The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament has returned to Baltimore. Starting Monday, the nation’s oldest historically Black college athletic conference will take over CFG Bank Arena through Sunday for the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
Here’s what to expect this week on and off the court.
Defending champions look to repeat
Your 2024 @CIAAForLife Northern Division Champions!
#jobsnotfinished #foodlion #ciaa pic.twitter.com/uJlYOObNIx
— ECSU Athletics (@ECSUVikings) February 24, 2024
As the reigning women’s basketball CIAA tournament champions, Elizabeth City State (18-10 overall, 10-7 CIAA) finished the season winning the Northern Division, and the team is the No. 1 Northern seed in this year’s tournament. A season ago, coach Tynesha Lewis and the Lady Vikings were the No. 5 seed when they won the tournament. Key players returning from last year’s championship team include senior guard Alanis Hill, who is averaging 14.9 points, and graduate senior guard NyAsia Blango, who is averaging 8.9 points.
The Winston-Salem State Rams (19-8 overall, 13-5 CIAA), coached by Cleo Hill Jr., are the men’s basketball defending champions and will enter the CIAA tournament as the No. 3 Southern seed. Winston-Salem State has won two of the last three CIAA tournament championships and will look to add another this weekend. The Rams head into the tournament on a five-game winning streak, including a 64-47 win over conference rival Virginia Union in the NBA HBCU Classic on Feb. 17 during NBA All-Star Weekend. Winston-Salem State’s key players returning from a season ago are senior guard Jaylen Alston, junior guard Isaac Parson and sophomore guard Ketron Shaw.
Bluefield State plays in its first CIAA tournament in Baltimore
Bluefield State’s athletic programs rejoined the CIAA in July 2023 after 68 years. Before that, Bluefield State competed as a Division II independent team. The men’s basketball team (7-21 overall, 4-13 CIAA) earned its first CIAA win over Livingstone on Dec. 9, 2023, and currently is last in the Northern Division. Bluefield State freshman guard Travon Cooper earned CIAA Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 13. Junior guard Jordan Hinds led the CIAA in scoring this season, averaging 19.2 points. The West Virginia HBCU enters its first CIAA tournament since leaving the conference in 1955 as the No. 6 Northern seed and will face St. Augustine’s in the opening round on Monday.
Bluefield State’s women’s basketball program (14-12 overall, 8-9 CIAA) also earned its first CIAA win over Livingstone on Dec. 9, 2023. Bluefield State’s women’s basketball team, the No. 4 Northern seed, will face Livingstone again in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday.
Interim coach leading Elizabeth City against Shaw
Elizabeth City State men’s basketball (10-18 overall, 7-11 CIAA) coach Andre Gray was fired on Jan. 8, and Vikings alumnus John Richardson III was named interim basketball coach. The team, which finished its remaining 13 games with a 6-7 record under Richardson, is entering the CIAA tournament as the No. 5 Northern seed. Elizabeth City State’s men’s basketball program hasn’t won a CIAA tournament title since 2007. The Vikings will face Shaw in the opening round of the tournament Tuesday.
All eyes on Fayetteville State women’s basketball
Fayetteville State’s women’s basketball team (24-2 overall, 17-1 CIAA) dominated conference play this season and earned the No. 1 Southern seed in the tournament. The Broncos have lost only one conference game this season and enter the tournament on a 10-game winning streak. The Broncos’ 24 wins this season is the highest win total for the program in the last 10 years, and it’s also the program’s fourth 20-win season in the last decade. Fayetteville State senior guard Aniylah Bryant is averaging 16.7 points, which ranks her No. 3 in the conference. The last time the Broncos won the CIAA tournament championship, in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic ended their postseason prematurely.
Claflin is in the hunt for its first CIAA title
Claflin’s men’s basketball team won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship in 2018, less than a month before the university announced it would join the CIAA. However, since joining the CIAA, the Panthers have never won a tournament championship. The men’s basketball team finished this season atop the Southern Division, with an overall record of 16-10 (13-5 CIAA). The Panthers dropped their final game of the season against Johnson C. Smith on Feb. 24 but are heading into the tournament as the No. 2 Southern seed.
Tour spotlights Black-owned restaurants
During the CIAA tournament, the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the local CIAA host committee are presenting a Black-owned restaurant tour in the city.
More years in Charm City
In January 2019, the CIAA announced the tournament would move to Baltimore for 2021-2023, following 14 years with Charlotte, North Carolina, as the host city. In 2022, the CIAA and the state of Maryland announced a two-year contract extension to keep the tournament in Baltimore through 2025, and in June 2023 the conference agreed to keep the tournament in Charm City for an additional year, through 2026.
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