NCAA Tournament March Madness

#232 Norfolk St

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Projection: need to automatically qualify

Norfolk State’s profile reads like a team that can hang in games but hasn’t yet beaten a truly resume-changing opponent, with a signature home victory over Hampton and competitive showings at William & Mary and James Madison contrasted sharply by a lopsided trip to Arizona and tough road outings at Wyoming, Old Dominion and Towson that raise questions about how the team performs away from its building. The nonconference slate includes heavy road tests and a neutral-site doubleheader against Grambling and Jackson State that give immediate opportunities to bolster the résumé, while an upcoming trip to Baylor and additional road tests, such as UTEP and Louisiana, offer further chances to prove the group can win outside its conference. Offensive inconsistency showed up in low-scoring defeats and the Arizona loss, even as the defense has flashes in tight games, so the simplest path to comfortability runs through taking care of business in the remaining conference home dates against opponents like Coppin State, Morgan State and Howard and then avoiding bad losses late. Until those road and neutral hurdles turn into wins or a strong showing in the conference tournament reshapes perception, the body of work looks vulnerable because the team’s best moments are solid but not signature and its worst moments are the kind that committees remember.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/8William & Mary127L81-78
11/11@Old Dominion220L60-57
11/14@Towson141L51-41
11/21Hampton221W62-60
11/23@Wyoming97L75-67
11/29@Arizona6L98-61
12/6@James Madison186L68-67
12/10@Baylor333%
12/18(N)Grambling28560%
12/19(N)Jackson St32269%
12/21@UTEP23539%
12/28@Louisiana32961%
1/3@NC Central35071%
1/10@Delaware St35775%
1/12MD E Shore34184%
1/17@S Carolina St36178%
1/24Coppin St36494%
1/26Morgan St36391%
1/31@Howard30855%
2/7NC Central35087%
2/14Delaware St35789%
2/16@MD E Shore34167%
2/21S Carolina St36191%
2/28@Coppin St36484%
3/2@Morgan St36378%
3/5Howard30875%