For all of the posts in this series, visit the 2017-18 Non-Conference Scheduling Hub.

Ranking The Teams

Just nine MEAC squads have finished above .500 over the past four seasons, so it’s not surprising that every conference member ranks in the bottom half of the four-year ranking table. However, it’s far more troubling that 10 teams sit among the bottom 50 teams in Division I.

Ranking The Schedules

While a SWAC member—Texas Southern—owns the nation’s single most difficult schedule, the MEAC can claim the second, thanks to Savannah State. Of course, those two sets of Tigers have differing postseason hopes, as I’ll discuss below. But while all 10 SWAC slates rank in the national top 200, meaning the conference average ranking is the best in all of Division I, the 13-member MEAC has a wider range of non-league slates. Five teams rank in the bottom 100 nationally, with North Carolina Central and Bethune-Cookman sitting among the bottom 50. That means that the MEAC’s overall numbers suffer, though the league average schedule still ranks among top five nationally in three of the four categories below.

*Denotes team will participate in a bracketed tournament. Reminder: Known Score = known matchups only; Average Score = known games+average of potential bracketed matchups; Maximum Score = known games+games against best potential bracketed matchups; Minimum Score = known games+games against worst potential bracketed matchups

Who Over- And Under-Scheduled?

Just three four MEAC squads boast non-conference slates that rank fewer than 100 spots better or worse than their four-year ranking, with 340th-ranked Bethune-Cookman earning special mention for somehow scheduling the 337th-ranked schedule. Things aren’t so rosy for defending conference champ North Carolina Central, which under-scheduled itself by 138 places. But at least the Eagles did better than Savannah State and Coppin State, the two schools tied for the biggest scheduling gap in the country—a whopping 328 places above their four-year ranking.

On average, the MEAC boasts the second-biggest average scheduling gap in the nation, with only the SWAC (naturally) ranking lower.

Despite sharing many of the same financial and competitive difficulties, the MEAC isn’t quite as disadvantaged during November and December as the SWAC. The conference’s members will play 53 home non-conference home games (tied for 17th among the 25 mid-major leagues) compared to 18 for D1’s other HBCU conference. However, MEAC members still play almost exactly as Power 7 road games as total home games—52, nine more than the SWAC’s total. That’s the most power conference road trips in the mid-major class. Making matters worse, nearly half of the MEAC’s 53 home contests feature non-D1 foes.

All of these factors conspire to keep the MEAC’s metrics near the bottom of Division I no matter the category.

While MEAC teams will play games against every Division I conference this season, contests with non-D1 opponents dominate. But looking down the list, I can’t help but think league slates could improve if other Eastern leagues would schedule the soon-to-be 12 members of the conference a bit more frequently. However, given the MEAC’s low esteem nationally, I wouldn’t expect that to happen.

Not only will two-thirds of MEAC non-conference games take place away from league arenas, more than half of those contests will be hosted by teams from outside of the top 150. Not only that, but MEAC squads won’t get to play a single top 100 team at home.

Team-By-Team Breakdown

Teams are listed in order of their Average Schedule Strength National Ranking. Numbers in parentheses are opponent’s Team Score Ranking. Logos via SportsLogos.net.

2. Savannah State Tigers

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Middle Georgia State) and 3 losses (Georgia Southern, @William & Mary, @ETSU)

The Tigers’ Division I days are numbered, as the university announced a decision to drop back down to Division II back in April. While the timing of the move is still up in the air, Horace Broadnax’s squad will keep on collecting power conference beatings and paychecks in what’s likely to be its final D1 season. (And that’s it, since Savannah State is banned from the NCAAs due to APR violations. One final insult, as it were.) Last season, SSU went 1-4 in Power 7 games, winning at Oregon State. They’ll play seven such games this season, all against teams that could earn at-large bids this spring.

11. Coppin State Eagles

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 0 wins and 2 losses (@Georgetown, @Mount St. Mary’s)

Maryland legend Juan Dixon replaces Michael Grant after an eight-win campaign that didn’t feature a single Division I non-conference win. With just two home games (a decrease of one from a season ago) and no non-D1 opponents on the schedule, it could be a similarly barren November and December for Coppin.

35. Maryland Eastern Shore Fighting Hawks

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (Central Penn, Valley Forge) and 2 losses (@American, @Virginia Tech)

While Bobby Collins’s Fighting Hawks claimed 14 victories last season, just one came against a Division I non-conference foe, as Maryland Eastern Shore shocked UTEP in the Sun Bowl Invitational third-place game. This season’s non-conference slate is largely a local one, highlighted by a game at Maryland, but that’s not to say the Hawks will stay exclusively in the Mid-Atlantic. UMES travels to Florida for a pair of games in the Emerald Coast Classic’s visitors’ bracket and a trio of December games in the Heartland, with two of those featuring 2017 NCAA qualifiers.

