HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A Monday night matchup with Green Bay wraps up the opening weekend of Horizon League competition for the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. at BB&T Arena.

Game Information

Northern Kentucky University Norse (9-4 Overall, 1-0 Horizon League)

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix (5-9 Overall; 0-1 Horizon League)

Monday, Dec. 30 - 7:00 p.m.

TV: ESPN+ with Brady Laber (PxP) and Brad Redford (Color)

Radio: The Project with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Rick Broering (Color)

Stats: Live Stats

Tickets

Please visit NorseTickets.com to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets can also be purchased at the Alice Sparks BB&T Arena Ticket Office.

Fast Break Points

• NKU began Horizon League action with a 74-64 victory over Milwaukee, winning its seventh straight against the Panthers.

• NKU faces Green Bay in a Monday evening showdown at BB&T Arena. After dropping the first three in the series with the Phoenix, the Norse have won the last five matchups and own a 5-3 series advantage.

• The Norse were picked to finish second in the Horizon League, receiving 295 points and five first-place votes. Wright State was picked first with 350 points and 28 first-place votes.

• NKU has been the most dominant team in the Horizon League over the last three seasons, amassing a 47-15 mark against league foes while winning four of the combined six league championships (regular season and tournament).

• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 81-34 (.704), 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) or NIT (2018) every year. No other team in DI history has registered this level of accomplishments in its first three years with active status.

• 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 stingy on the defensive end, holding teams to 65.2 points per game, and makes its hay with the nation's sixth-best 3-point field-goal shooting defense, limiting foes to just 25.7 percent.

• The Norse have ripped off 110 steals so far, a total that ranks 38th in the nation. The team's 8.5 steals per game also rank 56th.

• Offensively, the Norse are letting it rain from long range this year. The team ranks 24th in the country in 3-point field-goal attempts (354) and 35th in made threes (119).

• 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 a head coach, Horn has a career record of 180-115.

• G Tyler Sharpe, a Preseason All-Horizon League Second-Team honoree, has registered three-straight 30-point performances after tallying 31 points against Milwaukee. In the three-game span, Sharpe has made 50 percent (29-of-58) of his field goals, 52 percent (17-of-33) of his threes and 95 percent (19-of-20) of his free throws.

• Sharpe is second on the team in scoring, pouring in 17.1 ppg and has made 37 threes on the season, which ranks 41st in the country.

• Though only 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 tied-33rd with 935 points as a Norse.

• F Dantez Walton is averaging a team-best 18.4 ppg on the strength of 54 percent shooting, which includes 42 percent from 3-point range.

• In his last seven games against DI foes, Walton is averaging 24.9 points while shooting 59 percent from the floor and 52 percent from behind the arc.

• Walton has 871 career points, No. 38 all-time at NKU.

• G Trevon Faulkner is one of four returning starters for NKU this year. The sophomore guard is averaging 12.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

• G Bryson Langdon has started the last 10 games for Northern Kentucky and averaged 4.0 assists in the outings.

• F Adrian Nelson earned his first career start against Milwaukee, contributing nine points on 3-for-4 shooting and matching his career mark with 12 boards.

Last Time Out

NKU never trailed and led for more than 36 minutes of the contests, which featured just three ties, en route to a 74-64 victory over Milwaukee. Tyler Sharpe continued his torrid scoring pace with his third 30-point performance in a row, dropping 31 points on 9-for-17 shooting, which including a sizzling 6-for-10 from long range. Trevon Faulkner was hot early for the Norse and tallied 16 points to go with a career-high eight rebounds. Making the first start of his career, Adrian Nelson contributed nine points and a career-high-tying 12 caroms. The Norse continued their stifling three-point defense, limiting the Panthers to a slim 12 percent (2-for-17) from deep. NKU converted 36 percent (9-of-25) of its 3-point attempts. And, the Norse won the rebound battle, 41-34.

Scouting Green Bay

Green Bay sits at 5-9 on the year and 0-1 in league play after falling to Wright State on Saturday. But, the Phoenix boast one of the nation's most prolific offenses with the 10th-best scoring output in the country at 82.7 ppg. Their 238 assists are the fifth-best nationally and the team's 37.9 percent 3-point shooting ranks 33rd. On the flip side, Green Bay has the 342nd-worst defense, surrendering 81.8 points due in part to allowing teams to shoot 38.7 percent from long range, which ranks 340th. Freshman Amari Davis averages a team-high 16.1 points per game, but redshirt-senior JayQuan McCloud adds 15.6 points and team-leading 4.1 assists per game. McCloud recently posted a 32-point, five-assist showing at Northern Illinois. Kameron Hankerson (11.3) and PJ Pipes (11.0) give Green Bay four double-figure scorers on the season.

Series Stuff

Northern Kentucky is 5-3 all-time against Green Bay, with the series playing out in a pair of streaks. The Phoenix won the first three meetings, but the Norse have won the last five. In the last three meetings between the two teams, NKU has averaged 86.3 ppg while holding Green Bay to 75.7.

#NorseUp