How do you follow up an exciting, record-breaking season of college basketball? For North Carolina Central, they hope the answer is to do it again. NCCU was picked to repeat as the MEAC’s Men Basketball Champion for the 2014-15 season.
NCCU is coming off a memorable 2013-14 campaign that saw it go 28-6, winning the MEAC Tournament (it’s first mens’ basketball tournament title in more than 50 years) and making the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first-time ever.
If the Eagles are to repeat, they’ll have do so so without their prolific backcourt of Emmanuel “Poobie” Chapman and leading scorer Jeremy Ingram, as both finished up their careers this spring. This year’s squad will be led by big men Jordan Parks (preseason first-team) and Karamo Jawara (third-team).
Hampton was picked to finish second in the MEAC, after an 18-13 finish and an appearance in the CBI Tournament last season. Morgan State, runner-up to NCCU in the MEAC Tournament, was picked to finish third.
Here is the full predicted finish:
Howard sophomore James Daniel was named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year after averaging better than 21 points per game as a freshman.