From the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference:
By Noah Goodin
In a week that will see 2020 transition into 2021, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will turn its focus from non-conference action to league play for the first weekend in January.
Conference play will look quite different this season due to the pandemic. Schools will only play games against divisional opponents as a way of limiting travel time, missed class time, travel expenses and eliminate air travel. Teams will play back-to-back on Saturdays and Sundays against the same opponent that weekend (the only difference being TV games).
Coppin State, Delaware State, Howard, Morgan State and Norfolk State will compete in the Northern Division, with Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina Central and South Carolina State comprising the Southern Division.
South Carolina State will welcome North Carolina A&T State to Orangeburg, S.C. in its first back-to-back series of this season on Saturday and Sunday. Florida A&M will face the Gamecocks of South Carolina, while Howard will visit Norfolk State on Sunday and Monday. Morgan State will travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on James Madison on Sunday and Delaware State will take the less than two-hour trip over to Baltimore for a Monday-Tuesday meeting against Coppin State.
Monday’s contest between Howard and Norfolk State at Echols Hall will be the MEAC’s first ESPNU broadcast of the season and is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m.
Sunday’s game between the Bison and Spartans will be shown on ESPN+.
Jalen Hawkins of Norfolk State was named the MEAC Player of the Week after leading the Spartans in a 68-65 win over George Mason, scoring 14 points, including 12 in the second half as Norfolk State overcame a 14-point deficit to secure the victory. Hawkins added three rebounds and one steal and connected on 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from the field.
North Carolina A&T State’s Kameron Langley was named this week’s MEAC Defensive Player of the Week. Langley flirted with his third career triple-double in a loss to UNC Greensboro, scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out nine assists. He surpassed 700 career assists, becoming only the 82nd player in NCAA history to do so. He also grabbed four steals in the contest.
Saturday, Jan. 2
Florida A&M at South Carolina, 1 p.m.
North Carolina A&T State at South Carolina State, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 3
North Carolina A&T State at South Carolina State, 4 p.m.
Howard at Norfolk State, 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+
Morgan State at James Madison, 6 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 4
Howard at Norfolk State, 7 p.m. – ESPNU
Delaware State at Coppin State, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 5
Delaware State at Coppin State, 8 p.m.
