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| Jeremy Ingram is a big reason why NCCU is thinking March Madness. |
D1 Player of The Week: Jeremy Ingram, North Carolina Central
2 Game Average : 25 ppg, 1 spg, 1 bpg
North Carolina Central has been the surprise of the HBCU basketball season so far, and Ingram is a big reason why. The junior guard from Charlotte came into the weekend leading the Eagles in scoring and topped that average both games this weekend. Ingram’s 18 points were huge on Saturday as NCCU was held 20 points below its scoring average against FAMU, but managed to come away with a 51-43 win at home. Monday night he scored a career-high 32 points as NCCU (17-7) held off Bethune-Cookman 81-75 for their eleventh consecutive win.
Honorable Mention: Malcolm Hawkins, Norfolk State
Coach of The Week: Edward Joyner Jr., Hampton
After limping into the MEAC season with a 3-10 record, Hampton has been one of the season’s second half success stories. They survived consecutive overtime contests at home against Savannah State and Delaware State this weekend and have a 7-3 MEAC record with less than a month remaining to the conference tournament. Norfolk State may officially have the homecourt, but if Hampton keeps playing at this level, they may pull off an upset or two in the MEAC tournament.
Game Of The Week: Arkansas-Pine Bluff upsets Southern
Entering conference play, Southern looked to be at the head of the SWAC table. Slowly but surely, Arkansas-Pine Bluff crept up the standings, and Saturday moved into a tie with a 55-52 win over SU at home on Saturday. Southern is still the only SWAC team with a winning record at 17-8, but both teams now sit at 11-2 in conference games. The good news for Southern is that the two teams will meet up on Saturday in what will be an important game with Texas Southern sitting a close third at 10-2 in conference play.