MEAC/SWAC men’s hoops teams must make improvements

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - There was a good reason, aside from the “Bubble teams” selected for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, why Dennis Thomas and Duer Sharp were sporting big smiles while watching the festivities on television.

The commissioners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic conferences, respectively, could somewhat gloat about sending their best representatives into the field of 68. In the case of Sharp, Mississippi Valley State (21-12) dominated the SWAC in the regular-season and winning the conference tournament only confirmed their top status.

As for Thomas, his giddiness was justified by the fact that while MEAC representative Norfolk State (25-9) did not win the regular-season title, it owned the conference’s best RPI ranking (133rd) and earned a higher seed (15th) for a small major. He could also crow about having two men’s basketball teams in the postseason for the second straight year with regular-season champion Savannah State headed to the National Invitational Tournament.

What a difference from 48 hours earlier when ...

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