MEAC Tournament SemifinalsNORFOLK, Va. - For the third year in a row, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will find itself in the semifinal round of the MEAC tournament. NSU faces No. 3 seed South Carolina State on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Norfolk Scope Arena for a chance to advance to the title game.
The No. 2 seed Spartans are attempting to advance to the final for just the third time ever and the first since winning the championship in 2012.
The Spartans earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament for the second straight year after tying South Carolina State for the second-best record in the conference at 12-4. NSU earned the tiebreaker after defeating the Bulldogs in their only meeting this year.
Media CoverageThe game will be broadcast live on Star 1310 AM as well as Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon and Aaron Clark 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.
The game will be shown live on
ESPN3, available through the WatchESPN app, with Charlie Neal and Jimmy Lewis on the call. Fans can also follow along with the
live stats.
Series HistoryNorfolk State has won the last three meetings with South Carolina State to pull ahead in the all-time series, 19-17. The Spartans won the earlier meeting this year, 87-74, in Norfolk, as well as last year's contest in the MEAC quarterfinal, 68-54. This will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams in the tournament. Besides last year, NSU also won in the semifinals in 2009, while the Bulldogs earned a win in the quarterfinals in 2005.
About South Carolina StateThe Bulldogs scored 59 points in the first half of a 90-80 win over Coppin State on Thursday in the quarterfinals. That improved S.C. State's record to 18-13 on the season. Eric Eaves led the Bulldogs with 21 points against CSU, and he leads them in scoring on the season at 17.2 points. Ed Stephens tallies 13.3 points, while Gabriel McCray adds 11.5 per game. The Bulldogs are one of the better scoring teams in the league at 73.4 points per contest while shooting 45 percent overall and close to 35 percent from 3-point range. They do not turn the ball over much (11.8 per game) but don't force turnovers either from the other team (12.5). Besides the top 3 scorers, S.C. State also gets production from Tashombe Riley (8.2 points, 5.3 rebounds), Greg Mortimer (7.9 points) and Darryl Palmer (7.5 points, 6.0 rebounds).
Last Time OutNSU held NCCU to its second-lowest scoring output of the season, and the lowest by a Spartan opponent this year, in a 66-47 win over the Eagles in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC tournament on Wednesday. NCCU shot just 33 percent overall (15-of-45) and 2-of-14 from 3-point range. The Eagles committed 18 turnovers and were outblocked 8-0 by NSU. The Spartans were led by
Jeff Short with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.
D'Shon Taylor (13) and
Charles Oliver (10) also reached double figures for NSU, which hit 22-of-55 (40.0 percent) for the game. The Spartans also outscored the Eagles 13-3 in second-chance points. It marked NSU's first win of the year when scoring less than 70 points. The 47 points were the fewest scored against NSU by a D-I opponent since Savannah State had 47 in the MEAC tournament in 2014.
MEAC Tournament HistoryThe Spartans advanced to the semifinals this year for the fifth time in the past six years and the seventh time in the last nine seasons. This year also marks the eighth time in those last nine years that the Spartans entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed or better. Norfolk State has been to the title game twice, the first in 2009 and then again in 2012.
3-Game StreakNSU has won its past three games by 18, 20 and 19 points. It marked the first time since the end of the 2009-10 season that the Spartans won three in a row by at least 18 points. During that time, opponents have shot just 32.5 percent overall and 21.3 percent from 3-point range while averaging 58.7 points per game.
NSU now ranks No. 94 in the nation in opponent field goal percentage at 42.0.
Player TidbitsJeff Short • Named 1st Team All-MEAC for 2nd year in a row
 • Averaging 17.0 points and 4.0 assists last 2 games
 • Has 14 steals the last 7 games and 24 assists the last 5 games, including career-high tying 7 against Howard
 • Ranks 5th in the MEAC in free throw % (81.3), 7th in scoring (15.8), 12th in 3-point field goals (2.1), 13th in 3-point field goal % (35.8) and 14th in assists (2.6); Sits No. 139 in the nation in free throw % (81.3) and 211 in points per game (15.8)
 • Stands No. 131 in NCAA D-I in points (1,320) and 140 in career scoring average (13.2)
 • Ranks 2nd in NSU career records in free throw % (.817), 7th in 3-point field goals (133), 8th in 3-point field goal attempts (354), 9th in 3-point field goal percentage (.376), 16th in scoring average (17.5) and 33rd in scoring (1,138)
 • Ranks 6th in a season in NSU's D-I history in 3-point field goals (64) and 3-point field goal attempts (179), 7th in free throws (126), 8th in free throw % (81.3), 11th in free throw attempts (155), 13th in scoring average (15.8) and points (490) and 15th in field goal attempts (356)
D'Shon Taylor • Has scored 12+ points in 16 of the last 17 games
 • Averaging 16.3 points on 48.0 % shooting and 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals last 11 games, including 17.0 points on 50 % shooting and 8.0 rebounds last 4 games
 • Has at least 1 steal in 13 straight games
 • 18-of-21 from the free throw line last 5 games and 7-of-13 from the 3-point line last 3 contests
 • Ranks 10th in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (37.4), 12th in steals (1.2), 14th in free throw % (76.2) and field goal % (46.2) and 15th in scoring (13.4)
