Coppin State went 2-27 last year and this year isn't looking much better, open the year 0-10.
NC State hosts Coppin State at 7 p.m. Tuesday at historic Reynolds Coliseum on ACC Network Extra. The Wolfpack are 6-3 overall.
Overview
Coppin State will lean on junior shooting guard Toby Nnadozie and sophomore power forward Khali Horton.
Junior center Peter Oduro will help Horton out in the paint. Sophomore wing Camaren Sparrow and junior point guard Car'Ron Brown started last game against Wagner.
The depth took a hit when leading scorer Derrius Ward got injured, who was averaging 12.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in five contests.
Rankings
Coppin State is No. 363 in the NET rankings this season, and NC State is No. 92.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Eagles ranked No. 363 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 52.
KenPom.com has Coppin State at No. 363, and NCSU checks in at No. 70.
Shooting
Coppin State is averaging 54.6 points per game, and are shooting 35.2 percent from the field, 24.7 percent on three-pointers and 66.3 percent at the free-throw line.
Nnadozie is the top shooter on the team, going 14 of 38 on three-pointers for 36.8 percent.
Rebounding
Coppin State is averaging 29.9 rebounds per game, and have a minus-9.1 rebounds margin. The Eagles have grabbed 99 offensive rebounds, with Oduro getting 17 of them.
Leading scorer and rebounder Derrius Ward hasn’t played since Nov. 14. Reserve Julius Ellerbe is averaging 4.8 boards a contest.
Defense
The Eagles are allowing 77.7 points per game, 49.7 percent from the field and 35.4 percent on three-pointers.
Coppin State has 11 blocks, and Nnadozie has 21 of the 62 steals.
Depth
Coppin State played three players off the bench in its last game against Wagner — Jonathan Dunn, Julius Ellerbe and Zahree Harrison. None of the starters scored more than six points, but Ellerbe had 11 and Dunn added 10.
Ellerbe is second on the team with 8.8 points and 4.8 boards per game, and Dunn is fourth with 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds a contest.
Star Watch
Junior shooting guard Toby Nnadozie played his first two years at Maryland-Eastern Shore.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound only averaged 4.3 points per game last year, but he's jumped up to 8.0 points and is shooting 36.8 percent from three-point land.
Nnadozie has scored at least 11 points in three games, including having 18 points and four three-pointes in a loss against Rider on Nov. 9, and he had 19 points and five boards in a loss at George Mason on Nov. 20.
Nnadozie previous career-high was 17 points in a 67-59 win over Delaware State on March 7, 2024.
Nnadozie attended Mount Carmel High in Essex, Md.
Likely starters
NC State
PG — 12 Michael O’Connell (6-2, 195, Sr., 7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.3 spg)
SG — 8 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Sr., 13.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.7 spg)
G — 10 Marcus Hill (6-4, 185, Sr., 12.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.8 apg)
F — 3 Dontrez Styles (6-6, 212, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.4 apg, 1.2 bpg)
C — 34 Ben Middlebrooks (6-10, 240, Sr., 8.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.7 bpg)
Coppin State
PG — 3 Cam’Ron Brown (6-1, 185, Jr., 4.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.7 apg)
SG — 2 Toby Nnadozie (6-3, 185, Jr., 8.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.1 spg)
G — 10 Camaren Sparrow (6-4, 185, Soph., 2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.5 apg)
PF — 4 Khali Horton (6-8, 200, Soph., 7.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.8 apg)
C — 12 Peter Oduro (6-8, 230, Jr., 7.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.4 apg)
Numbers Of Note
4 Appearances in the NCAA Tournament — 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2008.
94 Points scored by NC State the last time the Wolfpack played Coppin State at Reynolds Coliseum. NCSU won 94-72 with Terquavion Smith scoring 33 on Dec. 6, 2022.
2,005 Career NBA points by 6-8 Coppin State coach Larry Stewart, who played from 1991-97.
Game within the game: Coppin State's Julius Ellerbe vs. NC State's Marcus Hill
Wing Julius Ellerbe has had quite a journey to his senior year.
Ellerbe graduated from Virginia Beach Sports Academy in the class of 2020, and went to Baton Rouge (La.) C.C. for two years. He then went to East Central C.C. and averaged 13.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in 2022-23.
Ellerbe transferred to Eastern Michigan last year and started 12 of 18 games. He averaged 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, but shot just 4 of 30 on three-pointers.
The 6-7, 205-pounder has started four of eight games at Coppin State, and is averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this season.
Ellerbe will likely guard either NC State’s Marcus Hill or Dontrez Styles at time. Hill is averaging 12.7 points per game this season, and has had 39 points the last two games.
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