NORFOLK, Va. (NSUSpartans.com) – For the second straight year, both the Norfolk State men’s and women’s basketball teams received first-round byes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins next week at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
The Spartan women (18-11, 12-4 MEAC) tied for second place in the regular-season MEAC standings with Morgan State. The teams split their two meetings against each other during the year, but NSU gained the better seed by virtue of being the only team to defeat No. 1 seed Bethune-Cookman.
As a result, the second-seeded Spartans open play in the tournament at approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinal round against the winner of Tuesday’s first-round game between No. 7 Howard and No. 10 South Carolina State.
The 12 MEAC wins for coach Larry Vickers’ squad are tied for the second-most in a season in program history. At 75 percent, NSU’s MEAC regular-season winning percentage was its best ever.
The Spartan men (16-15, 12-4) also tied for second in the regular-season standings with North Carolina A&T, but will be the No. 3 seed since the Aggies won the teams’ only regular-season meeting. NSU will open its MEAC Tournament schedule at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday against No. 6 seed Coppin State in a quarterfinal game.
This marks the ninth straight season in which the NSU men have reached double digits in MEAC victories, and fifth time in the last six seasons under coach Robert Jones that the Spartans finished 12-4 or better.
Norfolk State has sold out of its allotment of tournament tickets. Fans can purchase tournament tickets through Ticketmaster, the Scope box office or the MEAC office.
