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| Adrian Powell and NC A&T will look to spoil Norfolk State’s Senior Night. (NC A&T Photo) |
North Carolina A&T (15-15, 8-7) at Norfolk State (21-10, 15-0)
Heading into Thursday night’s season-finale against North Carolina A&T, its no secret that Norfolk State is on a roll. NSU has won 14 games in a row, including a Monday’s 69-58 win over FAMU, which guaranteed the program at least a share of the MEAC regular season title for the first time. Still, there is much on the line for the Spartans. If NSU wins, it wins the regular season title outright and becomes just the fourth MEAC team to complete a season with an unblemished conference record. A loss heading into the MEAC tournament would kill their win streak and hurt their NCAA resume, should they win the conference tournament. Seniors Rob Johnson, Quasim Pugh, Kris Brown and A.J. Rodgers will all be playing their final game at Joseph Echols Hall.
NC A&T won’t make things easy for them. The Aggies are coming of back-to-back wins, including a 59-57 win over Savannah State on ESPNU Monday. They have also hoping for their first winning season in over a decade. The Aggies would love to return to Norfolk next week for the MEAC tournament with a three-game winning streak in their back pockets.
North Carolina Central (21-8, 14-1) at Hampton (14-15, 11-4)
Elsewhere in the 757, North Carolina Central looks to close out its fairy tale regular season with a win over Hampton. NCCU enters its regular season finale on a four game winning streak, looking to grab a share of the MEAC regular season crown in only their second full season as members. They may not be beating teams by double-digits anymore, but they’ve learned how to close out opponents, which is the better skill to have in March.
Hampton enters its Senior Day in third place in the MEAC and on a four-game conference winning streak. A win over NCCU would do big things for Hampton’s confidence, especially if the two should meet up at some point in the MEAC tourney. Jasper Williams, Aaron Austin and Wesley Dunning will look to finish their careers at the HU Convocation Center on a winning note.
