The number one seeds on the men's and women's side are from different basketball worlds.
Newcomer Savannah State, the top seed in the men's bracket, is in its first year of eligibility for conference crown and entered the season hoping to finish in the middle of the field.
In the women's bracket, which for the first time has three 20-win teams plus a fourth that could reach that plateau during the tournament, No.1 Hampton is seeking to become the second school to win three consecutive tournament championships - Howard won four straight from 1987-90 - and no one is surprised to see the Lady Pirates atop the conference standings.
"I expected we'd be in the middle of pack with the idea of playing good down the stretch and doing well in the tournament. I thought we might be a year away.''
The Tigers surprised Broadnax and confounded the rest of the conference en route to a 21-10 overall record 14-2 conference mark. They wrapped up the top seed in the MEAC Tournament, which will be held at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., March 5-10, with a 73-54 victory against Maryland Eastern Shore Thursday night.
The Tigers are regular season conference champions for the first time since they won the 1981 SIAC title as members of Division II.
"The guys have just been playing with a lot of energy and excitement,'' Broadnax says. "We're doing the stuff we need to do on the offensive end and the defensive end. The newness of the league has truly helped us. The guys appreciate (being in a conference) and they are playing with energy. The guys are having fun, and I keep emphasizing fun.''
Broadnax, MEAC Coach of the Year twice during his five-year tenure at Bethune-Cookman from 1997-2002, acknowledges that being new to the conference may have worked in the Tigers' favor. Opponents weren't familiar with their style, which featured full-court pressure most of the game with 10-12 players getting into the game.
"It's good nobody knows you,'' he says. "We had to feel our through it. We were fortunate to feel our way through it. It may have a few people off because they were not use to our style. It will be more difficult in the tournament when you're playing people for the second and third time.''
Savannah State carries and 13-game winning streak into the tournament. Their last loss was to Bethune-Cookman 68-62 on Jan. 16 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Eleven of the Tigers' victories during the winning streak have been by double figures; their narrowest margin of victory during their run was their 55-49 nonconference win against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Feb. 6.
Despite his team's dominance in the final weeks of the season, Broadnax expects the Tigers will face a supreme challenge in the tournament. He points to Norfolk State (22-9), the No. 2 seed, and Delaware State (15-13), the No. 3 seed and winners of 11 of their last 13 games, as championship caliber teams.
Norfolk State is led by Kyle O'Quinn, the MEAC premier big who averages 15.9 points and a conference-leading 10.7 rebounds per game. Delaware State features the leading freshman scorer in the conference, Tahj Tate, who averages 16.0 points a game. Casey Walker (13.2) and Marques Oliver (11.5) also average double-figures for the Hornets. Point guard Jay Threatt leads the MEAC with 6.1 assists a game.
Bethune-Cookman (15-16), the No. 4 seed, has Broadnax's attention on the strength of its regular season win against the Tigers.
Even though Hampton (10-20), the defending tournament champion, and Morgan State (9-19), which won back-to-back tournament titles in 2009 and 2010, had losing records, Broadnax doesn't discount them either.
"You can't rule out Morgan State and Hampton,'' he says. "They understand the tournament. It's different when you get to a one and done format. The intensity and nervousness picks up. Hampton and Morgan State can catch fire.''
Broadnax says in order for the Tigers to be successful in the conference tournament, they must play with the same energy that they displayed during the regular season, and they have to play within themselves. That means relying on Rashad Hassan, Deric Rudolph, Arnold Louis and Preston Blackmon - who average between 8.8 and 12.7 points a game - to do most of the heavy lifting, and getting key contributions from bench players.
"We have four guys capable of scoring 20 points every night,'' "We always get at least two to step up. If we get them to consistently play together at a high level, we'll have a successful run. If the big four can be consistent, we will be successful, and the bench players - the Committee of Energy - do what they do, we have a decent chance.''
Hampton (23-4) claimed the No. 1 seed in the women's backet with its second consecutive 15-1 conference record. Howard (22-7) and Florida A&M (21-7) joined them in the 20-win club, and Coppin State (18-11) will gain membership with a pair of victories in the tournament.
"There are a lot of good teams,'' Hampton coach David Six says. "It's definitely going to be tough. We have our work cut out for us. The tournament will be tremendously competitive. Nationally, people have to look at the MEAC say there are some formidable teams.''
Hampton is riding an eight-game winning streak and has won 14 of its last 15 games. The Lady Pirates' last defeat was a 69-66 loss to Coppin State on Jan. 28, which ended their 16-game home winning streak and snapped a string of 20 straight conference victories. However, they suffered a setback when Melanie Warner, the leading scorer in the conference at 18.5 points a game, suffered a broken finger against Maryland-Eastern that will keep her out of the tournament.
"That's going to be tough,'' Six says of playing without Warner, who has been replaced Kearia Avant). "After playing three-plus years with her, I wouldn't say I'm comfortable (playing without her). But you have to do what you have to do. That's part of the game.''
Defense is Hampton's forte. The Lady Pirates allow 46.9 points a game, the fewest in the conference, and they hold opponents to 32.3% shooting from the field, which also the best in the conference. They have a conference-best 19.4 points a game average margin of victory.
The Lady Pirates rely heavily on the three-point field goal on offense. Their 557 attempts from behind the arc are the third highest in the conference. They are No. 1 in three-point field percentage at .332, No. 3 in three-point attempts, and No. 2 in three-pointers made, 185.
Senior Choicetta McMillian is No.1 in three-pointers made with 81 and 3.0 a game.
Howard is the No. 2 seed after losing twice to Hampton, 63-40 and 52-39, for its only defeats in conference play. Like Hampton, the Lady Bison are defense oriented. They allowed the second-fewest points in the conference, 53.5, and they tied Hampton for the lead in rebounding with 36.1 a game.
Offensively, Howard boasts two of the top four scorers in the conference. Junior Tamoria Holmes is No. 1 with 18.5 points a game, and Saadia Doyle is No. 4 at 17.2.
Florida A&M, the No. 3 seed, matched Howard's 14-2 conference record. The Lady Rattlers' losses were to Hampton, 46-43, and Howard, 68-61.
Florida A&M is the MEAC's No. 1 offensive squad. The Lady Rattlers lead the conference in scoring at 72.1 points a game; they are No.1 field goal percentage (.405), No. 2 in three-point field goal percentage (.324) and No. 1 in offensive rebounding (17.8 a game). Senior Antonio Bennett is the second-leading scorer in the conference, averaging 18.1 points a game.