With the MEAC Tournament Less Than a Month Away, Eagles Zone in
DURHAM, NC – After losing both games on their Florida trip by double-digits, 74-64 to the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, and 73-57 to the Florida A&M Rattlers, the Eagles won their last two home games by 20+ points.
They won 78-53 last Saturday against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, and 87-52 against the Delaware State Hornets last night. In both games, the Eagles shot above 50% from the floor, and recored 19 assists against Hawks, and 25 against the Hornets after posting a season-low, four assists, against the Rattlers.
“It’s just the preparation,” Eagles head coach LeVelle Moton said after their win against the Hawks. “I tell these guys all the time man, ‘You have to prepare the right way.’ Larry McKnight didn’t prepare the proper way he needed to prepare: and the Florida trip showed. 99.8% of the people who play this game are ‘system basketball players’, and they have to respect this game, and the karma that comes with it.”
The MEAC Tournament is less than a month away, and the N.C. Central Eagles (12-13, 7-4 MEAC) have five games left to prepare for the most important week of their season. Unless a team wins nearly all of their games, and defeat a few Power Five opponents, the only team from the MEAC who will make it to the NCAA Tournament is the winner of the MEAC Tournament.
Under Moton during the 2014-15 season, the Eagles (25-8, 16-0 MEAC) finished the year as the outright regular season MEAC Champions. However, a second round upset in the conference tournament left the Eagles out of the big dance, and sent them to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) for the postseason.
“I just think the energy, and the tension is thick around that time,” Moton said, “Because forget about the body of work that you’ve had the last four or five months. Everybody really concerns themselves with those three days, or four days, in March: and that’s what ultimately your season will be defined as. So, I think the stakes are higher, and you have to raise your level of play, and I have to raise my level of coaching as well. So, we try and take it one day at a time. I know that sounds cliche. We just know if we handle our business now, then we can have some great momentum heading into the tournament.”
The Eagles are ranked No. 3 in the MEAC. Over the remainder of the season, the Eagles play the other four teams ranked top-5 in the conference: three which are road games. The first road test comes this Saturday against the No. 1 ranked Norfolk State Spartans.
“Man you know, they’re tough,” Moton said. “They were the favorites to win it, them and Bethune, they’ll be at home. Obviously, it’ll be a huge basketball game. They’ll be ready to play. They’re so big, strong, well-coached, athletic, shoot it well, all of the things above. So we’ll have our hands full, and we’re going to have to be men. It’s going to be a character test to the end. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”