The 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament heads to Norfolk, Virginia 10 of the 11 teams all look to earn the one-big to the NCAA Tournament. Florida A&M, who would have been a top four seed, is ineligible for the tournament due to a self-imposed ban. This tournament will take place over a five day stretch with the first round taking place on Tuesday, March 10 and the championship concluding the tournament on Saturday, March 14. The first round consists of the bottom four seeds and then the quarterfinals will take place over two days, with the top two seeds in action on Wednesday and seeds three and four in action Thursday.
MEAC Conference Tournament Odds:
Team | Odds |
---|---|
Norfolk State | +180 |
NC Central | +200 |
North Carolina A&T | +350 |
Bethune Cookman | +500 |
Morgan State | +1400 |
Coppin State | +1800 |
South Carolina State | +3000 |
Delaware State | +15000 |
Maryland Eastern Shore | +20000 |
Howard | +25000 |
Odds From William Hill |
The most successful MEAC team in conference history is also the favorite to lift the title this season as North Carolina A&T will look to lift their 17th MEAC Conference Tournament trophy. All 11 schools have lifted the title at some point and all but three schools have lifted the trophy at least three times. The Hampton Pirates are second with six titles and South Carolina State is in third with fifth. Coppin State, FAMU, and North Carolina Central (4), Howard and Moran State (3), and Delaware State, Norfolk State, and UMES (1) round out the list.
Last season, North Carolina A&T entered the conference tournament as the third seed, but pulled off two tight upsets to come out with their 4th title. The Eagles opened up in the quarterfinals with an easy 75-57 win over the #11 seed Delaware State. In the semifinals, North Carolina Central came away with a tight two-point win over the #2 seed North Carolina A&T and then the Eagles knocked off the #1 seed Norfolk State, by three, in the championship. The Eagles played North Dakota State in one of the first four games and ended up falling by four points.
I see this tournament being mostly chalk throughout the five days. The semifinals will be #1 North Carolina Central vs #5 Morgan State and #2 North Carolina A&T vs #3 Norfolk State. In the final I like #1 North Carolina Central to take on #3 Norfolk State for the MEAC automatic big. During the regular season NC Central beat Norfolk State by six points and I expect a similar type of win in the conference tournament. The North Carolina Central Eagles lift the 2020 MEAC Conference Tournament trophy on March 14.