HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's basketball opens Horizon League play Friday night at BB&T Arena against IUPUI, a team that enters with the second-best non-conference record among league schools. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at BB&T Arena, where the Norse are a perfect 8-0 this season and riding a
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (10-3 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
IUPUI Jaguars (8-5 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Friday, Dec. 28 – 7 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN+ with Brady Laber (PxP) and Brad Redford (Color)
Radio: ESPN1530 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. NKU students who show their student ID will receive a free ticket for a guest in addition to their regular free admission.
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU established its best nonconference record of the Division I era at 10-3, bettering the mark established by the 2016-17 team that went 9-4 through its first 13 contests, with a grind-it-out 65-62 victory over Northern Illinois to sweep the nonconference home-and-home against the Huskies.
• The Norse open Horizon League play with IUPUI, the team which posted the second-best nonconference record in the league with an 8-5 mark.
• NKU is 8-0 at BB&T Arena this season and is 31-4 at home since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
• At home this season, the Norse average 80.1 points per game and give up just 58.9 ppg.
• The Norse were picked to finish second in the Horizon League preseason poll, receiving 356 points and 10 first-place votes. Wright State was picked first with 377 points.
• NKU is coming off a 22-10 campaign in which it won the Horizon League regular-season title with a 15-3 mark and played in the NIT.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 30-10 against Horizon League competition, the best of any league school against the rest of the conference. Wright State is second at 28-12.
• NKU is averaging 16.2 assists per game, No. 50 in the nation. The Norse also rank 28th in the country in total assists with 210.
• NKU is letting it fly from 3-point range, ranking 33rd in attempts (343) and 34th in made treys (119). The Norse are making 9.2 threes per game, which are the 67th-most nationally.
• Foes are converting just 38.4 percent of their shots versus NKU, 24th-best nationally. The Norse are also 49th in scoring defense, allowing teams to post just 65.2 points per game.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 56-24, has won the Horizon League regular season (2018) and league tourney (2017), and has played in the NCAA Tournament (2017) and NIT (2018).
• F Drew McDonald leads five Norse averaging double digits on the year at 18.3 points. He also leads NKU at 9.5 rebounds per game (30th in nation). His six double-doubles rank 14th nationally and he is one of just 16 players to register a triple-double so far this year.
• McDonald collected his third Horizon League Player of the Week, and seventh of his career, following his 15-point, 12-rebound effort to help the Norse to a season sweep of Northern Illinois.
• McDonald is one of five active players in Division I basketball with at least 1,600 career points (1,669) and 800 career boards (886).
• G Tyler Sharpe is second on the team in scoring, pouring in 14.2 points per game.
• Sharpe has made at least three 3-pointers in eight of the last nine games. In the lone game (NIU) he failed to make three, Sharpe made two treys.
• F Dantez Walton is averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. In his first two seasons as a Norse, he posted nine combined double-figure scoring games. He already has 10 double-digit scoring outputs this year.
• G Zaynah Robinson is running the show for the Norse and has a team-best 3.5 assists per game. He is averaging 9.5 points per game.
• G Jalen Tate is averaging 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this year. He's registered 28 assists to only 13 turnovers and is making 51.4 percent (36-of-70) of his shots.
• G Trevon Faulkner has started the last six games for the Norse, playing nearly 20 minutes per outing and has dished out 11 assists while committing just six miscues. He's averaging 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in that span.
 
Last Time Out
With shooting at a premium, Northern Kentucky used stout defense to pull out a 65-62 win against Northern Illinois and claim the nonconference series sweep of the Huskies. The Norse converted just 31 percent (19-of-62) from the floor and 21 percent (6-of-28) from three, but attacked the rim, got to the foul line and converted 21 free throws. NKU also outscored NIU 19-4 in points off turnovers after holding a 15-5 advantage in miscues. McDonald posted his second-straight double-double with 15 points and 12 boards, while Sharpe and Tate added 14 points each and Walton chipped in 11. Faulkner drew the defensive assignment of NBA-prospect Eugene German and held the scoring guard to 18 points on 20 shot attempts, limiting one of the nation's top shooters to 7-of-20 from the field and 1-of-7 from three.
 
Scouting IUPUI
Entering league play, IUPUI holds the second-best record of the league schools at 8-5 overall behind NKU's 10-3 mark. The Jaguars have lost two in a row to Purdue Fort Wayne (87-77) and Morehead State (74-70), but have a win at Boston College (76-69) and against Bradley (85-73) on their ledger. Cameron Justice, a transfer from Vanderbilt, paces IUPUI at 21.0 points per game. Jaylen Minnett is the only other double-figure scorer for the Jaguars, who average 79.5 points per game as a team and surrender 72.4 ppg.
 
Series Stuff
NKU is 6-1 all-time versus IUPUI, which includes a season sweep a year ago. In last season's two meetings, McDonald averaged a double-double with 21 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Walton added 9.0 points and Tate chimed in with 8.5 ppg. Prior to last year, the Norse and Jaguars last met in 1984 and Northern Kentucky is riding five-game winning streak in the series.