# 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.

## 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.

## 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. ||||||