 • Stands No. 142 in NCAA D-I in career scoring average (13.2) and 453 in career points (856)
 • Ranks 11th in NSU career records in 3-point field goal % (.363), 15th in 3-point field goals (93) and 16th in 3-point field goal attempts (256)
 • Also ranks 15th in a season in NSU's D-I history in 3-point field goal % (37.4)
Charles Oliver • Ranks 4th in the MEAC in free throw % (82.6) and 22nd in scoring (12.3); Sits No. 106 in the nation in free throw % (82.6)
 • Stands 5th in NSU D-I season records for free throw % (82.6), 9th in 3-point field goal attempts (169), 12th in 3-point field goals (57) and 13th in free throws (114)
Zaynah Robinson • Averaging 9.0 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 3.5 rebounds last 2 games
 • Has hit 32 of his last 37 free throw attempts; Also owns a 21-5 assist-turnover ratio the last 7 games
 • Ranks 4th in the MEAC in 3-point field goal % (40.2) and 11th in assists (3.0) and steals (1.3)
• Would stand 5th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (3.80) but is just short of the 3.0 assists-per-game minimum average
 • Stands 6th in NSU D-I season records in 3-point field goal % (40.2), 12th in assists (95) and 14th in assist average (2.97)
Jordan Butler • Averaging 11.4 points on 62.5 % shooting with 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks the last 10 games
 • Has 22 blocks the last 7 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
 • Ranks 3rd in the MEAC in blocks (2.2), 10th in offensive rebounds (2.3), 11th in rebounding (6.8) and 12th in defensive rebounds (4.4); Also stands No. 35 in the nation in blocks (2.19), 196 in offensive rebounds (2.34) and 238 in rebounds (6.8)
 • Stands No. 49 in NCAA D-I in career blocks per game average (1.63)
 • Ranks 4th in NSU career records in blocks (106)
 • Also stands 4th in NSU D-I season records for blocks (70), 10th in rebounds (216), 12th in field goal % (52.8) and 15th in rebound average (6.8)
Alex Long • Named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team
 • Ranks 11th in the MEAC in blocks (1.1) and No. 235 in the nation (1.06)
 • Stands 13th in NSU D-I season records in blocks (34)
Preston Bungei • Has made 24 of his last 28 free throws
 • Ranks 12th in the MEAC in blocks (1.0)
 • Stands 15th in NSU D-I season records in blocks (31)
Jonathan Wade • Averaging 3.9 rebounds last 8 games, including career-high 7 at Morgan State
 • Has made 13 straight free throws
 • Had 1st 2 career blocks against NCCU in the MEAC tournament
Block PartyNSU ranks No. 26 in the nation with 5.2 blocks per game. The top four 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 five seaons and currently have 167 for this year. They also only trail the 2010-11 team (5.7) for the most blocks per game in school history. NSU has also posted 54 blocks the last seven games (7.7 per game) and has outblocked MEAC teams 103-51 in 17 games played.
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 77.3 percent this season, which currently ranks the Spartans fourth in the nation. 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 382-of-479 (79.7 percent) from the free throw line after intermission but just 209-of-288 (72.6 percent) beforehand. They have also hit 159-of-197 (80.7 percent) in the last five minutes and overtime of their games this year.
NSU has already broken the record for free throws made in a season in its Division I history (598), surpassing the previous best of 544 set in 2011-12. The overall school record stands at 669 set in 1965-66.
Good From Long RangeWith 233 3-pointers this year, Norfolk State has also set the school record for most makes in a season, surpassing the previous best of 198 set in 2011-12. NSU is hitting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc, just behind the school's Division I record of 35.7 percent set in 1998-99.
Up That ScoringNSU is averaging 74.2 points per game this year, the most since the Spartans tallied 76.0 per game in 1999-2000.
Falling Behind?NSU has only trailed for 24 seconds the last three games, which came after NCCU made three free throws to start the contest on Wednesday. The Spartans have outscored those three teams 28-2 in fastbreak points.
Limit Those GiveawaysThe Spartans on the season are averaging 12.7 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 17 of the last 18 games. The Spartans are tallying 5.8 steals per game this year but have posted six or more in six of the last eight contests, including a season-high 11 against Hampton. They have also had the same amount or more steals than the opposition in each of the last 13 games and 16 out of the last 17.
On the flip side, NSU is averaging 19.0 points off turnovers the last 13 games.
MEAC RankingsThe Spartans lead the league in scoring offense (74.2), 3-point field goal percentage (35.1), free throw percentage (77.3), scoring margin (+1.1) and field goal percentage defense (42.0) while ranking second in blocks (5.2) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0) and third in 3-pointers per game (7.3) and turnover margin (+0.78).
A Second ChanceNSU has averaged 15.4 second-chance points the last four games, including a season-high 22 against Howard.
Scoring Around the BasketNSU is averaging 26.4 points in the paint this year but 32.6 in the last 10 games.
Winning RecordNSU has now secured its fifth straight winning season. 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. The Spartans owned an 86-51 record over the previous four seasons, the best four-game stretch for the program since 1993-97 (94-26).
Hello ThereNSU has used 10 different starting lineups this year. The most that one starting lineup has been together this year is eight games (Robinson, Short, Oliver, Taylor, Butler).
