Thursday, September 6, 2007

Norfolk State University 2007-08 Men's basketball schedule released

Photo: 6-4/220 G Tony Murphy, Jr., Paterson Eastside H.S., Paterson, NJ

NSU Sports Information

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State University interim men’s basketball coach Anthony Evans released his team’s 2007-08 schedule on Thursday. The non-conference slate includes schools from nine different conferences and two in-state opponents.

“We’ve put together a good schedule with some very tough teams on it,” Evans said. “But I feel that as long as we play hard every game, we have a chance to be competitive with everyone we play.”

The Spartans tip off their 29-game regular season at the University of Richmond on Saturday, Nov. 10. The schools last met in the Spider Invitational championship game in 2002-03, with Richmond prevailing.

Next, NSU travels to Farmville, Va., to face Longwood on Nov. 13. The Lancers won the teams’ meeting last season, 65-54 in Echols Hall.

The Spartans close November with three more road games: at Central Florida on Nov. 16, at Nebraska on Nov. 20 and at Prairie View A&M on Nov. 26. The Spartans are 0-1 all-time vs. UCF, having lost to the Golden Knights in 2005-06. NSU has never faced Nebraska, but played two Big 12 opponents last season in Iowa State and Oklahoma. The matchup with Prairie View A&M will be the first-ever between the schools and NSU’s first game against a SWAC opponent since facing Alabama A&M in the 1995 Division II Elite Eight.

The Spartans open December with their first home game and the first MEAC contest of the year, against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 1. It will be NSU’s last home game until Jan. 7. The remainder of the December slate consists of road contests at Fairleigh Dickinson (Dec. 10), Air Force (Dec. 13), Campbell (Dec. 18), Evansville (Dec. 22) and Jacksonville State (Dec. 29).

The Spartans tip off the New Year with three straight home games, beginning with a matchup with North Carolina Central – in its first year of reclassifying to Division I – on Jan. 7. The final 17 games of the year are against MEAC opponents, beginning with home games vs. Coppin State (Jan. 12) and Morgan State (Jan. 14) and ending with a three-game road stretch at Howard (March 1), Hampton (March 3) and N.C. A&T (March 6).

Only 16 games against MEAC teams count in the conference standings. The two games against Winston-Salem State do not count in the conference standings because the Rams are not eligible for the MEAC Tournament. In the league’s unbalanced schedule, NSU will face Coppin State, Morgan State, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman once each. The Spartans will play every other MEAC school twice.

The 2008 MEAC Tournament is March 11-15 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.

November
Sat. 10 at Richmond, 7:30 p.m.
Tues. 13 at Longwood, 7 p.m.
Fri. 16 at Central Florida, 7 p.m.
Tues. 20 at Nebraska, 8 p.m.
Mon. 26 at Prairie View A&M, 8 p.m.

December
Sat. 1 vs. North Carolina A&T *, 6 p.m.
Mon. 10 at Fairleigh Dickinson, 7 p.m.
Thurs. 13 at Air Force, 10 p.m.
Tues. 18 at Campbell, 7 p.m.
Sat. 22 at Evansville, TBA
Sat. 29 at Jacksonville State, 5 p.m.

January
Mon. 7 vs. North Carolina Central^, 7 p.m.
Sat. 12 vs. Coppin State*, 6 p.m.
Mon. 14 vs. Morgan State*, 8 p.m.
Sat. 19 at Delaware State*, 4 p.m.
Mon. 21 at Maryland Eastern Shore*, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 26 vs. South Carolina State*, 6 p.m.
Mon. 28 vs. Winston-Salem State, 8 p.m.

February
Sat. 2 vs. Hampton*, 6 p.m.
Mon. 4 vs. Howard*, 8 p.m.
Sat. 9 at Bethune-Cookman*, 4 p.m.
Mon. 11 at Florida A&M*, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 16 Delaware State*, 6 p.m.
Mon. 18 Maryland Eastern Shore*, 8 p.m.
Sat. 23 at South Carolina State*, 4 p.m.
Mon. 25 at Winston-Salem State, 7:30 p.m.

March
Sat. 1 at Hampton*, 6 p.m.
Mon. 3 at Howard*, 8 p.m.
Thurs. 6 at North Carolina A&T*, 7:30 p.m.
Tues.-Sat. 11-15 MEAC Tournament (Raleigh, N.C.)

All times are Eastern and are subject to change
Home games in BOLD played at Joseph Echols Hall
^ Home game played separate from the women’s team
* Denotes MEAC game

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