Norfolk State vs SC State Prediction 3/1/25 College Basketball Picks

The Norfolk State Spartans and the South Carolina State Bulldogs meet Saturday in college basketball action from SHM Memorial Center. Here’s a Norfolk State vs South Carolina State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Norfolk State vs South Carolina State pick. We will examine: 

The Norfolk State Spartans recent form and player performance

The South Carolina State Bulldogs recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Norfolk State Spartans

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the South Carolina State Bulldogs

Recent betting trends in games played between Norfolk State and South Carolina State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Norfolk State vs South Carolina State game

Norfolk State Spartans Betting Preview

The Spartans posted a pretty sketchy run over the first dozen games but they’ve done much better since then. Norfolk State kicked off with a 6-6 run in those opening 12 outings, then beat Alabama State, Grambling and High Point before a loss to Tennessee. The Spartans would beat MD Eastern Shore, Delaware State and Coppin State before a loss to Morgan State, and since then it’s been eight straight wins. Those have come versus Washington Adventist, Howard, South Carolina State, NC Central, MD Eastern Shore, Delaware State, Coppin State and Morgan State, giving the Spartans a 20-8 overall run through 28 games this year. 

In the Morgan State matchup on Monday, the Spartans came out of the gate with a 30-26 advantage in the first half. Norfolk State finished on a 39-34 run and took the win 69-60 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Christian Ings with 12 points and three rebounds. Jalen Myers added a double-double on 10 points with 11 boards and two assists, while Kuluel Mading had five points and 14 rebounds. 

South Carolina State Bulldogs Betting Preview

Over on the Bulldogs’ side, they were looking pretty rough as February began but they’ve crawled out from below the .500 mark since then. South Carolina State kicked things off on a 6-9 stretch with losses to South Carolina, Jacksonville, Bethune-Cookman, Marshall, Xavier, Samford, Furman, NorthernKentucky and Georgia during that time. The Bulldogs would go 3-3 in the next six with wins over Morgan State, Coppin State and MD Eastern Shore alongside losses to Delaware State, NC Central and Norfolk State. Since then it’s been wins over Howard, Mid-Atlantic Christian, Morgan State, Coppin State, Delaware State and MD Eastern Shore. In total that lives the Bulldogs a 15-12 overall run through 27 games this season. 

Matched up against MD Eastern Shore in their road rematch on Monday, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 46-32 halftime lead. South Carolina State scored another 35 points from there in an 81-68 victory. Omar Croskey led the team on a double-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Drayton Jones added 18 points with six boards, and Mitchell Taylor had 12 points with four boards and four assists off the bench.

Why the South Carolina State Bulldogs will win

• South Carolina State has won each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Norfolk State Spartans will win

• Norfolk State has won each of its last 11 day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Norfolk State vs South Carolina State Prediction 

I’ll stay with South Carolina State, but this should be a pretty good matchup regardless. The Bulldogs are doing well lately and coming off a win over a struggling MDES team. SC State shot a nice 49 percent in that one with a 43-29 rebounding edge. The 20 turnovers for 18 MD Eastern Shore points didn’t help matters, though. Still, that makes six straight wins for South Carolina State, and they’ve scored 81 or more points in all of them. 

These teams last saw each other on February 1 in a 67-65 OT home win for Norfolk State. Both teams shot below 39 percent in that one and each had 18 turnovers in a sloppy game. Provided the Bulldogs can clean up their mistakes in the home rematch though, I think they’ll be in good shape for some revenge.