81. Howard Bison

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (American, Central Penn) and 3 losses (@Georgetown, @George Washington, @Jacksonville State)

In the last two seasons, the Bison have won a total of 22 games, just six more than they managed in 2014-15’s 16-16 campaign alone. So, the pressure is on Kevin Nickelberry’s team to perform. And that won’t be easy with 11 road games, including trips to Indiana, Gonzaga, and Hawai’i, on the 2017-18 schedule. At least Howard will play six games in the Nation’s Capital, three at Burr Arena and a trio at other District institutions.

90. Florida A&M Rattlers

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 0 wins and 1 loss (Southern)

Former Oregon assistant Robert McCullum will attempt to get the Rattlers’ out of Division I’s basement. But with 14 road games on FAMU’s 2017 non-conference slate, the road to respectability looks to be a lengthy one, especially after a six-victory 2016-17 campaign.

118. Hampton Pirates

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (William & Mary) and 3 losses (Rider, @Gardner-Webb, @Appalachian State)

With a half-dozen home games and just a pair of Power 7 road trips, the Pirates have an atypical MEAC schedule. Edward Joyner Jr.’s squad even has a chance to claim the visitors’ bracket of its exempt event, as Hampton should get past Northern Arizona in the semifinals. In the final, either UC Irvine or a Rider squad the Pirates will meet on Opening Night would await.

141. South Carolina State Bulldogs

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Furman) and 1 loss (@Jacksonville)

The Bulldogs’ lone Division I non-league win of 2016 came against Furman, but S.C. State travels to Greenville this season. Murray Garvin’s squad, which won 11 games last season, also visits five Power 7 opponents and a trio of mid-majors with legitimate conference title hopes—Yale, Winthrop, and College of Charleston. At least the Bulldogs can limit their time away from campus, with five in-Carolinas road trips and five home games on the schedule.

193. Morgan State Bears

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Manhattan) and 2 losses (Towson, @Cal State Northridge)

After a 14-win campaign that saw the Bears win 11 MEAC games, Morgan State heads into this season as a potential league champ. However, a schedule that features two non-D1 home games and 12 games away from Baltimore will likely place Todd Bozeman’s team in Dayton should it claim the auto bid in March.

264. North Carolina A&T Aggies

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (Greensboro) and 2 losses (@East Carolina, Jacksonville)

Jay Joyner’s first season in charge in Greensboro opened with a win, but just two further victories followed—with an upset win over N.C. Central in the regular-season finale the only one the Aggies claimed over a Division I opponent all year. So, truly any improvement A&T can make in November and December will be noticeable, even if the Aggies take their lumps in their nine road games and trip to the Las Vegas Classic in December.

283. Delaware State Hornets

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 0 wins and 3 losses (@UMBC, @Delaware, @Binghamton)

Keith Walker’s Hornets won at St. John’s last season, arguably the MEAC’s biggest non-league win of 2016. This season, Delaware State, which won 10 games a season ago, visits four Power 7 opponents, but curiously not Kentucky, which anchors its exempt event. That’s probably for the best.

288. Norfolk State Spartans

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (Elizabeth City State, Eastern Kentucky) and 2 losses (@Niagara, @Bowling Green)

The Spartans’ consistency rivals that of North Carolina Central, even if Norfolk State hasn’t been able to reach the heights of 2012’s NCAA win over Missouri in the five seasons since. After a pair of 17-17 seasons, Robert Jones’s squad will attempt to get back to the top of the MEAC, starting with a manageable non-conference slate that features two home games against MAC foes and just a single power conference road game. Note that the neutral-site game against Old Dominion is at the Monarchs’ former home arena, the Scope, and part of ODU’s season ticket package. However, since that building hosts the MEAC Tournament, I’m grouping the contest under the true neutral-site group instead of the semi-road one.

320. North Carolina Central Eagles

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 1 win (@McNeese State) and 1 loss (@Marshall)

Despite racking up 25 wins, including nine out of MEAC play, the Eagles season ended at the hands of UC Davis in the First Four. Still, a bid is a bid and LaVelle Moton’s squad has a fourth in five years in its sights. Last season, Central managed to win four non-conference road games, including one at Missouri. That should make teams like Illinois, Marshall (even if the Herd defeated NCCU last season), and Grand Canyon a bit nervous heading into the new campaign.

340. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats

Record against returning opponents from 2016-17: 2 wins (Florida College, Kennesaw State) and 2 losses (Jacksonville, @USF)

While the Wildcats will only play five home games and must travel to Washington state for a pair of games, B-CU will play enough squads that join them in the bottom 100 that improvement upon last season’s win total of 10 is possible in Ryan Ridder’s first year in charge in Daytona Beach.

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