NEXT GAME
December 18th, 2020 (Friday) 4:00 p.m.
@Norfolk St.

CURRENT D1 RECORD 2-3
CAA STANDINGS 0-0

VIDEO STREAM
NSUSpartans.com - $10/24 hour basketball pass
https://nsuspartans.com/watch/?Live=928&type=Live

AUDIO FEED
W240AS 95.9FM The Breeze
WFXB-HD2 99.9FM
https://v7player.wostreaming.net/6995

OPPONENTS AUDIO FEED
N/A

LIVE STATS
https://nsuspartans.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary


Norfolk State is 3-2 on the season, with wins over James Madison, Radford and Hampton, and losses to ODU and UNCG.

Senior guard Devante Carter has led the way in scoring, with 17.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Their top player was expected to be junior guard Joe Bryant, picked to finish on the 1st Team All-MEAC. But he's only played 14 minutes this season due to injuries.



Three Man Weave's preview, from November:

https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/meac...eview-2021

2. Norfolk St.

Key Returners: Devante Carter, Joe Bryant Jr., Tyrese Jenkins, Kashaun Hicks, Yoro Sidibe, Esfratos Kalogerias, Chris Ford
Key Losses: Diesel Whitley, Jermaine Bishop
Key Newcomers: Mustafa Lawrence (Fresno St.), J.J. Matthews (Arkansas St.), Jalen Hawkins (Robert Morris)***

*** - still needs a waiver to play immediately, to our knowledge

Lineup:



Outlook: Only in the MEAC can a team have a dismal 321st-ranked offense for the full season and yet still manage to post the most efficient attack during league play. That was Norfolk State last year, who recovered from a painful non-conference performance on that end thanks to a 16-game Jermaine Bishop explosion. Bishop buried 41.8% of his triples in MEAC play to spearhead the Spartans’ resurgent offense, posting the conference’s 3rd-highest O-rating on the 11th-highest usage. Bishop is gone, as is bruising backcourt mate Diesel Whitley, but with the rest of the rotation back and Robert Jones still at the helm, Norfolk State will once again be in the thick of the conference title race.

Jones’ Norfolk teams have been the model of consistent excellence throughout his seven-year tenure. He’s never gone worse than 11-5 in the league, accumulating an 84-28 (75%) record and winning 20 games twice – a true accomplishment considering the rigorous non-conference slates his teams play. An NCAA Tournament bid has eluded him, though, which is surely a frustrating absence on his resume considering the metronomic pattern of winning he’s engineered in Virginia.

Without Bishop and Whitley, the Spartans should build from the defensive end, where Jones favors pressure and mixes in zones in an effort to make the opponent uncomfortable. His last three teams have gotten progressively better at forcing turnovers (70th, then 53rd, then 41st last year), and stoutly-built guards Joe Bryant and Devante Carter will continue to harass foes after ranking 3rd and 5th, respectively, in the MEAC in steal rate. You don’t want to deal with this pair:





Trap + tipped pass leads to an 8-second backcourt violation


Speedy point guard transfer Mustafa Lawrence should feel unleashed in the scheme after playing in two conservative systems at Missouri St. (Paul Lusk) and Fresno St. (Justin Hutson), and veteran Kyonze Chavis is a nice depth piece who can get after the ball, as well.

The other key aspect of Jones’ scheme is consistently challenging shots and making it tough to score at the rim. To that end, he has a veritable army of 6’6-6’8 athletic forwards who can guard multiple positions, along with a towering centerpiece in 6’10 Efstratios Kalogerias and a brawny center in J.J. Matthews. The big Greek knows his role: eat space in the paint on both ends, don’t do anything crazy offensively. Matthews could be more of a true anchor, and he’s the best interior scorer on the roster. Two other returning forwards started at least 10 games (Chris Ford, Yoro Sidibe), both of whom excel on the glass; they’ll provide solid by-committee production once again.

On the other end, like most MEAC squads, Jones emphasizes playing in transition, barraging the offensive glass, and getting to the rim. Tyrese Jenkins was a hyper-efficient scorer in league play, tallying 12 or more points four times despite missing the season’s final three games, but he drifted in and out of the rotation too much to make a serious impact. Without Bishop and Whitley, he’ll be counted on to score more consistently. Bryant and Carter will spark the transition attack with their defense, while Lawrence may be the key to the team as a creator and distributor in the half court.

