HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The much anticipated 2020-21 season begins for Northern Kentucky men's basketball with a home contest versus Ball State on Wednesday. Tip off is slated for 6 p.m. at BB&T Arena. ESPN3 will carry the broadcast, while fans can also listen on The Project (100.7/106.3 FM).
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (0-0 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Ball State University Cardinals (0-0 Overall, 0-0 MAC)
Wednesday, Nov. 25 – 6:00 p.m. (ET)
Highland Heights, Ky. | BB&T Arena (8,427)
TV: ESPN3 with Brady Laber (PxP) and Matt Sexton (Color)
Radio: The Project (100.7/106.3 FM) with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Rick Broering (Color)
Stats: Live Stats

Digital Program


Fast Break Points 
• NKU opens the 2020-21 season with Ball State, a team it faced a year ago in Muncie, Indiana, in the only contest ever played between the two teams. NKU won, 59-57.
• NKU's schedule features five first-time opponents this year: Tennessee Tech, Butler, Campbellsville-Harrodsburg, Kent State and Robert Morris.
• NKU is coming off a 23-9 campaign in which it finished second in the Horizon League regular season at 13-5 and won the 2020 Horizon League Tournament Championship.
• NKU has posted four-straight 20-win seasons for just the second time in program history, joining the 1994-95 through 1997-98 teams as the only Norse squads to do so.
• NKU wrapped up the road portion of its 2019-20 schedule as one of 14 teams with 10 or more road wins.
• NKU was stingy on the defensive end last year, holding teams to 65.3 points per game (63rd in the country), and only two opponents scored more than 73 points against the Norse.
• In 2019-20, NKU made its hay with the nation's 18th-best 3-point field-goal shooting defense, limiting foes to just 29.3 percent.
• The Norse ripped off 259 steals last campaign, a total that ranked 26th in the nation. The team's 8.1 steals per game also ranked 31st.
• Offensively, the Norse let it rain from long range, ranking 26th in the country in 3-point field-goal attempts (848) and 75th in made threes (259).
• Rebounding was key for NKU in 2019-20. It was a perfect 15-0 when either leading or tying in the rebound battle. It is an additional 5-2 when being outrebounded, but keeping the margin within five caroms.
• NKU is in the second year of the Darrin Horn era, as the Kentucky native is just the sixth head coach in the 50th season of the program. In his 11th year as a head coach, Horn has a career record of 194-120.
• NKU has been the most dominant team in the Horizon League over the last four seasons, amassing a 61-20 (.753) mark against league foes while winning five of the combined eight league championships (two regular season and three tournament).
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 95-39 (.709), has won the Horizon League regular season twice ('18, '19) and league tourney thrice ('17, '19, '20), and has qualified for either the NCAA Tournament ('17, '19, 2020) or NIT ('18) every year. No other team in DI history has registered this level of accomplishments in its first four years of active status.
• Seven Norse return from last season's team, G Trevon Faulkner, G Bryson Langdon, G Paul Djoko, W Adham Eleeda, F Adrian Nelson, F John Harge and F/C David Wassler.
• NKU welcomed seven players to the fold this year, F David Böhm, G Trey Robinson, G Marques Warrick, G Darius Harding, G Carlos Hines, C Noah Hupmann and G Jake Evans.
• Faulkner reached double figures in scoring 21 times, including four 20-point performances.  He averaged 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game overall.
• Nelson hauled in double-figure rebound totals in eight of the team's 18 league contests and nine times total. He averaged 4.6 ppg and 6.3 rpg.
• Langdon helped orchestrate the Norse offense, dishing 3.3 assists per game, while contributing 7.6 points.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky won its third Horizon League Tournament Championship in the last four years with a 71-62 win over UIC. Three Norse reached double-figures in the scoring column, including Jalen Tate who was named tournament MVP. Current junior Faulkner tallied 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and now redshirt-junior Djoko added nine points.
 
Scouting Ball State
Ball State is coming off of an 18-13 season in which it won the MAC West. The Cardinals were chosen to finish fifth in the 2020-21 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Ball State is led by Ishmael El-Amin, a preseason second team all-MAC honoree who averaged 13.8 points per game and shot .393 from 3-point territory as a third-team all-conference member last year.
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky leads the all-time series 1-0 after claiming a 59-57 win at Ball State last year. The Norse erased a nine-point second-half deficit thanks to a 12-2 spurt. Three Norse reached double-figures in the game, led by Dantez Walton's 18 and Faulkner's 17. Langdon dropped four dimes as well. For Ball State, current Cardinals Ishmael El-Amin and K.J. Walton netted 13 and 12, respectively.
 
Nonconference Addition
NKU has added a nonconference matchup against Campbellsville-Harrodsburg on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m., bringing the nonconference slate up to six games. In addition to hosting Ball State and Campbellsville-Harrodsburg, NKU welcomes Tennessee Tech to BB&T Arena on Thursday, Dec. 3.  Northern Kentucky has road matchups at Chattanooga (Nov. 28), Butler (Dec. 6) and Kent State (Dec. 13).