HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Horizon League office in Indianapolis announced the 2020-21 men's basketball league schedule on Wednesday afternoon. The schedule features a 20-game league slate, with the Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team hosting five league opponents and 10 total league contests.
In order to minimize risk and exposure due to COVID-19, the league moved to a 20-game schedule where teams will play one league opponent in a two-game series each week. Games will be played on back-to-back days at the same venue, with every team hosting five weekends and playing on the road five weekends.
NKU welcomes Youngstown State to BB&T Arena on Saturday, December 19 to open the league slate. The Norse and the Penguins also play on Sunday, December 20 to conclude the two-game homestand. Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 1-2), IUPUI (Jan. 15-16) and UIC (Jan. 29-30) are scheduled to make the trek to Highland Heights in January.
The Norse will make road trips to Oakland (Dec. 26-27), Cleveland State (Jan. 8-9), Robert Morris (Jan. 22-23), Milwaukee (Feb. 5-6) and Green Bay (Feb. 12-13) this year.
The Horizon League regular-season concludes for Northern Kentucky with a two-game homestand against rival Wright State on February 19-20.
Detroit Mercy is the lone league team Northern Kentucky will not play during the regular-season this year. Details regarding the 2021 Horizon League Championship, as well as NKU's nonconference schedule, will be released at a later date.
The Horizon League Board of Directors, which is overseeing League-wide safety protocols, also determined that league games in the month of December will be played without fans, which encompasses team pass lists and complimentary tickets. This decision aligns with Northern Kentucky's prior announcement to hold its contests, including non-conference, without fans through the end of December.
NKU is coming off of its fourth-straight 20-win season and third Horizon League Tournament Championship in the last four years, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament or NIT in each. Junior Trevon Faulkner, who averaged 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per games, returns to lead the Norse.
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