NORFOLK, Va. - With non-conference games out of the way, the Norfolk State men's basketball team can turn toward MEAC play at the start of a new decade. And to start off, the Spartans will be at home as they host Bethune-Cookman this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.

Picked to finish fourth in the league, NSU takes on a Wildcat squad that was picked second. At 6-8, B-CU is tied with Morgan State for the most overall wins in the league entering the start of conference play.

NSU will then head to Coppin State on Monday night for a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Physical Education Complex to close out the conference weekend.

Media Coverage
The games will be broadcast live on Hot 91.1 FM with Ross Gordon on the call, joined by Woube Gebre for the B-CU contest. The audio feed is available through www.TuneIn.com or the TuneIn Radio App (search for "WNSB").

Against Bethune-Cookman, fans can also follow along with the live stats and the live video feed. The live video feed also carries the radio broadcast. Coppin State, meanwhile, will have both live stats and live video.

Series History
Norfolk State has the all-time edge over Bethune-Cookman, 22-14, although the Wildcats won the most recent meeting last year in Daytona Beach, 84-76. The Spartans have won the last three and five of the last six at home, including last year's meeting in Norfolk, 75-68.

NSU has won 12 in a row over Coppin State dating back to the 2012-13 season. That has pushed the Spartans' all-time record against the Eagles to 31-11. You have to go back even farther to find the last time NSU lost in Baltimore to the Eagles. The Spartans have won 10 in a row at CSU, with the last loss coming in 2006-07.

Scouting the Opponents
Bethune-Cookman stands 6-8 on the season, owning wins over Incarnate Word (83-58), Eastern Illinois (66-63) and Marist (85-56). The Wildcats have also suffered close losses to Saint Louis by 10, UCF and Stetson by five and Georgia Tech by three. The Wildcats finished 9-7 in the MEAC a season ago.

Bethune-Cookman owns the league's top-scoring offense at 72.5 points per game despite hitting just 41 percent from the field, 32 percent from deep. Isaiah Bailey leads the team with 13.9 points and 2.9 assists per game. Cletrell Pope averages a double-double of 12.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Six other players tally between 6.4 and 8.1 points per game.

Like NSU, B-CU thrives in the turnover department, forcing 16 per game with a +1.8 turnover margin. Opponents hit 42 percent from the field against the Wildcats, but just 28 percent from deep.

Coppin State has picked up a few Division I wins this year, including by four points at Loyola Chicago as well as a 16-point victory at James Madison. Cornell and East Carolina have also fallen victim to the Eagles, who own a 4-11 overall record this year. Five losses have been by nine points or less.

Four players score in double figures, led by Kamar McKnight at 15.0 points per game. Andrew Robinson adds 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds, with Dejuan Clayton (11.7 points, 3.0 assists) and Koby Thomas (10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds) also chipping in. Aaron Robinson is the next closest scorer at 6.2 points.

CSU shoots just 38 percent from the floor, 27 percent from deep, while averaging 67 points per game. The Eagles let it fly, averaging nearly eight 3-pointers per game despite its low percentage. Opponents tally nine 3-pointers per game while scoring 77 points each time out. CSU owns a -5.4 rebounding margin as well.

Last Time Out
The Spartans got hot in the second half, but Stony Brook made a 20-point halftime lead stand in an 81-65 win over NSU last Sunday in Long Island. The Seawolves shot 46 percent for the game, while NSU made better than 50 percent in the second half after a 6-of-25 start to the game.

Three players reached double figures for NSU, with Joe Bryant Jr. leading the way at 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Jermaine Bishop sank four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, while Steven Whitley tallied 14 points (5-of-8 shooting), 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

Stony Brook had four players in double figures, led by Elijah Olaniyi with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Andrew Garcia went for 18 points and eight rebounds, and Makale Foreman (16 points) and Miles Latimer (11 points) had made contributions. SBU shot 12-of-27 from deep and 21-of-24 from the free throw line to improve to 9-6 on the season.

Recent Trends
 • NSU has outscored opponents in fastbreak points and points off turnovers, but has been on the wrong side of the rebound margin, in five of the last six games. Opponents have outscored NSU in second-chance points in four of the last six. The Spartans have averaged 17.3 points off turnovers the last three games.
 • They are outscoring teams in every specialty stat category: points off turnovers (18.5-14.4), second-chance points (9.3-8.6), points in the paint (28.5-24.8), fastbreak points (12.1-9.1), and bench points (22.6-18.0).
 • The Spartans have been below 40 percent shooting in six of the last seven games, including the last five in a row. But the Spartans have shot 71.7 percent (71-of-99) from the free throw line during those previous seven contests.
 • The guard foursome of Bishop, Bryant, Whitley and Carter have combined for 37 of the team's 43 double-digit scoring performances this year.
 • In 11 of the Spartans' 15 games this year, they have scored the same amount or more points in the second half than the first (+5.5 points per second half). They did the same in 28 of 36 games last year, when they averaged 8.1 points more in second halves than first halves. Opponents have done the same in nine of 15 games this year, including each of the last five.
 • The Spartans also shoot better in second halves (43.4-38.9) and have a better turnover margin as well (+1.8 - -0.1). Opponents shoot better in second halves too (43.7-37.0).
 • They have also had the same amount or more fouls than the opposition in 12 of 15 games this season (+3.4 in fouls per game). They did the same in 26 of 36 games last year (+2.2).

MEAC Rankings
The Spartans rank 1st in the MEAC in scoring defense (65.5) and field goal % defense (40.2). They are also second in scoring margin (+1.6), 3-point field goal % defense (30.8), rebounding margin (+0.5), and defensive rebound % (71.5), and third in assists (12.6), steals (8.3), turnover margin (+1.67), assist-turnover ratio (0.9), offensive rebounds (11.0), defensive rebounds (25.2), offensive rebound % (30.1), and 3-pointers (7.0).

Conference Domination
Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Norfolk State is 101-27 in regular season MEAC play, a 78.9 winning percentage. Among all D-I programs, NSU ranks 10th in the nation in conference winning percentage during that time (See table page 7).

At 101-27 (53-11 at home - 28-4 since the start of the 2015-16 season - and 48-16 on the road), NSU is ahead of North Carolina Central (95-33) for the best record in the league since 2011. Counting MEAC tournament games, the Spartans are 113-34, while the Eagles are 111-37 during that time.

NSU also owns a 160-129 overall record since the start of the 2011-12 season, second in the conference to North Carolina Central (171-108).

Conference Standings
The Spartans have finished fourth or better in the MEAC standings in 12 of the last 13 seasons, including eight straight years. Only 13 other teams in Division I have a longer streak than NSU's eight of finishing in the top 4 of their respective conference standings (see table page 7).

They secured their second-ever MEAC regular season title last year at 14-2, joining the 2012-13 team that finished 16-0.

Conference Streak
Last year, NSU secured its 21st straight season with a .500 or better conference record in its Division I era. In fact, in Norfolk State's 64 seasons in either the EIAC, CIAA or the MEAC, the program has had just one losing conference record (9-10 in the CIAA in 1990-91).

NSU ranks eighth in the nation for the longest streak of .500-or-better conference records in a row in D-I (See table page 7). NSU has posted 27 straight .500 or better conference records, dating back to that 1990-91 campaign.

Every other team in the MEAC has had at least one losing conference record since 2015-16.

Series Edge
NSU has a winning record against every school in the MEAC, with several of those series covering a lot of ground in the Division II era. The Spartans' closest rival over the years has been North Carolina A&T (26-22).