Get To Know The 2025 MEAC Tournament Champs: Norfolk State Basketball

After a chaotic ending to the MEAC final, Norfolk State basketball is ready to create more chaos in March against 1 seed Florida.

General Information:

Team: Norfolk State

Location: Norfolk, VA

Record: 24-10 (11-3)

Head Coach: Robert Jones (12th season, all at Norfolk State)

What to know about Norfolk State basketball:

Norfolk State won a share of the MEAC regular season title with South Carolina State, their main intra-conference competition this year. After the Bulldogs tied the Spartans at 65 in the MEAC final with eight seconds to go, they mistakenly fouled Christian Ings while thinking they still trailed, and Ings sank a free throw. That was enough to give the Spartans a bid to the tournament. It’s March. Crazy things happen.

In the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Spartans won road games over Stony Brook, UC Davis, and Hampton. Their most impressive win was at home against James Madison, and they played Stanford close on the road.

After two road losses to kick off March, the Spartans have won four games in a row, and have given up 70 or less points in all of those victories. They’re led offensively by Murray State transfer Brian Moore Jr., who was 2nd in the MEAC with an average of 18.5 PPG. Moore Jr. earned First Team All-MEAC honors and scored a season-high 33 points in a road win over High Point in December.

The aforementioned Christian Ings and forward Jalen Myers are also in double digits for the Spartans, who average 77.3 PPG. Norfolk State paced the MEAC with a 48.9 FG%.

That might be because Norfolk State is a team that very much relies on shots from inside the arc. The Spartans only attempt 5.4 three-pointers per game. That’s a mark that puts them 352nd nationally of 364 D-I teams. They do, however, make the most of their two-point attempts. Norfolk State is converting within the arc at a 55.3% clip, in the top 50 nationally. Say what you want to about basketball modernizing, but the Spartans play to their strengths, and that’s something that bears respecting.

NCAA Tournament prediction for Norfolk State basketball: First round exit

Seed: 16

Let it be known that the Spartans have done this before. This is their fourth tournament appearance since 2012, and they upset Missouri in the Round of 64 in 2012 as a 15 seed. However, they lost in the next round to Florida. Can anyone guess who Norfolk State plays this time around? Yep, the Gators, again.

A 16 seed taking down a 1 seed isn’t out of the question. We saw FDU shut down a one-dimensional Purdue team and UMBC start the trend by creating the perfect storm against Virginia. Florida, however, is built to beat the teams that it should. The Gators didn’t lose a single non-conference game this season, and have only tallied four losses all year, all to tournament teams. They have a very tall frontcourt, while the Spartans’ leading rebounder is Jalen Myers, who stands at 6’8″, 200 pounds.

It’s possible that this game is close early, as the NCAA tournament has always served as a home-court advantage neutralizer, (that’s what makes it so fun) but the Spartans don’t have the requisite size or defense to hang with the Gators for all 40 minutes. And if they do, I’ll gladly eat my words.