THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290686
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Realizing many of his players had never seen an NBA game in person, Mike Bernard and his Norfolk State Spartans took in a Los Angeles Clippers-Atlanta Hawks game Tuesday on their way to the Capital City Classic in Tallahassee, Fla.
Call it a week of firsts for the Spartans.
Norfolk State crosses another threshold tonight when it takes on Southeastern Conference member Auburn.
``We have an opportunity to make history,'' Bernard said. ``To my knowledge, no CIAA team has ever beaten an SEC team. In fact, I don't think a CIAA team has ever played an SEC team.
``We're in a transition period where we'll be moving to Division I in two years and this should be a good barometer as to what our program needs to compete effectively.''
The Spartans didn't pick one of the SEC's weak sisters. Auburn (10-1) is off to its best start in 33 years, has won six straight and beat then-No. 13 Louisville in November.
The Tigers, however, found trouble two weeks ago with the suspensions of two players and an assistant coach for alleged NCAA recruiting violations, although neither player (Chris Davis and preseason Wooden Award candidate Moochie Norris) had suited up this season.
Auburn is led by the backcourt duo of sharpshooter Lance Weems and playmaker Wes Flanigan.
``They're big and quick and rely on the press as a major force,'' Bernard said. ``We're going to have to execute, keep it to under 10 turnovers, do a good job on the boards and control the tempo.''
The Tigers finish their preseason with Norfolk State tonight and Florida A&M Saturday night in this pre-determined classic format.
Likewise, Norfolk State finishes its pre-CIAA slate this weekend with West Florida on Saturday.
The Spartans haven't played in 23 days, but will play five times in the next nine days. They follow with a road game at Livingstone Tuesday and home games against Winston-Salem State Thursday and Johnson C. Smith Saturday.
``With a long layoff like that, it's very difficult to keep focus,'' Bernard said. ``But the advantages are you can install more of your offensive and defensive systems for January and February.'' by CNB