MEAC semifinal: North Carolina Central faces upstart DSU

adminMarch 15, 2024

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The Norfolk Scope will be the host Friday night as North Carolina Central and Delaware State go head-to-head in a MEAC Tournament semifinal. The Hornets suffered a defeat at the hands of the Eagles in their last head-to-head encounter at McDougald-McLendon Arena in February 2024, with a final score of 93-81.

North Carolina Central | OVR 18-12 | MEAC 10-5 (2nd) | NEUTRAL 1-1

Fred Cleveland Jr. was on fire from deep in North Carolina Central’s last matchup against UMES. Cleveland Jr. scored 21 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three. This points to a recent upwards shooting trend. Cleveland Jr. averages 15.4 points per game and 2.4 made threes per game and ranks first on the team in scoring from distance thus far this season.

NC Central, Fred Cleveland Jr. — North Carolina Central guard Fred Cleveland Jr. was red-hot against Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday. (Steven J. Gaither/HBCU Gameday)

The Eagles aim to boost their defensive activity and reverse a concerning trend from their recent five games, where they’ve been averaging just 5.2 steals per contest. This marks a drop from their season average of 7.7 steals.

Delaware State | OVR 13-17 | MEAC 7-8 (6th) | NEUTRAL 3-1

DSU is in the MEAC semifinals for the first time since 2015 after a 71-58 win over South Carolina State on Thursday night.

Delaware State has recently shown a significant improvement in its three-point shooting, with an average of 6.4 made three-pointers per game over its last five contests, surpassing its season average of 4.7.

The Hornets average 8.4 steals per game and 2.0 blocks per game. Wesley Oba and Martaz Robinson have been the team’s defensive leaders in the two categories, with Oba averaging 0.5 blocks per game and Robinson averaging 2.1 steals per game.

Key Metrics

North Carolina Central tends to finish games strong. The Eagles average 39.7 second half points per game. This number is the highest in the MEAC (conference average is 36.1).
Delaware State plays at the third-fastest pace in the MEAC. The team averages 70.2 possessions per 40 minutes (MEAC average is 69.3) and scores approximately 0.97 points per possession.

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MEAC semifinal: North Carolina Central faces upstart DSU