HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – In what will be a rubber match between the two schools after splitting the regular-season matchups, the No. 2-seed Northern Kentucky men's basketball team squares off against No. 3 Green Bay in the Horizon League Semifinals at 9:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9. Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis will host the contest, which will be broadcast on ESPN2 and can be heard on ESPN1530.
 
Game Information
No. 2 Northern Kentucky University Norse (21-9 Overall, 13-5 Horizon League)
No. 3 University of Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix (17-15 Overall, 11-7 Horizon League)
Monday, March 9 – 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Indianapolis | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (6,800)
TV: ESPN2 with Jason Benetti (PxP) and Dan Dakich (Color)
Radio: ESPN1530 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Rick Broering (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
 
Fast Break Points 
• NKU finished second in the Horizon League regular season with a 13-5 mark, earning the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Championship.
• NKU is 6-4 all-time against Green Bay and has won five of the last six, but this is the first neutral site game.
• The Norse are 6-2 all-time in the Horizon League Championship, winning it all in 2017 and 2019.
• NKU's 21-win season is part of four-straight 20-win campaigns for just the second time in program history, joining the 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 teams.
• NKU wrapped up the road portion of its 2019-20 schedule as one of 14 teams naitonally with 10 or more road wins.
• NKU has been stingy on the defensive end, holding teams to 65.3 points per game (63rd in the country), and only two opponents have scored more than 73 points against the Norse this season.
• NKU makes its hay with the nation's 24th-best 3-point field-goal shooting defense, limiting foes to just 29.6 percent. However, in the last 10 games opponents have hit 34 percent (71-of-200) from three.
• The Norse have ripped off 242 steals so far, a total that ranks 36th in the nation. The team's 8.1 steals per game also rank 32nd.
• Offensively, the Norse are letting it rain from long range this year. The team ranks 33rd in the country in 3-point field-goal attempts (805) and 80th in made threes (247).
• Rebounding has been a key this year, as NKU is a perfect 16-0 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 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 192-120.
• NKU has been the most dominant team in the Horizon League over the last three seasons, amassing a 59-20 (.747) 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 93-39 (.705), 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-plus years with active status.
• F Dantez Walton is averaging a team-best 16.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg, but missed 11 games to injury this season. He currently ranks 31st all-time in scoring at NKU with 979 points.
• Walton posted back-to-back 20-point efforts in Northeast Ohio and now has seven such games on the season, which also includes three 30-point scoring efforts and two 30-point double-doubles.
• Over the last six games, G Jalen Tate has averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals. This is familiar territory for Tate, who averaged 20.5 ppg and 4.3 apg over the last four regular-season games last year.
• On the season, Tate averages 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
• G Tyler Sharpe became NKU's 28th member of the 1,000-point club with a career-high-tying 33-point outing versus Youngstown State, his fifth 30-point showing this year. He now ranks 23rd all-time at NKU with 1,160 points.
• Sharpe is averaging 14.9 points per game and his 74 made threes rank 83rd in the nation.
• Sharpe was named to the all-league second team, while both Walton and Tate were honored with third-team nods. Tate was also named the Defensive Player of the Year and made his third appearance on the all-defensive team.
• G Trevon Faulkner reached double figures in 13-of-18 Horizon League games. He is averaging 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game overall.
• F Adrian Nelson hauled in double-figure rebound totals in eight of the team's 18 league contests. He's averaging 5.4 ppg and 7.9 rpg against league foes.
 
Last Time Out
After Wright State pushed ahead by as many as 11 points early in the second half, Northern Kentucky kept fighting and cut the deficit to one possession on several occasions. But, a pair of timely 3-pointers from Cole Gentry in the final five minutes were accompanied by two free throws with 12 seconds left that sealed the Raiders' 64-62 win over the Norse. Tate scored a game-high 24 points, while Walton contributed 15. Both Tate and Walton had a team-high nine rebounds. The Norse held the Raiders' potent offense to 64 points, 17 below their season average.
 
Scouting Green Bay
Green Bay has been on a roll in its last six games, winning five times with the only loss being a double-overtime affair against Oakland. The Phoenix boast the Horizon League's top offense at 82.0 ppg and they play at the fastest pace in the nation, with an average possession length of 14.5 seconds. All-Horizon League First Team performer JayQuan McCloud averages 17.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. League Freshman of the Year and third-team performer Amari Davis pours in 15.9 ppg, while Kameron Hankerson contributes 11.2 ppg to give Green Bay three double-figure scorers. PJ Pipes is near the mark as well, adding 9.5 ppg.
 
Series Stuff
The two teams split the regular-season meetings with the road team winning both contests. Green Bay took down the Norse, 73-59, on Dec. 30. Northern Kentucky avenged the loss with a 71-62 victory in Wisconsin on ESPNU on Jan. 31. Bryson Langdon led NKU against GB this year at 15.5 ppg. Walton scored 15 points and registered 10 boards in his lone meeting versus GB this season, while Tate averaged 14 ppg and 7 rpg and Faulkner poured in 10 ppg. For the Phoenix, McCloud averaged 12.0 ppg, while Davis and Pipes both added 11.0 ppg.
 
In the all-time series, Northern Kentucky holds a 6-4 advantage. Green Bay won the first three meetings. The Norse then reeled off five in a row and have now won six of the last seven matchups in the series. This marks the first neutral site contest between the two teams.