Five MEAC Teams will get a shot to participate in postseason play this week across the NCAA, NIT, CBI and CIT tournaments. We’re pretty sure that’s a record, which has many people thinking the league is getting better overall. But is that true?
The numbers say yes…and no.
From 2002-2008, an average of 3 MEAC teams finished above .500. Since 2009, an average of 4 teams have finished above .500, with five teams winning at least half of their games three times in the last four years.
Teams above .500 per year
2002: 3
2003: 4
2004: 2
2005: 3
2006: 3
2007: 2
2008: 3
2009: 5
2010: 4
2011: 3
2012: 5
2013: 5
2014: 3
2015: 5
From 2002-2008, an average of 3.4 teams finished with less than ten wins per year. From 2009-2015, an average of 3.5 teams finished with single-digit wins. However, in the last three years, at least five teams have finished with single-digit wins, something that never happened before 2013.
Teams with fewer than 10 wins per year
2002: 4
2003: 4
2004: 4
2005: 3
2006: 4
2007: 3
2008: 2
2009: 3
2010: 3
2011: 3
2012: 3
2013: 5
2014: 6
2015: 5
Only once from 2002 to 2009 did more than one team win at least 20 games. Since 2011, at least two teams have reached that milestone every year except for 2014.
20-win seasons
2002: 1 (HiU)
2003: 1 (ScSU)
2004: 0
2005: 0
2006: 1 (DSU)
2007: 2 (DSU and FAMU)
2008: 1 (Morgan)
2009: 1 (Morgan)
2010: 1 (Morgan)
2011: 2 (Bethune and Hampton)
2012: 2 (Norfolk St. and Savannah St.)
2013: 2 (Norfolk St. and NC Central)
2014: 1 (NC Central)
2015: 2 (Norfolk St. and NC Central)
It’s important to note that NCCU and Savannah State didn’t register on the MEAC’s standings until 2012. The two schools have combined to win three of the last four MEAC regular season titles, with NCCU taking the tournament as well in 2014.
So is the MEAC better in 2015 than it was in 2005? The top has gotten better thanks to expansion, but the bottom has expanded as well.