The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its men's pairings for the 2011 MEAC Basketball Tournament, March 8-12 at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Bethune-Cookman will enter the tournament as the top seed after closing out the regular-season with a 13-3 mark in MEAC play and will compete for the tournament title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball tournament.
The B-CU Wildcats earned the first-round bye and will open up play on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m. They will face the winner of the No. 8 Delaware State/No. 9 South Carolina State matchup set for Tuesday, March 8 at 9 p.m.
Delaware State (5-11) earned the eighth seed with a tiebreaker over Maryland Eastern Shore and South Carolina State.
Tuesday's games will begin with No. 7 Florida A&M taking on No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore at 6:30 p.m. The Rattlers (7-9) earned the seventh seed tonight with a 73-71 overtime loss to Bethune-Cookman.
Men's action continues on Wednesday with No. 6 Norfolk State facing off against No. 11 Howard at 3 p.m. The Spartans (8-8) clinched the sixth seed with a 75-57 win against North Carolina A&T.
The Hampton Pirates and Coppin State Eagles both finished the season with an 11-5 mark and will share the conference's Runners-up trophy. Hampton won the tiebreaker over Coppin State to secure the No. 2 spot, while CSU earned the number three seed. The Pirates will meet the winner of the No. 7 Florida A&M/No. 10 Maryland Eastern Shore contest at 9:30 p.m.
The Eagles will take on the winner of the No. 6 Norfolk State/No. 11 Howard game on Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m.
Morgan State (10-6), the two-time defending MEAC tournament champion, secured the number four seed and will take on No. 5 North Carolina A&T (9-7) on Thursday evening at 8 p.m.
South Carolina State (5-11), Maryland Eastern Shore (5-11) and Howard (4-12) complete the bracket and are seeded ninth through 11th, respectively.
The 2011 regular season champion, regular season runners-up, first-team members and top honorees including Player, Rookie, Defensive and Coach of the Year selections, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to the honorees first games in tournament play. Earlier today Bethune-Cookman's C.J. Reed was named Player of the Year. Delaware State's Casey Walker was chosen as the MEAC Rookie of the Year and Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Bethune-Cookman's Clifford Reed was voted by his counterparts at the MEAC Coach of the Year.
The 2011 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips-off Tuesday, March 8, and will conclude on Saturday, March 12 with the men's and women's championship games. The men's finale will begin at 2 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN2, followed by the women's game at 5 p.m. A bonus game between the North Carolina Central and Savannah State men's basketball teams will also highlight championship day.
For tournament information, log on to www.MEAChoops.com.