Busting Brackets
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MEAC Basketball: 2020-21 preseason outlook for the conference

By Herbert Seward III

Mar 16, 2019; Norfolk, VA, USA; North Carolina Central Eagles guard Jordan Perkins (4) drives to the basket against Norfolk State Spartans guard Steven Whitley (34) during the first half in the MEAC Tournament Final at The Scope. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2019; Norfolk, VA, USA; North Carolina Central Eagles guard Jordan Perkins (4) drives to the basket against Norfolk State Spartans guard Steven Whitley (34) during the first half in the MEAC Tournament Final at The Scope. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 03: Head coach Juan Dixon of the Coppin State Eagles (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 03: Head coach Juan Dixon of the Coppin State Eagles (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Teams to watch in the MEAC

The 2020-2021 MEAC  title race looks to be the most competitive in the league’s history. There are legitimately at least five squads that are frontrunners for both the MEAC regular-season and tournament titles.

There are some recognizable names among that lead pack of teams, and there are some squads that practically lept into that visibility overnight with excellent recruiting and off-season roster additions.


MEAC Contenders

Any path to a potential MEAC crown starts with a trip through the city of Durham. The Eagles of North Carolina Central University have dominated the league in a way that’s never been seen in its history. Head Coach Levelle Moton has been the head of that ship and has become one of the hotter coaching commodities in mid-major circles as a result.

Losing MEAC player of the year and scorer extraordinaire Jibri Blount to graduation might sting a bit, but the Eagles still return a solid and experienced starting cast that will almost certainly be the core of another potential title run.  Just down the road in Greensboro, there’s a program looking to make their own bit of league history before the school departs for pastures in the Big South.

The Aggies of North Carolina A&T are in their final season as members of the MEAC. They’re also one of the more dangerous contenders for the 2020-21 conference title. Head Coach Will Jones has worked wonders since taking over the program. The epic neck-and-neck race with the aforementioned Eagles drew national attention to both programs, as well as the level of basketball being played in the MEAC.

The rivalry between the two programs isn’t the only one that has the potential to shape the race for the MEAC crown though. A little further up the eastern seaboard in Virginia, Norfolk State is staking its own claim to the 2020-21 MEAC title and its own legacy in the conference.

Head Coach Robert Jones inherited the gig as Spartan’s head man in 2013 and has put his own stamp on the program with high profile post-season work that’s arguably been the best of any team in the conference during his tenure.

MEAC Sleepers

A bit further up the interstate 95 corridor in the DC/Baltimore region, there’s another program that’s staking its own claim to MEAC supremacy. Morgan State had the biggest turnaround of any team in the league last season and returns practically all of the components for their own run to the top of the MEAC.

Coach Kevin Broadus has made the most of his second chance as a head coach at the D1 level. Across town at Coppin State, another player and coaching branch off of the University of Maryland basketball tree is looking to write his own narrative on who ultimately wins the conference.

Juan Dixon had a toughness as a player that few could match, so it’s only natural that the squads he’s imbued his Eagle squads with the same kind of gritty mentality during his run there as Head Coach.

There’s one other team in this Mid-Atlantic corridor whose fortunes changed the most with the events of the offseason. The trajectory of Howard University basketball transformed in an instant and placed the Bison squarely in this year’s hunt for the MEAC title.

Head Coach Kenny Blakeney and staff now have the opportunity to convert that off-season recruiting success to tangible results on the court. If they do, the Bison have the tools to come out on top of this year’s ultra-competitive conference landscape.

Delaware State, Bethune Cookman, and Florida A&M are all looking to make their own impact in what truly looks to be a crazily competitive league race.