HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Two non-conference home games for the upcoming 2018-19 Northern Kentucky men's basketball team have been finalized, highlighted by a Friday, Nov. 30, matchup with UMBC, which captivated the nation as the first No. 16-seed to defeat a No. 1 in the NCAA Championship last year.
 
The contest is a return matchup from last season's meeting at UMBC. Drew McDonald, whose 18 double-doubles ranked 11^th-most in the nation last year, led NKU with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the 76-75 setback to the Retrievers.
 
UMBC went 25-11 overall and 12-4 in the America East. It reached the NCAA Tournament after defeating Vermont in the America East Championship and went on to defeat No. 1-seed Virginia, 74-54, in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. The Retrievers bowed out in the second round, falling 50-43 in a closely contested matchup with Kansas State.
 
NKU also hosts Northern Illinois as part of a home-and-home series during the 2018-19 slate. The Norse host the Huskies on Thursday, Dec. 20, after traveling to DeKalb, Illinois, on Nov. 9. NIU was 13-19 overall last season and went 6-12 in the MAC.
 
Northern Kentucky plays at Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 8.
 
The Norse continue to establish new heights in the Division I era. Following 2017's Horizon League Tournament Championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearance, Northern Kentucky won the Horizon League regular-season title and participated in the NIT last year, making NKU the only program in DI history to win both a league regular-season and tournament title and appear in the NCAA tournament and NIT in its first two years with active status.
 
Two-time first team all-Horizon League performer McDonald returns to lead the Norse. He averaged 17.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He is joined by Jalen Tate, who earned both all-defensive and all-freshman team honors by the Horizon League last year.
 
Additional nonconference games, both home and away, will be announced at a later date.