{"id":4722,"date":"2014-03-15T09:43:56","date_gmt":"2014-03-15T13:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4722"},"modified":"2014-03-15T11:26:39","modified_gmt":"2014-03-15T15:26:39","slug":"2014-ctc-the-meac-310","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4722","title":{"rendered":"2014 CTC: The MEAC (3\/15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"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.\u00a0 And, I guess this year will be no different.\u00a0 And, this, from a guy that loves<\/em> non-major basketball.\u00a0 But, the MEAC just doesn’t seem to get it.\u00a0 Ya, I know that it is a conference of very small athletic-budgeted schools.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 But, from strictly a basketball perspective, it’s pretty awful.\u00a0 The quality of play is one\u00a0thing – rather poor – but it’s more the conference structure that bothers\u00a0me so much.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0know 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.\u00a0 But, the MEAC always takes it to a new level.\u00a0 What is the actual essence of a conference?\u00a0 In other words, what does it mean to be in the same conference as another school?\u00a0 Breaking it down to its simplest level, it just means that you are going to play that school in sporting events.\u00a0 Well, not in the MEAC!\u00a0 There are teams in the MEAC together that did not play each other all year – not even once.\u00a0 How is that possible?\u00a0 How is that a conference?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It turned out that Savannah State did drop a game, but still.\u00a0 The two never played.\u00a0 And, it’s not like they are all that far apart.\u00a0 It’s not like Coppin State didn’t go all the way to Florida A&M.\u00a0 Savannah State and Norfolk State are probably a long bus ride away.\u00a0 If you can’t figure this out, then why are you still a D-I conference?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Sorry…rant over…for 2014.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Any other year and the battle between Hampton, Morgan, and Norfolk would\u00a0have been great MEAC theater, but this year it was just for “distant second.”\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

The domination of N.C. Central leads to 20 of the 25 CTC entries taking them to win this tournament.\u00a0 4 took #3 Morgan State and 2 more\u00a0took #4 Norfolk State.\u00a0 No one thinks that #2 Hampton will win it.\u00a0 A couple people have 11th-seeded Delaware State pulling off multiple upsets, while one person has #6 FAMU reaching the finals.\u00a0 Our defending MEAC champion, Alex, took his trophy and ran, leaving this title vacant for this year.\u00a0 No one has ever won this league twice, but Alexi, Lynch, Bry, Doogan, and Dave will try to win their second this year.<\/p>\n

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 15th – 12 points)<\/h1>\n

#1 North Carolina Central vs #3 Morgan State<\/strong>
\nNC 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.\u00a0 Now, they have one more to take care of before scaring the hell out of a high-major coach trying to gameplan for them.\u00a0 The last step for Central is Morgan State – the former kings of the MEAC.\u00a0 Morgan pummeled cross-town rival, Coppin State on Friday to reach the finals.<\/p>\n

Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, and WaTers all have Morgan here.\u00a0 Lazarow and Stumpf have already lost this game.\u00a0 The other 19 all have NCC here, looking for the 12-point reward.\u00a0 An NCC win here will give Teddy his first ever MEAC title.\u00a0 If Morgan wins, Scoot will take home the 2014 MEAC crown.<\/p>\n

SEMIFINALS (March 14th – 8 points each)<\/h1>\n

#3 Morgan State vs #7 Coppin State<\/strong>
\nTwo blood rivals from Charm City will take to the court in Norfolk for a chance to play for the MEAC championship.\u00a0 Morgan got here by was of a relatively easy 13-point win over FAMU on Thursday.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Now, they get to settle their differences on the court.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, and WaTers have the Bears to cut down the nets on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Morgan State 79 – Coppin State 64<\/em><\/p>\n

#1 North Carolina Central vs #4 Norfolk State<\/strong>
\nNC 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Then again, it is not like they have been all that spectacular.\u00a0 They struggled to beat a bad UMES team on Monday and then took care of an offensively-challenged Savannah State team three days later.\u00a0 But, this might be the biggest test for the NCC Eagles.\u00a0 I expect them to pass with flying colors.<\/p>\n

Dave, Lazarow, and Stumpf all have Norfolk here, with the latter two taking the Spartans to win the title.\u00a0 GrossSr has already lost this game with Savannah State.\u00a0 The other 21 all have NCC, including 19 of whom picking the Eagles to take this tournament.<\/p>\n

