HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A Saturday matinee at Green Bay is on the docket for the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team, as it is set to take on the Horizon League foe in a 1 p.m. (ET)/noon (CT) tilt on ESPN3.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (13-6 Overall, 6-1 Horizon League)
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix (8-14 Overall, 3-6 Horizon League)
Saturday, Jan. 20 – 1 p.m. (ET)/noon (CT)
Resch Center(9,877) in Green Bay, Wis.
TV: ESPN3 with Ted Stefaniak (Play-by-Play) and Cordero Barkley (Color)
Radio: ESPN1530 (1530 AM) with Jim Kelch (Play-by-Play) and Steve Moeller (Color)
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU played a near-perfect first half, building a 49-23 advantage by intermission en route to a 91-64 win at Milwaukee.
• The Norse are second in the league standings with a 6-1 mark.
• Dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season, and including the #HLMBB Championship, NKU has won 21 of its last 28 games (.750) against League opponents.
• The Norse are 1-3 all-time versus Green Bay, including 0-2 in road tilts against the Phoenix.
• Northern Kentucky is 15th in the nation in 2-point field goal percent (58.1).
• NKU is averaging 16.8 assists per game, a mark that ranks 32nd in the nation. It also only commits 12.1 turnovers an outing, which ranks 62nd nationally. Combining those two marks results in an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.39, the 24th best in the country.
• Northern Kentucky dished 20 assists at Milwaukee, the fifth time this season it's passed out 20 or more in a game.
• NKU forces the 40th-most turnovers per game in the nation (15.9) and allows teams to distribute just 10.9 assists per game.
• NKU is 23rd in the country in steals (8.4 spg) and has registered double-digit steals five times on the year, including three times in the last five games.
• NKU's 3-point field goal defense ranks seventh in the nation at 29.1 percent.
• Through games played Jan. 18, NKU sits 61st on KenPom.com, which is tops in the Horizon League. In a recent column on TheAthletic.com, Ken Pomeroy marked NKU's odds at 72 percent to win the Horizon League. Oakland was second with a 35 percent chance.
• The Norse are receiving votes in both the CollegeInsider.Com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll and Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings.
• NKU is one of 16 teams in the country to return at least 70 percent of its production in points (77), rebounds (84) and assists (84).
• F Drew McDonald (25 points, 12 rebounds) and G Lavone Holland II (19 points, 10 assists) each recorded double-doubles versus Milwaukee.
• McDonald, the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, leads NKU in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg) and has eight double-doubles, 29th most in the nation.
• Holland narrowly missed a triple double against Milwaukee, hauling in seven boards to go with his 19 points and 10 assists. He averages 13.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.
• F Carson Williams is converting 64.2 percent of his field-goal attempts (104-of-162), a mark that ranks 9th in the country. He is averaging 13.7 ppg.
• G Tyler Sharpe tallied a career-high 19 points behind 7-for-8 shooting at Milwaukee. He averaging 8.1 ppg and is shooting 55 percent in League play.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky methodically dismantled Milwaukee in the first half on both ends of the floor to hold a 49-23 advantage at intermission, then continued its offensive onslaught in the second half of a 91-64 win over the Panthers. NKU shot 60 percent for the game (36-of-60), which included a 67 percent (16-of-24) second-half performance, and held UWM to 41 percent (23-of-56) shooting thanks to 30 percent (9-of-30) in the opening stanza.
 
McDonald posted 25 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs, for his eighth double-double. Holland recorded a 19-point, 10-assist double-double, exactly eight years to the date from when a Norse recorded a points-assist double-double (Scott Bibbins, 13 points/12 assists, Jan. 18, 2010 at Maryville). Holland was perfect from the field (7-for-7) and nearly perfect at the line (4-of-5). Sharpe converted 7-of-8 shots from the floor on his way to a career-best 19 points. Jalen Tate dished out a career-high six assists. Dantez Walton notched six points, five boards and two steals. And, Jeff Garrett chimed in with six points, two blocks and two steals.
 
Scouting Green Bay
Green Bay suffered an 80-67 setback to Wright State on Thursday night and is 8-14 overall and 3-6 in Horizon League action. The Phoenix have lost six of their last seven games, including two at home. Its game against NKU will also be its 10th game in the first 23 days of the Horizon League schedule. Khalil Small is averaging 17.4 points and 6.7 rebounds to pace Green Bay. Marquette transfer Sandy Cohen III is chipping in 15.5 points and 5.5 boards.
 
Series Stuff
Green Bay holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 2-0 mark at home against NKU. The Norse won the last meeting between the two teams, defeating the Phoenix 69-67 in Highland Heights last February.