Sat., Dec. 1
Columbus, Ohio – Value City Arena (19,049)
NKU (0-4) at Ohio State* (4-0, #4 AP poll), 4:30 p.m.
*Ohio State also plays at Duke on Nov. 28
NKU Radio: WQRT 1160 AM
Jim Kelch (play-by-play) & Steve Moeller (color)
Series Record: First meeting
NKU GAME NOTES (PDF)
2004 exhibition NKU/Ohio State photo gallery
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University will travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday to meet Ohio State in Value City Arena at 4:30 p.m.
Ohio State is currently 4-0 and ranked No. 4 nationally in this week's Associated Press poll. The Buckeyes play at Duke on Wednesday before hosting NKU. The Norse, in their first season of Division I competition, enter Saturday's game with an 0-4 record after taking part in a four-game tournament in San Diego, Calif., to open the season.
The NKU/Ohio State game will be televised live on The Big Ten Network. The NKU radio broadcast can be heard live on WQRT (1160 AM) with Jim Kelch doing the play-by-play, and Steve Moeller providing color commentary.
NORSE NOTES (FIVE STARTERS & ONE)
1• NKU made its debut in Division I basketball with four games in five days in San Diego, Calif., Nov. 14-18.
2• The Norse held second-half leads in all four games.
3• NKU shot just 38.2 percent from the field in the four losses, including 25 percent from 3-point range.
4• NKU has never played a Big Ten basketball team during the regular season.
5• The Norse met Ohio State in an exhibition game on Nov. 9, 2004. The Buckeyes posted a 77-67 victory.
+1• NKU's last regular-season win against a Division I team came on Jan. 14, 1984, when the Norse upset Tennessee State, 66-64, in Highland Heights, Ky.
THIS TIME IT COUNTS: This will be the first regular-season meeting between Northern Kentucky and Ohio State, but the two programs played an exhibition game eight years ago. On Nov. 9, 2004, Terence Dial scored 22 points and Je'Kel Foster added 19 as Ohio State held off Northern Kentucky, 77-67, in Columbus, Ohio (
click for photo gallery).
Ohio State finished 32-for-43 from the free-throw line, including 28-for-35 in the second half. The Buckeyes netted just five field goals in the second half but took advantage of NKU foul trouble to post the exhibition win in front of a crowd of 11,458.
J.J. Sullinger scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Ohio State. Mike Kelsey and Derek Smith both scored 16 points to lead NKU, which had three players foul out.
Kevin Schappell and Tory Reed each added seven points for NKU, which shot 40.4 percent from the field. The Norse were 17-for-20 from the free-throw line.
WELCOME TO THE BIG TIME: NKU did not play a nationally ranked team during the trip to San Diego. Ohio State will be the first Division I program with a national ranking that the Norse have ever faced. While competing at the small-college level, NKU posted a 57-132 all-time record against nationally ranked opponents (Division II and NAIA).
BEAR FACTS: NKU's Eshaunte “Bear” Jones leads the Norse in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Jones poured in 24 points during a 69-58 loss to Cal State Northridge on Nov. 18. Jones is 11-for-35 (.314) from 3-point range this season and is shooting 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.
ON THE BOARDS: NKU senior point guard
Ethan Faulkner leads the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) after pulling down nine boards in back-to-back games. The nine rebounds also represent a career high for Faulkner, who leads the Norse in assists (3.0 apg).
NORSE IN OHIO: NKU is 2-12 all-time in regular-season games against Division I teams in the state of Ohio. The Norse are 2-3 against Xavier, 0-7 against Cincinnati, 0-1 against Toledo and 0-1 against Dayton.
NKU also played Youngstown State and Akron when both of those programs competed at the Division II level. The Norse have played neither school since they reclassified to Division I.
BEZ IN DECEMBER: NKU head coach
Dave Bezold owns a 32-13 record in the month of December the past eight seasons. A year ago, Bezold guided the Norse to a 6-0 mark during the month of December.
Bezold enters the Ohio State game on Dec. 1 with a career record of 161-83 at NKU. He led the Norse to five NCAA Division II Tournament berths in the past six years.
TOUGH DEFENSE IN D-1: After the first four games, NKU is just 23-for-92 (.250) from 3-point range. NKU finished No. 2 nationally in last season's NCAA Division II team statistics in 3-point shooting at 42.5 percent. The Norse were 13th nationally in 3-pointers made per game at 9.0.
IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: NKU freshman guard
Todd Johnson scored 11 points against San Diego in the season opener Nov. 14. The lightning-quick Johnson drained a trio of 3-pointers.
NATE THE GREAT: NKU freshman guard
Nate Snodgrass scored a career-high 12 points against Tulsa. Snodgrass was the only Norse to score in double figures in that game.
NKU'S WEST COAST TRIP - THE FACTS
•
Jalen Billups scored NKU's first basket as a Division I program with a driving layup at the 19:27 mark against San Diego on Nov. 14, 2012.
•NKU dropped a 65-61 decision to San Diego in its first Division I game. It came 41 years and two days after the basketball program made its debut against Calvary (Ky.) College with a 109-65 win on Nov. 12, 1971. In both games - several decades apart - that started new eras, the Norse allowed 65 points.
•NKU is now 3-6 all-time in games played in the state of California. In 1989, NKU was 2-1 during a tournament at Chico State, and the Norse split two games in 1995-96 while on the west coast.
•NKU played San Diego, Tulsa, Siena and Cal State Northridge during the trip to the west coast. The Norse had never faced any of those four opponents.
•NKU played four games in five days.
•NKU is 0-4 for the first time in history. During the 1981-82 campaign, NKU started off 0-3 as the then-Division II Norse dropped consecutive games to Hanover, Wittenberg and Cincinnati. The following season, NKU was forced to compete in the NAIA after budget cuts forced the athletics program to fall below the NCAA's six-sport minimum for men's sports.
UP NEXT: After the Ohio State game, NKU hits the road again as the Norse travel to Lubbock, Texas, to meet Texas Tech on Dec. 4. The Norse have never met the Red Raiders on the basketball court.
