HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Following a three-game road swing, the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team will play back-to-back contests at BB&T Arena beginning with a 7 p.m. showdown against Canisius on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (2-5 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
Canisius Golden Griffins (2-7 Overall, 0-0 MAAC)
Wednesday, Dec. 8 – 7 p.m. (ET)
Highland Heights, Ky. | BB&T Arena (8,427)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: FOXSports1360
Stats: Live Stats
Purchase Tickets: Ticketmaster
Digital Program: NKU Men's Basketball Weekly – Week 5

Game Promotions
• The contest is part of NKU's Family 4 Pack. Four tickets and four winter Christmas ornaments are just $44. Family 4 Pack tickets can be bought online through Ticketmaster or purchased at the box office.

Fast Break Points 
• NKU dropped a pair of road games at Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne to begin #HLMBB play last weekend, dropping the Norse to 2-5 on the year.
• In the national statistical rankings, NKU is 14th in offensive rebounds (14.1 orpg), 42nd in made threes (9.4), 48th in steals (9.0 spg), 72nd in blocks (4.3 bpg) and 99th in turnovers forced (15.0).
• According to KenPom, NKU ranks 26th with a 12.8 percent steal rate on defense and 12th in offensive rebound rate (37.9 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 73-30 (.709) 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, and NKU is a combined 110-55 (.667), 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 44.7 percent 3-point field-goal shooting ranks 46th in the country, while his 2.83 made treys per game checks in 71st.
• G Sam Vinson is already making an impact in a Norse uniform, as the freshman point guard has started all seven games and has won two #HLMBB Freshman of the Week honors. He is averaging 8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
• F Adrian Nelson, a Horizon League All-Academic honoree that sports a 3.42 GPA in Organizational Leadership, is shooting 63 percent (27-of-43) on the year. His 3.86 offensive rebounds per game are the 10th-most in the nation.
• G Hubertas Pivorius earned his first start against WIU and poured in 20 points with four made treys. He is converting 44 percent 3-point shooting and has three starts on his ledger.
• 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 55 percent from the field and is averaging 5.7 points per game.
• G Trey Robinson has been disruptive on the defensive end, averaging 1.50 spg. Robinson scored 16 points on the strength of 4-for-7 three-point shooting.
 
Last Time Out
NKU opened the Horizon League slate with a  pair of road losses at reigning Horizon League champion Cleveland State (72-58) and Purdue Fort Wayne (71-57). Cold shooting against both the Vikings and Mastodons proved detrimental for the Norse. Northern Kentucky shot just 31 percent (19-of-62) at CSU and 36 percent (21-of-58) against PFW.  Warrick and Böhm reached double digits versus the Vikings with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Robinson (16) and Vinson (10) hit double figures in Saturday's game with the Mastodons.
 
Scouting Canisius
Canisius is just 2-7 on the year and 0-4 on the road with an 80-70 loss at NKU's Horizon League foe Cleveland State. Cincinnati natives Malek Green (15.4 ppg) and Jordan Henderson (10.2) are first and third on the team in scoring. At 12.9 ppg, Armon Harried is sandwiched in between. The Golden Griffins average 73.1 ppg, although that figure is buoyed by a 106-point showing against non-DI Fredonia.
 
Series Stuff
This is the first meeting between Northern Kentucky and Canisius. There are five first-time opponents on NKU's schedule this year and it is 2-1 so far. The Norse also play Wheeling (W, 82-54), Eastern Michigan (W, 74-73), DePaul (L, 68-77) and Allice Lloyd for the first time ever.