2011 – 12 Norfolk State Spartans men 's basketball team represented Norfolk State University during the 2011 – 12 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Spartans , led by fifth year head coach Anthony Evans , played their home games at Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall and are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference . They finished the season 26 – 10 , 13 – 3 in MEAC play to finish in second place . They were the champions of the MEAC Basketball Tournament to earn the conference 's automatic bid in the 2012 NCAA Tournament , the school 's first ever appearance in the tournament . As a 15 seed , the Spartans defeated the 2 seed Missouri in the second round , 86 – 84 . This was only the fifth time in NCAA Tournament history that a 15 seed defeated a 2 seed , with the last coming in 2001 ( later that same day , 15 seed Lehigh defeated 2 seed Duke ) . Norfolk State would fall to Florida in the third round
MEAC Basketball Tournament
2012 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
2011–12 Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball team