NORFOLK, Va., March 7, 2024 — The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has released its men’s pairings for the 2024 MEAC Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 13-16 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Norfolk State will be the top seed after clinching the regular-season title with a win over Howard on Thursday evening.
Norfolk State went 11-3 in MEAC play to clinch its fourth regular-season title since joining the MEAC in 1997—98 — and NSU (20-10) will be looking to reclaim the MEAC tournament crown after falling to Howard at last year’s tournament ending the chance for a three-peat. Norfolk State heads into the MEAC conference tournament riding a 13-0 perfect record at home in Echols Arena.
North Carolina Central, who headed into the evening fourth in the standings, propels to the No. 2 seed after tying with Howard and South Carolina State with a 9-5 conference mark. NCCU claims the two-seed by winning the multi-team tiebreaker.
South Carolina State won five of their last six MEAC games to earn the No. 3 seed, while Howard, the 2023 MEAC Tournament Champions, enters tournament play as the No. 4 seed. South Carolina State’s won the tiebreaker against Howard by boasting a higher scoring margin against common conference opponents.
Morgan State heads into next week as the No. 5 seed after going 7-7 in MEAC play, while Delaware State, who went 6-8 in conference action, takes possession of the No. 6 seed.
Maryland Eastern Shore (4-10) and Coppin State (2-12) close out the tournament bracket as the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, respectively.
The men’s tournament will open at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, with Norfolk State taking on Coppin State in the quarterfinal round, while North Carolina Central and Maryland Eastern Shore wrap up day one with the nightcap at roughly 8 p.m. Thursday’s quarterfinals pit Howard vs. Morgan State at 6 p.m., with South Carolina State and Delaware State closing the day with an 8 p.m. start.
Friday’s semifinals will tip off at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The 2024 MEAC Basketball Tournament is a single-elimination tournament featuring both the conference men’s and women’s teams. 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 championship game will begin at 4 p.m. and will air live on ESPN+, and re-air on Sunday, March 17 at 8 a.m. on ESPNU.
For information about the 2024 MEAC Basketball Tournament, including live stats, visit www.MEAChoops.com.