NORFOLK, Va. - The first road test for the Norfolk State men's basketball team occurs on Tuesday night as the Spartans face Ole Miss of the SEC. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. EST, 6:30 p.m. local time, at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
The last time NSU played an SEC school, the Spartans walked off the court winners by a score of 80-79 in overtime at Alabama last year in the NIT first round.
Media Coverage
The game will be broadcast live on the
SEC Network+, available through the ESPN app. NSU will also have a
free audio broadcast through its website, one of three free broadcasts this year along with games at Southern Illinois and Loyola Chicago.
Fans can also follow along with the
live stats.
Series History
NSU has never played Ole Miss. But this will mark the 14th time the Spartans have played a current member of the SEC. They fell to Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Auburn twice, and Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State, LSU and Alabama. They beat the Crimson Tide last year in the NIT, and also topped Missouri in the 2012 NCAA tournament, the last year the Tigers were members of the Big 12.
Scouting Ole Miss
The Rebels opened up their season at home against Arkansas State, a 71-43 victory on Friday night at The Pavilion. Devontae Shuler shot 7-of-11 for a 20-point night, and KJ Buffen added 16 points and nine rebounds as well. The Rebels shot 45 percent from the field and held Arkansas State to 33 percent on its field goal attempts.
Ole Miss is in its second season under head coach Kermit Davis, who arrived after years of success at Middle Tennessee State. The Rebels went 20-13 a season ago, losing to Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament first round.
Leading scorer Breein Tyree is back (17.9 points per game), as are Shuler (10.3), Blake Hinson (8.3) and Buffen (6.0). The Rebels did lose second leading scorer Terence Davis (15.2 points, team-high 5.8 rebounds) along with Bruce Stevens (8.5 points).
Last Time Out
Up by just five at the half, NSU turned on the jets in the second in a 93-53 win over Penn State Wilkes-Barre last Friday at Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans shot 65 percent in the second half and outscored the Mountain Lions by 35 points after the break.
Norfolk State shot 50 percent for the game (35-of-70) and held large advantages in points in the paint (48-8), points off turnovers (41-11), second-chance points (11-0) and fastbreak points (24-7). Wilkes-Barre finished with 28 turnovers for the game.
Jermaine Bishop had 15 points and six assists, one of five players in double figures.
Devante Carter shot 5-of-9 for 14 points, while
Spirit Ricks (12 points),
Chris Ford (11 points, five rebounds) and
Joe Bryant Jr. (10 points, four rebounds) all reached double figures as well.
Cleaning Out the Notebook
• The Spartans recorded back-to-back 40-point wins for the first time in their Division I history following the 93-53 victory over Penn State Wilkes-Barre. The previous best was back-to-back 25-point wins last year.
• Wilkes-Barre also had 28 turnovers, the most by an NSU opponent since Morgan State had 29 on Jan. 21, 2013.
• NSU has not started a season 2-0 since 1998-99.
• NSU shot 35-of-79 against Greensboro College, which included 12 3-pointers on 31 attempts. The latter three (field goal attempts, 3-pointers, 3-point attempts) all rank in the top 10 for the most in a single game in NSU's Division I history.
• The team's 57 rebounds are tied for the fourth-most in D-I records as well.
• The Spartans reached the 100-point plateau for the third season in a row.
Player Facts
Steven Whitley
• Preseason All-MEAC Second Team
• Ranks 6th all-time at NSU in assist average (4.28) and 13th in assists (295)
Joe Bryant Jr.
• Tied career highs by hitting 4-of-7 overall, 2-of-4 from deep, vs. Penn State Wilkes-Barre; Also tied career highs with 3 assists and 23 minutes played
• Had career-high 3 steals against Greensboro
Chris Ford
• Had career-high 11 points on career-best 4-of-4 shooting against Penn State Wilkes-Barre; Tied career high with 2 blocks
