2018–19 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team represented Norfolk State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by sixth-year coach Robert Jones, played their home games at the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall in Norfolk, Virginia as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–14 overall, 14–2 in MEAC play to finish in first place, and win the MEAC regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the MEAC tournament, they were upset in the championship game by No. 3 seed North Carolina Central. As a conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, and not selected to participate in the NCAA tournament, they were awarded an automatic bid to the NIT. Given a No. 8 seed in the Alabama bracket, they upset No. 1 seed Alabama in the first round, then were defeated in the second round by No. 4 seed Colorado.

2018–19 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball
MEAC regular season champions
NIT, Second Round
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	22–14 (14–2 MEAC)
Head coach	Robert Jones (6th season)
Assistant coaches	C.J. Clemons Jamal Brown Leonard Fairley
Home arena	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall

2018–19 MEAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Norfolk State	14	–	2		.875			22	–	14		.611
North Carolina A&T	13	–	3		.813			19	–	13		.594
North Carolina Central †	10	–	6		.625			18	–	16		.529
Howard	10	–	6		.625			17	–	17		.500
Bethune–Cookman	9	–	7		.563			14	–	17		.452
Florida A&M*	9	–	7		.563			12	–	19		.387
Savannah State	8	–	8		.500			11	–	20		.355
Coppin State	7	–	9		.438			8	–	25		.242
MD Eastern Shore	5	–	11		.313			7	–	25		.219
South Carolina State	5	–	11		.313			8	–	26		.235
Morgan State	4	–	12		.250			9	–	21		.300
Delaware State	2	–	14		.125			6	–	25		.194
*ineligible for postseason due to APR violations
† 2019 MEAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2017–18 season 14–19, 11–5 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 5 seed in the MEAC tournament, they defeated Maryland Eastern Shore before losing to North Carolina A&T in the quarterfinals.

Roster

2018–19 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Mastadi Pitt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Hampton, Virginia G 1 BJ Fitzgerald 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Danville, Virginia F 3 Obi Momah 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Unionville, Connecticut G 4 Joe Bryant Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Norfolk, Virginia F 5 Armani Branch 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Hampton, Virginia G 11 Jermaine Bishop 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Queens, New York G 14 Nic Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Arlington, Texas G 15 CJ Kelly 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Long Island, New York F 22 Alex Long 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Clinton, Maryland F 32 Chris Ford 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Chesterfield, Virginia G 34 Steven Whitley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Norfolk, Virginia G 35 Derrik Jamerson, Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Detroit, Michigan F 45 Jordan Butler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Hartford, Connecticut G 55 Kyonze Chavis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Chesapeake, Virginia	Head coach Robert Jones (SUNY New Paltz) Assistant coach(es) Leonard Fairley (Norfolk State) C.J. Clemons (Norfolk State) Jamal Brown (South Carolina State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 19, 2018

