HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's basketball hosts Horizon League-foe Wright State in a nationally televised contest on ESPN2 Friday night, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at BB&T Arena.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (13-4 Overall, 3-1 Horizon League)
Wright State University Raiders (8-9 Overall, 2-2 Horizon League)
Friday, Jan. 11 – 7 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2 with Jordan Bernfield (PxP) and Brooke Weisbrod (Color)
Radio: ESPN1530 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Fans are encouraged to join the Norse and wear white to the game. The first 1,500 fans will get a mini Norse basketball and the first 500 students will enjoy a nacho bar.  It is also Campbell County night, where residents can purchase tickets for $9 for adults and $7 for children with proof of residence. The game also serves as alumni night for Norse men's basketball.
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU improved to 13-4 following its 95-73 win at Detroit Mercy, which improved the Norse to 4-0 all-time at Calihan Hall.
• Six Norse reached double figures against Detroit Mercy, marking the first time since Nov. 29, 2017 against Berea the Norse have accomplished the feat.
• In NKU's last two games at Oakland and Detroit Mercy, the team has dished out 21 and 23 assists, respectively, and has 44 assists to just 18 turnovers, a 2.44 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• On Friday, NKU hosts Wright State in a battle of the two teams picked atop the league's preseason poll. The Norse were picked to finish second in the Horizon League, 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 33-11 against Horizon League competition, the best of any league school against the rest of the conference. Wright State is next at 30-14.
• NKU is averaging 16.8 assists per game, No. 31 in the nation. The Norse also rank 5th in the country in total assists with 286.
• NKU is letting it fly from 3-point range, ranking 16th in attempts (436) and 20th in made treys (155). The Norse are making 9.1 threes per game, which are the 59th-most nationally.
• Foes are converting just 39.6 percent of their shots versus NKU, 39th-best nationally. The Norse are also 70th in scoring defense, allowing teams to post just 66.5 points per game.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 59-25, 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 18.6 points. He also leads NKU at 10.0 rebounds per game (19th in nation). His eight double-doubles rank 14th nationally and he is one of just 16 players to register a triple-double so far this year.
• In his last 24 games against Horizon League opponents, dating back to March 17, 2017, McDonald has posted a double-double 16 times.
• McDonald is one of five active players in Division I basketball with at least 1,700 career points (1,748) and 900 career boards (932).
• G Jalen Tate is averaging 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this year. He is making 57.0 percent (57-of-100) of his shots and 42.9 percent (9-of-21) of his threes.
• Since returning from injury five games ago, Tate has averaged 14.8 ppg behind 65.8 percent (25-of-38) field-goal shooting and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) 3-point shooting, while also averaging 4.6 apg.
• G Tyler Sharpe is second on the team in scoring, pouring in 13.9 points per game, and, in 13 of the team's 17 games has hit at least two threes.
• F Dantez Walton is averaging 11.6 points and 5.7 rebounds. In his first two seasons as a Norse (61 games), he posted nine combined double-figure scoring games. He already has 13 double-digit scoring outputs this year.
• G Zaynah Robinson is running the show for the Norse and is second on the team at 3.4 assists per game. He is averaging 9.1 points per game.
• G Trevon Faulkner has started the last 10 games for the Norse, playing more than 22 minutes per outing and has dished out 19 assists while committing just seven miscues. In league play, he is averaging 8.0 ppg.
 
Last Time Out
With the game tied at 34 with 2:55 left in the first half, NKU went on a 28-8 run over the course of the next 7:21 of the game to snag a 20-point lead. Detroit Mercy was only able to cut the deficit to the teens once for the remainder of the game as NKU went on to a 95-73 win. Six Norse reached double figures, with McDonald leading the way with 23 points and Sharpe adding 20. Walton, Robinson and Faulkner contributed 13, 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Tate stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. NKU dished out 23 assists and committed only seven miscues. The Norse also owned the paint to the tune of a 42-18 advantage and outshot the Titans 57-43 percent.
 
Scouting Wright State
Wright State comes into Friday's contest at 8-9 overall and 2-2 in league play following Saturday's 16-point win at Oakland. The Raiders average 72.9 points per game and give up 69.4, but in league play both numbers sit at 72.8 ppg. Bill Wampler, a teammate of McDonald's on this summer's FISU America's gold medal winning USA Team, paces four WSU players in double figures at 15.0 ppg. Cole Gentry averages 14.4 ppg, while last season's freshman of the year and first team all-league honoree Loudon Love pours in 13.8 ppg and 8.6 rpg. Mark Hughes averages 10.0 ppg.
 
Series Stuff
Wright State leads the all-time series 23-10, but since NKU joined the Horizon League the series sits at 4-3 in favor of the Raiders. Each season's meetings as members of the Horizon League have been dominated by one team or the other. Wright State won each of the two matchups in 2016 and 2018, while the Norse claimed all three meetings in 2017.