NORFOLK, Va. – With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the NC Central men's basketball team looks to survive and advance in the 2025 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament. As the No.6 seed, the Eagles debut on Thursday, March 13 at 8 p.m. versus No.3 Delaware State at the Norfolk Scope Arena.

NCCU (13-18, 6-8 MEAC) closes out the quarterfinals on Thursday playing the Hornets for the third time. During the regular season, both squads split home game victories, with the last contest ending dramatically in Dover, Del., needing overtime to determine the winner.

Ahead of the tournament, junior guard Po'Boigh King was named to the All-MEAC Second Team on Tuesday.

The Eagles are third in the league in offense (79.2 per game) and fourth in defense (75.4 per game). NC Central is first in the MEAC in turnover margin (+3.10) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22).

Delaware State (16-13, 8-6 MEAC) is ranked fourth in the conference in offense at 78.7 points per game and holds opponents to 74.1 points per game for third best. The Hornets are the top rebounding team in the MEAC grabbing 37.7 boards per game.  

The Hornets stopped the Maroon & Gray from advancing to the championship game last year, defeating the Eagles in the semifinals 71-58. DSU eventually fell to Howard in the finals, 70-67.

The first game of Thursday's quarterfinals will be No.4 Howard against No.5 Morgan State at 6 p.m. Already advancing to the semifinals on Wednesday was No.1 Norfolk State and No.2 South Carolina State.

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