# 2019–20 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team

The 2019–20 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 11th-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 19-14, 13–3 in MEAC play, winning the MEAC regular season championship. They defeated Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament. They were scheduled to play the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Bethune–Cookman and Morgan State in the semifinals, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2018–19 season 18–16 overall, 10–6 in MEAC play, finishing in 3rd place. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Delaware State in the quarterfinals, North Carolina A&T in the semifinals, advancing to the championship game against top-seeded Norfolk State, upsetting the Spartans, winning the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. Also, for the third consecutive year, they received the No. 16 seed, and played in the First Four, this time losing to North Dakota State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2019* 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 64–94 | 0–1 | William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,167) Nacogdoches, TX |
| November 11, 2019* 7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | USC Upstate Global Sports Shootout | W 73–64 | 1–1 | McDougald–McLendon Arena (973) Durham, NC |
| November 15, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Akron Global Sports Shootout | L 47–57 | 1–2 | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,103) Akron, OH |
| November 17, 2019* 5:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 4 Louisville Global Sports Shootout | L 58–87 | 1–3 | KFC Yum! Center (14,874) Louisville, KY |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Youngstown State Global Sports Shootout | L 60–66 | 1–4 | Beeghly Center (1,564) Youngstown, OH |
| November 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Bluefield State | W 68–44 | 2–4 | McDougald–McLendon Arena (633) Durham, NC |
| November 26, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 48–64 | 2–5 | Banterra Center (3,620) Carbondale, IL |
| December 2, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 59–77 | 2–6 | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,241) Spartanburg, SC |
| December 4, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Georgia | L 59–95 | 2–7 | Stegeman Coliseum (7,738) Athens, GA |
| December 7, 2019* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | L 53–58 | 2–8 | CSU Field House (622) North Charleston, SC |
| December 11, 2019* 7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Christendom | W 109–28 | 3–8 | McDougald–McLendon Arena (212) Durham, NC |
| December 14, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | L 71–91 | 3–9 | HTC Center (987) Conway, SC |
| December 17, 2019* 7:30 pm, CUSA.TV | | at Louisiana Tech | L 60–69 | 3–10 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,156) Ruston, LA |
| December 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Mid-Atlantic Christian | W 108–63 | 4–10 | McDougald–McLendon Arena (478) Durham, NC |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| January 4, 2020 4:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Florida A&M | W 61–45 | 5–10 (1–0) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (988) Durham, NC |
| January 11, 2020 2:00 pm | | at Delaware State | L 66–68 | 5–11 (1–1) | Memorial Hall (519) Dover, DE |
| January 13, 2020 7:30 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 69–64 $^{OT}$ | 6–11 (2–1) | Hytche Athletic Center (555) Princess Anne, MD |
| January 18, 2020 4:00 pm | | at Bethune–Cookman | W 86–59 | 7–11 (3–1) | Moore Gymnasium (855) Daytona Beach, FL |
| January 20, 2020 4:45 pm | | at Florida A&M | L 57–66 | 7–12 (3–2) | Teaching Gym (407) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 25, 2020 4:20 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Delaware State | W 72–45 | 8–12 (4–2) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (831) Durham, NC |
| February 1, 2020 4:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | South Carolina State | W 73–56 | 9–12 (5–2) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,229) Durham, NC |
| February 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Norfolk State | W 69–63 | 10–12 (6–2) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,486) Durham, NC |
| February 8, 2020 4:00 pm | | at Coppin State | W 68–63 | 11–12 (7–2) | Physical Education Complex (942) Baltimore, MD |
| February 10, 2020 4:00 pm | | at Morgan State | W 58–57 | 12–12 (8–2) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (2,108) Baltimore, MD |
| February 17, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at North Carolina A&T | L 60–77 | 12–13 (8–3) | Corbett Sports Center (5,700) Greensboro, NC |
| February 22, 2020 4:00 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 74–55 | 13–13 (9–3) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,287) Durham, NC |
| February 24, 2020 7:30 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Howard | W 80–65 | 14–13 (10–3) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,496) Durham, NC |
| February 29, 2020 4:00 pm | | at South Carolina State | W 83–82 $^{2OT}$ | 15–13 (11–3) | SHM Memorial Center (477) Orangeburg, SC |
| March 2, 2020 7:30 pm, NCCU Sports Network | | Bethune–Cookman | W 71–68 $^{OT}$ | 16–13 (12–3) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,338) Durham, NC |
| March 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | North Carolina A&T | W 86–80 | 17–13 (13–3) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (3,026) Durham, NC |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2020 6:00 pm, FloSports | (1) | vs. (8) Delaware State Quarterfinals | W 92–75 | 18–13 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| March 13, 2020 6:00 pm, FloSports | (1) | vs. (4/5) Bethune-Cookman/Morgan State Semifinals | MEAC Tournament Canceled | MEAC Tournament Canceled | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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