Dukes Venture to Norfolk to Battle Spartans on Saturday

James Madison Dukes (1-0, 0-0 SBC) at Norfolk State Spartans (2-0, 0-0 MEAC)
Nov 9, 2024 – 6 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. – Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall

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DUKES VENTURE TO NORFOLK TO BATTLE SPARTANS

James Madison men's basketball will travel east to take on in-state foe Norfolk State on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.
JMU took down Ohio, 88-78, in its season-opener on Monday to notch a win in the MAC-SBC Challenge, while Norfolk State sits at 2-0 with dominating wins over Penn State Wilkes-Barre (96-41) and Virginia University of Lynchburg (104-60)
Norfolk State finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 24-11, winning the CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools since Nov. 27, 2020, where the Spartans won 83-73 in Harrisonburg.
Norfolk State has won 16 consecutive games at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall, with its last loss coming to Coppin State (69-62) on Feb. 20, 2023.
All time, the teams have split four matchups - all coming in Harrisonburg. The Dukes last beat NSU on Dec. 2, 2009 (72-64).

OPENING THE SEASON WITH A BANG

James Madison controlled the pace and used a 26-6 run in the first half to take down Mid-American Conference favorites Ohio, 88-78, in the season opener on Monday.
Xavier Brown scored a career-high 23 points while also grabbing six rebounds and picking up three steals. Mark Freeman (16), Elijah Hutchins-Everett (13) and AJ Smith (11) joined Brown in double figures, as the Dukes shot 54.4% from the field.
The Dukes out-rebounded the Bobcats 41-23 and held a 21-2 advantage in second-chance points, securing 13 offensive rebounds.

DYNAMIC BACKCOURT DUO

The backcourt tandem of Xavier Brown and Mark Freeman combined for 39 points in JMU's win over Ohio on Monday.
The pair also knocked down six of the Dukes' 10 three-pointers as JMU shot 10-20 (.500) as a team from behind the arc.
Browns' 23 points were the second-most in the Sun Belt Conference on Monday, while Freeman scored in double figures for the 61st time in his career.

SCOUTING NORFOLK STATE

Norfolk State is led by 12th year Head Coach Robert Jones, who owns a record of 213-148 with the Spartans during his tenure.
Jones has led NSU to two appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2020-21; 2021-22) and won the CIT last season, finishing 24-11 with a regular-season MEAC title.
The Spartans were picked second in the preseason MEAC poll, collecting three first place votes behind Howard, who finished with 12. Four players found themselves on the preseason all-conference teams - Christian Ings (2nd), Chris Fields Jr. (2nd), Jaylani Darden (3rd), and Sin'Cere McMahon (3rd).
Norfolk State took down Penn State Wilkes-Barre 96-41 in its season opener, which saw six players score in double figures.
The Spartans will play a loaded non-conference schedule in 2024-25, including road trips to Stanford (Nov. 20), Grand Canyon (Nov. 22), Baylor (Dec. 11), and Tennessee (Dec. 31).

SUPPORTING CAST

Guard AJ Smith made his JMU debut on Monday, scoring 11 points with five rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes of action.
Elijah Hutchins-Everett played 28 minutes and scored 13 points while corralling eight rebounds, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Syracuse transfer and Charlottesville, Va., native Justin Taylor earned the start and played 20 minutes.

YOU'RE JUST... A FACE IN THE CROWD

James Madison enters the 2024-25 season with only 8.6 percent of its scoring, 8.4 percent of its rebounding, and 11.8 percent of its minutes returning from the 2023-24 roster.
Out of 355 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball teams, The Dukes are one of at least 24 teams with at least 12 newcomers on their roster.
JMU has 11 incoming transfers - Mark Freeman (Morehead State), Bryce Lindsay (Texas A&M), Eddie Ricks III (Morehead State), Elijah Hutchins-Everett (Seton Hall), Justin Taylor (Syracuse), Matt Hain (Morehead State), Will Lovings-Watts (Northern Illinois), Ebenezer Dowuona (Georgia Tech), Noah Williams (Washington), AJ Smith (Southern Indiana), and Luke Anderson (Florida Southern). Redd Thompson represents JMU's lone true freshman on the 2024-25 roster.

CHAMPIONSHIP DNA

Preston Spradlin was hired as the head coach of James Madison men's basketball on March 29, 2024, and signed a six-year contract with the Dukes.
He spent the previous eight seasons as the head coach of Morehead State, where he accumulated an overall record of 140-109 (.562) in his time with the Eagles.
He guided MSU to its second appearance in the Division I Men's Basketball Championship in 2023-24, their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past four seasons.
In his last four seasons at Morehead State, Spradlin's teams went 94-40 overall and 58-16 in the Ohio Valley Conference. During that stretch, the Eagles have posted 22 or more wins in all four seasons, a first for a Morehead State program that began in 1929.
In 2023-24, Morehead State ranked in the top 10 nationally in several categories. The Eagles were seventh in field goal percentage defense (39.3%), sixth in rebounding margin (8.5/game), and ninth in scoring defense (63.4/game).
The Eagles also ranked 15th in the country in scoring margin (+11.9) and 18th in three-point percentage defense (30.2%)

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Players Mentioned

Luke Anderson

Xavier Brown

Ebenezer Dowuona

Mark Freeman

Matt Hain

Elijah Hutchins-Everett

Bryce Lindsay

Will Lovings-Watts

Eddie Ricks III

AJ Smith

Justin Taylor

Redd Thompson Jr.

Noah Williams

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