HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Homecoming on the campus of Northern Kentucky University will feature the Norse against Horizon League rival Oakland at BB&T Arena on Saturday, Feb. 9. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (19-6 Overall, 9-3 Horizon League)
Oakland University Golden Grizzlies (11-14 Overall, 7-5 Horizon League)
Saturday, Feb. 9 – 7 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN3 with Brady Laber (PxP) and Brad Redford (Color)
Radio: ESPN1530 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. The game is part of Homecoming Week festivities on NKU's campus, and the Homecoming Royalty will be announced at halftime. It is also Kenton County Night, where residents can purchase tickets for $9 with proof of residence. Following the game, youth are invited down to the court for Shootaround Saturday, where they can shoot a layup and get autographs from the Norse.
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU improved to 19-6 overall and 9-3 in the Horizon League after running past Detroit Mercy, 97-65, on Thursday.
• NKU handed out 33 assists against the Titans, tying Michigan State for the most in a game this season between two DI opponents. The Spartans dropped 33 dimes against FGCU on Nov. 11.
• NKU is 9-11 all-time against Oakland, and is just 2-5 against the Grizzlies in the DI era.
• NKU is riding an 18-game home winning streak, tied with Gonzaga for the fifth-longest in the country.
• NKU is averaging 17.3 assists per game, No. 12 in the nation. The Norse also rank seventh in the country in total assists with 433 and have eight games where they've handed out at least 20 dimes.
• NKU's 63.7 assist rate (assists per field-goals made percentage) ranks fifth in the country.
• While already being one of the nation's best teams at sharing the ball, in the last five games the Norse have upped their assists to 21.2 apg.
• NKU is letting it fly from 3-point range, ranking 36th in attempts (622) and 25th in made treys (228). The Norse are making 9.1 threes per game, which are the 56th-most nationally.
• Foes are converting just 40.9 percent of their shots versus NKU, 47th-best nationally. The Norse are also 76th in scoring defense, allowing teams to post 67.5 points per game.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 39-13 against Horizon League competition, the best of any league school against the rest of the conference. Wright State is next at 36-16.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 65-27, 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 ranks fifth all-time at NKU in scoring with 1,905 points as a Norse. Craig Sanders ('98-02) is NKU's career leader with 2,007 points.
• McDonald surpassed the 1,000-rebound milestone in the opening seconds of Thursday's game against Detroit Mercy, becoming the sixth player in Horizon League history to secure 1,000 boards.
• McDonald leads four Norse averaging double digits on the year at 19.0 points. He also leads NKU at 9.8 rebounds per game (25th in nation). His 11 double-doubles rank 17th nationally and he is one of just 20 players to register a triple-double this year.
• McDonald is one of five active players in Division I basketball with at least 1,900 career points (1,905) and 1,000 career boards (1,007). He also has the seventh-most career double-doubles (45) among active players.
• G Tyler Sharpe is second on the team in scoring, pouring in 14.4 points per game and, in 20 of the team's 25 games, has hit at least two threes.
• In the last seven games, Sharpe has made 22-of-45 from 3-point range. His 67 made threes on the season rank 53rd in the country.
• G Jalen Tate is averaging 13.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this year. He is making 55.1 percent (103-of-187) of his shots.
• F Dantez Walton is averaging 11.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. In his first two seasons as a Norse (61 games), he posted nine combined double-figure scoring games. He has 16 double-digit scoring outputs in 25 games this year, including a career-best 20 points at IUPUI.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky assisted on 33 of 37 made field goals in the game and shot 56 percent (37-of-66) from the floor to sprint past Detroit Mercy, 97-65, on Thursday night. Paul Djoko and Sharpe posted career highs in assists with seven and six, respectively. McDonald provided a 20-point, eight-rebound, five-assist effort, while Trevon Faulkner poured in a career-best 12 points. Tate and Bryant Mocaby, who registered his first double-digit scoring output, each contributed 11 points while Sharpe added 10. The Norse owned the glass, 42-26, points in the paint, 48-22, and fast break points, 25-12. NKU's defense was stingy from long range, holding the Titans to 6-of-23 shooting (26 percent) from three.
 
NKU's 33 assists tie Michigan State for the most in a game this season against another DI opponent. The Spartans had 33 against Northern Kentucky's former A-Sun foe Florida Gulf Coast.
 
Scouting Oakland
Oakland is 11-14 overall and 7-5 in league play after suffering a 76-62 setback at Wright State Thursday evening. The Golden Grizzlies sit alone in third place, just two games back of the Norse. Xavier Hill-Mais provides 19.4 points per game in the scoring column, while Jaevin Cumberland contributes 17.6 ppg. Oakland averages 76.8 ppg, but allows opponents to post 77.6. The Golden Grizzlies are also one of the nation's most generous teams, divvying out 17.5 assists per game, an average that ranks 10th nationally.
 
Series Stuff
Oakland leads the all-time series 11-9, including a 76-74 win in Rochester, Michigan, earlier this season. In the DI era, NKU is 2-4 against Oakland and 0-3 at BB&T Arena.