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2008 MEAC Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

meac3809 The 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament tips off Tuesday, March 10th and extends through Saturday, March 14th from Winston-Salem, North Carolina’s LJVM Coliseum. You can catch the championship game on ESPNU. The Morgan State Bears appear to be the cream of the crop, clinching their second straight regular season title with a 13-3 mark to wrap up the No. 1 seed. The format for this tournament is unqiue in that the top 5 teams in the league receive a first round bye. With a trip to the Big Dance on the line, let’s see which team rises to the top. It was Coppin State winning as a No. 7 seed in 2008. Will the Eagles make another memorable run this season. Jimmy Boyd analyzes the favorite and the team he feels has the next best shot at winning in this preveiw. Bet the 2009 MEAC Men’s Basketball Tournament at BetUS.

The Favorite: Morgan State Bears
The Bears were defeated by 2 points in last year’s MEAC Tournament championship game by a Cinderella Coppin State team and I don’t see the best team in the league being denied this time. The Bears enter the tourney having won 10 of their last 11 games, but one team could stand in their way. The Bears have had their way with top contenders S.C. State and North Carolina A&T, sweeping the season series against each, but they were swept by a Hampton Team that was just 8-8 in conference play. The odds are strongly against the Pirates pulling off the trifecta but that seems to be the Bears’ biggest obstacle going in. Reggie Holmes is the man for the Bears. He brings a 16.2 points per game and a 5.1 assist per game average into the tournament. He is the glue of this team and he performs at his best, he should be walking away with a tournament MVP award.

Another Team That Can Win: Hampton Pirates
Excuse me if I’m not giving South Carolina State and North Carolina A&T their due, but a team that has shown that it can beat the No. 1 seed not once, but twice, has to be taken the most seriously here. The Pirates won 2 straight to close out the season and 3 of their last 4. They were just 5-5 over their last 10 games, but 1 of those losses was by 1 point to NC A&T and another was in overtime to SC State so the Pirates can clearly play with anyone in this league. Guard Vincent Simpson leads the way with an 11.4 points per game average. Hampton was a No. 2 seed in the tourney last season and was beaten in overtime by 1 point by eventualy champ Coppin State so that is sure to fuel the fire as well.

2008 MEAC Tournament Recap:
The 2008 MEAC Tournament was one to remember as No. 7 seed Coppin State won 4 straight games in thrilling fashion to capture the title. The Eagles defeated Howard by 1 point in overtime in round one, Hampton by 1 point in overtime in round 2, Norfolk State by 2 points in the semis, and No. 1 seed Morgan State by 2 points in the championship game.

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