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Exhibition
Nov 2, 2018* 7:00 pm		Virginia State	W 77–70		Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,115) Norfolk, VA
Regular season
Nov 6, 2018* 8:30 pm, BTN		at No. 19 Michigan	L 44–63	0–1	Crisler Center (10,109) Ann Arbor, MI
Nov 8, 2018* 7:00 pm		Mid-Atlantic Christian	W 108–50	1–1	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,336) Norfolk, VA
Nov 10, 2018* 7:00 pm		at Clarion	W 74–46	2–1	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,486) Norfolk, VA
Nov 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+		at South Carolina Hall of Fame Tip Off	L 64–81	2–2	Colonial Life Arena (9,038) Columbia, SC
Nov 16, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. Siena Hall of Fame Tip Off	L 58–61	2–3	Uncasville, CT (1,313) Mohegan Sun Arena
Nov 17, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. Stony Brook Hall of Fame Tip-Off	L 65–72	2–4	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
Nov 20, 2018* 7:00 pm		Regent	W 97–57	3–4	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (656) Norfolk, VA
Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm		Stony Brook	L 73–79	3–5	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,712) Norfolk, VA
Nov 29, 2018* 7:00 pm		Hampton	W 94–89 2OT	4–5	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (4,500) Norfolk, VA
Dec 1, 2018 4:00 pm		at Kent State	L 67–78	4–6	MAC Center (1,927) Kent, OH
Dec 12, 2018* 7:00 pm		at Rider	L 71–81	4–7	Alumni Gymnasium (1,587) Lawrenceville, NJ
Dec 16, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Loyola Chicago	L 49–80	4–8	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,412) Chicago, IL
Dec 21, 2018* 7:00 pm		at UTEP Sun Bowl Invitational	W 75–62	5–8	Don Haskins Center (4,284) El Paso, TX
Dec 22, 2018* 9:00 pm		vs. East Tennessee State Sun Bowl Invitational championship	L 61–89	5–9	Don Haskins Center (4,011) El Paso, TX
Dec 29, 2018 3:00 pm		at Niagara	L 75–83	5–10	Gallagher Center (898) Lewiston, NY
MEAC regular season
Jan 5, 2019 6:30 pm		Delaware State	W 77–63	6–10 (1–0)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,669) Norfolk, VA
Jan 7, 2019 8:00 pm		Florida A&M	W 72–62	7–10 (2–0)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,770) Norfolk, VA
Jan 12, 2019 7:00 pm		at Coppin State	W 80–66	8–10 (3–0)	Physical Education Complex (4112) Baltimore, MD
Jan 14, 2019 8:00 pm		Bethune–Cookman	W 75–68	9–10 (4–0)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,802) Norfolk, VA
Jan 19, 2019 6:00 pm		at Savannah State	W 82–76	10–10 (5–0)	Tiger Arena (3,500) Savannah, GA
Jan 21, 2019 7:30 pm		at South Carolina State	W 74–69	11–10 (6–0)	SHM Memorial Center (495) Orangeburg, SC
Jan 26, 2019 6:30 pm		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 88–60	12–10 (7–0)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,184) Norfolk, VA
Feb 2, 2019 6:30 pm		at Howard	W 80–78	13–10 (8–0)	Burr Gymnasium (2,284) Washington, D.C.
Feb 9, 2019 4:00 pm		at Bethune–Cookman	L 76–84	13–11 (8–1)	Moore Gymnasium (904) Daytona Beach, FL
Feb 11, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPNU		at Florida A&M	W 66–54	14–11 (9–1)	Teaching Gym (3,687) Tallahassee, FL
Feb 16, 2019 6:30 pm		North Carolina Central	W 75–71 OT	15–11 (10–1)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,868) Norfolk, VA
Feb 18, 2019 8:00 pm		North Carolina A&T	W 76–58	16–11 (11–1)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,913) Norfolk, VA
Feb 23, 2019 4:00 pm		at Morgan State	W 75–74	17–11 (12–1)	Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,789) Baltimore, MD
Mar 2, 2018 6:30 pm		Coppin State	W 72–38	18–11 (13–1)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,361) Norfolk, VA
Mar 4, 2019 7:300 pm		at Delaware State	W 74–66	19–11 (14–1)	Memorial Hall (974) Dover, DE
Mar 7, 2019 8:00 pm		Howard	L 95–98	19–12 (14–2)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,469) Norfolk, VA
MEAC tournament
Mar 13, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (9) South Carolina State Quarterfinals	W 78–73	20–12	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, VA
Mar 15, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (4) Howard Semifinals	W 75–69	21–12	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, VA
Mar 16, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2	(1)	vs. (3) North Carolina Central Championship	L 47–50	21–13	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, VA
NIT
Mar 20, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPNU	(8)	at (1) Alabama First Round – Alabama Bracket	W 80–79 OT	22–13	Coleman Coliseum (2,086) Tuscaloosa, AL
Mar 25, 2019* 9:00 pm, ESPN2	(8)	at (4) Colorado Second Round – Alabama Bracket	L 60–76	22–14	CU Events Center  Boulder, CO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.