Courtesy of Norfolk State Athletic Communications
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State men’s basketball was declared the HBCU large school national champion by the Black College Sports Network (BCSN). The honor was bestowed by the media organization covering all schools at the Division I level.
The Spartans finished 17-8 overall this year and captured their second-ever MEAC Championship. They defeated fellow 16-seed Appalachian State in the NCAA Tournament First Four for their second-ever tournament win following the 2012 victory over Missouri. NSU is the only current member of the MEAC to win more than one game in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans also captured a share of the MEAC Northern Division crown this year at 8-4, their third-ever regular season title along with titles in 2013 (16-0) and 2019 (14-2), when the league did not have divisions. This year’s team became the first to win the regular season and tournament title in the same year.
The team’s historic season came to a close in the NCAA Tournament First Round with a loss to overall No. 1 seed and national runner-up Gonzaga. Norfolk State has now made the postseason eight times in the last nine years postseason was played.
Texas Southern, Prairie View A&M, Morgan State and Jackson State finished 2-5 in that order in the final BCSN rankings for D-I. Texas Southern also won its First Four game, marking the first time ever two HBCUs won an NCAA Tournament game in the same year.
