HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The date, time and opponent are set, as Northern Kentucky men's basketball embarks on its first NIT appearance when it heads down I-71 to face in-state foe Louisville on Tuesday, March 13. ESPN will carry the 7 p.m. contest, which will be at the Cardinals' home facility, KFC Yum! Center.
 
Game Information
No. 7 Northern Kentucky University Norse (22-9 Overall, 15-3 Horizon League)
No. 2 University of Louisville Cardinals (20-13 Overall, 9-9 ACC)
Tuesday, March 13 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
KFC Yum! Center (22,000) in Louisville, Ky.
TV: ESPN with Anish Shroff (Play-by-Play) and Dino Gaudio (Color)
Radio: 55KRC (550 AM) with Jim Kelch (Play-by-Play) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
Tickets: Ticketmaster
 
Fast Break Points
• For the second-straight year in the postseason, NKU will face an in-state foe when it takes on No. 2 Louisville in the opening round of the NIT. Northern Kentucky took on Kentucky in last season's NCAA Tournament.
• Despite being separated by just 100 miles, NKU and Louisville have never officially met on the hardwood, but the Cardinals came to Highland Heights, Kentucky, to open BB&T Arena against the Norse on Nov. 8, 2008 and NKU helped UofL open the KFC Yum! Center on Oct. 31, 2010.
• NKU won the Horizon League regular-season league title with a 15-3 mark, earning an automatic berth into the NIT.
• NKU is the first team in Division I to win a league regular-season title, conference-tournament championship, participate in the NCAA tournament and the NIT (or NCAA a second time) in its first two years eligible at the DI level.
• Since navigating the transition period and earning active Division I status prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU has posted a combined 46-20 record (.697).
• Northern Kentucky is 17th in the nation in 2-point field goal percent (56.6).
• NKU is averaging 16.5 assists per game, a mark that ranks 23rd in the nation. It also only commits 12.4 turnovers an outing. Combining those two marks results in an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.33, the 35th-best in the country.
• NKU forces the 78th-most turnovers per game in the nation (14.3) and allows teams to distribute just 11.2 assists per game.
• NKU's plus-12.3 scoring margin is the 14^th-best in the nation.
• NKU's 3-point field goal defense ranks 10th in the nation at 30.9 percent.
• Through games played March 11, NKU sits 95th on KenPom.com, which tops the Horizon League.
• The Norse are 24th in the CollegeInsider.Com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll.
• All-Horizon League First Team member F Drew McDonald has been on an absolute tear in registering double-doubles. He has 15 in the last 21 games and 17 total on the year, 14th-most in the nation. McDonald leads NKU in scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg).
• In NKU's last outing, McDonald became the program's all-time leader in defensive rebounds (555).
• G Lavone Holland II earned All-Horizon League Second Team honors and is the only player in the league to average double digits in scoring (13.8 ppg) and at least four rebounds (4.1 rpg) and four assists (4.5 apg).
• F Jalen Tate earned both Horizon League All-Defensive and All-Freshman honors as the motor that makes NKU's nationally-ranked defense move. He leads NKU in steals (42) and blocks (19).
• McDonald and F Carson Williams were both named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team.
• Williams is converting 61.0 percent of his field goals, averaging 12.3 ppg.
• G Tyler Sharpe is second in the nation among walk-ons with 204 points.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky jumped out to a 21-6 advantage and held the lead for more than 33 minutes, but Cleveland State exploded for 61 second-half points to overtake the Norse and pull out an 89-80 victory.
 
McDonald tallied his 17th double-double with a game-high-tying 24 points and game-best 13 caroms. He also dished out four assists. Holland scored 15 points to go with five assists. Dantez Walton chipped in 10 points and seven boards. Williams chimed in with 10 points and 10 boards to give NKU its third game of the season with two players posting a double-double.
 
Scouting Louisville
Louisville finished tied for eighth in the venerable ACC with a 20-13 overall record and 9-9 mark in conference play. The Cardinals are led by a trio of double-figure scorers. Deng Adel paces the group at 15.4 ppg. Ray Spalding checks in at 12.3 points and team-best 8.6 rebounds. Quentin Snider averages 12.2 points and has a team-leading 4.0 assists per game.
 
UofL scores at a 76.2 points-per-game clip, while allowing its opponents just 70.5 ppg. Defensively, Louisville ranks fourth in the country in blocked shots at 6.2 per contest. The Cardinals started the season 15-4, but have gone just 5-9 in their last 14 games.
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky and Louisville are officially meeting for the first time on the hardwood.
 
Although, UofL served as NKU's first-ever opponent at BB&T Arena (then called The Bank of Kentucky Center) when the men's and women's teams played exhibition matchups on Nov. 8, 2008, to open Northern Kentucky's $60-million on-campus venue. Ranked third in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, Louisville won that matchup, 84-69, over a Norse team that was ranked No. 4 in the Division II Bulletin poll. Dustin Maguire knocked down 9-of-12 attempts from 3-point range en route to a game-high 33 points. Samardo Samuels had 29 to lead the Cardinals.
 
Two years later, NKU returned the favor when Louisville opened the KFC Yum! Center on Oct. 31, 2010. Louisville won that game, 83-66. Rakeem Buckles led the Cardinals with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while the Norse were led by Malcom Eleby's 21 points.
 
Regular-Season Champions
In just its second season of NCAA Division I eligibility, Northern Kentucky has won the Horizon League regular-season title. NKU finished the conference schedule with a 15-3 mark, its winningest conference season at the DI level to date. In fact, NKU only had four seasons at the DII level with more league wins when it posted 16 in 1994-95, 1996-97, 1999-2000 and 2002-03.
 
Unprecedented Success
Since gaining active status as Division I members prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, Northern Kentucky has strung together a level of success never before seen in a program's first two seasons as active DI members. The Norse have won a regular-season league title (2018), league tournament title (2017), played in the NCAA tournament (2017) and either NIT (2018), or NCAA tournament again, in each of their first two years with active Division I membership.
 
Four other schools have come close to matching this success:

• The Summit League's North Dakota State won a regular-season crown, league tournament championship and went to the NCAA tournament in its first season (2009), but failed to post a winning record in its second season.
• Beginning in 1970, Long Beach State won four-consecutive Pacific Coast Athletic Association (now the Big West) regular-season titles and earned appearances in the NCAA tournament, but the Big West did not sponsor a league tourney until the mid-1970's.
• Florida Gulf Coast won the Atlantic Sun Tournament and made the NCAA tourney in its second season (2013), when it reached the Sweet 16, but the Eagles did not win a regular-season crown during that time.
• Seattle played in the 1952 NIT, which was one season before being recognized with active Division I status. It then played in the 1953 NCAA Tournament. However, Seattle did not have membership in any conference at that time.