I feel like I use this post every year as a platform to go off about all the things I don’t like about the MEAC.  And, I guess this year will be no different.  And, this, from a guy that loves non-major basketball.  But, the MEAC just doesn’t seem to get it.  Ya, I know that it is a conference of very small athletic-budgeted schools.  And, I know that it is an outstanding conference, academically, boasting some of the ultimate HBCs in the nation in Howard, Morgan, Coppin, Hampton, FAMU, etc.  But, from strictly a basketball perspective, it’s pretty awful.  The quality of play is one thing – rather poor – but it’s more the conference structure that bothers me so much.  I know that conferences are getting too big and spread out around the country to stick with the pure double-round-robin format, so we are going to get unbalanced schedules all over the place.  But, the MEAC always takes it to a new level.  What is the actual essence of a conference?  In other words, what does it mean to be in the same conference as another school?  Breaking it down to its simplest level, it just means that you are going to play that school in sporting events.  Well, not in the MEAC!  There are teams in the MEAC together that did not play each other all year – not even once.  How is that possible?  How is that a conference?  I know it seems nitpicky, but last year was the last straw for me on this one when it looked like Norfolk State and Savannah State were BOTH going to go undefeated in conference because they were both very good and didn’t play each other at all.  It turned out that Savannah State did drop a game, but still.  The two never played.  And, it’s not like they are all that far apart.  It’s not like Coppin State didn’t go all the way to Florida A&M.  Savannah State and Norfolk State are probably a long bus ride away.  If you can’t figure this out, then why are you still a D-I conference?  I’m sorry, I don’t want to be this way, especially about a conference that is so heavily rooted in the city in which I live, but come on, people, figure it out.  Sorry…rant over…for 2014.  All in all, the MEAC this season was a tale of one team that is way too good for a conference this bad, and that was N.C. Central.  Any other year and the battle between Hampton, Morgan, and Norfolk would have been great MEAC theater, but this year it was just for “distant second.”  NCC is actually in KenPom’s top 100, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a MEAC team even in the top 200 before.

The domination of N.C. Central leads to 20 of the 25 CTC entries taking them to win this tournament.  4 took #3 Morgan State and 2 more took #4 Norfolk State.  No one thinks that #2 Hampton will win it.  A couple people have 11th-seeded Delaware State pulling off multiple upsets, while one person has #6 FAMU reaching the finals.  Our defending MEAC champion, Alex, took his trophy and ran, leaving this title vacant for this year.  No one has ever won this league twice, but Alexi, Lynch, Bry, Doogan, and Dave will try to win their second this year.

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 15th – 12 points)

#1 North Carolina Central vs #3 Morgan State
NC Central has lived up to the hype in the MEAC tournament, as after dominating the regular season, they have similarly dominated the tournament, beating Howard by 46 and then the Norfolk (on their floor) by 23.  Now, they have one more to take care of before scaring the hell out of a high-major coach trying to gameplan for them.  The last step for Central is Morgan State – the former kings of the MEAC.  Morgan pummeled cross-town rival, Coppin State on Friday to reach the finals.

Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, and WaTers all have Morgan here.  Lazarow and Stumpf have already lost this game.  The other 19 all have NCC here, looking for the 12-point reward.  An NCC win here will give Teddy his first ever MEAC title.  If Morgan wins, Scoot will take home the 2014 MEAC crown.

SEMIFINALS (March 14th – 8 points each)

#3 Morgan State vs #7 Coppin State
Two blood rivals from Charm City will take to the court in Norfolk for a chance to play for the MEAC championship.  Morgan got here by was of a relatively easy 13-point win over FAMU on Thursday.  Coppin had to hold on against Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday and come back the next night for an upset win over a really good Hampton team.  Now, they get to settle their differences on the court.

No one has Coppin here, but 13 (Alexi, Becks, Caleb, Colton, Dave, GrossSr, Lynch, PapaCim, RDoc, Scoot, Stumpf, Teddy, WaTers) have Morgan to win this game.  Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, and WaTers have the Bears to cut down the nets on Saturday.

Morgan State 79 – Coppin State 64

#1 North Carolina Central vs #4 Norfolk State
NC Central looked like almost a lock to win this tournament coming in and only cemented that belief with a 92-46 whitewash of Howard on Wednesday night.  But, if there was a team that could give them a game, it would be this Norfolk team, mainly because they are hosting the tournament.  Then again, it is not like they have been all that spectacular.  They struggled to beat a bad UMES team on Monday and then took care of an offensively-challenged Savannah State team three days later.  But, this might be the biggest test for the NCC Eagles.  I expect them to pass with flying colors.

Dave, Lazarow, and Stumpf all have Norfolk here, with the latter two taking the Spartans to win the title.  GrossSr has already lost this game with Savannah State.  The other 21 all have NCC, including 19 of whom picking the Eagles to take this tournament.

