NORFOLK, Va., – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has released its men’s pairings for the 2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament, March 9-12 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. The defending champion Spartans of Norfolk State will be the No. 1 seed.
Norfolk State went 12-2 in conference play and enter the tournament with a 21-6 record; the Spartans have won at least a share of a MEAC regular-season title three times in the last four seasons. Howard, at 9-5 in MEAC play, will be the No. 2 seed, with North Carolina Central (8-5) taking the No. 3 seed.
Morgan State claims the No. 4 seed after going 7-6 in conference play, and South Carolina State (7-7), in its first season under head coach Tony Madlock, will be the No. 5 seed. Morgan State got the edge on winning percentage, .538 to .500, since the Bears played one less conference game.
Maryland Eastern Shore takes the No. 6 seed; the Hawks and Coppin State both went 6-8 in MEAC play on the season, but UMES claims the No. 6 seed via head-to-head tiebreaker, leaving Coppin as the No. 7 seed.
Delaware State (0-14 MEAC) will be the No. 8 seed.
The men’s tournament will open at 6 p.m. on Wednesday with Norfolk State taking on Delaware State in the quarterfinal round; Howard-Coppin State will be the nightcap at roughly 8 p.m. Thursday’s quarterfinals will be Morgan State vs. South Carolina State at 6 p.m., with North Carolina Central and Maryland Eastern Shore wrapping up the evening.
Friday’s semifinals will tip of at 6 p.m., and the championship game will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will broadcast live on ESPN2.
The 2021-22 regular-season champion, First Team All-MEAC honorees and other award winners, including Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to the honorees’ first games in the tournament.
The 2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday, March 9, and will conclude on Saturday, March 12 with the men’s and women’s championship games. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Also read: Norfolk State cruises past North Carolina Central, win MEAC regular season title
The women’s championship game will air live on ESPN+, beginning one hour after the end of the men’s championship game. The women’s championship will re-air on Sunday, March 13, at 8 a.m. on ESPNU.
MEAC women’s bracket set for basketball tournament
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has released its women’s pairings for the 2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament, March 9-12 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Three schools can lay claim to the regular-season championship, but the Bison of Howard University will be the top seed.
Howard, Norfolk State and Morgan State each went 11-3 en route to being the MEAC’s co-champions of the regular season, and all three programs split the meetings with each other. The Bison emerged via tiebreaker thanks to a season sweep of Coppin State, giving them a top seed for the second straight season.
Norfolk State and Morgan State were 1-1 head-to-head and had identical records against every other MEAC program; the Spartans won that tiebreaker via scoring margin against common conference opponents to take the No. 2 seed.
Morgan State will be the No. 3 seed.
Coppin State will be the No. 4 seed, with Maryland Eastern Shore, South Carolina State, North Carolina Central and Delaware State occupying seed lines five through eight.
Wednesday’s quarterfinals will see Howard face Delaware State at 12 p.m., followed by Norfolk State against North Carolina Central. On Thursday, Coppin State will square off against Maryland Eastern Shore in a 4-5 quarterfinal match-up, with Morgan State following with a tilt against South Carolina State.
Friday’s semifinals will begin at 12 p.m.
The 2021-22 regular-season champions, First Team All-MEAC honorees and other award winners, including Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to the honorees’ first games in the tournament.
The 2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips off Wednesday, March 9, and will conclude on Saturday, March 12 with the men’s and women’s championship games. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be streamed live on ESPN+. The men’s finale will begin at 1 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN2.
2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament
Norfolk Scope Arena
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 — QUARTERFINALS (All games on ESPN+)
Game 1 (W): No. 1 Howard vs. No. 8 Delaware State, 12 p.m.
Game 2 (W): No. 2 Norfolk State vs. No. 7 North Carolina Central, 2 p.m.*
Game 3 (M): No. 1 Norfolk State vs. No. 8 Delaware State, 6 p.m.
Game 4 (M): No. 2 Howard vs. No. 7 Coppin State, 8 p.m.*
Thursday, March 10, 2022 — QUARTERFINALS (All games on ESPN+)
Game 5 (W): No. 4 Coppin State vs. No. 5 Maryland Eastern Shore, 12 p.m.
Game 6 (W): No. 3 Morgan State vs. No. 6 South Carolina State, 2 p.m.*
Game 7 (M): No. 4 Morgan State vs. No. 5 South Carolina State, 6 p.m.
Game 8 (M): No. 3 North Carolina Central vs. No. 6 Maryland Eastern Shore, 8 p.m.*
Friday, March 11, 2022 — SEMIFINALS (All games on ESPN+)
Game 9 (W): Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 5, 12 p.m.
Game 10 (W): Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 6, 2 p.m.*
Game 11 (M): Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 7, 6 p.m.
Game 12 (M): Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 8, 8 p.m.*
Saturday, March 12, 2022 — CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Game 13 (M): Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 1 p.m. (live on ESPN2)
Game 14 (W): Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 3:30 p.m.* (live on ESPN+ / re-air Sunday, March 13, 8 a.m. on ESPNU)
Courtesy: MEAC
