Norfolk State University was a dominant force in CIAA basketball but hasn’t yet found similar fortunes in the MEAC.

The Spartans won the CIAA tournament 12 times between 1965 and 1996, but have just one title — in 2012 — since joining the MEAC in 1997.

The good news is that it’s not too late to regain lost glory. There are ample reasons pointing to why NSU Coach Robert Jones’ Spartans are this year’s favorite to prevail and advance to the NCAAs.

Heading into this weekend’s tournament, NSU has the MEAC’s top foul shooter, top 3-point shooter, arguably best all-round performer and, not to be overlooked, the hometown advantage.

The event will be held at the Norfolk Scope Arena, just 1.2 miles from the NSU campus. There will be very limited seating, however, due to pandemic regulations.

Some history: Under Coaches Ernie Fears, Robert Smith, Mike Bernard and Richmond-native Charles Christian, NSU won 12 CIAA titles and went to 15 NCAA Division II tournaments, reaching the Final Four in 1995.

Since making the move to the NCAA Division I MEAC in 1997, NSU has been to only one NCAA — in 2012 — when the Spartans famously upset the University of Missouri in a No. 2 versus No. 15 match behind sensation Kyle O’Quinn.

Today’s team: NSU heads to the Scope with a 14-7 overall mark and 8-4 in the MEAC, including four straight wins. The Spartans will be the top seed from the Northern Division.

Sophomore Daryl Anderson leads the MEAC from 3-point range (46 percent) and junior Joe Bryant tops the conference in foul shooting (86 percent).

The 6-foot-1 Bryant, averaging 10 points and four rebounds, ranks among NSU’s most versatile athletes.

At Norfolk’s Lake Taylor High School, Bryant helped the team to both the State 4A football and basketball state titles. In the 2018 state high school basketball semifinals, Bryant scored 33 points against Richmond’s Huguenot High School.

A powerful MEAC Player of the Year candidate is 6-foot-3 senior guard Devante Carter, averaging 16 points and five re- bounds. The former standout at Woodside High School in Newport News also leads the team with 79 assists and 23 steals.

804 connection: The Spartans’ starting center is 6-foot-8, 240-pound J.J. Matthews from Millwood School in Midlothian. Matthews averages nine points, leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per outing and shoots 53 percent from floor, mostly from close range.

Providing valuable minutes coming off Coach Jones’bench areAnderson, also from the Millwood School, Tyrese Jenkins from Varina High School in Henrico County and Chris Ford from L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield County. Ford leads the team with 18 blocked shots.

The greatest player in NSU history is unquestionably Bobby Dandridge out of Richmond’s Maggie L. Walker High School. The 6-foot-6 forward known as “Greyhound” was brilliant at NSU under Coach Fears before winning two NBA titles with Milwaukee in 1971 and Washington in 1978.

Dandridge, who averaged 32.3 points as a NSU senior in 1968-69, ranks with the top HBCU performers in the annals.

Old-timers recall the glory years when Norfolk State averaged more than 100 points and enjoyed one of the strongest fan bases on the East Coast. Tickets were hard to find when the Spartans came to town.

During the decades, the Spartans have lost some of that swagger. This might be the season the green and gold snatches it back.