Alright so MEAC tournament time got me all excited again. Wanna know who I think’s gonna win it all this year? Took me weeks just workin’ through the bracket mess step by step. Lemme show you how my head nearly exploded doin’ this.
Starting With Pure Chaos
First I grabbed all the team stats from my messy notebook – been scribblin’ stuff there all season long. Coffee stains everywhere, honestly. Looked at win streaks, how teams played on the road, that kinda thing. Norfolk State’s defense stood out crazy good, but Howard’s offense? Whew. Fireworks.
Then I tried sketchin’ the bracket out on scrap paper. Big mistake. Crossed out so many times the paper ripped. Numbers ain’t my strongest point, okay? So I switched to Excel. Took like an hour just puttin’ in team names without typos. Howard kept turnin’ into “Howrad” somehow. Frustratin’ as heck.
The Matchup Nightmare
Okay so first round’s easy enough. Coppin State vs Morgan State? Coppin’s depth gonna carry ‘em. But then… quarterfinals get ugly. Looked at North Carolina Central facin’ Norfolk State. Felt impossible. NCCU’s got heart but Norfolk? Man. Their press breaks teams like twigs. I crunched numbers:
- Defensive Rebounds? Norfolk by miles
- Turnovers forced? Almost 5 more per game
- Late-game free throws? Yikes, NCCU shaky
Kept flippin’ between teams for hours. Remembered that overtime barnburner I watched back in January – Norfolk pulled it off clutch. Stuck ‘em as winners on my sheet. But… felt bad for NCCU. Almost changed it next morning. Didn’t sleep great honestly.
Semi-Final Mess Up
Here’s where I goofed. Had Maryland Eastern Shore meetin’ Howard. Looked at Howard’s scorin’ averages and slammed Howard as winner. Simple right? Nope. Completely spaced on UMES beatin’ Howard just last week! Total facepalm moment. Saw it when revisin’ my notes on Thursday. Redid the whole dang thing. Coffee cup almost flew across the room.
Championship Gut Call
Okay fixed spreadsheet, got Norfolk vs Howard in the final. Stats screamed dead heat. Norfolk had the edge defensively but Howard’s got that star guard who drops 25 like nothin’. Went deeper into bench numbers… Norfolk’s second unit scores way more. Minute distribution? More even. That fatigue factor late-game… that’s gold. Highlighted those cells bright yellow. Then remembered seein’ Norfolk close out tight games all season. Howard’s had wobbles. Leaned toward Norfolk hard.
My Final Takeaway
After swearin’ at Excel formulas? After rewritin’ predictions three times? Norfolk State stays my pick. Their defense travels, they deep, and Howard ain’t faced pressure like that yet. Could easily see Howard winnin’ if shooters go nuclear though. But nah. Stickin’ with the gut. Norfolk by four.