# 2019–20 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team represent Norfolk State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by seventh-year coach Robert Jones, play their home games at the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall in Norfolk, Virginia as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

## Previous season

The Spartans 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.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 8:00 pm | | Greensboro College | W 100–59 | 1–0 | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,706) Norfolk, VA |
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Penn State Wilkes-Barre | W 93–53 | 2–0 | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,029) Norfolk, VA |
| November 12, 2019* 7:30 pm, SECN+ | | at Ole Miss | L 55–68 | 2–1 | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (6,412) Oxford, MS |
| November 14, 2019* 8:00 pm | | The Apprentice | W 113–54 | 3–1 | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,034) Norfolk, VA |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 57–69 | 3–2 | Carver Arena (4,813) Peoria, IL |
| November 22, 2019* 8:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Northwestern | L 59–70 | 3–3 | Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,954) Evanston, IL |
| November 26, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Caldwell | L 54–64 | 3–4 | OceanFirst Bank Center (101) West Long Branch, NJ |
| November 27, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Monmouth | L 71–75 | 3–5 | OceanFirst Bank Center (1,369) West Long Branch, NJ |
| December 1, 2019* 4:00 pm | | Niagara | L 61–65 | 3–6 | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (824) Norfolk, VA |
| December 4, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 59–76 | 3–7 | Banterra Center (3,761) Carbondale, IL |
| December 7, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Hampton | L 53–64 | 3–8 | Hampton Convocation Center (7,123) Hampton, VA |
| December 15, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 45–64 | 3–9 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,428) Chicago, IL |
| December 20, 2019* 7:00 pm | | vs. Bowling Green Boardwalk Battle | W 72–67 $^{OT}$ | 4–9 | Boardwalk Hall (500) Atlantic City, NJ |
| December 21, 2019* 4:30 pm | | vs. Drexel Boardwalk Battle | L 49–53 | 4–10 | Boardwalk Hall (500) Atlantic City, NJ |
| December 29, 2019* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stony Brook | L 65–81 | 4–11 | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,488) Stony Brook, NY |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| January 4, 2020 6:30 pm | | Bethune–Cookman | W 85–72 | 5–11 (1–0) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (918) Norfolk, VA |
| January 6, 2020 7:30 pm | | at Coppin State | W 82–59 | 6–11 (2–0) | Physical Education Complex (619) Baltimore, MD |
| January 11, 2020 4:20 pm | | at Howard | W 71–63 | 7–11 (3–0) | Burr Gymnasium (1,107) Washington, D.C. |
| January 18, 2020 6:30 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 62–52 | 8–11 (4–0) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,848) Norfolk, VA |
| January 25, 2020 6:30 pm | | South Carolina State | W 73–62 | 9–11 (5–0) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,374) Norfolk, VA |
| January 27, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Florida A&M | W 95–67 | 10–11 (6–0) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,016) Norfolk, VA |
| February 1, 2020 4:00 pm | | at North Carolina A&T | L 68–74 | 10–12 (6–1) | Corbett Sports Center (4,317) Greensboro, NC |
| February 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at North Carolina Central | L 63–69 | 10–13 (6–2) | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,486) Durham, NC |
| February 8, 2020 6:30 pm | | Delaware State | W 85–57 | 11–13 (7–2) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,319) Norfolk, VA |
| February 15, 2020 6:30 pm | | Morgan State | W 62–57 | 12–13 (8–2) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,908) Norfolk, VA |
| February 17, 2020 8:00 pm | | Coppin State | W 80–60 | 13–13 (9–2) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,668) Norfolk, VA |
| February 22, 2020 4:00 pm | | at Florida A&M | L 63–66 | 13–14 (9–3) | Teaching Gym (1,717) Tallahassee, FL |
| February 24, 2020 7:30 pm | | at Bethune–Cookman | L 55–78 | 13–15 (9–4) | Moore Gymnasium (805) Daytona Beach, FL |
| February 29, 2020 6:30 pm | | Howard | W 89–59 | 14–15 (10–4) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (4,127) Norfolk, VA |
| March 2, 2020 7:30 pm | | at Delaware State | W 79–73 | 15–15 (11–4) | Memorial Hall (1,511) Dover, DE |
| March 5, 2020 7:30 | | at Morgan State | W 68–62 | 16–15 (12–4) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,198) Baltimore, MD |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2020 8:00 pm, FloSports | (3) | vs. (6) Coppin State Quarterfinals | MEAC Tournament Canceled | MEAC Tournament Canceled | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
    Schedule Source: