Norfolk State Men's Basketball
SAVANNAH, Ga. - Norfolk State has now won six games in a row, but the Spartan men's basketball team will face a stiff challenge on the road on Monday night when the it faces Savannah State. Tip-off at Tiger Arena is set for 8 p.m. between a pair of 10-13 overall teams.
A last-minute comeback win at South Carolina State on Saturday gave the Spartans their first six-game win streak under head coach
Robert Jones. It also moved NSU into a tie for second in the league standings with Morgan State (7-2). Savannah State dropped to fourth at 7-3, with North Carolina Central leading all teams in the league at 7-1.
Media Coverage
The 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.
Savannah State will have both
live stats and
live video available on Monday night.
Series History
Norfolk State topped the Tigers by a score of 80-76 on Jan. 11, winning its ninth-straight game over SSU and running its series record to 9-3 against the Tigers. All nine wins have come during NSU's Division I era, including four in the city of Savannah. All three of SSU's wins came in the late 1950's and early 1960's.
About Savannah State
The Tigers had won six in a row after their loss at NSU, that is until Hampton knocked them off on Saturday at Tiger Arena, 92-89. One of the fastest-paced teams in the nation, SSU averages 85 points per game and takes nearly 70 shots total per contest while also giving up nearly 94 points. The Tigers average 14 3-pointers per game but also own a -8.8 rebounding margin so far this season. Troyce Manassa has been on a tear lately, and he now averages a team-best 15.6 points per game. He ranks just ahead of teammate Dexter McClanahan (15.4). Robert Kelly Jr. (10.4 points, team-best 5.9 rebounds) and Austin Dasent (10.0) also reach double figures per game.
Last Time Out
Dan Robinson's putback with 20.8 seconds left put NSU ahead for good as the Spartans came back late to down South Carolina State on the road on Saturday, 65-62. The Spartans led just once in the second half until Robinson's bucket put them ahead by one. The Bulldogs had a chance on their end, but they were called for basket interference on a rebound attempt still above the cylinder with 2.8 seconds left.
Jonathan Wade sank both free throws on the other end for the final margin. He finished 12-of-14 from the foul line and had 19 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds.
Zaynah Robinson led all players with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, and
Dan Robinson tied his career best with nine points. The final three-point margin marked the largest of the game for NSU, which led for less than five minutes total in the contest. The Spartans benefited from a 24-of-32 effort from the charity stripe, compared to a 10-of-13 mark for the Bulldogs, while tying their season high with 20 turnovers.
Player Tidbits
Jonathan Wade
 • Tied career high with 12 rebounds and added 19 points at South Carolina State for 2nd career double-double; Also shot career-best 12-of-14 from the free throw line
 • Averaging 21.9 points on 59.8 percent shooting, including 15-of-34 on 3-pointers, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists last 7 games
 • Has scored in double figures in all 23 games
 • Ranks 3rd in the nation in largest increase in points per game from last year (+13.8) behind Northeastern's T.J. Williams (+14.5) and Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman (+14.1)
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in scoring (19.7), 6th in field goal percentage (49.8), 7th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.6) and minutes (33.9), and 10th in defensive rebounds (4.5) and rebounding (5.8)
 • Ranks 48th in the nation in points (19.7), No. 123 in field goal percentage (49.8) and No. 132 in minutes (33:54)
 • Stands No. 678 in NCAA Division I career records in points (647)
 • Ranks 5th in NSU Division I records in scoring average (19.7) and 7th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.6)
 • Ranks 10th all-time at NSU in 3-point field goal percentage (37.6) and 15th in free throw percentage (76.2)
Zaynah Robinson
 • Averaging 6.7 assists last 6 games and 37.3 minutes last 8 games
 • Posted 5th 20-point game of season with 23 at South Carolina State with career-best 6 steals; Most steals by a Spartan player in 7 years
 • Has tallied 12 or more points in 8 of the last 10 games
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in assist-turnover ratio (3.2), 3rd in steals (1.5), 4th in free throw percentage (82.3), 6th in assists (4.2), 8th in minutes (33.8), 15th in 3-point field goals per game (1.8) and 19th in scoring (12.0)
 • Ranks 13th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (3.17), No. 139 in assists (4.2), No. 141 in minutes (33:46) and No. 190 in steals (1.45)
 • Stands No. 197 in NCAA Division I career records with 229 assists and No. 849 in points (562)
 • Ranks 4th in NSU Division I records in assist average (4.18) and 14th in assists (92)
 • Ranks 17th all-time at NSU in assists (229) and 3-point field goal attempts (231) and 18th in 3-point field goals (80)
Jordan Butler
 • Tallied 3rd double-digit rebounding game of season with 11 at South Carolina State
 • Averaging 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks last 9 games
 • Ranks 1st in the MEAC in blocks (1.8), 3rd in rebounding (6.8) and 8th in offensive rebounds (2.1) and defensive rebounds (4.7)
 • Ranks 56th in the nation in blocks (1.78) and No. 222 in rebounds (6.8)
 • Stands 25th in NCAA Division I career records with 142 total blocks, 31st with a 1.67 blocks-per-game average, No. 224 in rebounds (450) and No. 1,032 in points (482)
 • Ranks 15th in NSU Division I records in blocks (32)
 • Ranks 3rd all-time at NSU in blocks (142)
Alex Long
 • Ranks 2nd in the MEAC in blocks (1.4), 13th in defensive rebounds (4.0) and 14th in rebounding (5.5)
 • Ranks 113th in the nation in blocks (1.41)
 • Stands No. 1,498 in NCAA Division I career records in points (337)
 • Ranks 18th all-time at NSU in blocks (66)
Dan Robinson
 • Tied career high with 9 points at South Carolina State
 • Averaging 5.8 points on 11-of-13 shooting last 4 games
 • Ranks 6th in the MEAC (1.2) and No. 169 in the nation in blocks (1.18)
Keep Shooting
NSU shot 48.0 percent from the floor over a six-game span before hitting slightly less than 30 percent at South Carolina State. Included in that stretch was a 10-of-16 3-point performance (62.5 percent) against Hampton, the fourth-best percentage in the program's Division I history, as well as a 13-of-27 effort against North Carolina A&T. NSU fell just short of its program record of 14 3-pointers set last year.
Rejected
NSU has had more blocks than the other team in nine of the last 10 games and 15 of the last 18. On the year, NSU ranks 25th in the nation in blocks per game at 5.3 and 29th with 121 total blocks. The Spartans had 10 blocks against Hampton, the third time this season with 10 swats in a contest. Only twice in its Division I history has NSU had more than 10 blocks in a game.
The top five seasons in NSU history in terms of total blocks have all come within the last six years, as the program has averaged 163.3 blocks per season during that time.
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 16 of NSU's 23 games. The Spartans, meanwhile, are scoring on average 6.3 more points in the second stanza than the first period.
The Spartans are shooting 45.6 percent overall in the second half, compared to 39.8 in the first. They are also connecting on 41.4 from long range in the second but just 28.0 percent in the first. Opponents are also shooting slightly better in the second half than the first (44.0-41.7), including from 3-point range (36.9-33.6).
But on the other hand, NSU has been better on the glass in first halves (+0.4 rebounding margin) than second periods (-0.7).
Don't Turn it Over
On the year, Norfolk State is getting outscored 15.9-12.0 in points off turnovers, although the Spartans are averaging 16.0 points the past four games.
NSU has had more turnovers than the other team in 11 of the last 14 games. But that also includes a season-low seven turnovers at Coppin State.
On the year, the Spartans have a -1.8 turnover margin in the first half, a number that falls to -0.2 in second periods. They also have 74 total steals on the year in second halves compared to 37 in first periods.
MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank first in the MEAC in blocks (5.3), with the next highest team being Morgan State at 3.5. NSU also ranks second in scoring defense (72.0), scoring margin (-3.8), field goal percentage defense (42.7) and defensive rebound percentage (71.7), and third in opponent rebounding (35.7), rebound margin (-0.2) and defensive rebounds (26.2).
Bench Production
So far this year, the opposition's bench is outscoring NSU's, 23.2-16.6. The Spartans, however, have gotten 42 points from their bench over the last two games.
Conference Streak
NSU secured its 18th straight season last year with a .500 or better record in the MEAC. In fact, in Norfolk State's 61 seasons in a conference, the program has had just one losing conference record (9-10 in the CIAA in 1990-91).
NSU is tied with Wisconsin for eighth in the nation for the longest streak of .500-or-better conference records in a row in Division I (See table page 6). NSU has posted 23 straight .500 or better conference records, dating back to that 1990-91 campaign.
