Spartan Men's Basketball
Sunday, Nov. 16
NSU at Virginia, 7 p.m., John Paul Jones Arena
TV: Fox Sports South/Regional Sports Network (Bob Rathbun, Play-by-Play; Mike Gminski, Color)
Radio: Star 1310 AM (Ross Gordon, Play-by-Play) | Live Audio
Live Video (ESPN3) | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State men's basketball team will hit the road for perhaps its toughest test all season when the Spartans take on No. 9 Virginia on Sunday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Tip-off for the regionally-televised contest is officially set for 7:04 p.m.

The matchup is part of the Barclays Center Classic that will be played later this month either at the actual Barclays Center (for Virginia) or at Saint Peter's (for Norfolk State).

Media Coverage
Fans can listen to the Spartans take on the Cavaliers live on Star 1310 AM with Ross Gordon on the call. Live stats will also be available.

The game will be produced by Fox Sports South and streamed online at ESPN3. In addition to Fox Sports South, the game will be shown on numerous regional sports channels, including Fox Sports channels Ohio, Cincinnati, North, Midwest, West and Detroit; Roots Sports channels Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh; Sunshine Sports; Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic; Yes Network; and New England Sports Network. Check your local listings for channels in your area.

Series History
This will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs, all since the 2010-11 season. That year, NSU fell by one point to Virginia after the Cavaliers scored a late tip-in off a missed free throw with 4.8 seconds left. Virginia also won 67-56 in the first round of the postseason NIT in 2013 and again last year by a 66-56 margin two days before Christmas. In fact, Virginia is a combined 22-0 against nine different teams in the MEAC, but three of the four closest margins of victory for the Cavaliers have come against NSU. As far as MEAC schools go, only Coppin State, which lost 63-61 on Dec. 9, 1993, has been able to stay as close as NSU has against UVa.

About Virginia
The AP No. 9-ranked Cavaliers, a Sweet 16 team in the NCAA tournament a year ago, opened up this season with a 79-51 win at James Madison on Friday. Virginia shot 58 percent from the field while limiting the Dukes to less than 29 percent. Included in that shooting percentage for the Cavaliers was a 5-of-7 effort from 3-point range. Justin Anderson added 18 points and six rebounds, while Anthony Gill and Malcolm Brogdon tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively. Virginia's one major blemish in the season opener was its 16 total turnovers.

Last Time Out
NSU opened up its season with an 81-43 win over Division II Pfeiffer on Friday at Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans jumped out quickly against the overmatched Falcons, as NSU went ahead 17-4 to start the game. After Pfeiffer trimmed the lead to seven, the Spartans outscored them 13-1 over a more than five-minute span before going into the half up by 22. The lead grew to as large as 42 late in the second half.

Big Win
NSU's 38-point margin of victory was the largest in the program's Division I era and the largest since a 115-65 win over Knoxville College on Jan. 29, 1996. It also marked the fewest points given up since defeating Randolph College 63-43 on Nov. 16, 2011. An opponent has not scored less than that against NSU since January of 1987. Also, the team's 26 3-point field goal attempts against Pfeiffer were also the most since taking 29 shots from long range at Iona on Dec. 23, 2012.

Newcomers Making an Impact
Seven of the 12 players who competed against Pfeiffer had never played in an NSU uniform, including the freshman foursome of Devonte Banner, Zaynah Robinson, Malik Gray and Jordan Butler. They combined for 28 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in their collegiate debut.

Division I transfers Jeff Short (12 points) and Malik Thomas (14 points) led the team in scoring, while junior college transfer D'Shon Taylor also reached double figures with 10.

Facing Ranked Opponents
The Spartans have held their own at times against ranked opponents in the last several years. NSU has played a ranked team on six different occasions since the start of the 2011-12 season, highlighted of course by its 86-84 win over No. 3 Missouri in the 2012 NCAA tournament. The Spartans also fell by just two to No. 16 Marquette in the 2011 Paradise Jam and by 10 to No. 10 Illinois on Dec. 11, 2012. Since the start of that 2011-12 campaign, the Spartans have also dropped contests to No. 21 Marquette, No. 25 Florida and No. 25 North Carolina State by at least 22 points each time.

Winning the State
Virginia and Norfolk State are two of the three winningest programs in the state of Virginia over the last three years. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Virginia ranks second in the state with 76 wins behind VCU (83), while Norfolk State has 67 victories during that time and ranks third out of the 14 Division I programs in Virginia.

Fuentes, Gaston Named Preseason All-MEAC
Senior guard Jamel Fuentes and junior forward RaShid Gaston were each named to the preseason All-MEAC second team this year. The duo owns 67 of the 78 career starts by the six active returning players on this year's squad. They've also combined for 877 career points, while NSU's other four returners - Kievyn Lila-St. Rose, LaTre'e Russell, Hefeng Sun and Paulius Vinogradovas - have combined for 193 points. Of the 16 players who earned either first-, second- or third-team honors last year in the MEAC, 14 were seniors.

Preseason Prognostications
NSU was picked to finish fourth in the preseason standings a year after finishing in a tie for third and earning the No. 4 seed in the MEAC tournament. North Carolina Central was selected to win the league, followed by Hampton and Morgan State. It is the same exact order as how the teams finished last year as well.

Lost Production
The Spartans lost seven seniors off last year's team, while an eighth, Jordan Weathers, was set to return to the lineup this year but is out for the season due to injury. Altogether, those eight players scored 1,932 points last year, or 79.6 percent of the team's overall scoring. They also collected 765 rebounds, 64.0 percent of the team's overall total. Included in the losses from last year are second-team All-MEAC guards Pendarvis Williams and Malcolm Hawkins as well as third-team center Brandon Goode. Last year's senior class was the winningest in the D-I era with a 78-57 overall four-year record.

Not the First Rodeo
This isn't the first time recently NSU has had to replace a lot of production. The Spartans lost several key seniors off the 2012 squad that won the MEAC title and defeated No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament. That team lost four starters, 64.7 percent of its scoring and 58.2 percent of its rebounding.

O'Quinn's NBA Season
Kyle O'Quinn is back for his third season with the Orlando Magic after being drafted in the second round in 2012. NSU's first NBA player in 25 years, O'Quinn averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game during his rookie campaign in 2012-13 and 6.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 assists per game in 2013-14. So far this year, O'Quinn has appeared in just one game after injuring his ankle in the season opener.