THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140434
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Sports Illustrated is famous for its erroneous predictions - picking Cleveland to win the World Series a few years back and Arizona to claim college football's national championship last season, among others.
But the magazine may have been on to something when it picked Norfolk State to win the Division II national championship this season.
The Spartans certainly did nothing to make SI look bad in the South Atlantic Regional. The Spartans dropped Virginia Union, 84-66, in the final and head to the Elite Eight in Louisville, Ky., next week playing their best ball of the season. Norfolk State (26-5) faces Southern Region winner Alabama A&M (29-2) on March 22 at the Commonwealth Convention Center.
``Our goal was to get back (to the Elite Eight), and we want to go farther than we did last year,'' NSU coach Mike Bernard said. ``Obviously we'd like to win it, but we're going to take the tournament one game at a time.''
Norfolk State lost in the first round of the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., last season. Bernard is hoping that being there last year will help his team be better prepared mentally this year.
The Spartans showed at the South Atlantic Region that they can refocus when needed. After an emotional loss to Virginia Union in the CIAA final, they played four intense halves against J.C. Smith and Virginia Union at the South Atlantic Regional.
Forward Corey Williams said the CIAA loss stung, but the team knew it could still achieve its ultimate goal: ``A lot of people look at the CIAA championship as the thing. We look at the national championship.''
Williams is the kind of player who could give the Spartans the extra edge needed in Louisville.
``He's unstoppable,'' point guard Maurice Whitfield said.
Are the Spartans?
They'll find out in Louisville.
LONG TIME COMING: Norfolk State will have 10 days off before playing in Louisville, and each of the other seven teams involved will have at least a nine-day layoff.
Tom Jacobs, assistant director of championships for the NCAA, says there is a week-and-a-half delay between the regional finals and the Elite Eight in part so fans will have time to make travel arrangements.
Still, drawing enough fans to cover the tournament's expenses has been an uphill battle. Last year the NCAA lost $247,000 on the complete 48-team tournament, Jacobs said. Gross receipts from the tournament were $118,000, but transportation and meal costs for the teams put the event in the red.
Division II teams get most of their money from their Division I brethren, who will provide a grant of about $3 million from their own tournament, Jacobs said.
TICKETS: Tickets for the Elite Eight are $35 for sideline seats for all games, $20 for end-zone seats. Call (502) 595-3156. NSU's ticket office is not handling ticket sales. by CNB