2023–24 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team represented Norfolk State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by eleventh-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.

2023–24 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball
MEAC regular season champions CIT champions
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	24–11 (11–3 MEAC)
Head coach	Robert Jones (11th season)
Associate head coach	Jamal Brown
Assistant coaches	C.J. Clemons Leonard Fairley
Home arena	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall

2023–24 MEAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Norfolk State	11	–	3		.786			24	–	11		.686
North Carolina Central	9	–	5		.643			18	–	13		.581
South Carolina State	9	–	5		.643			14	–	18		.438
Howard †	9	–	5		.643			18	–	17		.514
Morgan State	7	–	7		.500			11	–	20		.355
Delaware State	6	–	8		.429			15	–	19		.441
Maryland Eastern Shore	4	–	10		.286			9	–	20		.310
Coppin State	1	–	13		.071			2	–	27		.069
† 2024 MEAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2022–23 season 20–10, 9–5 in MEAC play to tie for third place with Maryland Eastern Shore. As the No. 3 seed in the MEAC tournament, they defeated Coppin State and North Carolina Central before falling to Howard in the championship game.

Roster

2023–24 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Christian Ings 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania G 1 George Beale Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Suffolk, Virginia G 2 Terrance Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Trenton, New Jersey G 3 Gilbert Brown II 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Columbia, South Carolina G/F 5 Tyrese Jenkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Richmond, Virginia G 6 Jamarii Thomas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Greensboro, North Carolina F 7 Kuluel Mading 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr High Point, North Carolina F 8 Tyrel Bladen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) GS Coatesville, Pennsylvania G 9 Allen Betrand 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania G 11 Jaylani Darden 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Norfolk, Virginia G/F 13 Daryl Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr North Chesterfield, Virginia G 20 Jordan Leaks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Hampton, Virginia G 22 Andre Bottoms 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Chesapeake, Virginia G 23 Daman Tate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Boston, Massachusetts F 24 Chris Fields Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Petersburg, Virginia F 25 Nyzaiah Chambers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Chesapeake, Virginia F 33 Jack Doumbia 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Lanham, Maryland	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: November 17, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		Penn State Wilkes-Barre	W 102–55	1–0	20 – Thomas	7 – Tied	7 – Brown	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,952) Norfolk, VA
November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		Newport News Apprentice	W 90–56	2–0	12 – Tied	7 – Darden	4 – Brown	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,112) Norfolk, VA
November 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		Hampton Battle of the Bay	W 75–68	3–0	20 – Thomas	9 – Darden	3 – Thomas	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (4,500) Norfolk, VA
November 17, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		vs. Fordham Paradise Jam First Round	L 64–77	3–1	11 – Tied	11 – Darden	3 – Thomas	Sports and Fitness Center  Saint Thomas, USVI
November 18, 2023* 3:15 p.m., ESPN+		vs. San Jose State Paradise Jam Consolation 2nd Round	L 53–77	3–2	15 – Thomas	5 – Chambers	3 – Thomas	Sports and Fitness Center  Saint Thomas, USVI
November 20, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		vs. Florida Gulf Coast Paradise Jam 7th Place Game	W 69–66	4–2	27 – Thomas	8 – Darden	3 – Thomas	Sports and Fitness Center  Saint Thomas, USVI
November 25, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wichita State	L 67–80	4–3	17 – Thomas	7 – Darden	5 – Thomas	Charles Koch Arena (4,780) Wichita, KS
November 28, 2023* 7:00 p.m., HBCU+		William & Mary	W 96–62	5–3	23 – Thomas	7 – Bladen	9 – Thomas	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,079) Norfolk, VA
December 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at VCU	W 63–60	6–3	17 – Tied	6 – Darden	5 – Thomas	Siegel Center  Richmond, VA
