NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State men's basketball team looks to build on its three-game win streak this weekend when the Spartans host a pair of MEAC games at Echols Hall. The Spartans (12-4, 3-0 MEAC) host Coppin State for a 6 p.m. game Saturday and Morgan State for a 7 p.m. contest that will be broadcast live on ESPNU on Monday.

Saturday's game against Coppin State will be streamed for free for those who cannot make the game due to the weather. Log onto www.NSUSpartans.Com/Watch to view the game. Both games coming up will also be broadcast on 91.1 FM.

The games mark the start of a key stretch for NSU. Coppin State is off to a 2-0 start in the MEAC. The Eagles tied with NSU for the conference's Northern Division title last season. The Spartans faced Monday's opponent, Morgan State, in last year's MEAC Tournament title game. The Bears are 1-1 in the MEAC so far this year.
 
The Spartans, off to their best start as a Division I program, swept three league games last week, defeating Delaware State at home and both Howard and Maryland Eastern Shore on the road. Senior guard Joe Bryant Jr. continued his stellar season by topping 20 points in all three games, with a season-high 29 points against Delaware State, 24 at Howard and 25 against Maryland Eastern Shore. He earned his second MEAC Player of the Week award of the year for that stretch.

NSU vs. MSU/CSU Tip-Ins 

• Bryant's recent stretch has catapulted him into the MEAC scoring lead. He is averaging 16.4 points per game. Bryant also leads the MEAC (fourth nationally) with a 93.9 free-throw percentage, ranks eighth in minutes and ninth in assists. 
• Bryant is now just 78 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career. 
• NSU has held three of its last four opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the floor. Only nationally ranked Xavier (54 percent) has shot 50 percent against the Spartans this year. 
• Guard Cahiem Brown recorded his first double-double as a Spartan at Maryland Eastern Shore, notching 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. He is the first Spartan other than Kris Bankston to post a double-double this year. Bankston has two such performances. 
• The Eagles lost 14 of their first 15 games of the season, but are 2-0 in the MEAC after road wins at South Carolina State and Morgan State last week. 
• CSU edged rival Morgan State 79-76 last Saturday on a buzzer-beating 3 from beyond half court by Nendah Tarke, last year's MEAC Rookie of the Year. 
• Tarke (12.2 ppg) is one of three Eagles averaging double figures. Jesse Zarzuela leads the way at 15.4 points per game – second only to Bryant among MEAC players – and Tyree Corbett averages 14.0. 
• Morgan State, picked to finish second in the MEAC behind the Spartans this season, is 6-8 overall, 1-1 in the MEAC heading into Saturday's game at Howard. Five Bears average at least 8.9 points per game, led by preseason MEAC Player of the Year De'Torrion Ware (10.9).