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The MEAC Tournament begins Wed., March 12, with Norfolk State holding the No. 1 seed, followed by South Carolina State at No. 2. The rest of the field consists of No. 3 Delaware State, No. 4 Howard, No. 5 Morgan State, No. 6 North Carolina Central, No. 7 Coppin State and No. 8 Maryland Eastern Shore. Currently, Norfolk State is the lone MEAC team projected to make the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest bracketology update from Jerry Palm for CBS Sports. 

MEAC Tournament Schedule

Quarterfinals 

QF1 - No. 1  Norfolk State vs. No. 8 Maryland Eastern Shore
QF2 - No. 2 South Carolina State vs. No. 7 Coppin State
QF3 - No. 3 Delaware State vs. No. 6 North Carolina Central
QF4 - No. 4 Howard vs. No. 5 Morgan State 

Semifinals 

SF1 - QF1 winner vs. QF4 winner
SF2 - QF2 winner vs. QF3 winner   

Final

SF1 winner vs. SF2 winner

The MEAC Tournament is seen as a two-team race between Norfolk State and South Carolina State, with the No. 1 seed priced at -110 to win the tournament, according to FanDuel, and the No. 2 seed at +140. After those two, Delaware State, Howard and North Carolina Central are all +1700. 

Brian Moore Jr. has been stellar for Norfolk State this year and may well be the MEAC Player of the Year. He's averaging 19.0 points per game and making over 55% of his shots, including 42.2% of his tries from 3-point range. Christian Ings has also been great for the Spartans, scoring 11.8 points per game on 50% shooting and 50.8% of his 3-point tries while leading the team in assists. Drayton Jones leads South Carolina State in scoring this season with 13.6 points per game on 57.5% shooting and pacing the Bulldogs in rebounds. Davion Everett is also averaging double-digit points per game for South Carolina State, and he's been very efficient, making 67.6% of his shots, including 50% of his 3-point attempts. 

Delaware State's Robert Smith has been one of the top scorers in the MEAC this season with 18.3 points per game, and Martaz Robinson has also been key for the Hornets, scoring 16.2 points per game and pulling down a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game. Howard's Blake Harper is the MEAC's top scorer this year at 19.3 points per game, and he also leads the Bison with 6.3 rebounds per contest. Po'Boigh King has been North Carolina Central's top scorer this year at 16.5 points per game, and big man Perry Smith Jr. has also been an important piece for the Eagles, averaging 10.8 points per game on 60.5% shooting while leading the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. 

Howard boasts the top scoring offense in the MEAC at 80.4 points per game, with South Carolina State right behind at 80.1. Norfolk State has the top defense in the conference, allowing just 69.5 points per contest, and South Carolina State is No. 2 in that metric, as well, allowing 70.9 points per game. South Carolina State leads the MEAC in scoring differential at +9.2, which is No. 40 in the nation this season.

SportsLine expert Thomas Casale is picking South Carolina State to win the MEAC Tournament and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. You can find out which teams Casale and other SportsLine experts are backing for each conference tournament only at SportsLine.