Tuesday
NSU at Eastern Michigan, 7 p.m., Convocation Center
Radio: Star 1310 AM | Listen
Live Stats | Live Video | Games Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - For the third straight season, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will take part in postseason play. This year finds the Spartans heading to Eastern Michigan to take on the Eagles on Tuesday in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). Tip-off is at 7 p.m. from the Convocation Center.

Radio Advisory
Due to issues with its signal tower, NSU's campus radio station Hot 91.1 FM is currently off the air and thus unable to broadcast Spartan basketball. The game against Eastern Michigan will instead be broadcast on Star 1310 AM-WGH. Fans can listen to the contest as well via www.star1310.com or www.espnradio941.com and through the ESPN Radio 94.1 mobile app.

Series History
This will mark the first-ever meeting between NSU and EMU. It will also mark just the fifth time the Spartans have played a Mid-American Conference opponent. NSU has played a MAC team once per season beginning in 2009-10. The Spartans faced Kent State that year, followed by Ohio, Toledo and Ball State each of the next three years. NSU defeated Toledo but fell in the other three games.

About Eastern Michigan
The Eagles own a 21-14 record on the year and finished in third place in the MAC West standings at 10-8. EMU leads the nation in field goal percentage defense at 36.5, and opponents are also shooting just 30.6 percent from 3-point range. The Eagles also rank in the top 20 nationally in blocks (11th, 6.1), steals (15th, 8.3) and scoring defense (18th, 61.3). EMU scores 66 points a game, led by Karrington Ward with 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds. Two other players, Mike Talley and Raven Lee, also score in double figures at 10.2 and 10.1, respectively. Da'Shonte Riley ranks second on the team with 6.1 rebounds and also stands 26th nationally with 2.71 blocks.

Last Time Out
NSU was held to its lowest scoring output of the season and attempted just 39 shots from the floor in a 68-45 loss to North Carolina Central on Friday night in the semifinal round of the MEAC tournament at the Norfolk Scope. Norfolk State had not attempted that few of shots in two years, although the Spartans did connect on 16-of-39 (41.0 percent) for the game. For the first time in a year and a half, NSU had must one player in double figures, Pendarvis Williams at 12. Marese Phelps tallied nine points, and Brandon Goode posted six points, nine rebounds and tied his career high with six blocks. NC Central had just seven turnovers and also benefitted from a 20-of-24 effort from the free throw line.

NSU's Postseason History
This will mark the third time the Spartans have played in the postseason since moving to Division I in 1997, and all three have come in the last three years. Two years ago, NSU won its first-ever MEAC title and then upset No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Spartans won the MEAC regular season title at 16-0 and earned a bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) against Virginia.

Prior to their D-I days, the Spartans made 15 different appearances in the NCAA D-II tournament and six NAIA postseason appearances between 1965 and 1995. NSU advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in five different seasons: 1974, '86, '87, '94 and '95. The Spartans also made a D-II Final Four appearance in '95.

Player Tidbits
Pendarvis Williams
 • MEAC All-Tournament Team
 • All-MEAC second team
 • NABC All-District 15 first team
 • 17.6 points, 29-of-52 field goals, 7-of-15 3-pointers, 23-of-26 free throws and 1.6 steals last five games
 • 36.4 minutes last 12 games
 • 1.8 steals last 15 games
 • Fourth different NSU player to reach 1,600 career points since 2008
 • Needs 27 more points to pass Bobby Dandridge for No. 14 on the all-time scoring list at NSU
 • Passed Kyle O'Quinn for 16th place against Savannah State
 • 46th in the NCAA in career scoring (1,638) and 50th in 3-pointers (215)
 • Third in the MEAC in minutes played (34.5), fourth in free throw percentage (83.3), seventh in steals (1.5) and scoring (15.8) and 10th in field goal percentage (49.5)
 • Shooting 49.5 percent from the floor this year, including 61.0 percent (122-of-200) from inside the arc
 • One of two all-time NSU players with 1,600 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks along with Ralph Tally
 • 83.3 percent from the free throw line this season; Ties D-I record of 83.3 percent set by Ryan Grier in 2003-04 and is third all-time
 • Second all-time at NSU in career 3-pointers (215)

Malcolm Hawkins
 • All-MEAC second team
 • 21.3 points, 19-of-39 field goals, 13-of-23 3-pointers, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists in three games from March 3-10
 • 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists last five games
 • 34.7 minutes last six games
 • Shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range, which ranks fourth in Division I season records
 • First in the MEAC in 3-point shooting percentage (41.8), eighth in 3-point field goals (2.0) and ninth in scoring (15.5)

Brandon Goode
 • All-MEAC third team
 • Tied career high with six blocks against NCCU on March 14
 • Has scored in double figures in 21 of last 29 games
 • 38th in the nation in blocks (2.42) this year
 • Short of qualifying for the NCAA stats in field goal percentage; 61.5 percent clip would rank sixth in the country
 • 12th in the NCAA in career field goal percentage at 59.8 and 45th with 160 blocks
 • Ranks third in both Division I and all-time single-season records with 80 blocks
 • Second all-time at NSU with 160 career blocks behind precedssor Kyle O'Quinn
 • Second in the MEAC in field goal percentage at 61.5, fifth in rebounding (7.0), blocks (2.4) and offensive rebounds (2.6) and eighth in defensive rebounds (4.3)
 • 61.5 percent shooting currently ranks seventh all-time at NSU in season records and third in Division I era

