2020–21 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team represented Norfolk State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by eighth-year head 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. With the creation of divisions to cut down on travel due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they played in the Northern division. They finished the season 17–8, 8–4 in MEAC play to finish in tie for first place in the Northern division. They defeated North Carolina Central in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament and advanced to the championship when North Carolina A&T withdrew from the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. They defeated Morgan State to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed in the West region. They defeated Appalachian State in the First Four, but were eliminated by No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga in the first round.

2020–21 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball
MEAC North Division and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Division	Northern Division
Record	17–8 (8–4 MEAC)
Head coach	Robert Jones (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Jamal Brown C.J. Clemons Leonard Fairley
Home arena	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall

2020–21 MEAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern
Norfolk State †	8	–	4		.667			17	–	8		.680
Coppin State	8	–	4		.667			9	–	13		.409
Morgan State	7	–	5		.583			14	–	8		.636
Delaware State	1	–	11		.083			3	–	16		.158
Howard	0	–	0		–			1	–	4		.200
Southern
North Carolina A&T	7	–	1		.875			11	–	10		.524
Florida A&M	7	–	5		.583			8	–	12		.400
North Carolina Central	3	–	5		.375			5	–	9		.357
South Carolina State	1	–	7		.125			1	–	17		.056
Howard suspended their season on February 9, 2021 Bethune–Cookman and Maryland Eastern Shore did not play the 2020–21 season due to COVID-19 concerns.
† 2021 MEAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2019–20 season 16–15, 12–4 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for second place. They were scheduled to play Coppin State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament, but the remainder of the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Roster

2020–21 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 1 Nyzaiah Chambers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Hillcrest Prep (AZ) Chesapeake, Virginia G/F 2 Kashaun Hicks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Central Connecticut Harlem, New York G 3 Mustafa Lawrence 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Fresno State Newark, New Jersey G 4 Joe Bryant Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Lake Taylor High School Norfolk, Virginia G/F 5 Tyrese Jenkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Varina High School Richmond, Virginia G 13 Daryl Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Miller School of Albemarle North Chesterfield, Virginia G 14 Devante Carter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Odessa College Newport News, Virginia F 15 J.J. Matthews 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Sr Arkansas State Richmond, Virginia G 22 Andre Bottoms 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Oscar Smith High School Chesapeake, Virginia F/C 23 Efstratios Kalogerias 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Hillsborough Community College Piraeus, Greece G 24 Jalen Hawkins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Robert Morris Bronx, New York F 32 Chris Ford 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr L. C. Bird High School Chesterfield, Virginia G/F 35 Yoro Sidibe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Long Island Lutheran High School Dakar, Senegal G 55 Kyonze Chavis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Colby Community College Chesapeake, Virginia	Head coach Robert Jones (SUNY New Paltz) Assistant coach(es) Jamal Brown (South Carolina State) C.J. Clemons (Norfolk State) Leonard Fairley (Norfolk State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 7, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 27, 2020* 12:00 pm, FloHoops		at James Madison	W 83–73	1–0	Atlantic Union Bank Center (250) Harrisonburg, VA
November 28, 2020* 7:00 pm		vs. Radford	W 57–54	2–0	Atlantic Union Bank Center (150) Harrisonburg, VA
December 2, 2020* 8:00 pm, WGNT		Old Dominion Scope Series	L 66–80	2–1	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (250) Norfolk, VA
December 7, 2020* 7:00 pm		Hampton	W 76–64	3–1	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
December 9, 2020* 7:00 pm		William & Mary	Postponed		Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
December 13, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at UNC Greensboro	L 47–64	3–2	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, NC
December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm		Regent	Postponed		Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
December 18, 2020* 4:00 pm		UNC Wilmington	L 72–80	3–3	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (110) Norfolk, VA
December 26, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at George Mason	W 68–65	4–3	EagleBank Arena (202) Fairfax, VA
January 9, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops		Morgan State	L 74–78	4–4 (0–1)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (110) Norfolk, VA
January 10, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops		Morgan State	W 89–85	5–4 (1–1)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (137) Norfolk, VA
January 13, 2021* 4:00 pm		North Carolina Wesleyan	W 80–58	6–4	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (130) Norfolk, VA
January 16, 2021 5:00 pm		at Delaware State	W 87–76	7–4 (2–1)	Memorial Hall  Dover, DE
January 17, 2021 5:00 pm		at Delaware State	W 83–79 OT	8–4 (3–1)	Memorial Hall  Dover, DE
January 23, 2021 1:00 pm		at Coppin State	L 71–81	8–5 (3–2)	Physical Education Complex  Baltimore, MD
January 24, 2021 1:00 pm		at Coppin State	L 77–81	8–6 (3–3)	Physical Education Complex  Baltimore, MD
January 30, 2021 4:30 pm		Delaware State	W 94–66	9–6 (4–3)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
February 7, 2021 2:00 pm		Coppin State	W 84–72	10–6 (5–3)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
February 8, 2021 2:00 pm		Coppin State	L 64–74	10–7 (5–4)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
February 13, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops		at Morgan State	W 74–69	11–7 (6–4)	Talmadge L. Hill Field House  Baltimore, MD
February 14, 2021 2:00 pm, FloHoops		at Morgan State	W 68–65	12–7 (7–4)	Talmadge L. Hill Field House  Baltimore, MD
February 17, 2021 7:00 pm		Howard	Canceled due to COVID-19		Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
February 18, 2021 7:00 pm		Howard	Canceled due to COVID-19		Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
February 24, 2021 7:00 pm		Delaware State	W 86–55	13–7 (8–4)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, VA
February 27, 2021 TBA		at Howard	Canceled due to COVID-19		Burr Gymnasium  Washington, D.C.
February 27, 2021 TBA, ESPN+		at Howard	Canceled due to COVID-19		Burr Gymnasium (0) Washington, D.C.
February 28, 2021 2:00 pm		St. Mary's College	W 72–51	14–7	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (0) Norfolk, VA
MEAC tournament
March 11, 2021 8:00 pm, FloHoops	(N2)	vs. (S3) North Carolina Central Quarterfinals	W 87–58	15–7	Norfolk Scope (0) Norfolk, VA
March 12, 2021 8:00 pm, FloHoops	(N2)	vs. (S1) North Carolina A&T Semifinals	Advanced by forfeit due to positive COVID-19 test at North Carolina A&T		Norfolk Scope (0) Norfolk, VA
March 13, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN2	(N2)	vs. (N3) Morgan State Championship	W 71–63	16–7	Norfolk Scope (0) Norfolk, VA
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2021 8:40 pm, truTV	(16 W)	vs. (16 W) Appalachian State First Four	W 54–53	17–7	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (3,444) Bloomington, IN
March 20, 2021 9:20 pm, TBS	(16 W)	vs. (1 W) No. 1 Gonzaga First Round	L 55–98	17–8	Bankers Life Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern.

Sources