North Carolina Central 68 – Norfolk State 45

QUARTEFINALS (con’t – March 13th – 4 points each)

#3 Morgan State vs #6 Florida A&M
Morgan State had a decent year and earned the first-round bye.  They aren’t the dominant versions that Morgan used to throw out there, but they are every bit as good as anyone in this league not named NC Central.  FAMU gets here by way of a 4-point win over Delaware State on Tuesday night.  The winner here will play #7 Coppin State, who upset Hampton on Wednesday night, in the semis.  If it’s Morgan-Coppin, Charm City will be rockin’.

GrossJr, Lohse, and Mac all have FAMU in a nice upset here.  Lohse has the Rattlers in the finals.  Bry, Lazarow, Stri, and Stritts have already lost this game with Del State.  The other 18 all have Morgan, including Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, and WaTers, who all have them winning it all.  A slew of people have the Bears in the finals.

Morgan State 81 – Florida A&M 68

#4 Norfolk State vs #5 Savannah State
Both of these teams survived close games Tuesday night that shouldn’t have been close, though Sav State always plays close games because their defense is so good and their offense is so bad.  Norfolk squeaked by UMES by 4, while Sav State ran away at the end from SC State, winning by 14.  Now, they play for the right to face top-seeded NC Central in the semis.

Chris, Colton, GrossSr, PapaCim, and Stritts all have Sav State here.  GrossSr has the Tigers in the finals.  The other 20 all have Norfolk here, including Lazarow and Stumpf, who have them winning it all.  Dave has them in the finals, so he needs this game too.

Norfolk State 57 – Savannah State 47

QUARTERFINALS (March 12th – 4 points each)

#1 North Carolina Central vs #8 Howard
The NC Central Eagles lost to FAMU on Jan 11 and have won 14 straight games to close out the regular season as one of the more dominant teams in MEAC history.  And, they did all of this on the heels of a terrific noncon, which included close losses to Cincinnati, Wichita State, and Maryland and an overtime win at N.C. State.  This year’s NCC team is so much better than this bottom-feeding league, but anything can happen in one-and-done tournaments.  Howard, who eliminated the defending tournament champs, N.C. A&T on Tuesday, has a much stiffer test on Wednesday.

All 25 people have NCC here, with 19 of them taking the Eagles to win the whole thing.  The 6 that don’t (Dave, GrossSr, Lazarow, Scoot, Stumpf, WaTers) should be rooting to lose this game.

North Carolina Central 92 – Howard 48
It’s almost not fair.  Why is this team in this league?  Poor Howard…

Everyone got this one right.

#2 Hampton vs #7 Coppin State
If not for NCC, the MEAC race would have been thrilling and would have been won by what should be a pretty good MEAC team in Hampton.  But, because there is a higher-caliber team in the league this year, the Hampton season might go by without notice.  While a “good” MEAC team isn’t good, this is definitely a good MEAC team.  They take on a dangerous Coppin team that knocked off Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night.

6 people (Alexi, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, Scoot, Teddy) actually have Coppin here.  Dave has already lost with Beth-Cook.  The other 18 have Hampton, including 11 that have them going to the finals.  Surprisingly, no one picked the Pirates to win this tournament.

Coppin State 73 – Hampton 67
Coppin shocks the 2nd-seeded Pirates and will now move on to the semis on Friday.  A good year for Hampton ends in rough fashion.

Alexi, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, Scoot, and Teddy get a great upset here.  11 people lose a finalist here.

OPENING ROUND (con’t – March 11th – 2 points each)

#8 Howard vs #9 N.C. A&T
N.C. A&T, the defending tournament champs, who won it last year as a 7-seed, were supposed to compete for a top spot in this year’s MEAC race, but it never came together for them and they finished 5-11 in conference play and picked up the 9-seed.  They will take on a Howard team that was supposed to be really bad and yet also finished 5-11 in conference play.  The winner of this game gets to play the role of Washington Generals for N.C. Central in the quarters.

11 people (Caleb, Colton, Doogan, GrossJr, Lynch, Primm, Scoot, Stri, Stritts, Teddy, WaTers) took the Howard Bison.  The other 14 have N.C. A&T.  No one has either of these teams beating N.C. Central in the quarters.

Howard 53 – N.C. A&T 47

#7 Coppin State vs #10 Bethune-Cookman
When Coppin State went into Corvalis in November and knocked off Oregon State, the MEAC took notice.  Now, I’m not sure what happened on that day, but that Coppin team never really reappeared and the Eagles finished just 7-9 in conference play – 4 games behind any shot at a bye in the conference tournament.  They will open their tournament run against a Bethune-Cookman that started the season 0-19 against D-I opponents.  Ya, you read that right…0-19.  And, since then, they have been 5-5.  What?!?  Only in the MEAC can an 0-19 team finish the season 5-5.  Now, the alma mater of the legendary John Chaney might be considered a “sleeper.”  Again, only in the MEAC.  The winner of this game will take a shot at #2 Hampton.

