Norfolk State Men's Basketball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After getting back on the winning track in its last game, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will face perhaps its toughest test all season when the Spartans travel to No. 15/15 Purdue on Wednesday night. Tip-off from Mackey Arena is set for 7 p.m.
The Spartans are coming off an 87-80 victory over Eastern Kentucky at home on Monday night, a victory that broke an eight-game losing streak for the Spartans. The contest against Purdue will mark the final game before the Christmas break and the second-to-last non-conference game of the year for NSU.
Media Coverage
The game will be shown live on BTN Plus, available on
BTN2Go, the streaming arm of the Big Ten Network. A subscription to BTN Plus is required to view Wednesday's game. Lisa Byington and Gary Close will have the call.
In addition,
live stats will be available.
Series History
This will mark the first-ever meeting between NSU and Purdue. It will mark the eighth-different Big Ten team the Spartans will have faced, which includes losses to Rutgers and Maryland twice each and Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska once each.
About Purdue
The Boilermakers are coming off an 82-50 win over Western Illinois on Monday that improved their record to 10-2, with the only losses coming to No. 3 Villanova and No. 14 Louisville. Caleb Swanigan tallied 21 points and 21 rebounds to lead Purdue in its last game. Swanigan leads the way with 17.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. He's one of four double-digit scorers for the Boilermakers, who average nearly 84 points per game while shooting 49 percent overall and 43 percent from 3-point range. Isaac Haas (14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds) is joined by Vincent Edwards (12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists) and Carsen Edwards (10.5 points) in double figures. They help Purdue outrebound opponents by an average of 9.8 boards per contest, although the Boilermakers only average 2.4 blocks. They do, however, hold teams to just 65 points per game, 40 percent shooting overall and 33.5 percent from 3-point land. Besides the top four scorers, Dakota Mathias (9.6 points) and P.J. Thompson (8.0 points) also add to the offensive output.
Last Time Out
Jonathan Wade and
Kyle Williams had clutch performances to lead Norfolk State to an 87-80 win over Eastern Kentucky in overtime on Monday night at home. NSU picked up its first Division I win of the season after EKU came back late in the second half to force the extra session. Wade scored seven straight late in the second half before EKU closed the half on a 7-1 run. Both teams had chances late but could not convert. Then in overtime, the Colonels held a four-point lead until Williams nailed a pair of 3-pointers. In between, Wade converted a four-point play, and Williams' second trey proved to be the final dagger. Wade scored 25 points, and Williams added 23. NSU was outshot from the floor by EKU, but the Spartans used a 35-of-45 effort from the free throw line to gain the final edge.
Player Tidbits
Jonathan Wade
 • Had 6th 20-point game of the season with 25 against Eastern Kentucky; Shot 11-of-16 from the free throw line, tied with
Jordan Butler from last year for the most attempts by a Spartan player in the last 8 years
 • Ranks 4th in the MEAC in scoring (19.5), 5th in minutes (33.5), 8th in defensive rebounds (4.3), 10th in field goal percentage (48.4), 3-point field goal percentage (39.6), rebounding (5.5), and 11th in free throw percentage (75.4)
 • Ranks 53rd in the nation in points (20.0), No. 92 in minutes (34:10) and No. 202 in field goal percentage (47.4)
 • Stands No. 899 in NCAA Division I career records in points (434)
Zaynah Robinson
 • 13-2 assist-turnover ratio last 4 games
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (3.7), 6th in steals (1.3) and minutes (33.5), 10th in assists (3.0) and 26th in scoring (10.8)
 • Stands No. 957 in NCAA Division I career records in points (416)
Jordan Butler
 • Averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds last 3 games played; Shooting 13-of-14 from the free throw line last 2 games
 • Ranks 3rd all-time at NSU in blocks (120)
 • Stands 32nd in NCAA Division I career records with 120 total blocks, No. 33 with a 1.60 blocks-per-game average, No. 247 in rebounds (366) and No. 971 in points (409)
Alex Long
 • Has 14 blocks last 4 games played
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in blocks (1.8), 8th in rebounding (6.1) and defensive rebounds (4.3), and 10th in offensive rebounds (1.8)
 • Ranks 61st in the nation in blocks (1.82)
 • Stands No. 1,467 in NCAA Division I career records in points (253)
Dan Robinson
 • Averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks last 2 games
 • Had career highs of 9 points and 4 blocks against Eastern Kentucky
 • Ranks 7th in the MEAC and No. 95 in the nation in blocks (1.50)
Kyle Williams
 • Had career-highs of 23 points, 3 assists and 5-of-7 3-point shooting against Eastern Kentucky
 • Also had 5 3-pointers versus Elizabeth City State
Stavian Allen
 • Averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds last 2 games, shooting 7-of-9 overall and 3-of-3 from 3-point range
Carrington Ward
 • Had career highs of 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks against Shenandoah
 • Tied career high twice more with 5 rebounds against Elizabeth City State and Eastern Kentucky
Rejected
NSU owns a 42-21 edge in blocks over the previous seven games. On the year, NSU ranks 34th in the nation in blocks per game at 5.4 and 22nd with 65 total blocks.
Getting to the Line
The Spartans made 35 free throws against Eastern Kentucky, the second-most in NSU's Division I history behind the school record of 41 set against Florida A&M on Dec, 5, 2013. Their 45 attempts against the Colonels on Monday are tied for the fourth most in the Spartans' D-I history.
Mixing and Matching
NSU has used nine different lineups in its 12 games this year, including eight different sets of starting five in the last nine contests.
Getting Back on Track
The Spartans averaged just 59.2 points per game while shooting 37.7 percent overall and 31.7 percent from 3-point range during its eight-game losing streak. Then against Eastern Kentucky, NSU scored 87, including 72 in regulation, while shooting 41.5 percent overall and 47 percent from 3-point range. It marked the second time this season NSU topped the 80-point plateau.
Halftime Adjustments
So far this season, the opposition has scored the same amount or more points in the second half than the first period in nine of NSU's 12 games, scoring 2.6 more points in the second half than the first.
NSU, on the other hand, is scoring on average 5.6 more points in the second stanza than the first period. The Spartans are shooting 44.6 percent overall in the second half, compared to 38.1 in the first. They are also connecting on 43.0 from long range in the second but just 27.6 percent in the first.
Over the last five games, the Spartans have scored 64 more points in the second half than the first.
Don't Turn it Over
NSU has only forced 9.4 turnovers per game from the opposition the last five contests with 20 total steals during that time. Of course, during that five-game streak, NSU has also posted its three lowest totals of the year with nine, 10 and 11 turnovers.
On the year, Norfolk State is getting outscored 14.5-12.7 in points off turnovers, although NSU held a 21-8 advantage against Eastern Kentucky.
Predictable Numbers
The Spartans were outshot in the win over Eastern Kentucky, hitting 41.5 percent compared to 46.6 from the Colonels. Prior to that, NSU had a better shooting percentage than the opposition in its last 35 wins, dating back to a win over Saint Peter's in November of 2014.
NSU also shot better from the floor in the loss at Loyola (47.3-46.3 percent), breaking a long streak for the Spartans. Norfolk State had been outshot in each of its previous 22 losses before Loyola, dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season against Eastern Kentucky.
