Norfolk shoots it better, defends better and, playing in its hometown, will have the bulk of the crowd behind it. The Spartans own a similar record but took on heavyweights such as Tennessee, Baylor and Stanford in the pre-MEAC portion of their schedule to prepare them for this moment. They are accustomed to reaching the final, having won in 2021 and '22 while finishing runners-up in three years dating to 2017. S.C. State is a relative newcomer to the championship game.

The MEAC is a place where variance rules, but SCST's 16 conference games average 153 points and Norfolk's average 152. Last time they played (3/1) 182 points were scored. SCST plays at breakneck pace, send teams to the line a ton and can be incredibly hot scoring points. Only once in MEAC play have consecutive games of theirs gone under this total (just 113 scored in their semi). SCST is over this total in 9 of last 10 games. Crowd should be with Norfolk State, at home, and we should get some energy in the building. FT should help push us over and there is a very real game script in which this is played 170+. Both teams averaged over 80/G in conference play.