Delaware State at North Carolina A&T, 7:30 PM Eastern, ncataggies.com
Returning to a tie for first place with Savannah State is on the line tonight in Greensboro, North Carolina as the North Carolina &T Aggies play host to Delaware State. The Aggies have been one of college basketball’s best stories so far this season. After going 1-29 against Division I competition last season, earning themselves a runner-up finish for our Centenary Award for the worst team in Division I, NCA&T enters tonight’s game at 14-9 overall and 6-1 in MEAC play. The Aggies are led by Femi Olujobi, though all five starters reached double digits in scoring last time out against Hampton.
The Aggies are proving that a team can turn one of the worst performances in D1 into contention for an NCAA Tournament bid in just one season, which may be the best news for Delaware State. The Hornets are the current front-runners for this year’s Award as they enter play with a 2-22 overall record, 0-22 against Division I foes. DSU has not won since a November 25 victory over non-D1 Georgia Court, and have not defeated a Division I foe since last March. They have come close a couple times, include a double overtime loss to Florida A&M and an overtime loss to in-state rival Delaware. They have also had their share of rather poor performances including a 105-52 loss at Penn in late December. A win tonight would be a complete shocker, though the games are played on the court and not on paper, so until it goes final, anything is possible. Just ask St. John’s.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-Sunday was pretty much a chalky day. Nothing cataclysmic or Earth shattering really happened. The one thing I did notice was that Temple picked up a real nice win at Tulane, and the City of Philadelphia went crazy!!! WOW were they electrified!! Do they love their Owls in Philly or what!!??
-SYRACUSE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville has now lost three of their last four, and although none of the losses were bad they need to take care of business tonight at home to get back on track. Their next three games, including this one, appear to be against sub-NCAA Tournament teams.
-ALABAMA A&M AT MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE. I only mention this one because of the Centenary implications. These are two of the worst four teams in div1 this year, and a loss like this would be huge for their Centenary Award resumes!!
-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Both teams are good, both have good shots at ending up as protected seeds, but both have also been slumping. West Virginia did win at home over the weekend, but they had lost five out of six prior to that, and Oklahoma has currently lost four of their last six. This would be a good win on paper, but it should also help build up some needed momentum off paper as well.
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