The Rattlers head into this weeks MEAC Tournament on the heals of a 67-54 victory against the visiting Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. The Rattlers (14-16, 10-8 in the MEAC) secured the fifth seed in the upcoming MEAC Tournament and will play South Carolina State Thursday in the first round. FAMU and South Carolina State split during the regular season with both teams winning on the road.The Rattlers head into this week's MEAC Tournament in the midst of an on-the-court slump that followed an off-the-court reprieve.
Until Feb. 1, the Rattler basketball program had no plans to be a part of the MEAC's first trip to Raleigh. The university had imposed sanctions on its athletics program for what the NCAA later would say were approximately 200 violations in 15 sports. Among those self-imposed penalties -- a prohibition on postseason tournaments.
But on Feb. 1, athletics director Nelson Townsend announced at a news conference that the school's new administration, after reviewing the response by the prior president and athletics director, decided to reduce the penalties.
That announcement seemed to be good news for everyone but the men's team. After compiling a 7-3 MEAC record through early February, the Rattlers stumbled through the rest of conference play, losing five of their final eight games to finish at 10-8.
"Once we found out, we didn't play as well -- for whatever reason," men's basketball coach Mike Gillespie said. "At first we had a chip on our shoulder, but after the announcement we just lost a little focus."
Gillespie thinks his team could do well this week.
"I like our chances," he said. "We struggled down the stretch a little bit, but I think the tournament is wide open. There are about eight teams that can win, and we're one of them."