HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's basketball, which sits atop the Horizon League standings, welcomes Milwaukee to BB&T Arena on Saturday, Jan. 26, in a contest that wraps up the first half of the league slate. The Norse and Panthers tip off at 7 p.m.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (17-4 Overall, 7-1 Horizon League)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers (9-12 Overall, 4-4 Horizon League)
Saturday, Jan. 26 – 7 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports Ohio* with Brady Laber (PxP) and Brad Redford (Color)
Radio: FOXSports1360 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
* Please use the Fox Sports Ohio Channel Finder to determine which channel the game is on in your market and with your provider.
 
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Saturday is Boone County night at BB&T Arena, where residents of Boone County can purchase tickets for just $9 with proof of residence. The first 1,500 fans will receive an NKU flag and a snack bar will be provided for the first 500 students.
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU's coaches will participate in Suits and Sneakers Week (Jan. 21-27) for Coaches vs. Cancer.
• NKU improved to 17-4 after running past Green Bay, 87-65, on Thursday night.
• NKU made 52.2 percent of its shots, moving to 8-1 in games where it makes at least 50 percent from the floor.
• The Norse have now won nine of their last 10 contests and are off to their best start since 2011-12, the last year of DII competition when NKU also started 17-4 through its first 21 games.
• NKU is 5-3 all-time against Milwaukee, has won the last four in the series and is 3-0 versus the Panthers at BB&T Arena.
• NKU is averaging 16.5 assists per game, No. 29 in the nation. The Norse also rank seventh in the country in total assists with 346 and have seven games where they've handed out at least 20 dimes.
• NKU is letting it fly from 3-point range, ranking 32nd in attempts (530) and 27th in made treys (191). The Norse are making 9.1 threes per game, which are the 64th-most nationally.
• Foes are converting just 40.3 percent of their shots versus NKU, 41st-best nationally. The Norse are also 75th in scoring defense, allowing teams to post just 67.1 points per game.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 37-11 against Horizon League competition, the best of any league school against the rest of the conference. Wright State is next at 33-15.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 63-25, has won the Horizon League regular season (2018) and league tourney (2017), and has played in both the NCAA Tournament (2017) and NIT (2018). No other team in DI history has accomplished this feat.
• F Drew McDonald leads four Norse averaging double digits on the year at 18.7 points. He also leads NKU at 10.0 rebounds per game (18th in nation). His 10 double-doubles rank 17th nationally and he is one of just 19 players to register a triple-double this year.
• In his last 28 games against Horizon League opponents, dating back to March 17, 2017, McDonald has posted a double-double 18 times.
• McDonald is one of five active players in Division I basketball with at least 1,800 career points (1,823) and 900 career boards (971). He is also tied fifth for career double-doubles (44) among active players.
• G Jalen Tate is averaging 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this year. He is making 56.5 percent (83-of-147) of his shots.
• Since returning from injury nine games ago, Tate has averaged 15.0 ppg behind 60.0 percent (51-of-85) field-goal shooting, while also averaging 5.2 rpg.
• G Tyler Sharpe is second on the team in scoring, pouring in 14.3 points per game and, in 16 of the team's 21 games has hit at least two threes. In the last three games, he' made 10-of-19 from deep.
• F Dantez Walton is averaging 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. In his first two seasons as a Norse (61 games), he posted nine combined double-figure scoring games. He has 14 double-digit scoring outputs this year.
• G Zaynah Robinson is running the show for the Norse and is second on the team at 3.1 assists per game. He is averaging 8.8 points per game overall.
• G Trevon Faulkner has started the last 14 games for the Norse, playing more than 22 minutes per outing and has dished out 22 assists while committing just nine miscues. In league play, he has 11 assists to just three turnovers and is averaging 5.9 ppg.
• C Chris Vogt had a career night versus Green Bay. He posted his first career double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds, both career-highs. He also made nine field goals and dished out three assists, also career marks.
 
Last Time Out
Leading 21-20 with 10:08 left in the first half, the Norse used a 13-point run over the next 4:15 to grab a 14-point advantage. The Norse led by double figures for all but two occasions the rest of the way, the last of which came with 5:52 remaining and was followed by NKU outscoring Green Bay, 21-8, the rest of the way en route to an 87-65 Norse win. NKU shot 52 percent for the game and limited Green Bay to just 39 percent, including a paltry 20 percent from three. The Norse owned the glass 44-28, second-chance points 24-4 and points in the paint 56-28. Vogt posted his first collegiate double-double with career highs in scoring (20) and rebounds (14) to pace a quintet of Norse in double figures. Walton added 17 points and six assists, while Sharpe, Tate and McDonald contributed 14, 12 and 11, respectively.
 
Scouting Milwaukee
Milwaukee is coming off of a 56-54 setback at Wright State, and now sits at 9-12 overall and 4-4 in Horizon League play. At 16.0 ppg, Darius Roy paces a duo of Panthers scoring at double-figure rates this season. DeAndre Abram, who has six double-doubles this year, is second in scoring (12.2 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Milwaukee averages just 70.5 ppg, which ranks last in the league. However, the Panthers sport the Horizon's fourth-best scoring defense at 73.9 ppg.
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky is 5-3 all-time against Milwaukee. The series began in conjunction with NKU's admission to the Horizon League and opened with Milwaukee claiming three of the first four meetings. However, the Norse have won the last four in the series and are 3-0 at BB&T Arena against the Panthers.
 
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