Norfolk State vs Fordham Prediction - College Basketball Picks 11/17/23
The Norfolk State Spartans and the Fordham Rams meet Friday in college basketball action from Sports and Fitness Center. Norfolk State comes into this matchup at 3-0 so far. The Spartans took out Hampton in their last game. As for Fordham, they’re currently 1-1 on the season following a Saturday loss to Cornell. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.
Norfolk State Spartans
The Spartans had a pretty easy time in their first two matchups of the year. First came an opener versus Penn State Wilkes-Barre and a 102-55 win. Norfolk State shot 53.6 percent in that one and won the rebounding battle 46-27. Game two was another blowout win over Apprentice 90-56. That one featured 51.5 percent shooting from the Spartans.
Norfolk State faced their toughest test of the young season against Hampton. The Spartans prevailed however, scoring 41 points in the first half on the way to a 75-68 win. Leading team scorer Jamarii Thomas put up 20 points with three assists, and Jaylani Darden managed 16 points with nine boards.
Fordham Rams
Over on the Fordham side, they’ve only got two games—and some mixed results—in the books so far. The Rams were able to best Wagner in their opener, but it took overtime to achieve the 68-64 victory. Fordham shot just 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from the line and got out-rebounded 44-39 in that one, but shot a reasonable 42.6 percent from the floor overall.
Game two didn’t turn out quite so well for the Rams. In the Saturday matchup versus Cornell, Fordham faced a 45-24 deficit at the break and couldn’t come back in a 78-73 loss. Japhet Medor was the top team scorer with his 17 points and two steals. Both Joshua Rivera and Will Richardson added 12 points each in the defeat.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Norfolk State in this one. You could make a case either way, though. The Spartans are coming off a bad shooting performance versus Hampton, so they’ll need to focus on some more high-percentage shots on Friday. Norfolk State hit just 34.5 percent from the field and 17.6 percent (6-of-34) from 3-point range in their seven-point victory, hauling in 40 rebounds with 11 team assists.
As for Fordham, they shot pretty well overall versus Cornell (44.6 percent) but allowed 54 percent shooting on the other side and didn’t rebound very well with a 36-28 deficit on the boards. Norfolk State should be able to shoot better in this one, and I think they’ll cover as a result.
AUTHOR: Andrew Jett

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