HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A pair of 3-1 teams are set to meet on Wednesday, Nov. 20, when Northern Kentucky heads to Muncie, Indiana, for a nonconference matchup against Ball State. The game, which will be an ESPN+ and 55KRC broadcast, will tip at 7 p.m. at the Cardinals' Worthen Arena.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (3-1 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Ball State University Cardinals (3-1 Overall, 0-0 MAC)
Wednesday, Nov. 20 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN+ with Joel Godett (PxP), David Eha (Color), and Mick Tidrow (Sideline)
Radio: 55KRC (550 AM) with Jim Kelch (PxP)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU improved to 3-1 on the year with an 82-70 victory against Coppin State.
• The Norse head back out on the road for the third time in the last four games and are 1-1 this season away from BB&T Arena.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, NKU is 43-5 at BB&T Arena. The Norse also sold a program-record 1,403 season tickets this year.
• The Norse have ripped off 41 steals so far, a total that ranks 23rd in the country. The team's 10.3 steals per game also ranks 38th.
• NKU is in the first year of the Darrin Horn era, as the Kentucky native is just the sixth head coach in the 49th season of the program. In his 10th year as head coach, Horn has a career record of 174-112.
• 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 most-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 75-31 (.708), 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.
• The Norse took a summer tour to the U.S. Virgin Islands, going 3-0 against the UVI and BVI National Teams.
 
Norse Points
• In his 100th game as a Norse, F Dantez Walton poured in a career-high 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting against Coppin State. He added nine rebounds.
• Walton averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists last year, joining G Tyler Sharpe and G Jalen Tate as returning Norse who averaged double digits in scoring.
• A senior for the Norse, Walton is currently averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
• W Karl Harris is tied second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game on the season and 18.0 ppg across the team's last two outings.
• Harris is shooting at a 64 percent clip from the field (18-of-28) and 58 percent rate from 3-point range (5-of-8).
• Sharpe, a Preseason All-Horizon League Second-Team honoree, is averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game to lead the Norse and is coming off a 23-point outburst versus Coppin State.
• Though early in his third season as a Norse, Sharpe moved into the top-50 all-time scorers at NKU with his 18-point showing at Missouri. He now ranks 46th with 778 points as a Norse.
• G Trevon Faulkner is one of four returning starters for NKU this year. The sophomore guard is averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
• Tate collected his second-straight Horizon League All-Defensive Team nod to end last year and earned distinction as a preseason all-league first-team honoree this year.
• Tate, who was recently named to the Lou Henson Award Watchlist, is averaging 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
 
Last Time Out
Walton and Sharpe provided a one-two punch for the Norse offensively. Walton tallied a career-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds and Sharpe poured in 23 to help NKU to an 82-70 victory. Harris added 14 points and career-high three blocks off the bench and NKU led for more than 38 minutes of the contest. The Norse made 48 percent (30-of-63) of their field goals and 40 percent (14-of-35) of their threes, while holding Coppin State to just 39 percent (26-of-66) shooting and 19 percent (5-of-26) from long range. NKU also dished out 21 assists and held a 44-39 rebounding advantage.
 
Scouting Ball State
Ball State sits at 3-1 overall with wins over UIC and Indiana State to its credit in the last two games. The Cardinals score at a clip of 74.5 points and limit their opponents to a slim 56.3 points. Only Evansville has surpassed 55 points scoring, tallying 79 in Ball State's lone loss. Tahjai Teague leads a quartet of double-figure scorers at 17.8 points per game. He also paces the team in rebounding at 7.8 rpg. Ishmael El-Amin contributes 12.0 ppg, while K.J. Walton (10.3) and Kyle Mallers (10.0) also post double digits.
 
Series Stuff
Ball State is one of eight first-time opponents for the Norse this season, joining Arkansas, Coppin State, Illinois State, Midway (Ky.), Mizzou, Texas Southern and UNC Greensboro. NKU dropped its decision against Missouri, 71-56, but defeated Coppin State, 82-70, to sit at 1-1 against first-time opponents. The Norse are 8-3 all-time versus teams from the MAC.