A dozen people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Chris, Dave, GrossJr, J, Lazarow, PapaCim, Primm, RDoc, Stri) took BC here for the upset.  Dave even has BC beating Hampton in the quarters.  This could be a minor bracket-buster here if BC wins, as of the 13 that picked Coppin to win this game, 6 of them (Alexi, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, Scoot, Teddy) picked them to go on and beat Hampton in the quarters.

Coppin State 75 – Bethune-Cookman 68

#6 Florida A&M vs #11 Delaware State
A bad FAMU team went 8-8 in conference play this year and earned themselves the 6-seed.  A thought-to-be decent Delaware State team went 5-11 and earned themselves the 11-seed.  A little piece of advice – DO NOT WATCH THIS GAME (not that you could find it televised) OR ANY GAME INVOLVING DELAWARE STATE.  They play the most boring, plodding, atrocious style of offense ever seen.  And, it’s not like UVa slow or even old Princeton slow.  It’s just slow…with no purpose other than being slow.  It’s awful.  Only in the MEAC…  The winner here moves to the quarters to take on #3 Morgan State.

As far as 6/11 opening round games in really bad 1x conferences go, this is probably as “big” of a CTC game as is possible.  Only 7 people (Colton, Grossjr, Lohse, Mac, Primm, Stumpf, Teddy) took the favored Rattles of FAMU.  But, three of them (GrossJr, Lohse, Mac) have them winning again in the quarters, and Lohse even has them reaching the finals.  Of the 18 people that went for a nice upset here, 4 of them (Bry, Lazarow, Stri, Stritts) have the Hornets winning again over Morgan in the quarters.

Florida A&M 65 – Delaware State 61

OPENING ROUND (March 10th – 2 points each)

#4 Norfolk State vs #13 MD-Eastern Shore
UMES, the perennial doormat of the MEAC, is in their familiar last-place position, but this year they actually showed a little improvement down the stretch and definitely enter the tournament playing the best ball of the year (which is saying very little).  Norfolk has not exactly built upon that shocking upset of Mizzou a couple years ago as much as you may have thought they would have.  They are still one of the better MEAC programs right now, but they should start really seeing the fruits of that exposure, and a 4th-place finish this year is kind of disappointing.  They get to face last-place UMES here in Norfolk to open the conference tournament.

No one has UMES in this big upset.  Most people have Norfolk at least reaching the semis.  Lazarow and Stumpf are the only ones that put their MEAC champion on the line in the opening round, as they both have Norfolk winning this tournament.  Dave is the only other one that has them going to the finals.

Norfolk State 78 – MD-Eastern Shore 74
What looked for a while to be a “rocking chair” game for Norfolk got really interesting at the end, as UMES erased a 23-point second-half lead to tie the game at 74.  But, they turned the ball over on the final two possessions and head home for the season, while Norfolk escapes to play another day.

Everyone got this right, including Lazarow and Stumpf, who sweated out their MEAC champs nearing blowing it.

#5 Savannah State vs #12 South Carolina State
Savannah entered full-fledged D-I status with a bang, winning the 2012 MEAC regular season and then runner-up to Norfolk in the regular season last year.  But, they have not been able to put it together in the MEAC tournament either year, so they are still chasing that first NCAA Tournament appearance.  They don’t have as much talent here in 2014, but they do probably have the deepest roster in the MEAC and get a lot of minutes out of a lot of guys – which can only help down the stretch of a grueling MEAC season when you may have to play awful to semi-awful teams twice a week…sorry.  The winner of this game plays the winner of the first game of the night in a quarterfinal on Wednesday.

6 people (Bry, Doogan, GrossJr, J, Stumpf, WaTers) took S.C. State here in a big upset, though none of them have the Bulldogs going any further.  Surprisingly, only Chris, Colton, GrossSr, and Stritts believe in the Tigers enough to have them even reaching the semis.  GrossSr has the most to lose here, as he has Savannah reaching the finals.

Savannah State 61 – South Carolina State 47
Ugh…S.C. State’s season ends on a night where they made 14 of the 53 shots they took (26%).  Savannah State, whose defense is actually very good for this level (and, it’s a good thing, too, because they have the 6th WORST offense in the nation) looked exceptional on the night.  The Tigers now see if that defense is enough to take down the tournament hosts, Norfolk, in the quarters on Wednesday.

6 people missed out on a nice upset pick here.  GrossSr keeps alive a finalist, while 3 others keep alive a semifinalist.

CTC UPDATE

Championship Picks

• #1 North Carolina Central (19)
• #2 Hampton (0)
• #3 Morgan State (4) – Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, WaTers
• #4 Norfolk State (2) – Lazarow, Stumpf

Biggest Upsets

• R1 – #12 South Carolina State (Bry, Doogan, GrossJr, J, Stumpf, WaTers)
• QF – #11 Delaware State (Stri, Stritts)
• SF – #6 Florida A&M (Lohse)

Previous CTC Champions

• 2008 – Alexi
• 2009 – Lynch
• 2010 – Bry
• 2011 – Doogan
• 2012 – Dave
• 2013 – Alex

2014 Scores