Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball

Norfolk State Spartans
Norfolk State Spartans
	2024–25 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team
University	Norfolk State University
Head coach	Robert Jones (12th season)
Conference	MEAC
Location	Norfolk, Virginia
Arena	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall ; (capacity: 7,000)
Nickname	Spartans
Colors	Green and gold;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA tournament Final Four
	1995*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1974, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1995*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1968, 1971, 1974, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1995
NCAA tournament round of 32
	2012
NCAA tournament appearances
	1965, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2012, 2021, 2022; at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
	MEAC: 2012, 2021, 2022; CIAA: 1965, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1996
Conference regular season champions
	2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024
Conference division season champions
	2021

The Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team represents Norfolk State University, located in Norfolk, Virginia, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They currently compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Spartans are currently coached by Robert Jones and play their home games at the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (7,000). The Spartans men's basketball team is best known for defeating the #2 seeded Missouri in the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 86–84, the first tournament appearance for Norfolk State. It was only the fifth time that a 15th seed has defeated a 2nd seed.^[2]^[3] Norfolk State has qualified for the NCAA tournament at the Division I level three times, in 2012, 2021, and 2022.

Post-season

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Spartans have appeared in three NCAA Division I tournaments. Their combined record is 2–3.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2012	#15	First round Second Round	#2 Missouri #7 Florida	W 86–84 L 50–84
2021	#16	First Four First round	#16 Appalachian State #1 Gonzaga	W 54–53 L 55–98
2022	#16	First round	#1 Baylor	L 49–85

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Spartans have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament 15 times. Their combined record is 18–19.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1965	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Bellarmine Bethune-Cookman	L 74–91 W 91–74
1968	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Denison Ashland	W 108–86 L 51–61
1969	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd Place	Mount St. Mary's Old Dominion	L 80–95 L 102–113
1971	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Roanoke Old Dominion	W 97–77 L 97–102
1974	First round Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Randolph–Macon Roanoke Old Dominion Assumption	W 74–72 W 84–75 W 89–76 L 79–89
1984	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Winston-Salem State Virginia Union	W 70–61 L 56–58
1985	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Cal State Hayward Montana State–Billings	L 61–64 W 90–78
1986	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Virginia Union Mount St. Mary's Sacred Heart	W 70–60 W 78–75 L 74–84
1987	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	District of Columbia Mount St. Mary's Kentucky Westleyan	W 68–64 W 70–66 L 74–80
1988	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Tampa North Alabama	L 68–71 L 63–76
1989	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	North Carolina Central Alabama A&M	L 64–67 L 80–93
1990	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Florida Tech Virginia Union	L 63–73 W 102–93
1992	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Jonson C. Smith Albany State	L 76–82 L 70–73
1994	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Longwood Virginia Union Washburn	W 61–59 W 71–69 L 58–69
1995	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four	Johnson C. Smith Virginia Union Alabama A&M Southern Indiana	W 89–61 W 84–66 W 85–67 L 81–89

NIT results

The Spartans have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) twice. Their record is 1–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2013	First round	Virginia	L 56–67
2019	First round Second Round	Alabama Colorado	W 80–79 ^OT L 60–76

CIT results

The Spartans have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) five times. Their combined record is 2–4. They were the CIT champions in 2024.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2014	First round	Eastern Michigan	L 54–58
2015	First round	Eastern Kentucky	L 75–81
2016	First round	Columbia	L 54–86
2017	First round	Liberty	L 64–73
2024	Semifinals Championship	Alabama A&M Purdue Fort Wayne	W 81–66 W 75–67

Retired numbers

Three Spartan players have had their numbers retired by Norfolk State University. Kyle O’Quinn is the latest, with his number 10 retired by the school on February 16, 2019.^[4]

No.	Player	Years played
Norfolk State Spartans retired numbers
10	Kyle O’Quinn	2008–2012
12	Bob Dandridge	1965–1969
34	David Pope	1980–1984

Spartans in the NBA

Spartans in international leagues

Kris Bankston (born 1999), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

References

^ "Athletics Quick Facts" (PDF). NSUSpartans.com. May 19, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
^ [1] ESPN
^ Skretta, Dave (March 16, 2012). "Norfolk State upsets Missouri 86-84 in NCAA tourney". HamptonRoads.com. The Virginian-Pilot (Associated Press). Retrieved March 16, 2012.
^ Brown, Mitch (January 28, 2019). "Norfolk State set to retire Kyle O'Quinn's basketball jersey in February". wtvr.com. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

External links

Official website

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[1] "Athletics Quick Facts" (PDF). NSUSpartans.com. May 19, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2022.

[ESPN-2] [1] ESPN

[AP-3] Skretta, Dave (March 16, 2012). "Norfolk State upsets Missouri 86-84 in NCAA tourney". HamptonRoads.com. The Virginian-Pilot (Associated Press). Retrieved March 16, 2012.

[4] Brown, Mitch (January 28, 2019). "Norfolk State set to retire Kyle O'Quinn's basketball jersey in February". wtvr.com. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

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v t e Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball
Venues	Booker T. Washington High School Gym (1946–1955) Tidewater Gym (1955–1960) Gill Gymnasium (1960–1982) Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1982–present)
Rivalries	Hampton Old Dominion
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball
Teams	Coppin State Eagles Delaware State Hornets Howard Bison Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks Morgan State Bears Norfolk State Spartans North Carolina Central Eagles South Carolina State Bulldogs
Championships & awards	MEAC men's basketball tournament Player of the Year
Seasons	1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23