The Spartans survived an upset bid from South Carolina State to earn their third NCAA Tournament berth in the past five seasons.
Year 12 for Robert Jones brings another NCAA Tournament appearance, strengthening his case as the best coach in program history. His .599 winning percentage is by far the highest of any Norfolk State coach since the school moved up to Division I in 1997.
Yet, his latest accomplishment hung in the balance in the final eight seconds of Saturday’s MEAC Championship game. The Spartans watched their 10-point lead vanish over the final two minutes, as South Carolina State’s Wilson Dubinsky went nuclear. He scored 10 straight points for the Bulldogs before Caleb McCarty hit a game-tying layup off a Spartans turnover. But unfortunately for McCarty, he didn’t realize the score and rushed to foul Norfolk’s Christian Ings on the ensuing possession.
Ings only went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe, but it was enough to secure the coveted MEAC auto-bid.
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Dominating the paint on both ends of the court
Jones’ last two tournament teams have shared one thing in common: leading the MEAC in both offensive and defensive 2-point field goal percentage.
On offense, this formula has yielded particular success, as the Spartans’ 57.0 percent mark in league play was their highest since 2015. Forwards Jalen Myers and Kuluel Mading were essentially automatic around the basket, with Mading leading the conference in dunks.
Mading also set the tone defensively, making the MEAC All-Defensive team and finishing second in the league in blocks. Meanwhile, hard-nosed guards like Ings, Brian Moore Jr. and Jaylani Darden excel at forcing turnovers and keeping their men in front, easing the job of the frontcourt.
“We don’t give up that many 2s,” Jones told Heat Check CBB in 2023. “We’re such a heavily gap-protected team, and we double the post so you’re not just gonna get a look there. … At the Division I level, everyone can make a layup. So why would we give that up?”
Watching the Spartans in 2025, it’s safe to assume Jones continues to stand by those comments.
The importance of Brian Moore Jr.
Even with its defense and physicality, Norfolk State still relies on its marquee bucket-getter to deliver in marquee games.
This shouldn’t be surprising in light of Jones’ philosophy, but the 6-2 Moore lives in the paint and gets to the charity stripe at will. A quintessential Moore performance occurred in nonconference play against eventual Big South champ High Point. The senior guard spearheaded the Spartans to an upset win, putting up a career-high 33 points — and all without making a 3-pointer.
Moore could return to the Spartans for another year, thanks to the NCAA’s recent ruling that junior college seasons no longer count against a player’s D-I eligibility. However, if 2025 goes down as his lone campaign in Norfolk, it will have been one to remember. Moore sits at sixth on the program’s all-time list for points in a season, with at least one more chance to add to his total.
Similar NCAA Tournament efficiency profiles
Tournament Index evaluation
As it stands, Norfolk State is a projected No. 16 seed by our bracketology at Heat Check CBB and on the Bracket Matrix. The Tournament Index power rating metric has the Spartans as equivalent to the tenth-strongest No. 16 as compared to the 40 most recent 16-seeds to make it to the Round of 64. Meanwhile, if Norfolk were to move up a seed line, the Spartans would be the fifth-weakest No. 15 seed as compared to the past 10 tournament fields.
They are also the strongest projected 16-seed in this year’s crop, so if NSU does find itself in Dayton, they’d likely be favored in any potential matchup. TI projects an average of 0.13 wins for Norfolk State given its projected seed and strength.
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