Norfolk State Men's BasketballDOVER, Del. - The tight battle for the top spots in the MEAC will continue on Saturday when the Norfolk State men's basketball team travels to Delaware State for a 4 p.m. matchup at Memorial Hall. It will mark the first game of a three-game stretch during just a five-day span. NSU has five regular season games left altogether.
At 9-2, NSU finds itself in second place and a half game behind league leader Hampton (10-2). After falling to Savannah State last Saturday, South Carolina State now sits in third place at 9-3.
Media CoverageThe game will be broadcast live on Star 1310 AM as well as Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon on the call. Live audio is available through
www.star1310.com as well as
hot91.nsu.edu:8000/128. Both feeds are available on smartphones through the Star 1310 website or through
www.TuneIn.com or the TuneIn Radio App (search for "WNSB") for Hot 91.1.
Fans can also follow along with the
live stats and the
live video feed.
Series HistoryNorfolk State has won four in a row over Delaware State during the past three seasons to improve its overall mark against the Hornets to 31-23. Many of those victories came in the 1960's and early 1970's. Prior to this recent four-game win streak, DSU had won 19 of the previous 23 meetings.
About Delaware StateThe Hornets stand 6-20 overall and 4-7 in league play but have won the last two contests against UMES and Coppin State. Nevertheless, DSU is a team that averages close to 61 points per game and shoots just 38.1 percent overall, 32.2 percent from 3-point range and 60.9 percent from the charity stripe. Opponents have fared the same from 3-point range (32.0) but are averaging 73.2 points per game and outrebounding the Hornets by eight boards each contest. Devin Morgan and DeAndre Haywood lead the way for DSU with 11.0 points per game each. Morgan also leads the team with 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. After those two, the next highest scorer is Dana Raysor at 7.1 points.
Last Time OutNSU set the school record for blocks with 17 and had five players score in double figures in a 79-73 win over Morgan State last Saturday at Joseph Echols Hall.
Jordan Butler led the Spartans with 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high tying seven blocks.
D'Shon Taylor and
Alex Long each added 12 points and helped the Spartans outscore MSU 40-34 in points in the paint on a day when NSU shot just 3-of-23 from 3-point range. The Spartans led by as much as 17 in the second half before the Bears cut the final deficit to six.
Charles Oliver and
Jeff Short also reached double figures with 11 points each. The Spartans shot 27-of-61 overall (44.3 percent), compared to a 29-of-72 effort for MSU (40.3 percent).
MEAC StandingsHampton (10-2) and NSU (9-2) have the slight edge for the top 2 seeds in the MEAC tournament. The Spartans own the tiebreaker over third-place South Carolina State (9-3), although the Bulldogs did defeat Hampton earlier this season. The only other team in the MEAC with less than six losses is Bethune-Cookman (7-5). The top four seeds in this year's tournament will get byes into the quarterfinal.
The Spartans have finished no worse than tied for third each of the last four years as well as fourth or better in the MEAC in eight of the last nine seasons.
Block PartyThe Spartans set the school record with 17 blocks against Morgan State, surpassing the previous best of 13 set at Savannah State on Jan. 5, 2005. The team's 17 swats is tied with Houston Baptist for the most this season in a game in NCAA Division I.
NSU ranks No. 38 in the nation with 5.0 blocks per game. The top 4 seasons in NSU history in terms of total blocks have all come within the last five years. The Spartans have averaged 161.0 blocks per season over those last five years and currently have 130 for this season.
Player TidbitsJeff Short • Averaging 17.3 points on 23-of-50 shooting and 2.3 assists last 4 games
 • Averaging 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 46.2 % from the floor in league games
 • Ranks 7th in the MEAC in free throw % (80.3), scoring (16.1) and 3-point field goal % (37.5) and 10th in 3-point field goals (2.2); Sits No. 168 in the nation in free throw % (80.3), 195 in points per game (16.1) and 212 in 3-point field goals per game (2.16)
 • Stands No. 113 in NCAA D-I in career scoring average (13.1) and 139 in points (1,232)
 • Ranks 2nd in NSU career records in free throw % (.814), 7th in 3-point field goals (123), 8th in 3-point field goal percentage (.386), 11th in 3-point field goal attempts (319), 16th in scoring average (17.8) and 34th in scoring (1,050)
 • Ranks 7th in a season in NSU's D-I history in free throw % (80.3) and 11th in scoring average (16.1) and 3-point field goals (54)
 • Has made a 3-pointer in 16 straight games
D'Shon Taylor • Has scored 12+ points in 10 of the last 11 games and is averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds last 5 games
 • Has 10 steals the last 5 games
 • Averaging 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in league play while shooting 45.0 % overall and 36.6 % from the 3-point line
 • Ranks 14th in the MEAC in field goal % (44.7), 15th in 3-point field goal % (35.2) and 18th in scoring (12.6)
 • Ranks 16th in NSU career records in 3-point field goals (81) and 3-point field goal attempts (229) and 17th in 3-point field goal % (.354)
Charles Oliver • Averaging 14.1 points in league play while shooting 44.4 % from the floor, 41.8 % from 3-point range and 86.7 % from the free throw line
