Game Notes

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A Wednesday-night showdown at Kennesaw State is on tap for the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team, marking the final contest of a three-game road trip for the Norse. The game will have major impacts for both teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings. NKU sits fifth at 5-7 in the A-Sun, one game ahead of sixth-place KSU and its 4-8 record in league play. A 7 p.m. start time is scheduled at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Northern Kentucky University Norse (11-16 Overall, 5-7 Atlantic Sun)
Kennesaw State University Owls (10-19 Overall, 4-8 Atlantic Sun)
Wed., Feb. 25 - 7:00 p.m. (ET)
KSU Convocation Center (4,600) in Kennesaw, Ga.
TV: ESPN3 with Nathan McCreary (play-by-play) and Theresa Gernatt (analysis)
Radio: FOX Sports 1360 (AM) with Jim Kelch (play-by-play) and Steve Moeller (analysis)

Fast Break Points

• NKU led early by eight points and trailed by just three with seven minutes left, but suffered an 88-69 loss at North Florida.
• The Norse lost for the first time this year with four Norse reaching double-figures. Northern Kentucky was 5-0 entering the game.
• NKU picked up its first conference win of the season with a 76-72 home win over KSU in the first meeting this year.
• Sitting at 11-16 overall, NKU has matched its win total from 2012-13 (11), the most in the DI-era, and surpassed last season's total (9).
• NKU is second overall in the A-Sun in shooting (45.6%) and turnovers (11.9). In A-Sun games, NKU leads the league in shooting (46.7%).
• In A-Sun play, NKU has been held below 40% shooting in just one game and has held four adversaries to less than 40% (Upstate, FGCU, Lipscomb, Stetson).
• Three Norse are averaging double-digits in A-Sun play, Billups (14.4), Persons (13.7) and White (10.8).
• G Tayler Persons averaged 20.5 points, 7.5 boards and 4.0 assists in two road contests last weekend to earn A-Sun Newcomer of the Week.
• G Tayler Persons leads NKU in scoring (13.2 ppg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.1).
• Persons and Kennesaw State's Yonel Brown have both reached 30-points in a game twice this season.
• F Jalen Billups ranks among NKUís all-time leaders in FG % (2nd, .633), blocks (7th, 91) & blocks per game (12th, 1.0).
• Billups leads the league and ranks third nationally (ESPN) in field goal percentage (69.9), a mark that currently tops NKU's record books as well. 
• Billups is averaging 14.4 ppg in A-Sun games behind 75.5 percent shooting, which leads the league by over 18 percent.
• Billups also ranks fourth in the league in blocks (1.3) and sixth in rebounds (5.7). He also ranks third in rebounding (7.1) in A-Sun games.
• G Chad Jackson and Billups are climbing NKU's all-time scoring list. Billups ranks 40th with 789 points & Jackson checks in at No. 41 (775).
• White has started 16-of-the-last-17 games. He also leads NKU in made 3's (53) & is t-13th in NKU's record books with 129-career treys.
• F Deontae Cole ranks among the league leaders in 3-point field-goal percent, checking in seventh at 39.5 percent.

Billups Is Rewriting Career Marks

Redshirt junior forward Jalen Billups is leaving his mark on NKU's record books. He ranks among NKUís all-time leaders in FG percent (2nd, .633), blocks (7th, 91) and blocks per game (12th, 1.0).

So far this season, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native is 130-of-186 for 69.9 percent, a total that ranks third in the nation (via ESPN), leads the A-Sun and, if the season ended today, would be the best in program history. 

Billups' 11.3 points per game average is second-most on the team (16th A-Sun). In Atlantic Sun Conference action, Billups is averaging 14.4 points per game (9th in A-Sun) on league-leading 75.5 percent shooting. He is also averaging 7.1 rebounds through 12 league games (3rd A-Sun).

In three of the last four games, Billups narrowly missed double-doubles: FGCU (nine points, 10 rebounds), Stetson (eight points, nine rebounds) and Jacksonville (15 points, eight rebounds).

Point Person(s)

Guard Tayler Persons has emerged as one of NKUís leaders as a true freshman. Persons has recorded double-digit scoring efforts 19 times this season, including  30 points at Chattanooga. The 30-point effort against the Mocs, coupled with a 16-point, eight assist effort at Morehead State, led to both A-Sun Newcomer and Mid-Major Madness Freshman of the Week honors. He tallied a then-career-high 23 points to lead NKU past Idaho, 79-74. Personsí efforts against EWU and Idaho garnered him A-Sun Newcomer of the Week accolades.

Persons notched his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in NKU's 82-57 drubbing of Stetson. He posted a second-straight double-double with career-highs in points (31) and rebounds (12) to go along with six assists at Jacksonville. The Kokomo, Indiana, native followed with 10 points, three boards and two assists and was named A-Sun Newcomer of the Week for the third time.

The consecutive double-doubles was the first for a Norse since Malcom Eleby completed the feat during the 2011-12 season (1/15 and 1/20) at Wisconsin-Parkside (13 points, 12 rebounds) and at Bellarmine (13 points, 12 rebounds). He is also the first NKU player since Travis Rasso (31 points, 14 rebounds) in Dec. 2007 to score 30 or more points in a double-double.

Persons has made his presence felt all over the court for the Norse. He leads Northern Kentucky in scoring (13.2 ppg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.1 spg) and is third on the squad in rebounding at 4.7 rpg.

Scouting Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State enters the game at 4-8 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, one game behind Northern Kentucky. All four wins for the Owls were recorded against Jacksonville and Stetson, the bottom two teams in the league. However, KSU has some close losses on its conference ledger: at FGCU by one (54-53), at USC Upstate by three (68-65), at NKU by four (76-72) and FGCU by six (54-48), Pacing the Owls offensively is Yonel Brown, who averages 15.4 points per game and has scored over 25 points four times this year. Kennesaw State is the lowest scoring team in the conference in both all games (63.6 ppg) and league-only contests (63.1 ppg).

Series Stuff: Kennesaw State

NKU leads the all-time series 5-1, including a 4-1 record as members of the A-Sun. The Norse picked up a 76-72 victory when the two teams met on Jan. 14 in NKU's first home game of the conference season.

Chad Jackson led the charge for NKU in that game with 19 points. Jalen Billups contributed 16 points and corraled eight caroms. Jordan Jackson went a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to also reach double-figures. Damien Wilson (22), Yonel Brown (20) and Delbert Love (14) accounted for 56 of KSU's 72 points in the game.

Last Time Out: North Florida

Northern Kentucky staked an eight-point advantage, 19-11, by the under-eight media timeout, but three runs from North Florida helped defeat the Norse, 88-69. UNF used a 9-2 run late in the first half to nab a 35-30 advantage at intermission. After the Norse fought back to tie the game at 40 and then again at 42, the Ospreys used another 9-2 spurt to push back out in front. Chad Jackson and Dean Danos knocked down a free throw and three-pointer, respectively, with roughly 7:30 left to pull NKU within three, 62-59, but 13-consecutive UNF points over the next three minutes put the game out of reach. Jackson paced four Norse in double-figures with 18 points. Jalen Billups chipped in 12 points, while Tayler Persons and Todd Johnson contributed 10 apiece. Jalen Nesbitt paced the Ospreys with a game-high 26 points.