The MEAC enters its second night of basketball with a two-game schedule featuring the Battle of I-26 and another team playing for the second night in a row.
SC State makes the 45-minute ride up the interstate to face South Carolina of the SEC in the season opener for both schools.
The Bulldogs, who were 15-16 last season, defeated West Virginia Tech in an exhibition game one week ago. It’s for real against the Gamecocks and SC State will see if they can overcome some issues from the preseason, starting with finding a new head coach.
Erik Martin, a longtime assistant at West Virginia University, was introduced as the new head coach on July 13. When he arrived in Orangeburg, Athletics Director Stacy Danley described him as a rising star in men’s college basketball.
Before the season started, Martin only had six scholarship players on the roster. He’s added five more after a search. In the 78-63 exhibition victory, preseason all-MEAC pick Rashaan Edwards scored a game-high 16 points, and junior college transfer Lesown Edwards added 15 points and seven rebounds in the win. Off the bench, Davion Everett had 10.
Coppin State, looking to emerge from a 9-23 finish last year which includes a 6-8 mark in the MEAC, has a grueling start to the season. The Eagles opened with Charlotte, then headed back north to play Georgetown on Wednesday night.
Last season, the Eagles took a run at the MEAC title as the seventh seed in the tournament. They defeated Howard and N.C. Central before losing to Norfolk State in the title game. Head coach Juan Dixon heads into his sixth season., and his team was picked to finish fifth in the standings.
Nendah Tarke is a preseason all-MEAC first-team selection. Men’s Basketball Preseason First Team, it was announced by the league office on its Preseason Video Conference on Thursday morning. Additionally, in the Predicted Order of Finish which was voted on by the MEAC’s head coaches and sports information directors, the Eagles were picked to finish fifth.
Tarke, a redshirt sophomore from Gaithersburg, Maryland, led the nation with 2.94 steals per game and ranked second in total steals, with 94, which set a CSU single-season record. Tarke averaged 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, and he also hit four game-winning shots, three of which were at the buzzer.
MEAC TV Schedule
| 7:00 p.m. | SC State at South Carolina | SEC Network | |
| 8:30 p.m. | Coppin State at Georgetown | FS1 |