North Carolina Central 68 – Norfolk State 45<\/em><\/p>\n

QUARTEFINALS (con’t – March 13th – 4 points each)<\/h1>\n

#3 Morgan State vs #6 Florida A&M<\/strong>
\nMorgan State had a decent year and earned the first-round bye.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 FAMU gets here by way of a 4-point win over Delaware State on Tuesday night.\u00a0 The winner here will play #7 Coppin State, who upset Hampton on Wednesday night, in the semis.\u00a0 If it’s Morgan-Coppin, Charm City will be rockin’.<\/p>\n

GrossJr, Lohse, and Mac all have FAMU in a nice upset here.\u00a0 Lohse has the Rattlers in the finals.\u00a0 Bry, Lazarow, Stri, and Stritts have already lost this game with Del State.\u00a0 The other 18 all have Morgan, including Dave, GrossSr, Scoot, and WaTers, who all have them winning it all.\u00a0 A slew of people have the Bears in the finals.<\/p>\n

Morgan State 81 – Florida A&M 68<\/em><\/p>\n

#4 Norfolk State vs #5 Savannah State<\/strong>
\nBoth of these teams survived close games Tuesday night that\u00a0shouldn’t have been\u00a0close, though Sav State always plays close games because their defense is so good and their offense is so bad.\u00a0 Norfolk squeaked by UMES by 4, while Sav State ran away at the end from SC State, winning by 14.\u00a0 Now, they play for the right to face top-seeded NC Central in the semis.<\/p>\n

Chris, Colton, GrossSr, PapaCim, and Stritts all have Sav State here.\u00a0 GrossSr has the Tigers in the finals.\u00a0 The other 20 all have Norfolk here, including Lazarow and Stumpf, who have them winning it all.\u00a0 Dave has them in the finals, so he needs this game too.<\/p>\n

Norfolk State 57 – Savannah State 47<\/em><\/p>\n

QUARTERFINALS (March 12th – 4 points each)<\/h1>\n

#1 North Carolina Central vs #8 Howard<\/strong>
\nThe 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.\u00a0 And, they did all of this on the heels of a terrific noncon, which included close losses to Cincinnati, Wichita State, and Maryland\u00a0and an overtime win at N.C. State.\u00a0 This year’s NCC team is so much better than this bottom-feeding league, but anything can happen in one-and-done tournaments.\u00a0 Howard, who eliminated the defending tournament champs, N.C. A&T on Tuesday, has a much stiffer test on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

All 25 people have NCC here, with 19 of them taking the Eagles to win the whole thing.\u00a0 The 6 that don’t (Dave, GrossSr, Lazarow, Scoot, Stumpf, WaTers) should be rooting to lose this game.<\/p>\n

North Carolina Central 92 – Howard 48<\/em>
\nIt’s almost not fair.\u00a0 Why is this team in this league?\u00a0 Poor Howard…<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone got this one right.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

#2 Hampton vs #7 Coppin State<\/strong>
\nIf 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.\u00a0 But, because there is a higher-caliber team in the league this year, the Hampton season might go by without notice.\u00a0 While a “good” MEAC team isn’t good, this is definitely a good\u00a0MEAC team.\u00a0 They take on a dangerous Coppin team that knocked off Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

6 people (Alexi, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, Scoot, Teddy) actually have Coppin here.\u00a0 Dave has already lost with Beth-Cook.\u00a0 The other 18 have Hampton, including 11 that have them going to the finals.\u00a0 Surprisingly, no one picked the Pirates to win this tournament.<\/p>\n

Coppin State 73 – Hampton 67<\/em>
\nCoppin shocks the 2nd-seeded Pirates and will now move on to the semis on Friday.\u00a0 A good year for Hampton ends in rough fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexi, GrossSr, Lohse, Lynch, Scoot, and Teddy get a great upset here.\u00a0 11 people lose a finalist here.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

OPENING ROUND (con’t – March 11th – 2 points each)<\/h1>\n

#8 Howard vs #9 N.C. A&T<\/strong>
\nN.C. A&T, the defending tournament champs, who won it last\u00a0year 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.\u00a0 They will take on a Howard team that was supposed to be really bad and yet also finished 5-11 in conference play.\u00a0 The winner of this game gets to play the role of Washington Generals for N.C. Central in the quarters.<\/p>\n

