Hoops Roundup
The first big shake-up in the men's black college basketball hierarchy took place over the last week as nearly every team in the BCSP Top Ten went down to defeat.
First, BCSP No. 1 Virginia Union and No. 2
Bowie State of the CIAA were knocked from the unbeaten ranks.
Then, MEAC favorite and BCSP No. 3 South Carolina State lost back-to-back conference games on its home floor.
Finally, the SWAC had a weekend where every team that won on Saturday, lost on Monday. Go figure.
It probably just goes to show that anyone who's pencilling in anybody as champion in one of these conferences needs an eraser.
Here's a look at how the races are stacking up.
CIAA
Winston-Salem State (9-4, 0-0 W) was one of only two teams
(Coppin State of the MEAC is the other) in
the BCSP Top Ten to finish the week without a loss and they began it Jan. 4 with
a big 76-62 win over Virginia Union, then the No. 1 team in NCAA Div. II
basketball.
The Rams controlled the Panthers (9-1, 0-0 E), leading by 20 points in the first half before settling on a 42-32 halftime lead. WSSU opened the second half with a 14-4 run, again building the lead to 20, and coasted to victory. Alggerie Guinn's 25 points and 23 from Audly Wiener keyed the Rams' victory.
The Rams handled Elizabeth City State 60-46 later in the week. VUU bounced back with a 98-88 win over Johnson C. Smith on Sunday.
Bowie State had a rough week in and out of the conference.
The Bulldogs (10-2, 1-0 E) suffered their first loss of the season to Salem International, 81-77 on Jan. 3. They needed overtime to escape with a 78-77 win at Virginia State Saturday but then were knocked off at home by North Carolina Central, 79-77 Monday. NCCU (8-4, 1-1 W) had lost at Fayetteville State Saturday, 59-55.
Key intra-divisional games are scheduled for this week.
Two parts of a tripleheader at Saturday's Legacy Classic at the Charlotte Coliseum will pit top West Division contenders.
Surprising Livingstone, off to a 9-3 start under new coach James Stinson, Jr., goes up against NC Central (8-4) at 5 pm. WSSU will face JC Smith (6-6) at 7 pm.
At the Richmond Coliseum Sunday, Virginia State (6-6) takes a shot at East Division rival, Virginia Union.
MEAC
Any idea that the favored Bulldogs of South Carolina State
would waltz through the Mid Eastern Athletic
Conference were dispelled this week as they suffered home losses to both
Norfolk State (55-52) and Hampton (70-68, OT).
One thing to note however is that SCSU played both games without freshman point guard sensation Derrick Davis, who is out for at least another week with a shoulder separation. Davis is the Bulldogs' second leading scorer at 10.2 ppg.
Howard, who is playing well at 5-7 overall and 2-1 in MEAC play, comes in Saturday to play the Bulldogs.
The hottest team in the conference may be Norfolk State (6-7, 4-1) under third-year coach Dwight Freeman. Senior all-MEAC guard Chakowby Hicks has joined with fellow seniors Ryan Grier and Curtis Bunn to give the Spartans solid perimeter play. They are being complemented well by 6-9 St. Bonaventure transfer Calvin Brown (10.2 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) and 6-9 Kerandick Ogunride (9.1 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) down low.
Keep your eye on NSU's sharpshooting combo guard Tony Murphy, who may give SCSU's Davis some competition as the league's top rookie.
Third-year coach Clifford Reed has Bethune-Cookman surprising the MEAC. The Wildcats have ridden excellent three-point shooting (34.3 %, second in the MEAC) and double-figure scoring from three starters Antonio Webb (13.3), Diondre Lamond (12.9) and Michael Williams (12.7) to road wins against Florida A&M and Hampton. The 'Cats hit the road this weekend for dates in Baltimore vs. Morgan State (Sat.) and Coppin State (Mon.).
After its normally tough out-of-conference schedule, Ron "Fang" Mitchell's Coppin State squad (3-10, 3-1) is right in the thick of things and hosts Florida A&M (3-8, 2-2) Saturday.
SWAC
"On any given night" would
certainly be apropos to describe who can beat whom in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference where no one has emerged as a
clear favorite. This weekend's results were a case in point.
Alabama A&M, Jackson State, Grambling State and Alabama State won on Saturday and lost to Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Southern, Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State respectively on Monday.
And you thought the MEAC had parity.
MVSU (4-8, 2-1) and defending champion Alabama State (5-8, 3-1) were preseason favorites but have done nothing so far to break from the pack.
'Bama State has won its three conference games by the narrowest of margins 69-68 over Jackson State, 71-66 in overtime vs. Grambling and 52-45 over UAPB.
The two met Saturday at MVSU with the Delta Devils shooting 56% from the floor in the first half including 56% from behind the arc to go up 41-14 at the half.
MVSU is playing without scoring leader Solomon Forbes (13.4 ppg.) who has reportedly been suspended indefinitely after run-ins with head coach Lafayette Stribling.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.