This has been one of those crazy years where there is no clear cut favorite heading into this week’s CIAA Tournament in Charlotte, at least on the men’s side.
Bowie State earned the Northern Division championship while Winston-Salem State won the South. Bowie State and Virginia State, the No. 2 seed from the North, split the team’s two regular season meetings.
Just to show you how crazy things were during the regular season, BSU fell at Virginia Union 83-76 two weeks ago and VUU is the next to last seed in the South (No. 5). The Bulldogs also dropped a 61-43 decision at Shaw – the lowest seed in the South – on January 11. Shaw and Virginia Union play in the “play-in” game on Tuesday at 8:50 p.m. ET. Still, the Bulldogs are possibly the hottest team heading into the tournament and the top seed in the North, having won five of their last six games, including an 80-79 overtime victory over VSU last week. The Bulldogs are led by CIAA Player of the Year Cameron Knox who is second in the CIAA in scoring (17.7).
Virginia State on the other hand at one time was the hottest team in the league having reeled off eight-straight wins. The Trojans are 3-2 in their last five games including a 57-52 loss at Chowan two weeks ago. Chowan is the No. 4 seed from the North. The Trojans are led by All-CIAA performer Lamar Kearse who averages 15.6 points per game and is second in the conference in three point percentage (49.1).
Meanwhile in the Southern Division, the defending champion Livingstone Blue Bears come into the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the South. Winston-Salem State is the top seed. The two teams split during the regular season and both teams had identical 7-3 division records. Because the Rams defeated the Blue Bears by nine points and the Blue Bears defeated the Rams by three points, the point differential favored the Rams, giving them the top seed.
The Rams have a balanced scoring attack as five players average double figures led by four-time All-CIAA performer WyKevin Bazemore who averaged 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. LC had three payers named All-CIAA led by guard Eric Dubose and his 15.7 points per game. Eric Mayo (13.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Hakeem Jackson (15.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg) lead an excellent frontcourt.
My pick to win on the men’s side is Livingstone.
Women’s Tournament
The Shaw Lady Bears are the four-time defending CIAA Tournament champions and may be the hottest team going into the tournament having won nine of their last 11. They have the player of the year in forward Verdine Warner who is second in the conference in scoring (20.0) and blocked shots (2.1) and leads the conference in rebounding (12.7). The Lady Bears are rounding into championship form.
Livingstone had clearly been the best team in the CIAA and at one point was 21-0. But the conference deemed Lady Blue Bears player Kyra Cosby ineligible for the 18 games that she played in and LC had those 18 games nullified. They come into the tournament as the No. 3 seed and without Crosby are 4-1 in their last five with the loss coming to a very dangerous Johnson C. Smith team, who is the No. 3 seed in the Southern Division. The Lady Blue Bears defeated Shaw twice including a close 53-47 victory two weeks ago without Crosby.
The Lincoln University is the top seed in the North and is led by senior center Zephrah Pam who averages 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Head coach Jessica Kern was named CIAA Coach of the Year. Virginia State is the No. 2 seed in the North. The two teams split during the regular season with the Lady Trojans defeating LU 56-51. After losing four-straight, Virginia State seems to be getting back on track and has won its last three. The Lady Trojans are led by guard Dashae Jones who averages 15.4 points per game. While Elizabeth City State only posted a 7-9 conference mark, they are the second hottest team coming into the tournament and have won their last five including victories over LU and Virginia State.
ECSU is my sleeper pick to go far in the tournament and is led by guard Jada Jeffries who has been scintillating, leading the conference in scoring at 20.8 points per game.
My pick to win is Shaw who would make history by winning its fifth CIAA Tournament championship in a row.
Note: I will be calling CIAA Tournament action and games involving Shaw men and women all week long. Those that live in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville can listen to the games on WSHA-FM 88.9. All others can listen online at www.wshafm.org.