NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team will now play a weekend series, both home and away, with each of the other four teams in the Northern Division as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference released an updated MEAC basketball schedule on Monday afternoon.
All told, the Spartans will play every team in the North a total of four times each for a 16-game conference schedule. Games will be played on back-to-back days, Saturday and Sunday, to reduce travel time for teams.
The Northern Division will consist of Norfolk State, Coppin State, Morgan State, Delaware State and Howard. Maryland Eastern Shore opted out of sports for the 2020-21 athletics season.
NSU will start the year with a series against Howard on Jan. 3-4. The contest on Jan. 3 will be part of a doubleheader with the Spartan women. That game will start at 2 p.m., with the men's game set to begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.
The NSU women's program will play in the Southern Division this year and will have a different schedule from the men, both in terms of opponents as well as with the actual home and away dates.
The Spartan men will be home during the second weekend of conference play, hosting Morgan State on Jan. 9-10. Both games will begin at 2 p.m. NSU will hit the road the next two weekends after that, playing at Delaware State on Jan. 16-17 and at Coppin State on Jan. 23-24.
The final weekend in January will find the Spartans hosting Delaware State on Jan. 30-31, part of a doubleheader with the women's team. Game times are again 2 p.m. for the women and approximately 4:30 p.m. for the men on both days.
Norfolk State will play its final home MEAC weekend on Feb. 6-7 against Coppin State, with start times of 2 p.m. on both days. The Spartan men wrap up conference play on Feb. 13-14 at Morgan State and at Howard on Feb. 27-28. NSU will be off the weekend of Feb. 20-21 as well as on March 3-4 when the Northern Division completes its schedule.
The MEAC Tournament will run from March 10-13 at Norfolk Scope Arena.
The NSU men sport a 3-2 record so far this year and will play their next game on Friday at home against UNC Wilmington at 4 p.m.
