Norfolk State Men's Basketball
Tuesday, Jan. 6; 7 p.m.
NSU at Princeton, Jadwin Gym
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

NORFOLK, Va. - Home for less than 24 hours, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will hit the road for the fourth straight game when the Spartans take on Princeton on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Jadwin Gym.

Media Coverage
Fans can follow the game with the live video stream available through the Ivy League Digital Network. Live stats will be available as well here.

Series History
This will mark the first-ever meeting between NSU and Princeton. It will also be the eighth and final opponent this season that the Spartans will take on for the first time in their history.

About Princeton
The Tigers own a 5-9 overall record following a loss at Wake Forest last Wednesday. Four of their five wins have come at home, including victories over Stony Brook and Liberty last month. Three players average in double figures, including Hans Brase, who has tallied team highs of 12.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists this year. Spencer Weisz (12.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists) and Steven Cook (11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals) also provide provide plenty of production for Princeton. The Tigers shoot better than 43 percent overall and 37 percent from 3-point range, averaging nine 3-pointers per game. Opponents have shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range (albeit on 115 less attempts) and average 4.5 more boards per game than the Tigers. Princeton does take care of the ball well, posting just 11.9 turnovers per game.

Last Time Out
NSU shot less than 30 percent overall in falling to Georgia on the road by a 63-50 score on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans led by five in the first half and trailed by just four with 13 and a half minutes to go in the second stanza. NSU held an 18-7 edge on the offensive glass, outscoring the Bulldogs 21-10 in second-chance points. Jeff Short led the Spartans with 16 points and was the only player in double figures. NSU was called for 14 more fouls (26-12), as several players were forced to sit in the first half with two fouls. The Spartans shot 19-of-65 (29.2 percent) for the game, had a 43-37 edge on the boards and committed just eight turnovers.

Player Tidbits
Jeff Short
 • 24.2 points, 53.4 percent shooting, 46.9 percent 3-point shooting and 4.4 rebounds last five games; Has led the team in scoring each game
 • Also averaging 22.5 points (54.2 % shooting, 45.5 % 3-point shooting) last eight games and 21.4 points (53.0 %, 43.5 %) last 11 games
 • Has scored at least 15 points in 11 straight games
 • Tied career high with four assists at Georgia
 • 8th 20-point game of season, and 7th in nine games, with 23 at Baylor
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in scoring (19.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.2), 4th in free throw % (85.2) and 3-point field goals (2.4), 7th in minutes (33.2) and 8th in field goal % (48.6)
 • Stands 26th in the nation in scoring (19.3); Also ranks in total points (6, 309), free throw percentage (52, 85.2), 3-point field goals per game (110, 2.38), field goal percentage (111, 48.6) and minutes (173, 33:11)

RaShid Gaston
 • 10 straight games with 10+ rebounds, the most in the NSU Division I era, from Nov. 28-Dec. 30
 • Eight double-doubles in nine games from Nov. 28-Dec. 22
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in offensive rebounds (3.5), rebounds (9.6) and defensive rebounds (6.1), 3rd in field goal % (58.3), 9th in scoring (14.1) and 10th in blocks (0.9)
 • Stands 10th in the nation in double-doubles (8); Also ranks in field goal % (23, 58.3), rebounding (23, 9.6), offensive rebounds (25, 3.50), defensive rebounds (40, 6.07) and scoring (250, 14.1)
 • Ranks 41st in NCAA Division I in career field goal percentage (.546), 44th in double-doubles (13) and 45th in rebound average (7.1)
 • Stands 12th in NSU records with a .546 career shooting percentage

Jamel Fuentes
 • 6.0 assists in 10 games from Nov. 28-Dec. 30
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in assists (5.1) and 3rd in assist-turnover ratio (2.0)
 • Stands 47th in the nation in assists (5.1) and 117th in assist-turnover ratio (2.03)
 • Ranks 13th in NCAA Division I in career assists (491), 15th in assist-turnover ratio (1.92), 46th in assist average (4.27) and 47th in games played (115)
 • Ranks 3rd all-time at NSU in assists with 491 and 1st among D-I players; Needs 12 more to move into second place
 • Stands tied for 14th at NSU in career steals (132); Needs five more to move into 11th place

D'Shon Taylor
 • 48.7 percent on field goals, 51.3 percent on 3-pointers last eight games
 • Scored in double figures in seven straight games from Dec. 6-30 and in 11 of 12 games from Nov. 22-Dec. 30
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (43.5), 11th in field goal % (44.7) and 13th in scoring (12.5)

Malik Thomas
 • Ranks 16th in the MEAC in rebounding (5.3) and 26th in scoring (10.3)

Jordan Butler
 • Ranks 7th in the MEAC in blocks (1.3) and 190th in the nation (1.25)

Road Trekking
The Spartans are in the midst of a six-game road trek that started on Dec. 22 at James Madison and will last through Jan. 12 at Bethune-Cookman. The Spartans returned from the holiday break to play at Baylor (Dec. 30) and Georgia (Jan. 3). Four times in a seven-day span NSU had to catch a pre-dawn flight traveling back and forth for those two contests. After playing four of five games at Echols Hall prior to this six-game stretch, the Spartans will go four weeks between home games. The six-game road trek is the longest for the Spartans since they started the 2012-13 season with seven straight away from home.

