Men's Basketball | 3/8/2015 9:48:00 PM
BALTIMORE – In the words of legendary Yogi Berra, "It's Déjà vu All Over Again."
If it's March and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament, then it must be time for what's becoming an annual rite of late winter as ninth-seeded Coppin State (7-22 overall) meets eighth-seeded Bethune-Cookman (11-20) Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. in the Norfolk Scope Arena for the third consecutive season in an opening round contest.
The Eagles have enjoyed success against the Wildcats in the MEAC Tournament, winning five of six matchups. Coppin State is 31-22 all-time in the MEAC Tournament and has claimed four titles (1990, 1993, 1997 and 2008).
Bethune-Cookman defeated Coppin State, 89-78, in 2013 and CSU returned the favor last year by posting a 75-68 victory. This season, Coppin State dropped a 58-53 home decision to Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 17. Overall, Coppin State is 47-14 all-time against the Wildcats.
Tuesday's winner advances to meet reigning MEAC Tournament champion and top-seeded North Carolina Central (24-6) in Wednesday's quarterfinal round.
"Playing Bethune gives us an opportunity to get the game back they took from us in January here," Coppin State head coach
Michael Grant said. "I think our guys are excited about the opportunity to play them again."
In that January loss,
Sterling Smith scored 12 points and was the only CSU player in double figures. Coppin State scored four points over the final 4 minutes, 47 seconds of that game. The Eagles also made five 3-pointers in that game.
One thing that has boded well for Coppin State is when it has played an opponent for the second time this season after it made five or fewer 3-pointers in the first meeting, the Eagles have made double-digit triples in the rematch. Coppin State made four 3-pointers against Howard and Morgan State the first time it played those teams. The second time around, Coppin State made 11 3-pointers against Howard and 12 against Morgan State.
Leading Coppin State are All-MEAC selections Smith (second team) and
Taariq Cephas (third team). Smith leads three CSU players in double figures with a 14.2 point per game average. Cephas averages 12.2 points and 5.0 assists per game. Senior
Arnold Fripp averages 11 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds per contest.
As a sophomore, Cephas scored a career-high 27 points against Bethune-Cookman in the opening round. Last season, Cephas had a 24-point masterpiece to help the Eagles upset second-seeded Hampton in the quarterfinals.
"Bethune-Cookman is going to be a tough game for us as it's been the last two years," Cephas said. "They have a really good staff and players who can play. I am looking forward to the challenge. The biggest thing we need to do is make stops and make our shots. I know we can score but our problem is defense."
Coppin State led the MEAC in scoring offense (72.8 points per game) and 3-pointers made per game (9.7). However, the Eagles were last in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. Many of those numbers were inflated in the beginning of the season when Coppin State was still learning Grant's new system while playing Illinois, Oregon, Notre Dame and Michigan on the road. CSU's defense statistics never recovered.
One of Coppin State's better defensive performances was against Bethune-Cookman. The Eagles limited the Wildcats to 32.4 percent shooting, including a 1-for-11 effort from 3-point distance.
However, the Wildcats are entering the tournament with momentum generated from their 72-62 victory over South Carolina State on Thursday. Ricky Johnson scored 21 points, Mikel Trapphad 19 points. Johnson and Trapp combined to go 7-of-15 from beyond the arc. Johnson was in double figures for the 13th time and registered his fifth 20-point game. Trapp has been in double figures four times in last six games.
Bethune-Cookman is tied for second in the MEAC in scoring defense (62.5 points per game).
"It's funny how we always meet at the tournament," Smith said. "It's a great matchup and we're excited to play anyone in the tournament. It will be a great game to play and watch."
The 2015 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips-off Monday, March 9, and will conclude on Saturday, March 14 with the men's and women's championship games. The women's game will begin at 4 p.m. and will be tape-delayed on ESPNU. It will air the following day, Sunday, March 15, at 11 a.m.
The men's final will begin at 1 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN2. The preliminary games will also be streamed live on www.ESPN3.com. Live statistics of all games will be available on the conferences' official website and the tournament's official website, www.MEAChoops.com.
For tournament information, log on to www.MEAChoops.com. For the latest on MEAC sports, visit www.MEACsports.com.
