HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky plays its fourth and final game of its season-opening homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against Western Illinois on Monday, Nov. 22.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (2-1 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-1 Overall, 0-0 Summit League)
Monday, Nov. 22 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Highland Heights, Ky. | BB&T Arena (8,427)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: The Project (100.7/106.3 FM)
Stats: Live Stats
Tickets: Purchase Now
Digital Program: NKU Men's Basketball Weekly – Week 2
 
Fast Break Points 
• Thanks to a come-from-behind effort and a G Bryson Langdon game-winning layup with seven seconds left, NKU defeated Eastern Michigan, 74-73.
• In the national statistical rankings, NKU is 19th in blocks per game (6.3), 20th in made threes per game (11.0), 39th in steals per game (10.0), 57th in assists per game (16.7) and 74th in fouls per game (15.0).
• According to KenPom, NKU ranks 21st with a 14.3 percent steal rate on defense and 32nd in offensive rebound rate (38.0 percent).
• NKU returns 91 percent (1,626-of-1,784) of its scoring, 87 percent (757-of-872) of its rebounding and 85 percent (4,294-of-5,075) of its minutes from last season's team. NKU's returning points production is the 18th-most in the country.
• NKU was picked to finish third in a tightly contested #HLMBB preseason poll that saw five teams receive a first-place vote.
• NKU is the only Horizon League men's basketball program to reach at least the semifinals of the league tournament championship each of the last three seasons.
• NKU finished third in the Horizon League standings based on win percentage last year, marking its sixth-straight top-three league finish.
• NKU has been one of the most dominant teams in the Horizon League over the last four seasons, amassing a 73-28 (.723) mark against league foes while winning five of the combined 10 league championships (two regular season and three tournament).
• NKU is riding a streak of five-straight seasons with a winning percentage beginning with the 2016-17 team.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 110-51 (.683), 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, '20) or NIT ('18) every year except '21.
• Langdon converted the game-winning layup with seven seconds left to defeat Eastern Michigan. He has made 73 percent (11-of-15) his shots so far this year and is averaging 9.0 ppg.
• G Sam Vinson is already making an impact just two games into his career, as the freshman point guard has started all three games and is coming off of a 17-point outing against Eastern Michigan in which he helpe sparked the comeback win with 14 second-half points.
• F Adrian Nelson, a Horizon League All-Academic honoree that sports a 3.42 GPA in Organizational Leadership, leads the country with 88 percent (15-of-17) field-goal shooting. He's coming off of a 16-point, seven-rebound effort against the Eagles.
• F Chris Brandon contributed 11 points and five rebounds to help NKU get past EMU.
• G Trevon Faulkner earned a spot on the All-Horizon League Second Team last year and reprised the role on the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team this year.
• Faulkner surpassed 1,000-career points with a career-high-tying 28 points versus UNCG thanks to a career-high six threes. He is NKU's 30th member of the 1,000 point club.
• G Marques Warrick, the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year and all-freshman and all-league third team honoree, also adorns the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team.
• Warrick won seven Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors and registered 10 20-point performances last year.
• G Trey Robinson has been disruptive on the defensive end, ranking 33rd in the nation at 2.67 spg.
• F David Böhm contributed a career-high five assists versus Wheeling and went for six points and six rebounds to help NKU defeat EMU.
 
Last Time Out
A15-4 run was capped by a Vinson three to help NKU erase an 11-point deficit and tie the game with 12 minutes left. From that point forward, it was a back-and-forth affair until Langdon went the length of the floor and converted a contested layup with seven seconds left to cap a 74-73 Norse win. Vinson finished with 17 points. Nelson made 8-of-9 shots en route to 16 points and seven rebounds. Brandon added 11 points and five caroms. Langdon finished with six points, five rebounds and four assists. After only scoring 24 first-half points, the Norse turned on the afterburners and tallied 50 in the final stanza.
 
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois is 3-1 with an impressive road win over Nebraska plus two non-DI wins. DePaul handed WIU its only loss on Saturday night in a tightly contested 84-80 affair. The Leathernecks average 85.8 points per games with four players posting double-digit scoring averages, led by Will Carius at 15.5 points per game. Luka Barisic contributes 15.3 ppg, while Cotton Sandage and Trenton Massner add 13.0 and 12.8, respectively.
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky is 2-0 all-time versus Western Illinois, although it has been nearly 44 years since the two teams played. NKU first won, 84-68, at WIU on Nov. 30, 1976, and then won, 81-70, in Highland Heights on Jan. 8, 1977.