NORFOLK, Va., March 3, 2023 — The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has released its men’s pairings for the 2023 MEAC Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 8-11 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Howard University will be the top seed after clinching the regular-season title.
Howard went 11-3 in MEAC play to clinch its first regular-season title since 1991-92 — and the Bison (19-12) will be in search of their first tournament crown since 1992.
North Carolina Central won its last seven games and finished the regular season in second place with a 10-4 mark, wrapping up the tournament’s No. 2 seed. Norfolk State, the two-time defending tournament champion, and Maryland Eastern Shore both finished at 9-5, tied for third, and the Spartans claim the No. 3 seed via the head-to-head tiebreaker.
UMES, picked to finish sixth in the preseason, will be the No. 4 seed.
Morgan State is the No. 5 seed after going 7-7 in MEAC play, while Coppin State and Delaware State both went 4-10 in conference action to end up in a tie for sixth. The Eagles, who advanced to the championship game last season as a No. 6 seed, earned the tiebreaker via winning percentage against other MEAC teams in descending order in the standings.
South Carolina State, after going 2-12 in MEAC play, will be the No. 8 seed.
The men’s tournament will open at 6 p.m. on Wednesday with Howard taking on South Carolina State in the quarterfinal round; North Carolina Central-Delaware State will be the nightcap at roughly 8 p.m. Thursday’s quarterfinals will be Maryland Eastern Shore vs. Morgan State at 6 p.m., with Norfolk State and Coppin State wrapping up the evening.
Friday’s semifinals will tip off at 6 p.m.
The 2023 MEAC Basketball Tournament gets underway on Wednesday, March 8, and will conclude on Saturday, March 11 with the men’s and women’s championship games. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be streamed live on ESPN+. The men’s finale will begin at 1 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN2.
The women’s game will begin one hour after the end of the men’s game live on ESPN+. The contest will air the following day, Sunday, March 12, at 8 a.m. on ESPNU.