 • 17-of-17 from the free throw line the last 4 games
 • Ranks 4th in the MEAC in free throw % (83.8), 10th in 3-point field goal % (36.6), 12th in 3-point field goals (2.0) and 17th in scoring (12.8); Sits No. 82 in the nation in free throw % (83.8)
 • Stands 1st in NSU D-I season records for free throw % (83.8) (and 2nd in overall records) and 14th in 3-point field goals (52)
Zaynah Robinson • Averaging 13.0 points, 5.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 6-of-11 from 3-point range in the last 3 games
 • Has 4 double digit scoring efforts in the last 7 games
 • Averaging 8.2 points and 3.5 assists in league games while shooting 43.1 % overall, 44.8 % from 3-point range and 84.4 % from the free throw line
 • Has made a 3-pointer in 12 of the last 16 games; Has hit 30 of his last 34 free throw attempts
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (4.0), 2nd in 3-point field goal % (42.6), 6th in steals (1.4) and 10th in assists (3.1); Stands No. 7 in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (4.00) and 215 in steals per game (1.38)
Jordan Butler • Averaging 12.0 points on 19-of-32 shooting with 9.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks the last 4 games
• Tied career high with 7 blocks against Morgan State, tying the NSU D-I record shared by Kyle O'Quinn; Fell 1 short of tying the overall school record of 8
 • Averaging 7.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.3 assists in league play while shooting 54.0 % from the floor and 76.5 % from the free throw line
 • Ranks 3rd in the MEAC in blocks (2.1) and 10th in rebounding (6.9), defensive rebounds (4.6) and offensive rebounds (2.3); Also stands No. 36 in the nation in blocks (2.12), 199 in offensive rebounds (2.31) and 222 in rebounds (6.9)
 • Ranks 6th in NSU career records in blocks (91)
 • Also stands 5th in NSU D-I season records for blocks (55)
Alex Long • Tied career high with 4 blocks against Morgan State
 • Averaging 9.5 points on 58.7 % shooting and 5.1 rebounds last 10 games
 • Averaging 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 assists while shooting 59.4 % from the floor and 95.5 % from the free throw line in league play
 • Ranks 11th in the MEAC in blocks (1.0)
 • Has hit 23 of his last 24 free throw attempts
Preston Bungei • Averaging 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in league play while shooting 52.6 % from the floor and 77.4 % from the free throw line
 • Ranks 11th in the MEAC in blocks (1.0)
Jonathan Wade • Averaging 7.5 points and shooting 45.5 % from the floor and 86.7 % from the free throw line in league play
Good from the LineNSU, which ranked No. 282 in the nation last year in free throw percentage, has improved its mark from 65.9 to 77.6 percent this season, which currently ranks the Spartans third in the nation behind national leader St. Bonaventure (78.3). NSU is attempting to hit better than 70 percent this year for the first time since the 2003-04 season and break the school record of 72.3 set in 1968-69.
On the year, the Spartans have shot 315-of-393 (80.2 percent) from the free throw line after intermission but just 160-of-221 (72.4 percent) beforehand. They have also hit 141-of-173 (81.5 percent) in the last five minutes and overtime of their games this year.
Good From Long RangeNorfolk State is hitting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc with 197 total treys, just one away from tying the school record of 198 set in 2011-12. NSU's current clip from long range ranks No. 88 in the nation. NSU is chasing the school's Division I record of 35.7 percent set in 1998-99. NSU ranks No. 120 in the nation in 3-pointers per game (7.6).
Up That ScoringNSU is averaging 73.9 points per game this year, the most since the Spartans tallied 76.0 per game in 1999-2000.
Rackin' Up the PointsIn five of NSU's wins this year in conference play, the Spartans have scored 99, 92, 88 (twice) and 87 points. In fact, NSU has scored at least 70 points in all 11 MEAC games this year and is averaging a league-best 82.5 points and shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from 3-point range and 78.4 percent from the charity stripe in conference games. The Spartans also have a 66-31 edge in blocks against MEAC teams this year.
Scoring Around the BasketNSU is averaging 25.5 points in the paint this year but 36.5 in the last four games.
MEAC RankingsThe Spartans continue to lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage (36.4) and free throw percentage (77.6) while also ranking second in scoring offense (73.9), scoring margin (-0.4), field goal percentage defense (42.5), 3-pointers per game (7.6), blocks (5.0) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0) and third in assists (12.3).
Limit Those GiveawaysThe Spartans on the season are averaging 12.6 turnovers per contest. The school record for fewest giveaways per game is 13.1 set in 1987-88. NSU has also had as many or fewer turnovers than the opposition in 11 of the last 12 games. On the flip side, NSU is averaging 19.3 points off turnovers the last seven games.
Good from 3Norfolk State has made a 3-pointer in 207 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.
Ahead at the HalfThe Spartans are 76-12 (86.4 winning percentage) since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading or tied at the half. NSU lost its first game this season, when ahead at the break, in the setback at Evansville. The Spartans are 9-1 this year when leading or tied at the half but just 4-12 when trailing.
