The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s basketball race has been interesting all season long, and with the final two and half weeks featuring critical matchups, here’s a look at how the top six teams, separated by two games, stack up coming down the stretch.
Norfolk State (6-2)
The Spartans will battle second-place North Carolina Central tonight for the inside track to the conference’s top seed. NSU got off to a hot start before a surprising 69-60 loss at Maryland-Eastern Shore on Feb. 5, and in their return to action, had to sweat out a 71-67 overtime win against an improved South Carolina State squad.
Head coach Robert Jones will lean heavily on junior guard Jamari Thomas, who leads the team in scoring (17.2 points per game), assists (88), and steals (52), while also getting contributions from Allen Bertrand (10.6 points per game) Jaylani Darden (leading rebounder at 5 per game) and forward Kuluel Mading (28 blocked shots).
North Carolina Central (5-3)
It’s no surprise that LeVelle Moton’s Eagles are once again near the top of the standings, and a win at Norfolk State tonight could put them back in the driver’s seat.
The guard trio of JaDarius Harris (15.8 points per game), Fred Cleveland Jr. (15.1), and Po’Boigh King (14.1) led the way for Central.
Howard (5-3)
The Bison’s 90-82 win over North Carolina Central Saturday provided a compelling example of Howard’s offensive firepower. They’ll look to keep pace with Central and Norfolk State with South Carolina State coming to town.
Junior guard Bryce Harris is having a MEAC first-team caliber season, leading the Bison in points (16.8), rebounds (7.1), steals (23), and blocks (23). Grad student forward Seth Towns provides size at 6’9, averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Point guard Isiah Warfield leads the team in assists with 47 and does an excellent job setting up their offense.
Morgan State (5-3)
The Bears visit Delaware State tonight in hopes of getting a crack at first place, and with wins over Howard and North Carolina Central already to their credit, they could easily sneak into one of the top three seeds with a strong finish.
Getting leading scorer Wynston Tabbs back certainly helps Morgan’s cause – he scored 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting in just 16 minutes of action in a 70-65 win over UMES Saturday. He’s also joined in double figures by junior forward Will Thomas (12.7 points per game) and junior guard Kamron Hobbs, who also leads the team in assists (86) and three-point field goal percentage (37.5).
Delaware State (4-4)
The Hornets, MEAC sleepwalkers for much of the last decade, have come back to life under head coach Stan Waterman, posting double-digit wins for the first time since 2017.
DSU’s led by senior guard Martaz Robinson (15.8 points per game), sophomore guard Jevin Muniz (14.9) and freshman guard Deywilk Tavarez (11.8), and a rotation of bigs – 6’11 Raymond Somerville, 6’10 Alston Andrews, 6’8 Wesley Oba and 6’8 Kyle Johnson – that make them a tough team to score on – the Hornets are 4th in the conference, allowing just under 71 points per game.
South Carolina State (4-4)
5-26 a year ago, the Bulldogs have nearly doubled their overall win total in 2023-24, including wins over North Carolina Central and Delaware State.
What makes South Carolina State’s improvement all the more impressive is they don’t have one player averaging double-figure scoring – junior guard Michael Teal is the leading scorer at 8.2 points per game, while ten players are averaging at least nearly 5 points per game. That balance has kept teams honest all year and could make South Carolina State an upset favorite come tournament time.
