HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team welcomes Texas Southern to BB&T Arena for a Saturday night showdown. The Norse have won three-straight games heading into the contest.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (4-1 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Texas Southern University Tigers (0-4 Overall, 0-0 SWAC)
Saturday, Nov. 23 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN3 with Brady Laber (PxP) and Rich Hoyt (Color)
Radio: 55KRC (550 AM) with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Rick Broering (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Game Promotions and Tickets
The arena opens at 5:30 p.m. as NKU is hosting the Braxton Happy Hour in the Braxton Beer Garden on the concourse of BB&T Arena from 5:30-7 p.m. Draft Braxton beverages are just $5. Replica championship banners will be distributed to the first 1,500 people. It is also Campbell County Night, where tickets are just $9 for residents of Campbell County with proof of residence.
 
Tickets can be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster.
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU improved to 4-1 on the year with its hard-fought 59-57 win at Ball State.
• NKU hosts Texas Southern on Saturday night at BB&T Arena, kicking off a two-game homestand for the Norse.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, NKU is 43-5 (.896) at BB&T Arena. The Norse also sold a program-record 1,403 season tickets this year.
• The Norse have ripped off 47 steals so far, a total that ranks 22nd in the country. The team's 9.4 steals per game also rank 48th.
• Offensively, the Norse are letting it rain from long range this year. The team ranks 19th in the country in 3-point field-goal attempts (144) and 41st in made threes (46).
• 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 175-112.
• 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 76-31 (.710), 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.
• Over the last two games, F Dantez Walton has averaged 21.0 points and 7.5 rebounds.
• A senior for the Norse, Walton is currently averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
• G Tyler Sharpe, a Preseason All-Horizon League Second-Team honoree, is averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game to lead the Norse.
• 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 788 points as a Norse.
• G Trevon Faulkner is one of four returning starters for NKU this year. The sophomore guard is averaging 12.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
• W Karl Harris is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game on the season.
• Harris is shooting at a 59 percent clip from the field (19-of-32) and 58 percent rate from 3-point range (5-of-8).
• G Bryson Langdon has started the last two games for Northern Kentucky and averaged 5.0 assists in the two outings.
• G Jalen 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 is on the Lou Henson Award Watchlist, is averaging 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
 
Last Time Out
Walton scored the final 10 points on a 12-2 run by the Norse that erased a nine-point deficit with just over 11 minutes remaining. After Ball State reclaimed a 45-40 advantage, Faulkner countered with seven-straight points to put the Norse back in front with 6:51 on the clock. From there, the game was a one-possession battle until Adham Eleeda made a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to put NKU ahead by four, 59-55. The Norse sealed the 59-57 victory with a defensive stop in the waning seconds. Walton tallied a game-high 18 points and six boards. Faulkner finished with 17 points and six rebounds, while Sharpe contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.
 
Scouting Texas Southern
Texas Southern may be 0-4 on the season, but all four losses have come on the road and to teams with a combined record of 17-0. The Tigers will only play two nonconference games at home, with the first not coming until Nov. 30 versus Lamar. The Tigers score at a clip of 56.3 points per game, but surrender 79.0. They struggle shooting the ball, converting just 33.5 percent from the field and only 26.7 percent from 3-point land. TSU is led by Tyrik Armstrong's 11.5 points per game and Eden Ewing 11.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.
 
Series Stuff
Texas Southern is one of eight first-time opponents for the Norse this season, joining Arkansas, Ball State, 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, and Ball State, 59-57 to sit at 2-1 against first-time opponents. The Norse are 0-2 all-time versus teams from the SWAC, dropping two contests in the 1979-80 season to Alabama State.