Courtesy of Norfolk State Athletic Communications


NORFOLK, Va. – When the spring sports season was shut down, it marked the end of a decade of Norfolk State athletics. From the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2020, it was a 10-year stretch that saw countless highlights across NSU's 15 total sports. Many of those programs' greatest achievements – since NSU made the jump to NCAA Division I in 1997 – came during this decade.
 
Over the course of the next few weeks, we are going to continue spotlighting those storylines right here on NSUSpartans.com. Every week, we'll choose a different sport(s) and take you down memory lane before we get set to start a new decade of excellence. In addition, head over to our Twitter page (@NSUSpartans) where fans will have the opportunity to vote for what they think is the greatest highlight per sport. At the end, they will also be able to vote for the greatest overall highlight in NSU athletics during the past 10 years.
 
We've gotten to Week 8 of our series, and it's one many have been waiting for and one that had plenty of highlights to choose from: men's basketball. We've narrowed it down to five storylines from the past decade that we'll focus on, in no particular order.
 
A.) Norfolk State secured its second-ever MEAC regular season title in 2018-19, and its second of the decade. NSU had one of its finest seasons as a Division I program, posting 22 wins and going 14-2 in the MEAC. But the season will ultimately be remembered for what happened later. In the first round of the NIT, No. 8 seed NSU defeated No. 1 seed Alabama in overtime on the road, 80-79. It is a win that is regarded as the biggest upset in NIT history by point spread. The Spartans overcame the disappointment of falling in the MEAC Tournament final less than a week before, earning their second postseason victory in the D-I era behind a very famous one that will be mentioned later. NSU basketball had much to brag about during the decade, but the win over Alabama certainly resonates.
Read more about NSU topping Alabama in the NIT.
 
B.) One player who helped put NSU on the map in the early part of the decade was center Kyle O'Quinn. He played his final two seasons within the decade, and his accomplishments are a mile long. For how much he did at Norfolk State, O'Quinn will be remembered just as much for his NBA career. He is in the midst of his eighth season in the league after being taken in the draft in 2012. He became NSU's first draft pick since 1988 and the first to play in the league since 1986. His tenure in the NBA is the second-longest by a former Spartan, this coming on the heels of an outstanding career at NSU. He was a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012, and in the latter season he was named the MEAC Player of the Year as well. MVP of the PIT. Lou Henson Award winner. O'Quinn did it all and more.
Read more about O'Quinn getting drafted back in 2012.
 
C.) There's not much more exciting in basketball than buzzer beaters, and Norfolk State had a pair of them during the decade. The second of those two was a true buzzer beater, as NSU did the deed on Jan. 27, 2018 at home against Bethune-Cookman. Down by one, Steven Whitley drove down the left side of the floor and hit a left-handed shot off the glass from less than 10 feet out just as time expired. The basket was the sixth and final lead change in less than one minute, 30 seconds that sent his teammates and the crowd into a frenzy. The first one came on Dec. 3, 2011 against Savannah State, also at Joseph Echols Hall. Brandon Wheeless drained a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left on the clock in a 60-58 win. His shot helped NSU gain the lead back after the Tigers had gone up by one with less than a minute to go. Although time had not quite expired yet, it still marked one of the most memorable shots of the decade.
Watch Steven Whitley beat the buzzer vs. Bethune-Cookman.
 
D.) Of course, there is another game that had plenty of memorable shots, and the stakes were a lot higher. In one of the most historic moments in NSU Athletics history, the No. 15 seed Spartans took down No. 2 seed Missouri on March 16, 2012 in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers, ranked third in the nation, were more than 20 points favored over the Spartans. Nevertheless, NSU secured the biggest upset in tournament history by point spread – like the NIT win – and at the time the fifth 15-over-2 upset in tournament history. It was not truly over until Missouri's last second shot bounced off the rim. But it culminated a 2011-12 season in which the Spartans won their first-ever MEAC title and had more wins (26) than they ever had in D-I. It would have been a heck of a season even without the victory over Missouri, but it put not just the team but the entire university on the map.
Read more about NSU's 2012 Missouri upset.
 
E.) The Spartans followed up that magical 2011-12 season with another strong year in 2012-13. They won their first ever MEAC regular season title in style, going a perfect 16-0 to become the first conference program to go undefeated in almost 20 years. It also marked just the fourth-ever perfect season in the MEAC's more than 30-year history up to that point. After its NCAA appearance the year before, the Spartans followed that up by competing in the NIT in 2013 after getting knocked out of the MEAC Tournament. In total, NSU won 21 games that year and was one of just three teams nationally to run the table during its conference season. It was also the second of six straight seasons the program would make a postseason appearance.
Read more about NSU clinching the 2013 regular season crown.
 
Those are just but a few of the highlights from men's basketball this decade. Be sure to check our Twitter @NSUSpartans to vote for your favorite each and every week. Next week we'll be back with both men's and women's tennis.