Spartans are eager to get schedule on track
NORFOLK — So far this season, Norfolk State has had one game canceled, three added, four postponed and its entire MEAC schedule rearranged.
As the Spartans (4-3) sputter toward the NCAA-mandated 13-game minimum required for postseason qua lifi cation, forgive eighthyear coach Robert Jones’ skepticism about this weekend’s two-game, conference-opening series against Morgan State.
“We’re tentatively scheduled to play Morgan State,” said Jones, whose team needed to pass COVID-19 testing Friday before opening the series today. “It might say it’s on the schedule, but everything is tentative right now.”
Indeed, two MEACgames against Howard, scheduled for last weekend, were delayed until next month due to the pandemic. Scheduled meetings with William & Mary and Regent were postponed indefinitely.
A Dec. 29 game at North Carolina A&T was canceled for logistical reasons, and NSUadded games with UNC Greensboro, George Mason and N.C. Wesleyan.
The MEAC announced a slate of two-game, divisional series last month to cut travel, health risks and costs, forcing NSU and others to
throw away altogether what they thought would be their schedules.
The stop-and-go nature of the season, through no fault of their own, has left the Spartans constantly wondering when they’ll actually play next. They haven’t played since a Dec. 26 win at George Mason, which makes putting two opposing teams on the floor a minor victory in itself.
“You could do everything right and (have) it still not play out in your favor,” said NSU guard Devante Carter, a senior from Newport News. “It is tough, but that’s just a part of what we’re dealing with today. All you can do is make the best of it.”
Assuming NSU and Morgan State both escape COVID issues, the Spartans will embark on pursuit of a league title they were predicted to win.
The Bears (4-2), like many other teams around the nation, have been in the same boat as NSU. Three games on Morgan State’s schedule are listed as canceled.
Jones has watched as other MEAC teams have navigated their non-conference schedules with mixed results. Florida A&M, Jones pointed out, has been competitive with a handful of programs from FBS schools.
Still, the Spartans’ 84-28 record in MEAC games under Jones speaks for itself; entering the season, Jones’ .750 league winning percentage ranked sixth in the nation among Division I coaches with at least five years at their current schools.
Jones believes recent history should hold up.
“I think we match up just as good as anybody across the conference,” he said.
“Just from an overall talent standpoint and where we’re at right now and where everybody else is at, I think that weare still in the upper echelon of the league.”
Carter, who leads NSU with 16.1 points per game, called the COVID testing “a game within the game,” adding that the Spartans have themselves in position for league success when play begins.
“I feel like we’re prepared,” Carter said. “It’s a lot that we can work on, but overall, I think we’re prepared and ready.”
Meanwhile, that all-import
ant 13-game threshold, necessary for the MEAC and NCAA tournaments and any others, is not exactly guaranteed.
But the Spartans plan to play the schedule the pandemic allows.
“It hasn’t been any time in my career that you make a schedule and you don’t play the schedule,” Jones said. “That’s just been strange a little bit.
“We have to figure out how to make sure we play six more games to even get to the minimum to be able to play in postseason if we’re fortunate enough to have that opportunity,” Jones said. “So every game’s like a countdown to six.”