HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next is the MEAC, a tournament with a history of giving us surprising champions. The top two seeds, North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T had already advanced to the semifinals. There are two quarterfinals left to play — will one of these games give us a Cinderella in the league, or will one of the top two teams be dancing? It is time to find out!
MEAC QUARTERFINALS
With North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T having already advanced to the semifinals, two quarterfinals remained to be played on Thursday evening. In the 4 vs 5 game, 5-seed Morgan State built a small lead at halftime and was able to pull away from Bethune-Cookman in the second, scoring a 79-64 win and advancing to a matchup with top seed NC Central. Despite 3-seed Norfolk State having the tournament in their home city, it was 6-seed Coppin State that pulled the mild upset in the late game, taking down the Spartans 74-69 thanks to 26 points from Kamar McKnight.
MEAC SEMIFINALS
Morgan State entered the semifinal matchup with North Carolina Central as a decided underdog. However, this was the MEAC Tournament – an event with a strong history of upsets during tournament play. Therefore, it should not have been a shock when the Bears overcame a 6-point halftime deficit to win 87-79. Sheryn Devonish scored 20 points to lead the way and put his team in the championship game.
The second semifinal featured 6-seed Coppin State taking on the 2-seed North Carolina A&T. The league looked to be on pace for two semifinal upsets when Coppin built a 9-point lead at the half. However, the Aggies dominated after the break, storming back to tie the game before the first media timeout and winning the game going away, 80-68. Ronald Jackson led the way for A&T, scoring 13 points while pulling down 18 rebounds.
MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP
Earlier this season, North Carolina A&T had announced that next season would be their last in the MEAC as the Aggies were heading off to the Big South. On Saturday afternoon, they had a chance to win the league’s automatic bid in their second-to-last attempt ever to do so. Standing in the Aggies way was the Morgan State Bears, who had stunned top-seed NC Central in the semifinals. Ronald Jackson and the Aggies were not going to let themselves be upset this day. Jackson notched another double-double, with 18 points and 13 boards, as his team rolled over Morgan State by a final score of 84-61. The Aggies were dancing for the first time in 7 years – though a berth in the First Four in Dayton was likely in store for them.