The former Bulldog and Bear is a skilled downhill player, but he’ll need some passing options, and the Spartans have a concerning lack of shooting: aside from Bishop, no player on the 2019-20 squad met the low standards of 1) making more than 24 triples and 2) converting 33% or above. Bryant (32.5%) came close, and little-used wings Kashaun Hicks and Daryl Anderson could alleviate some of the issue if they earn more playing time. Jenkins can also knock down an open jumper, but the Spartans will again rely on Sidibe, Ford, and Matthews reeling in some second shot opportunities to juice the otherwise bricky offense.

Bottom Line: Norfolk’s incredible consistency under Jones, coupled with the return of so much of the rotation, will keep the Spartans right near the top of the MEAC. Winning the league – and earning Jones’ first NCAA bid in the process – will depend on whether Lawrence and Jenkins can fill the offensive void created by Bishop and Whitley’s departures. I’ve found it very unwise to bet against Mr. Jones, though I do have the Spartans coming up just short once again in their Big Dance audition – someday, it will happen!

In the above analysis, you can safely ignore the part about Norfolk State struggling from the perimeter, a now outdated weakness for the team. The Spartans are 34-82 (.415) from 3 so far this season, despite playing a challenging schedule.

They play small too, could be a horse race!

Robert Jones is a solid coach. He's up there with LeVelle Moton as the best coach in the MEAC IMO. I don't know if he was considered for the JMU job last year but I remember seeing his name thrown around in regards to it. Also, we faced JJ Matthews a couple years back when he was at Arkansas State. He's a big man

Over/under is 137 & we are 1.5 point dogs.

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Go Hawks!

We are still 1.5 dogs. Over/under moved up to 138.

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(12-18-2020 08:58 AM)Proff Wrote:  We are still 1.5 dogs. Over/under moved up to 138.

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Pretty sure I'd take that over all day. This one should be a track meet

Hawks should win this game, but will they?

(12-18-2020 10:51 AM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Hawks should win this game, but will they?

you taken the Hawks as 1.5 dogs Bill?

I’m not betting but I will officially state that I would bet UNCW here if I were to bet. I also think that WCU will do well against C of C so I would really go that route for sure. I may miss both however so don’t bet on my account. I don’t have a great feel yet for this. CAA after Ive seen all of them and then I can predict better.

My buddy is betting on these though and will be mad if he’s wrong. Betting takes the fun out of it for me because I can’t just sit and enjoy the beautiful game that it is.

Watch me be wrong on both lol!

(12-18-2020 11:41 AM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  My buddy is betting on these though and will be mad if he’s wrong. Betting takes the fun out of it for me because I can’t just sit and enjoy the beautiful game that it is.

Watch me be wrong on both lol!

To me that is a risky bet as its basically a push and I believe this game could go either way

The sad thing is UNCG beat them by 17 five days ago.

(12-18-2020 12:10 PM)82hawk Wrote:  The sad thing is UNCG beat them by 17 five days ago.

Unfortunately UNCG is far ahead of us as a program right now. I think we can get back to that level under Siddle but it won’t happen overnight. It could take 3 or 4 years honestly.

Is anyone paying for the game? I think I’m going to bite the bullet and pay.

(12-18-2020 02:30 PM)seahawk1 Wrote:  Is anyone paying for the game? I think I’m going to bite the bullet and pay.

You're hardcore.

$10 for 1 game is something not even Flo would try.

It was a close game with uncg until 2nd half at uncg and uncg has struggled. Hawks have equal or better talent than uncg especially with Phillips.

Seahawk starters:

Okauru
Gadsden
Sims
Pridgen
Boggs


Bryant appears to still be out for Norfolk St.

Listening to 95.9. Mike Vaccarro is calling the game at Trask based off of Norfolk State's feed, but they are having technical difficulties, apparently. Anyone else who paid the $10 experiencing the same?

Hawks up 11-8 with 14:17 left in the 1st half. All 5 starters have scored for the Seahawks so far.