Busting Brackets
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MEAC Basketball: Early observations and takeaways of 2020-21 season

By Herbert Seward III

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: The MEAC logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Yale Bulldogs and the Howard Bison at Burr Gymnasium on January 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: The MEAC logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Yale Bulldogs and the Howard Bison at Burr Gymnasium on January 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Norfolk State Spartans Robert Jones Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Norfolk State Spartans Robert Jones Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Teams looking like contenders

Norfolk State’s head coach Robert Jones has made it pretty clear that the 2020-21 MEAC regular-season championship is within Spartan crosshairs. If the squads’ early performance in their non-conference slate is any indicator, the rest of the league is gonna have a real problem preventing the Spartans from realizing that objective.

Norfolk State is 3-2 to start the season against OOC competition, notching wins on the road at James Madison and Radford, and at home against 757 rival and Big South member Hampton University. In those performances, the Spartans have looked extremely balanced and deep. They have a potent 1-2 punch in their guard rotation in Devante Carter and Daryl Anderson.

Carter, in particular, has positioned himself as one of the best guards in the conference, earning MEAC player of the week awards in the process. In a league that is guard driven, Norfolk State has two players that will feature prominently in the conference battles to come. As solid as Norfolk has been from top to bottom, they aren’t the only MEAC squad raising eyebrows during this early season run of play.

The Bears of Morgan State also sport a 2-1 record in OOC play, with wins against Division II and CIAA member Lincoln (PA), and an impressive road performance against Rick Pitino’s Iona Gaels squad. Coach Kevin Broadus and staff have built a pretty deep squad of their own, with Troy Baxter, Malik Miller, and big man stalwart Lagio Grantsaan quickly becoming a potent three-headed offensive monster for opponents to deal with.

Morgan State, much like Norfolk, has proven to be an extremely deep and productive squad at least 10 roster spots in. Morgan’s off-season transfer haul is paying off big early and that unique blend with the returning talent has Morgan looking like an early frontrunner for the MEAC regular-season crown.

While Norfolk and Morgan are the only two MEAC teams with winning records going into conference play, Coppin State, North Carolina A&T, defending conference king North Carolina Central, and Florida A&M have all shown the potential to make a run to the MEAC regular-season title.

There are a number of individual players that have made an early bid for All-MEAC status. Let’s take a look at a few.