BY JOE JOHNSON

jjohnson@heraldsun.com

DURHAM -- The traveling road show that was the N.C. Central men's basketball team last season is staying closer to home this season under first-year coach Lavelle Moton.

NCCU will play 11 games at home and will have four other in-state games. The road schedule won't be nearly as rigorous as the 2008-09 season in terms of the number of trips, but the Eagles will venture to eight states this season.

"Although we decreased the states that we are going to, the challenge of the teams that we play are still intact," Moton said in a statement released by the school. "Overall, it's a nice, challenging, vigorous schedule and we definitely look forward to it."

The Eagles open their season on Nov. 11 with a game against reigning national champion North Carolina in the first round of the 2KSports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer at the Smith Center in a game televised on ESPNU.

N.C. Central will visit three other teams from the ACC -- Miami (Nov. 14), Virginia Tech (Jan. 18) and N.C. State (Jan. 30).

NCCU's first home game will be against N.C. Wesleyan on Nov. 18, then it's back to Florida to complete competition in the 2KSports Classic against Florida International (Nov. 20), Murray State (Nov. 22) and James Madison (Nov. 23).

The Eagles then head west for a pair of games, taking on Iowa (Nov. 28) and Air Force (Dec. 2).

NCCU returns home for a pair of games bookending exams, as the Eagles host Carver Bible College (Dec. 5) and Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 16).

During the semester break, NCCU will travel to face its second Big Ten opponent Indiana (Dec. 19), and then the Eagles will play at Ball State (Dec. 21).

The games against Iowa and Indiana will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Trips to High Point (Dec. 29) and East Carolina (Jan. 3) precede road games at Colgate (Jan. 6) in Hamilton, N.Y., and at SMU (Jan. 9) in Dallas.

The Eagles get a return game against High Point on Jan. 11, the first of three straight at home, before hosting Tennessee Temple on Jan. 15 and The Apprentice School on Jan. 16 as part of the BC Powder Classic.

The next four games represent the Eagles' last big road stretch as they run up to Blacksburg, Va., to take on Virginia Tech (Jan. 18), then down to Savannah State (Jan. 20). There is a week off before going to Youngstown State (Jan 27) and finally back to Raleigh for a 2 p.m. game against N.C. State on Jan. 30.

Five straight home games will start bringing the Eagles' season to a close, as they host Western Illinois (Feb. 2), Savannah State (Feb. 6), Maryland-Eastern Shore (Feb. 10), Longwood (Feb. 13) and Coast Carolina (Feb. 15). The final home game will be Senior Night.

NCCU finishes its season on the road at Longwood on Feb. 25.