11 people (Caleb, Colton, Doogan, GrossJr, Lynch, Primm, Scoot, Stri, Stritts, Teddy, WaTers) took the Howard Bison.\u00a0 The other 14 have N.C. A&T.\u00a0 No one has either of these teams beating N.C. Central in the quarters.<\/p>\n

Howard 53 – N.C. A&T 47<\/em><\/p>\n

#7 Coppin State vs #10 Bethune-Cookman<\/strong>
\nWhen Coppin State went into Corvalis in November and knocked off Oregon State, the MEAC took notice.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They will open their tournament run against a Bethune-Cookman that started the season 0-19 against D-I opponents.\u00a0 Ya, you read that right…0-19.\u00a0 And, since then, they have been 5-5.\u00a0 What?!?\u00a0 Only in the MEAC can an 0-19 team finish the season 5-5.\u00a0 Now, the alma mater of the legendary John Chaney might be considered a “sleeper.”\u00a0 Again, only in the MEAC.\u00a0 The winner of this game will take a shot at #2 Hampton.<\/p>\n

A dozen people (Becks, Bry, Caleb, Chris, Dave, GrossJr, J, Lazarow, PapaCim, Primm, RDoc, Stri) took BC here for the upset.\u00a0 Dave even has BC beating Hampton in the quarters.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Coppin State 75 – Bethune-Cookman 68<\/em><\/p>\n

#6 Florida A&M vs #11 Delaware State<\/strong>
\nA bad FAMU team went 8-8 in conference play this year and earned themselves the 6-seed.\u00a0 A thought-to-be decent Delaware State team went 5-11 and earned themselves the 11-seed.\u00a0 A little piece of advice – DO NOT WATCH THIS GAME (not that you could find it televised) OR ANY GAME INVOLVING DELAWARE STATE.\u00a0 They play the most boring, plodding, atrocious style of offense ever seen.\u00a0 And, it’s not like UVa slow or even old Princeton slow.\u00a0 It’s just slow…with no purpose other than being slow.\u00a0 It’s awful.\u00a0 Only in the MEAC…\u00a0 The winner here moves to the quarters to take on #3 Morgan State.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Only 7 people (Colton, Grossjr, Lohse, Mac, Primm, Stumpf, Teddy) took the favored Rattles of FAMU.\u00a0 But, three of them (GrossJr, Lohse, Mac) have them winning again in the quarters, and Lohse even has them reaching the finals.\u00a0 Of the 18 people that went for a nice upset here,\u00a04 of them (Bry, Lazarow, Stri, Stritts) have the Hornets winning again over Morgan in the quarters.<\/p>\n

Florida A&M 65 – Delaware State 61<\/em><\/p>\n

OPENING ROUND (March 10th\u00a0– 2 points each)<\/h1>\n

#4 Norfolk State vs #13 MD-Eastern Shore
\n<\/strong>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 <\/em>little).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 They are still one of the\u00a0better 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.\u00a0 They get to face last-place UMES here in Norfolk to open the conference tournament.<\/p>\n

No one has UMES in this big upset.\u00a0 Most people have Norfolk at least reaching the semis.\u00a0 Lazarow and Stumpf are the only ones that put their MEAC champion on the line in the opening round, as they both\u00a0have Norfolk winning this tournament.\u00a0 Dave is the only other one that has them going to the finals.<\/p>\n

Norfolk State 78 – MD-Eastern Shore 74<\/em>
\nWhat 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.\u00a0 But, they turned the ball over on the final two possessions and head home for the season, while Norfolk escapes to play another day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone got this right, including Lazarow and Stumpf, who sweated out their MEAC\u00a0champs nearing blowing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

#5 Savannah State vs #12 South Carolina State<\/strong>
\nSavannah 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The winner of this game plays the winner of the first game of the night in a quarterfinal on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Surprisingly, only\u00a0Chris, Colton, GrossSr, and Stritts believe in the Tigers enough to have them even reaching the semis.\u00a0 GrossSr has the most to lose here, as he has Savannah reaching the finals.<\/p>\n

Savannah State 61 – South Carolina State 47<\/em>
\nUgh…S.C. State’s season ends on a night where they made 14 of the 53 shots they took (26%).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The Tigers now see if that defense is enough to take down the tournament hosts, Norfolk, in the quarters on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

6 people missed out on a nice upset pick here.\u00a0 GrossSr keeps alive a finalist, while 3 others keep alive a semifinalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

CTC UPDATE<\/h1>\n

Championship Picks<\/strong><\/p>\n