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Norfolk State Wins MEAC After Disastrous Mistake from SC State

The Spartans are headed to the Big Dance, but a major mishap from their opponent helped them get there.

Gavin Dorsey

Norfolk State guard Brian Moore Jr. (5) and Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack (15) fight for the rebound during a college basketball game between Tennessee and Norfolk State held at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024.
Norfolk State guard Brian Moore Jr. (5) and Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack (15) fight for the rebound during a college basketball game between Tennessee and Norfolk State held at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NCAA Tournament is known for its insane finishes, earning the March Madness moniker.

While the bracket won't officially be unveiled until Selection Sunday, the madness has already begun.

In the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday, No. 1 seed Norfolk State led No. 2 seed South Carolina State, 65-63, with 12.2 seconds remaining. As the Spartans looked to inbound, the pass was stolen away by Bulldogs forward Caleb McCarty, who immediately put up the tying shot.

With the score knotted at 65 apiece, McCarty then fouled Norfolk State's Christian Ings with 8.9 seconds to go, seemingly forgetting the score was tied. Ings took the lead with a free throw and the Bulldogs missed an attempt at the buzzer, sending the Spartans back to the NCAA Tournament.

The entire sequence is so crazy, it's hard to believe:

Win the win, Norfolk State (24-10, 11-3 MEAC) reaches its fourth NCAA Tournament ever and the third of the last five years. The Spartans made the Sweet 16 in 2012, but lost in the Round of 64 in both 2021 and 2022.

Norfolk State split the regular season MEAC title with South Carolina State (20-13, 11-3 MEAC), which was looking to win the conference tournament for the first time since 2003. Under MEAC Coach of the Year Erik Martin, the Bulldogs improved from five wins in 2023 and 14 wins in 2024 to the program's highest win total in over two decades.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi predicts the Spartans will be a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they would play No. 1 seed Florida in a first-round matchup in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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