This Week
Monday: NSU vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 5 p.m., Rutgers Athletic Center
Live Stats | Game Notes
Tuesday: NSU vs. Stillman College, 5 p.m., Rutgers Athletic Center
Live Stats | Game Notes
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NORFOLK, Va. - The second week of the NIT Season Tip-Off finds the Norfolk State men's basketball team at Rutgers to play a pair of opponents. Up first, the Spartans will take on Fairleigh Dickinson at 5 p.m. on Monday at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

NSU will also take on Stillman College on Tuesday at 5 p.m. during the second day of the consolation bracket.

Media Coverage: Live stats for both of NSU's games will be available here (FDU) and here (Stillman).

Series History: This will mark just the second-ever meeting between NSU and Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights were victorious the first time these two teams met, an 80-64 win on Dec. 10, 2007 at FDU.

About Fairleigh Dickinson: The Knights lost both of their games at the West Regional of the NIT last week, to No. 5 Arizona and to Division II No. 1 Metro State. They stand 1-5 overall after also falling to Saint Peter's on Saturday, 67-63 at home. FDU's only win was a victory over Caldwell at home to start the season. Sidney Sanders Jr. leads the way with 15.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, while Mustafaa Jones adds 11.0 points per contest. The Knights have struggled on the boards, as they have been outrebounded by more than 12.0 rebounds per game.

Last Time Out: NSU was never able to pull away, only getting a 10-point lead just once, but the Spartans also never trailed in the second half in an 80-78 win over UNC Asheville last Tuesday at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the East Regional of the NIT. Brandon Goode hit 11-of-15 from the field for a career-high 22 points, helping NSU shoot better than 57 percent for the game. The Spartans also committed just four turnovers but were outrebounded 41-22. Seniors Malcolm Hawkins and Anell Alexis added 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Mistake-Free Ball: NSU had a 19-4 assist-turnover ratio against UNC Asheville, the fewest turnovers and the best assist-turnover ratio since at least the 2002-03 season. It marked just the 11th time since that year that the Spartans had less than 10 turnovers in a game. The fewest NSU ever had during that time was six against Coppin State on Jan. 11, 2003. It also stood as the first time since 2002-03 that the Spartans had an assist-turnover ratio of 2-1 or better.

According to statsheet.com, only three teams, Rutgers, Connecticut and Louisville, have had less than four turnovers in a game this year (all with three). Five schools, including Colorado State, VMI, La Salle, Temple and Duke, have had exactly four turnovers in a game as well.

Dominating the Inside: Norfolk State has outscored opponents 228-163 in points in the paint, an average of 13.0 points per game. Against East Carolina, the Spartans had a 50-16 edge in points in the paint.

Dominating the Glass: The Spartans posted 21 offensive rebounds against Texas Southern, the most since grabbing 24 against Coppin State on Jan. 30, 2012. The Spartans outrebounded three of their first four opponents this year by at least 10 rebounds, and in the other contest NSU was even with Newberry on the glass, 35-35. In their latest game, the Spartans were outrebounded by UNC Asheville by 19.

Offense on the Go: The Spartans have averaged 12 fastbreak points per game over the last four contests, and against Newberry and East Carolina had a combined 51 points off turnovers.

NSU scored 80 or more points in the first three games this year, the first time doing that since scoring 110, 84 and 83 from Jan. 31-Feb. 7, 2011. The Spartans tallied 90 or more in two straight against Newberry and Virginia Union, the first time accomplishing that since Feb. 1-6, 1999, when they had 104 and 99 in two straight.

In fact, NSU's 207 points against Newberry and Virginia Union were the most in a two-game stretch since posting 209 in wins against St. Augustine's (Feb. 16) and Elizabeth City State (Feb. 19) during the 1993-94 season.

According to statsheet.com, NSU ranks 26th in the nation in scoring at 88.8 points per game.

No Young Guns: According to research done by Joe Pott of the Southern Illinois athletics department, SIU and NSU are, unofficially, the only two programs in the country that do not have a freshman on the roster. The Spartans have four newcomers this year: D-I transfers Anell Alexis and Hefeng Sun, junior college transfer LaTre'e Russell, and Sajae Pryor, who sat out last year as an NCAA non-qualifier and as a result will have sophomore eligibility this year.

Hot Shooting: In three games from Nov. 13-18, Pendarvis Williams hit 28-of-46 (60.9 percent) from the field and 9-of-20 (45.0 percent) from the 3-point line. Malcolm Hawkins, meanwhile, has shot worse than 43 percent in a game just one time this year (UNC Asheville, 5-of-15). Hawkins and Williams have combined to shoot 67-of-139 (48.2 percent) this year, including 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) from the 3-point line.

The Spartans have shot at least 44 percent from the field in all five games this year, the first time shooting that well in five straight since doing so in nine straight from Jan. 22-Feb. 19, 2011.

Scoring Binge vs. Newberry
* With 38 points - on his 22nd birthday no less - Pendarvis Williams posted the second-most points in a game in the D-I era, tying Darryl Towe, who also had 38 points on Jan. 19, 2002. Only Tony Murphy, who scored a D-I record 43 on Dec. 19, 2006, has had more in a game than Williams in NSU's 16 years as a D-I program.
* Only three other players this year have scored more than 38 points in a game, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky (43), Arizona State's Jahii Carson (40) and Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart (39), all three of whom did so on Nov. 19.

Beginning the Climb: Sitting at No. 30 right now in the all-time scoring list at NSU with 1,202, Pendarvis Williams needs 15 more points to move into a tie for 29th with Peter Mitchell.

Brandon Goode now has 91 blocks in his career. He needs 17 more to move into a tie for second-place all-time at NSU with Karandick Ogunride. Of course, the best Goode can finish is second, as the all-time leader is Kyle O'Quinn, who had 283 in his four-year career.

Jame Fuentes, meanwhile, has 279 assists in his career. He needs 23 to move into a tie for 11th place all-time at NSU and 38 to reach the top 10.