We’ve partnered with Urban Edge Network to highlight the best players in HBCU Division I men’s and women’s basketball each week.
We’re just over a week away from the start of the SWAC and MEAC basketball tournaments, so players know their seasons are winding down.
Without many games remaining on the schedule, the best players are trying to flash greatness a few more times. And every player is looking to put a couple of quality games together to either go into the conference tournament hot or move into the offseason on a good note.
With the sense of desperation on display at this point in the season, the best players often harness that to produce eye-popping numbers.
Here are Opta Analyst’s HBCU Basketball Players of the Week:
Men’s Player of the Week: Toby Nnadozie, Coppin State
There are heaters and then there are whatever Toby Nnadozie was on this past week.
Nnadozie carried Coppin State to a 72-61 upset win over Howard on Feb. 24, scoring 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting. He knocked down five of his six 3-point attempts as well.
As Coppin State jumped out to a 31-19 halftime edge, Nnadozie led the way, going 6 of 7 from the field for 15 points – or just four fewer than his opponent for the entire half.
Photo Credit: @CoppinMBBIt’s not an exaggeration to say Nnadozie carried the offense. He made 40% of the team’s field goals, including five of the Eagles’ six 3-pointers, and shot 71.4% from the field. The rest of the team shot 34.9%.
Nnadozie had an even better scoring game against Delaware State, although Coppin State came up on the short end of an 83-79 decision. He had 29 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
Coppin State’s offense as a whole played better, but its defense failed to stop Delaware State. Although the Eagles trailed the entire second half, Nnadozie scored four points during a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to one with 49 seconds left. But the Hornets hit a pair of free throws and held on down the stretch.
Nnadozie’s week produced the best scoring of his career and rivaled almost anyone in Division I this past week. His career high in points for a game was 22 coming into last week and he beat that total in both games. The most points he had in consecutive games for his career was 42; it’s now 54.
Only eight players who played at least two games last week had a higher scoring average than Nnadozie. He was one of only two players to play multiple games and average 25+ points on 70% or better shooting for the week (also South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles). Any way you slice it, Nnadozie was one of the best scorers in the country for a one-week span.
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Excellence has been the standard for Norfolk State all season.
The Spartans are riding a 14-game winning streak, sitting at 12-0 in the MEAC, and they haven’t lost since the calendar flipped to 2025.
Diamond Johnson has been the key to a lot of that success, leading Norfolk State in points, assists and steals while trailing only Kierra Wheeler in rebounds.
The success continued for both Norfolk State and Diamond Johnson this past week.
Johnson had 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 90-46 win over Morgan State. The Lady Bears scored 46 in the game; the Spartans had 46 at halftime. Johnson fueled the quick start, scoring or assisting on 14 of her team’s 23 first-quarter points.
Norfolk State followed that 44-point win with a 31-point win, beating South Carolina State 88-57. Johnson scored 19 points and added eight rebounds, three assists and seven steals in just 25 minutes.
Johnson was tied for third in the country last week in steals per game with five. She combined her dynamite defensive playmaking with an efficient offensive effort and led her team to two blowout victories.
Norfolk State had the largest margin of victory for any team in Division I last week, even including the teams that played only one game. The Spartans won by an average of 37.5 points per game, edging out Vanderbilt’s 37.0 average margin of victory for the week.
The Spartans started the season hot and haven’t cooled down. Johnson, the offensive and defensive engine on this team, deserves all the recognition she gets.
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HBCU Basketball Players of the Week: Feb. 24-March 2 Opta Analyst.
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