It’s that time of year where fans begin to fill out brackets and players have the chance to show the world their talents: March Madness.
Despite all of the hard work that is put in during the season, one game in the tournament can change it all. As for the Aggies men’s basketball team, they have one shot of getting into the NCAA Tournament and that’s by winning the Mid Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC) Tournament.
The Aggies are going into the tournament as the No. 2 seed fresh off a loss against rival N.C. Central, where the No. 1 seed was up for grabs.
Nevertheless, N.C. A&T easily beat the Eagles in Greensboro not too long ago. The Aggies are going to be led by junior point guard Kameron Langley who posted a triple-double in the win against Central.
Langley has had a career year and looks to continue it deep into March. The point guard is third in the nation in assists with 7.7 per game. He also was named to the All-MEAC First Team this season.
Senior forward Ronald Jackson, who also is a part of the All-MEAC First Team, will be heavily involved during the tourney as well. Jackson averaged a double-double this season with 15 points and 10 boards per game.
If the Aggies win the MEAC tournament, it will be the first time since 2013 that they made it to the NCAA tournament where they defeated No. 16 Liberty 73-72 in the First Four to advance to the Round of 64.
The road ahead is not easy. As previously mentioned before, the Eagles beat N.C. A&T for the No. 1 seed last week. The Eagles earned that spot, being led by junior forward Jibri Blount.
Blount leads the way in scoring and rebounds for Central with 19 and nine per game, respectively. Blount not only made All-MEAC First Team, but he was also named MEAC player of the year.
Central is going into the tournament hot, finishing the regular season winning 10 of their last 11. All it takes for this type of tournament is for someone to get hot, and with how the Eagles are playing at this point, it might just be a cakewalk to the big tournament.
Central has a problem on its hands though and it comes from Norfolk State. Norfolk State ranks as the third seed in the MEAC. The Spartans rank as the best defense going into the tournament, holding their opponents to 65 points per game.
Senior guard Jermaine Bishop hopes to lead Norfolk as far as he can in the tournament. Bishop is fourth in the conference in scoring with 15.6 points per game. The senior also ranks fifth in three point percentage-best with 39.5%.
The Spartans have given both N.C. Central and N.C. A&T problems this season, but have yet to pull off a win. Only time will tell if March is their time to shine.
If there is one underdog in this tournament, it has to be Bethune Cookman. The Wildcats have had the best scoring offense in the conference, scoring 75 points per game. They rank in the top four in three-point percentage and are first in defending the three. This allows for them to catch fire easily from deep and shut down the perimeter, preventing any outside attack.
The tournament will be interesting, to say the least. Each team has its own story and only one can finish off on top.
So, let the games begin.
