Under the leadership of sixth-year head coach LeVelle Moton, the North Carolina Central University men’s basketball program believes it’s identity is rooted in playing defense.

As evidence, the Eagles rank among the NCAA Division I top-5 in three key defensive categories:
– second in field goal percentage defense (35.2%), trailing only Kentucky;
– fourth in three-point percentage defense (26.5%);
– fifth in scoring defense (54.8 points allowed per game).

A closer look shows that NCCU is shooting a better percentage from behind the three-point line (35.9%), than its opponents are shooting from the field (35.2%).

At the end of NCCU’s historic 2013-14 season (28 wins, MEAC Championship, trip to NCAA Tournament), NCCU ranked fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.1%) and 10th in scoring defense (59.5 points allowed per game).

A version of this article originally appeared on NCCUEaglePride.com