Men's Basketball

MEAC Men's Hoops: First Place on the Line on ESPNU

MEAC Men’s Basketball Statistics | MEAC Men’s Basketball Standings | MEAC Men’s Basketball Notes
 
NORFOLK, Va., March 5, 2020--The final week of the season has arrived, with much on the line as schools gear up for the MEAC Basketball Tournament (March 10-14 in Norfolk Scope Arena). First place will be on the line on ESPNU Thursday evening, when North Carolina A&T State pays a visit to rival North Carolina Central.
 
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Thursday marks the final day of the regular season, with 10 of the 11 schools in action. The night’s TV game, North Carolina A&T State and North Carolina Central, will be a battle for the first place and the tournament’s top seed between two rivals and two programs that have won four straight games. If the Aggies win, it will be their first regular-season championship of any kind since the 1991-92 season and their first outright title since 1987-88
 
The Aggies are third in the conference in scoring (71.5 points per game), while the Eagles boast the second-ranked defense, giving up 65.2 points per game. The Eagles’ Jibri Blount leads the conference in scoring (19.3 points per game) and averaged 21.8 points, eight boards, and three assists per game in wins over South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman last week.
 
The Aggies’ Kameron Langley logged his ninth double-double of the year after finishing with 14 points and 12 assists in the win over South Carolina State.
 
Florida A&M will visit rival Bethune-Cookman on Thursday with a chance to knock the Wildcats out of the top four. The Rattlers have won back-to-back games, and eight of their last 10.
 
Norfolk State will visit Baltimore to face Morgan State. The Bears have a chance to sneak into the top four with a win and a loss by Bethune-Cookman. The game will be televised on FloHoops, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.
 
In other action, Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore will square off and Delaware State will visit Howard.
 
AROUND THE MEAC
Blount was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week for the fifth time, along with Coppin State’s Koby Thomas. Norfolk State’s Daryl Anderson was named MEAC Rookie of the Week and Morgan State’s Malik Miller was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week
 
Langley is tied for first in the country in triple-doubles. He’s just one of two players in men’s Div. I hoops with more than one this season, and he’s third in the country in assists (7.6 assists per game).
 
Langley had his 10th double-digit assist game and is now in second place on the MEAC’s all-time career assists list.
 
Langley and Blount are tied for 24th in the country in steals (2.1 steals per game).
 
Bethune-Cookman’s Cletrell Pope leads the country in offensive rebounding (4.5 offensive rebounds per game). Pope (16) and the Aggies’ Ronald Jackson (14) are seventh and eighth in the nation in double-doubles.
 
Howard freshman Wayne Bristol, Jr. had his fifth 20-point game of the season, and fellow freshman Khalil Robinson is 29th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio.
 
Howard’s CJ Williams continues to add to the MEAC’s all-time scoring record. He has now scored 2,329 points during his career.