Savannah State Clinches Top Seed in 2012 MEAC Tournament

NORFOLK, Virginia - The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its men's pairings for the 2012 MEAC Basketball Tournament, March 5-10, at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Savannah State, who entered the conference just one year ago, earned the top seed after closing out the regular season with a 14-2 mark in MEAC play and an overall record of 21-10.

The Tigers earned the first-round bye and will open up play on Wednesday, March 7 beginning at 6 p.m. They will face the winner of the No. 8 Hampton/No. 9 Morgan State matchup set for Tuesday, March 6 at 11 a.m.

A four-team tie which resulted in the 2011 Tournament Champion Hampton Pirates securing the No. 8 seed also revealed Morgan State at No. 9, Howard finishing at No. 10 and Florida A&M with the No. 11 spot.

Men's action continues on Tuesday with No. 7 North Carolina A&T facing off against No. 10 Howard beginning at 1:30 p.m. North Carolina Central earned a No. 5 seed following the tiebreaker against Coppin State and will take on No. 12 Maryland Eastern Shore at 4 p.m.

Last year's regular season champion Bethune-Cookman (No. 4) will matchup against S.C. State (No. 13) beginning at 6:30 p.m. No. 6 Coppin State and No. 11 Florida A&M wraps up the first day's competition with a matchup slated at 9 p.m.

Norfolk State earned the runners-up trophy with a 13-3 record and will face the winners of the No. 7 N.C. A&T/No. 10 Howard matchup on Wednesday, March 7 beginning at 8 p.m. Delaware State secured the No. 3 seed to receive a two-day bye and will take on the winners of the No. 6 Coppin State/No. 11 Florida A&M game on Thursday, March 8 slated for 6 p.m.

The 2012 regular season champion, regular season runners-up, first-team members and top honorees including Player, Rookie, Defensive and Coach of the Year selections, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to the honorees first games in tournament play.

The 2012 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips-off Monday, March 5, and will conclude on Saturday, March 10 with the men's and women's championship games. The men's finale will begin at 1 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN2, followed by the women's game at 4 p.m. live on ESPNU. The preliminary games will also be streamed live on www.MEACsports.com. Live statistics of all games will be available on the conferences' official website and the tournament's official website, http://www.meachoops.com./

Click here to download the 2012 Men's Tournament Bracket.

COURTESY: MEAC MEDIA RELATIONS