December 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Illinois State	W 64–58	7–3	31 – Thomas	7 – Mading	4 – Thomas	CEFCU Arena (3,788) Normal, IL
December 13, 2023* 6:30 pm, FloHoops		at Stony Brook	L 78–84	7–4	28 – Thomas	4 – Tied	5 – Ings	Island Federal Credit Union Arena (1,812) Stony Brook, NY
December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., FloHoops		at Hofstra	L 58–74	7–5	17 – Thomas	6 – Thomas	7 – Thomas	Mack Sports Complex (1,969) Hempstead, NY
December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., HBCU+		Southern Virginia	W 108–52	8–5	16 – Beale Jr.	9 – Mading	5 – Tied	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (887) Norfolk, VA
December 20, 2023* 9:00 p.m.		at UTEP Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals	L 65–67	8–6	18 – Betrand	6 – Betrand	3 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center (4,193) El Paso, TX
December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		vs. South Dakota State Sun Bowl Invitational consolation game	W 84–65	9–6	17 – Doumbia	9 – Bladen	5 – Thomas	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, TX
January 2, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN		at No. 5 Tennessee	L 50–87	9–7	15 – Thomas	6 – Bladen	1 – Ings	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,858) Knoxville, TN
January 6, 2024 4:00 p.m.		at South Carolina State	W 79–72	10–7 (1–0)	16 – Thomas	5 – Tied	4 – Tied	SHM Memorial Center (135) Orangeburg, SC
January 8, 2024 7:30 p.m.		at North Carolina Central	L 58–60	10–8 (1–1)	18 – Thomas	12 – Chambers	3 – Tied	McDougald–McLendon Arena (2,162) Durham, NC
January 15, 2024* 7:00 p.m., HBCU+		VUL	W 118–73	11–8	31 – Fields Jr.	13 – Chambers	7 – Ings	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,263) Norfolk, VA
January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m.		at Howard	W 65–61	12–8 (2–1)	14 – Tied	5 – Fields Jr.	3 – Thomas	Burr Gymnasium (1,943) Washington, D.C.
January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., HBCU+		Coppin State	W 68–58	13–8 (3–1)	19 – Fields Jr.	6 – Tied	3 – Tied	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,567) Norfolk, VA
January 29, 2024 7:30 p.m., HBCU+		Morgan State	W 83–73	14–8 (4–1)	17 – Bladen	7 – Kuluel	5 – Tied	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,013) Norfolk, VA
February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., HBCU+		Delaware State	W 65–64	15–8 (5–1)	25 – Thomas	7 – Mading	3 – Tied	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,421) Norfolk, VA
February 5, 2024 8:00 p.m.		at Maryland Eastern Shore	L 60–69	15–9 (5–2)	16 – Tied	7 – Jenkins	3 – Thomas	Hytche Athletic Center (183) Princess Anne, MD
February 17, 2024 4:00 p.m., HBCU+		South Carolina State	W 71–67 OT	16–9 (6–2)	18 – Thomas	5 – Fields Jr.	3 – Jenkins	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,367) Norfolk, VA
February 19, 2024 7:30 p.m., HBCU+		North Carolina Central	W 80–74	17–9 (7–2)	28 – Thomas	6 – Thomas	5 – Thomas	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,525) Norfolk, VA
February 24, 2024 4:00 p.m.		at Coppin State	W 68–66	18–9 (8–2)	21 – Jenkins	3 – Tied	5 – Thomas	Physical Education Complex (2,100) Baltimore, MD
February 26, 2024 7:30 p.m.		at Morgan State	W 85–82	19–9 (9–2)	20 – Thomas	5 – Thomas	4 – Tied	Talmadge L. Hill Field House (3,238) Baltimore, MD
March 2, 2024 4:00 p.m.		at Delaware State	L 71–85	19–10 (9–3)	15 – Betrand	6 – Tied	5 – Thomas	Memorial Hall (1,200) Dover, DE
March 4, 2024 7:30 p.m., HBCU+		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 69–50	20–10 (10–3)	21 – Thomas	6 – Darden	3 – Thomas	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,881) Norfolk, VA
March 7, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		Howard	W 77–58	21–10 (11–3)	16 – Thomas	9 – Darden	6 – Darden	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (4,176) Norfolk, VA
MEAC tournament
March 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Coppin State Quarterfinals	W 75–51	22–10	17 – Ings	9 – Mading	3 – Thomas	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, VA
March 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (4) Howard Semifinals	L 74–80	22–11	16 – Betrand	5 – Fields Jr.	5 – Ings	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, VA
CIT
March 23, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		Alabama A&M Semifinals - John McLendon Classic	W 81–66	23–11	16 – Betrand	8 – Tied	8 – Darden	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,522) Norfolk, VA
March 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Purdue Fort Wayne Championship	W 75–67	24–11	17 – Ings	7 – Fields Jr.	5 – Thomas	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,576) Norfolk, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources