Florida A&M (6-23, 5-8 MEAC) vs. North Carolina A&T (17-11, 10-3 MEAC)
Date: February 24, 2018
Time: 6 p.m.
Facility: Al Lawson Center
Series: A&T leads 49-29
Radio: ESPN Triad Radio, 1320AM/1230 AM/93.7 FM/104.9 FM
PROBABLE STARTERS: F Davaris McGowens (6-7, 230, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg); F Denzel Keyes (6-4, 210, R-Sr., 9.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg); G Kameron Langley (6-2, 205, Fr., 7.2 ppg, 5.1 apg); G Devonte Boykins (6-2, 180, Gr., 9.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg); G Kwei Lartey (6-4, 200, Jr., 3.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg).
AGGIES OVERVIEW: North Carolina A&T is headed to Florida in pursuit of its first MEAC regular-season title in 26 years. Standing in the way is Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman who is tied with the Aggies for the current first-place lead. N.C. A&T goes into Florida having just completed their home schedule at 12-0. It marked the sixth time in school history the Aggies have finished undefeated at Corbett Sports Center and the first time since the 1987-88 season. If the Aggies survive the Florida trip, they still have a road game in Durham, N.C., against archrival N.C. Central on March 1. The Aggies are 4-9 on the road this season, but they do have key road wins against Jacksonville and East Carolina. The Aggies have lost three straight on the road by a total of only nine points including an overtime loss to Howard. Senior Davaris McGowens is shooting 64.1 percent on the road.
FLORIDA A&M OVERVIEW: The Rattlers sustained four straight losses from Jan. 29-Feb. 5, but since that point the Rattlers have won two out of three including a home win over N.C. Central and a road win at Delaware State. The Rattlers are led by first-year head coach Robert McCullum. McCullum coached three seasons at Western Michigan and four seasons at South Florida before coming to FAMU. McCullum's 2017-18 squad is led by Desmond Williams (17.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Marcus Barham (16.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg). Williams and Barham both rank in the top-10 in scoring in the MEAC with Williams ranking fifth and Barham ranking seventh. Williams is 51st in the nation in free throws made (135) and 36th in the nation in field goal attempts (427). Justin Ravenel is the top 3-point shooter for the Rattlers. He is shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc which ranks him fourth in the conference. The top assists man is Elijah Mayes (2.7 apg) who is also averaging 9.3 points per game.
Stepping Up: Fifth-year forward Denzel Keyes is closing out his career in style. He had a career-high 28 points at Savannah State on Feb. 12 before scoring 18 at home against Howard and 21 against Maryland Eastern Shore at Corbett on Feb. 19. He is 27-for-48 from the floor in his last three games.
News & Notes:
N.C. A&T recently completed their sixth undefeated season at Corbett Sports Center since the building opened in 1978. It was the first undefeated season at Corbett since the 1987-88 season when the Aggies finished 11-0. The Aggies record for home wins is 16 as they went 16-1 at home during the 1980-81 season. The most wins the Aggies have ever had during an undefeated home season at Corbett was their 14-0 season in 1986-87. The Aggies are 327-139 (.702) in 39 seasons at Corbett and they current winning streak at home stands at 13.
Senior Davaris McGowens leads the Aggies in scoring and rebounding in conference play at 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 60.5 percent from the field in MEAC play. McGowens has scored 69 points on 29-for-50 (.580) shooting from the floor. He is second in the league in field goal percentage (.600).
N.C. A&T is looking for their first MEAC regular-season title since the 1991-92 season. During the 1991-92 season, they tied Howard for the regular-season league title with a 12-4 record. The Aggies last outright title was the 1987-88 regular-season championship.
The Aggies are a combined 24-43 in Tallahassee and Daytona Beach.
