Norfolk State went into the first round of the NCAA tournament as heavy underdogs to No. 1 Florida. The Spartans were as much as 28.5-point underdogs to the Gators, which angered Norfolk State coach Robert Jones, who didn't believe the spread should have been set that wide.
"I know Florida's really, really good, and they run a great program, got great players, but are we that bad that the point spread is like that?" Jones said before the game. "I'm a little angry, and like I said, I'm a little bit more focused and play better when I'm angry."
Jones continued: "We do it all across the country, against some of your favorite coaches have lost to Norfolk State. It's just another opportunity to go out there with a chip on our shoulder, or my shoulder too, and show the world that it's different than what they think it is."
Unfortunately, the spread was not enough motivation to rally Norfolk State past Florida. The Spartans ultimately fell, 95-69, to Florida, losing by 26 points in the program's fourth trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Though Jones did not live up to his comments before the game, he did acknowledge them by starting his press conference with the perfect joke. "Well first thing I'll say here, I told you we wasn't a 30-point underdog," Jones said.
Perhaps as unfortunate as the loss is that no one in the press room laughed at Jones's clever zinger. Even Jones said, "damn, no one laughed at that."