HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Back-to-back Horizon League regular-season champion Northern Kentucky takes to the court for the team's lone exhibition on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The Norse are set to battle Transylvania with a 7 p.m. tip-off at BB&T Arena.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (26-9 Overall, 13-5 Horizon League in 2018-19)
Transylvania University Pioneers (17-10 Overall, 13-5 Heartland Collegiate)
Wednesday, Oct. 30 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: N/A
Radio: FOXSports1360 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Purchase Tickets
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time through Ticketmaster or at the door upon arrival.
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU ushers in the Darrin Horn era, as the Lexington, Kentucky, native takes over the reins as the sixth head coach in the 49th season of the program. Horn has a career record of 171-111 in nine years as a head coach.
• NKU is coming off of its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last three years, where it fell 72-57 to No. 3 Texas Tech, which finished as the national runner-up.
• NKU has been the dominant team in the Horizon League over the last three seasons, amassing a 46-15 mark against league foes while winning four of the combined six league championships (regular season and tournament).
• With a DI-era record 26 wins last year, NKU secured a third-straight 20-win season for the first time in the DI era and just the third time in program history.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 72-30, has won the Horizon League regular season twice (2018, 2019) and league tourney twice (2017, 2019), and has played in both the NCAA Tournament (2017, 2019) and NIT (2018). No other team in DI history has registered this level of accomplishments in its first three years with active status.
• NKU and Transylvania tip it up in a preseason exhibition. The two teams have met 14 times during the regular season, with the last meeting coming in the 1993-94 season. Transy holds an 8-6 series lead.
• The Norse took a summer tour to the U.S. Virgin Islands this summer, going 3-0 against the UVI and BVI National Teams.
• G Jalen Tate collected his second-straight Horizon League All-Defensive Team nod last year and earned distinction as a preseason all-league first-team honoree this year.
• Tate also earned a spot on the #HLMBB All-Tournament Team after averaging 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, which included 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal in the title game.
• Tate averaged 13.7 points behind 53.9 percent (159-of-295) shooting, which ranked 54th nationally.
• G Tyler Sharpe was second in scoring for NKU last year, pouring in 14.4 points per game and, in 26 of the team's 35 games, hit at least two threes. His 90 made threes on the season ranked 70th nationally.
• Sharpe earned a spot on the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team.
• Sharpe had arguably his best game of the season in the NCAA Tournament against eventual national runner-up Texas Tech. The sharpshooter poured in 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
• F Dantez Walton averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. In his first two seasons as a Norse (61 games), he posted nine combined double-figure scoring games. He had 23 double-digit scoring outputs in 35 games last year, including a career-best 20 points at IUPUI.
• Walton registered his first career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 14 rebounds in the league championship game against Wright State.
• G Trevon Faulkner started the final 28 games last season, averaging 4.7 points per game on the year. He joins Tate, Sharpe and Walton as a returning starter.
 
Last Time Out
Playing in its second NCAA Tournament in the last three years, Northern Kentucky dropped a 15-point decision, 72-57, to No. 3 seed Texas Tech, a team that went all the way to the national championship game. NKU trailed by just four points at intermission, 30-26, but TTU outscored the Norse by 11 in the second stanza to keep Northern Kentucky at bay. Tyler Sharpe led the team in scoring with a 23-point outburst. He made 8-of-13 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-7 from deep. Jalen Tate added six points and six assists, while Adrian Nelson made all three field goals he attempted en route to six points and hauled in a career-high-tying eight rebounds.
 
Scouting Transylvania
Transylvania is coming off a 17-10 mark last season, including a 13-5 record in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Transy averaged 76.0 points per game, while giving up 73.0 ppg. The Pioneers' top two scorers return, including junior All-HCAC First Team member Michael Jefferson, who averaged 12.8 points per contest. The junior guard converted 61 percent  (144-of-236) from the floor last season, but just 22 percent (4-of-18) from deep. All-HCAC Second Team honoree Gabe Schmitt returns for his senior campaign after averaging 12.0 ppg. Schmitt shot 47 percent (98-of-207)  from the floor and 43 percent (42-of-98) from deep.
 
Series Stuff
NKU trails Transylvania, 8-6, in the all-time series, which dates back to Northern Kentucky's inaugural season in 1971-72. The Pioneers won that initial meeting, 104-93. The two teams last met in the 1993-94 season, with Transy picking up a 99-91 win at Regents Hall.