Limit Those Turnovers
For the third time this season, NSU had less than 10 turnovers when the Spartans committed just eight against Georgia. They had nine against Texas Southern and U.Va-Wise earlier this year as well. Last season, the Spartans had eight games with single-digit turnovers on the way to averaging a Division I record-low 13.4 per game for the season.

NSU is currently averaging 13.8 giveaways per contest this season. The school record for fewest turnovers per game was set in 1987-88 at 13.1. Including last year, only four times since 1978-79, when the stat was first kept, has NSU had less than 14 turnovers per game.

Block Party
The Spartans had nine blocks against James Madison, the most since tallying nine against Virginia Union on Nov. 15, 2013, and the most against a D-I opponent since posting nine versus Morgan State on Feb. 4, 2013. Over the last four contests, the Spartans are averaging 7.5 blocks per game.

On Fire
NSU's current 44.5 percent clip from the field is a little less than last year's 46.5 shooting percentage, the best since the Spartans connected on 48.1 percent of their shots in 1998-99. The team's current 35.5 percent 3-point shooting is also the best mark since the 1998-99 season, when NSU hit 35.7 percent from long range.

So far this season, the Spartans have yet to lose a game when they outshoot their opponents both overall and from 3-point range (8-0 both times).

Winning the Rebounding Battle
The Spartans have had the rebounding edge in 13 of the 16 games this year, including 11 straight contests from Nov. 22-Dec. 22. Dating back to last season, NSU has outrebounded 24 of the last 28 opponents. NSU was a collective +97 in rebounding margin during that 11-game stretch, including a +20 effort against U.Va.-Wise. It marked the largest margin for the Spartans since outrebounding Coppin State by 23 on Feb. 2, 2013. On the season, the Spartans have a +5.1 rebounding margin.

NSU's 18 offensive rebounds at Georgia were the most since tallying 18 against Hampton on Feb. 15, 2014. The Spartans also scored 21 second-chance points against the Bulldogs, the most since scoring 21 against Delaware State on Jan. 13, 2014.

Get to 20
NSU had a 20-point scorer in 10 straight games from Nov. 28-Dec. 30 and in 12 contests overall this year for a total of 16 20-point games. The 10-game stretch of 20-point performances marked the longest since NSU closed out the 2008-09 season with 11 straight games.

Better After the Break
NSU has scored more points in the second half than the first half in 11 of the last 13 games.

Specialty Stats
NSU has outscored the other team by an average of 6.4 more points in the paint (30.1-23.7). On the year, NSU has outscored or been even against 13 of its 16 opponents in points in the paint, including 11 straight from Nov. 22-Dec. 22. The Spartans have attempted 99 more shots from inside the 3-point line than opponents on the season.

On the other side, in 12 of NSU's 16 games this year, opponents have made the same amount or more 3-pointers thanks to 75 more attempts on the season.

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank No. 1 in the MEAC in defensive rebound percentage (70.7). They also stand second in scoring offense (68.7), scoring margin (+2.2), field goal percentage (44.5), 3-point field goal percentage (35.5), opponent rebounding (31.7), rebounding margin (+5.1), assists (13.4) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0), as well as third in offensive rebound percentage (35.7) and blocks (4.5).

NSU is the only team in the MEAC with four players in the top 30 in scoring.

Nationally Ranked
The Spartans rank 65th in the nation in rebounding margin (+5.1) as well as in the top 150 in blocks (77, 4.5), offensive rebounds (106, 11.88), 3-point field goal percentage (127, 35.5), defensive rebounds (129, 24.94), field goal percentage (131, 44.5), assists (143, 13.4) and field goal percentage defense (146, 41.7).

Good from 3
Norfolk State has made a 3-pointer in 163 straight games, dating back to a contest at South Carolina State on Jan. 25, 2010, when NSU finished 0-of-17 from 3-point range.

Good Start
Thanks to seven wins in a nine-game span, NSU's 9-5 start to the season was tied for the best in the Division I era. The record is shared by the 2011-12 squad that also started 9-5 record but eventually reached 15-5 after 20 games.