The MEAC Tournament tipped off on Monday and will run through Saturday, with 12 teams in the race to claim the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
MEAC Tournament 2015: Bracket, schedule and scores
N.C. Central ran the table in the regular season, but lost in the conference tournament semifinals to Delaware State. Hampton ended up pulling the upset in the final, winning the MEAC’s automatic bid with a losing record.
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N.C. Central completed a perfect season in conference play, going 16-0 in the regular season. They were the heavy favorites based on that alone, but as we saw with Murray State in the Ohio Valley, nothing is a given in March. Head coach LeVelle Moton was be tasked with keeping his squad focused as the Eagles chase their second NCAA appearance in a row, but a loss to Delaware State in the semifinal round on Friday may have ruined N.C. Central’s otherwise stellar campaign.
Hampton ended up being the unlikely winner of the tournament. The Pirates entered the postseason with a 12-17 record, but rattled off four straight wins to punch their ticket to the big dance. They are just the 21st team in history to enter the NCAA Tournament with a losing record.
The format
Florida A&M is ineligible due to an APR punishment, so 12 teams will compete in the tournament. The top four seeds get byes into the quarterfinals, while the bottom eight teams play each other in the first round. From there, the tournament follows a standard eight-team format.
The teams
Bracket
A downloadable bracket can be found here.
Schedule and results (all times Eastern)
Monday, March 9 (First round)
Game 1: No. 5 Delaware State 64, No. 12 Savannah State 58
Game 2: No. 6 Hampton 91, No. 11 Morgan State 71
Tuesday, March 10 (First round)
Game 3: No. 9 Coppin State 64, No. 8 Bethune-Cookman 60
Game 4: No. 7 South Carolina State 63, No. 10 North Carolina A&T 54
Wednesday, March 11 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5: No. 1 N.C. Central 91, No. 9 Coppin State 43
Game 6: No. 2 Norfolk State 68, No. 7 South Carolina State 54
Thursday, March 12 (Quarterfinals)
Game 7: No. 6 Hampton 76, No. 3 Maryland Eastern Shore 71
Game 8: No. 5 Delaware State 65, No. 4 Howard 60
Friday, March 13 (Semifinals)
Game 9: No. 5 Delaware State 63, No. 1 N.C. Central 57
Game 10: No. 6 Hampton 75, No. 2 Norfolk State 64
Saturday, March 14 (Championship)
No. 6 Hampton 82, No. 5 Delaware State 61
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