Jamel Fuentes
 • Fifth all-time at NSU in assists with 413
 • Sits second in Division I records with 162 assists this year; Needs four more to pass predecessor Aleek Pauline
 • Second in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.6) and assists (4.9)
 • 31st in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.57) and 57th in assists (4.9)
 • 30th in the NCAA in career assist-turnover ratio (1.90)

Marese Phelps
 • 6.8 points,10-of-20 field goals, 4-of-8 3-pointers, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals last four games
 • 2.9 assists last 14 games
 • 27.3 minutes last 10 games
 • Eighth in the MEAC in steals at 1.4 and 15th in assists (2.5)

Winning Record
NSU will finish with a winning record this year for the third year in a row. Prior to the start of that streak in 2011-12, NSU had a winning record just twice in 14 seasons since moving to Division I in 1997. Only three MEAC teams currently have winning records: NSU, NC Central (28-5) and Hampton (18-12). A victory against EMU would also give NSU its third-straight 20-win season for the first time since 1995-96.

Superb Class
NSU's current senior class is a collective 78-56, making it the winningest senior class in the Division I era and giving the program its best four-year run since the 1996-97 seniors finished 94-26.

Get on the Glass
NSU has been even or had the edge in the rebounding column in 10 of the last 11 games and 14 of the last 17. In seven games from Feb. 22-March 13, NSU outrebounded its opponents by a combined 53 boards.

Better as They Go
Opponents are scoring on average 7.0 more points in the second half than the first. NSU is averaging 4.1. Only eight times this year has NSU scored more points in the first half than the second. Opponents have done it just five times. In the 2012-13 season, the Spartans averaged 5.6 more points in the second half than the first, while opponents were at 7.5.

Hit Your Free Throws
The Spartans have hit 77-of-104 (74.0 percent) from the charity stripe in the last five games after hitting below their season average in 10 of the previous 11 games. They sank 25 against UMES on March 10, the most since breaking the school record with 41 against Florida A&M earlier in the year.

Limit Your Mistakes
NSU is currently averaging just 13.3 turnovers per game. Should that hold up, it would mark the second fewest and just the fourth time NSU had fewer than 14 turnovers a game since the stat was first kept in 1978-79. The program record is 13.1 per game in 1987-88. NSU also had less than 14 turnovers per game in 1995-96 (13.4) and 1989-90 (13.9).

Share the Ball
NSU is also averaging 13.7 assists per game this year, tied for the most in the Division I era with the 1998-99 team and the most since averaging 14.2 in 1995-96. The team's total of 453 assists this year also ranks as the D-I era record and is the most since 1994-95 (510).

Ever-Changing Lineup
NSU started its 15th different lineup of the season on Senior Night against NCCU on March 6 with the fivesome of Brandon Goode, Riley Maye, Pendarvis Williams, Malcolm Hawkins and Marese Phelps making their first start together. Besides that senior night starting five, NSU has used the combination of Goode, Williams, Hawkins, RaShid Gaston and Jamel Fuentes in four of the last five games.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank 62nd in the nation in field goal percentage at 46.6. They also stand in the top 100 in offensive rebounds per game (70th, 12.27), assists (89th, 13.7) and rebound margin (91st, +2.9).

MEAC Rankings
NSU ranks first in the MEAC in field goal percentage (46.6), rebounding margin (+3.3) and offensive rebound percentage (37.5). The Spartans also stand second in 3-point field goal percentage (34.9), opponent rebounding (29.7), assists (12.8) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0) and third in scoring offense (71.9), scoring margin (+1.0) and defensive rebound percentage (66.9).

Senior Leadership
NSU has scored 2,374 points this year, with 1,888 of those points (79.5 percent) coming from NSU's senior class.

Dominating the Inside
Norfolk State has outscored opponents 1,050-859 in points in the paint, an average of 5.8 points per game. Against Coppin State on Jan. 20, the Spartans had a 46-16 edge, while NSU has also outscored East Carolina (50-16) and Stillman (62-26) by large margins. On the flip side, opponents have taken 176 more 3-pointers than NSU this year (5.3 per game).

Good Shootin'
As a team, the Spartans are shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from 3-point range this year, the best marks in a season since 1998-99 (48.1 percent) and 1998-99 (35.7 percent), respectively. They are also hitting 51.2 percent from inside the arc.

NSU has outshot its opponent in seven of the last eight games.

Free Throwing
As a team, the Spartans are connecting on 69.6 percent from the foul line this year. They are also battling history, as only once in the previous 30 years has NSU hit better than 70 percent from the free throw line in a season (72.0 percent, 2003-04). NSU's current clip stands as the best mark in a season since that 2003-04 campaign.

Scoring Offense
NSU's is scoring 71.9 points per game this year, the highest scoring season since averaging 73.3 per game in 2000-2001, and 5.6 points more per game than last year (66.3).

O'Quinn's NBA Season
Kyle O'Quinn is back for his second 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. So far this year he's posted 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 assists. He's averaged 8.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 assists in his last 12 games.