HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's basketball's three-game road trip continues with the start of Horizon League play. The Norse travel to Cleveland State for a 7 p.m. Thursday-night showdown on Dec. 2. They then head to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a Saturday, Dec. 2, meeting with PFW, which is slated for a 1 p.m. tip.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (2-3 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Cleveland State Vikings (4-2 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Thursday, Dec. 2 – 7 p.m. (ET)
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center (13,610)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN1530
Stats: Live Stats
Digital Program: NKU Men's Basketball Weekly – Week 4
 
Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (3-3 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Saturday, Dec. 4 – 1 p.m. (ET)
Fort Wayne, Ind. | Memorial Coliseum (13,000)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: FOXSports1360
Stats: Live Stats
Digital Program: NKU Men's Basketball Weekly – Week 4
 
Fast Break Points 
• NKU is coming off of a 77-68 setback at DePaul in its first road game of the season.
• In the national statistical rankings, NKU is 31st in 3-point field goal percentage (39.5), 33rd in made threes per game (10.2), 42nd in steals per game (9.4), 52nd in blocks per game (4.8), 74th in fouls per game (15.0) and 97th in turnovers forced (15.2).
• According to KenPom, NKU ranks 26th with a 13.0 percent steal rate on defense and 41st in offensive rebound rate (35.4 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 110-53 (.675), 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.
• 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's 51.5 percent 3-point field-goal shooting ranks 11th in the country, while his 3.40 made treys per game checks in 23rd.
• G Sam Vinson is already making an impact just five games into his career, as the freshman point guard has started all five games and has won two #HLMBB Freshman of the Week honors. He is averaging 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
• F Adrian Nelson, a Horizon League All-Academic honoree that sports a 3.42 GPA in Organizational Leadership, is shooting 66 percent (21-of-32) on the year. His 3.80 offensive rebounds per game are the 12th-most in the nation.
• G Hubertas Pivorius earned his first start against WIU and poured in 20 points with four made treys. Similar to Faulkner, his 48.1 percent 3-point shooting is 27th-best in the country.
• 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. He had 23 points at DePaul for his first 20-point outing this year.
• G Bryson Langdon is shooting 67 percent from both the field and 3-point territory. He's averaging 5.8 points per game.
• G Trey Robinson has been disruptive on the defensive end, averaging 2.00 spg, which rank 88th-most in the nation.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky battled for the first 11 minutes of the game, as NKU and DePaul traded the lead seven times and tied the game on four other occurrences, but NKU went cold over the final nine minutes of the first half to pave way for a 77-68 Blue Demons win. Marques Warrick poured in 23 points, while Trevon Faulkner added 14 and Sam Vinson contributed 10. The Norse shot 33 percent (23-of-69) for the game, while the Blue Demons hit 53 percent (31-of-59). NKU won the rebound battled, 41-37, which included 16 offensive boards.
 
Scouting Cleveland State
Cleveland State returns its top seven scorer's off of last season's Horizon League Regular-Season Co-Champion and league tournament champion squad. D'Moi Hodge leads the 4-2 Vikings at 13.3 points per game, while Torrey Patton contributes 12.2 ppg. CSU features a potent defense that allows just 62.7 points per contest and only Canisius has scored 70 or more, with the Griffs exactly hitting the mark.
 
Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
PFW is 3-3 entering the weekend with wins over Earlham, Austin Peay and Southeastern Louisiana. Preseason all-league second team honoree Jarred Godfrey paces the team with an 18.0 ppg average which includes a 35-point outburst against Western Michigan. Jalon Pipkins and Ra Kpedi chip in with 13.7 and 13.2 ppg, respectively.
 
Series Stuff
The Norse hold a slim 7-6 advantage in the all-time series against CSU, with the Vikings claiming four of the last seven meetings, including both last year. NKU is 26-12 all-time versus PFW and is riding a 16-game winning streak in the series that dates back to the 1994-95 season. The Norse are 10-7 on the Mastodons' home court.