cleveland Jr.  Hytche Athletic Center (183)
Princess Anne, MD
January 29, 2024
7:30 pm
at Delaware State W 69–66  12–8
(4–1)
 22  King   9  Izunabor   3  Cleveland Jr.  Memorial Hall (1,350)
Dover, DE
February 3, 2024
4:00 pm
Coppin State W 77–46  13–8
(5–1)
 19  Cleveland Jr.   8  Smith Jr.   7  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (2,875)
Durham, NC
February 5, 2024
7:30 pm
Morgan State L 72–79 OT 13–9
(5–2)
 17  Porter   10  Smith Jr.   8  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (2,057)
Durham, NC
February 17, 2024
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Howard L 82–90  13–10
(5–3)
 20  Cleveland Jr.   5  Izunabor   2  Harris  Burr Gymnasium (1,245)
Washington, D.C.
February 19, 2024
9:00 pm, ESPNU
at Norfolk State L 74–80  13–11
(5–4)
 18  King   5  King   4  Cleveland Jr.  Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,525)
Norfolk, VA
February 24, 2024
4:00 pm
Maryland Eastern Shore W 88–55  14–11
(6–4)
 22  Porter   8  Tied   4  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (2,762)
Durham, NC
February 26, 2024
7:30 pm
Delaware State W 93–81  15–11
(7–4)
 34  King   11  Izunabor   10  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (2,324)
Durham, NC
March 2, 2024
4:00 pm
at Coppin State W 83–58  16–11
(8–4)
 21  Porter   10  Izunabor   15  Cleveland Jr.  Physical Education Complex (507)
Baltimore, MD
March 4, 2024
7:30 pm
at Morgan State L 79–88  16–12
(8–5)
 27  Cleveland Jr.   5  Tied   6  Cleveland Jr.  Talmadge L. Hill Field House (3,034)
Baltimore, MD
March 7, 2024
7:30 pm
South Carolina State W 79–68  17–12
(9–5)
 37  Porter   8  Cleveland Jr.   6  Cleveland Jr.  McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,362)
Durham, NC
MEAC tournament
March 13, 2024
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(2) vs. (7) Maryland Eastern Shore
Quarterfinals
W 87–81  18–12
 21  Cleveland Jr.   8  Adedire   6  Cleveland Jr.  Norfolk Scope 
Norfolk, VA
March 15, 2024
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(2) vs. (6) Delaware State
Semifinals
L 58–71  18–13
 19  Porter   8  Tied   3  Harris  Norfolk Scope 
Norfolk, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "NCCU Rains Threes on Delaware State to Advance to MEAC Semifinals". North Carolina Central University Athletics. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "Norfolk State defeats NC Central during semifinal round of MEAC Tournament". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". North Carolina Central University Athletics. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "North Carolina Central Eagles 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 10, 2023.