David Singleton finished with 14 points and a team-high and career-best nine rebounds against Long Beach State Friday night. (Photo Credit: Scott Chandler/uclabruins.com)
Tonight, the #8/7 UCLA Bruins host the Norfolk State Spartans at Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 7 pm PT and the game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network National and Los Angeles.
This will be the first meeting between the Bruins and the Spartans.
With the entire Top Ten in both polls winning their first two games, UCLA remains ranked 8th in the AP Poll and 7th in the Coaches Poll.
Norfolk State is one of the top twenty HBCUs, according to US News and World Report. Founded in 1935, the school is located in Norfolk, Virginia and has an enrollment of 5,601. The Spartans have been members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) since 1997. They have won the MEAC Tournament twice and have won (or tied for) the regular season championship three times. The Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons. So, while this game shouldn’t ever be in any doubt, don’t expect Norfolk State to roll over and play dead either.
Norfolk State opened the season with a pair of wins over Virginia University of Lynchburg and Cairn. On Friday night, the Spartans visited Baylor and lost their first game of the season, 87-70. That’s a big improvement over last year’s NCAA Tournament when Norfolk State lost to the Bears, 85-49.
Robert Jones is back for his 10th season as the team’s head coach and he has began coaching at Norfolk State as an assistant in 2007. Three of Jones’ starters are transfers, proving that even a mid-major school can benefit from the transfer portal.
Look for the Spartans to play with three guards most of the night. The team is led by fifth year senior Joe Bryant, Jr. In fact, you could make the argument that the Spartan offense revolves around Bryant. He put up 24 points for the Spartans on Friday night against Baylor while also leading the team in rebounds with six. In fact, I would expect him to be the guy shooting most often tonight as well. Against the Bears, he was the only guy on the team to take more than 10 shots. In fact, his nine three point attempts were more than anyone else on the team in field goals, period. I would be surprised if that changed tonight. As Bryant goes, so go the Spartans.
Junior transfer Christian Ings was second on the team in points against Baylor with 15 and he led the team in assists with four. He is in his second season with Norfolk State after playing his first two seasons at Ryder. Ings and Bryant were the only two Spartans to see the floor for more than 30 minutes.
The third guard on the team is freshman George Beale, Jr.. Beale played just 16 minutes against Baylor which was the fewest minutes of all the starters. In fact, redshirt junior Cahiem Brown played more minutes and he scored more points than him as well. Brown had eight points to Beale’s two. So, I really expect Brown to play a bigger role that Beale moving forward.
At the forwards, Jones will have redshirt senior Dana Tate Jr and grad student Kris Bankston. Both of these guys came to Norfolk State as transfers. Tate was second on the team in rebounds with 5. Considering he scored just four points, it’s safe to say this is a guy to look out for on the defensive boards. On the other hand, Bankston was the third and final Spartan to score in double figures against the Bears.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball season opener game thread. Here’s how to watch tonight’s game.
#8/7 UCLA Men’s Basketball (2-0)
Opponent: Norfolk State Spartans (2-1)
Series Record: First meeting
When: 7:00 pm PT, Monday, November 14, 2022
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: Pac-12 Networks National and Los Angeles with JB Long and Don MacLean
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Agreed. Best all around game thus far.
U!
C!
L!
A!
UCLA Fight! Fight! Fight!
The only thing that I can really complain about are the refs.
They are certainly consistent. I'll give them that.
If only the football defended that well.