HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The 2021 postseason opens for the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team, which earned the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Championship and will host No. 5 Detroit Mercy on Tuesday, March 2. Tipoff inside BB&T Arena is set for 7 p.m.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (13-10 Overall, 11-7 Horizon League)
University of Detroit Mercy Titans (12-9 Overall, 10-6 Horizon League)
Tuesday, March 2 – 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Highland Heights, Ky. | BB&T Arena (8,427)
TV: ESPN+ with Brady Laber (PxP) and Brad Redford (Color)
Radio: FOXSports1360 with Jim Kelch (PxP) and Rick Broering (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Fast Break Points 
• NKU split a two-game series with Wright State, who was receiving votes in the AP poll, with an 81-75 win on Friday and 77-71 setback on Saturday.
• NKU finished third in the Horizon League standings based on win percentage but earned the four-seed in the #HLMBB Tournament based on the seeding formula.
• No. 4 NKU hosts No. 5 Detroit Mercy in the quarterfinals of ghe #HLMBB Tournament.
• NKU is 9-2 all-time against Detroit Mercy, including a 5-1 home record and 1-0 record in the #HLMBB Touranment, which was played in 2019 at BB&T Arena.
• NKU has won 8-of-10 entering the #HLMBB Tournament, while UDM is 11-2 in its last 13.
• In the 10-game span, NKU has drastically cut down its turnovers. While averaging 12.7 turnovers per game on the season, it has only coughed the ball up an average of 10.1 times in those 10 games.
• Following a slow start to begin the season and a 31.2 percent 3-point conversation rate on the year, NKU has shot 39 percent (53-of-135) from three-point range since the start of February.
• According to KenPom, NKU ranks 27th in the country in offensive rebound percentage (34.1).
• In the last five years, NKU has been incredibly tough at BB&T Arena, boasting a 60-13 (.822) record at home since 2016-17.
• NKU has been one of the most dominant teams in the Horizon League over the last four seasons, amassing a 72-27 (.727) mark against league foes while winning five of the combined eight league championships (two regular season and three tournament).
• Since the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU is a combined 108-49 (.688), 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. No other team in DI history has registered this level of accomplishments in its first four years of active status.
• G Marques Warrick was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year and earned spots on both the all-freshman and all-league third teams.
• Warrick won seven Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors after earning the award on Feb. 22 and is second on the team in scoring on the season at 15.9 ppg.
• Since the start of league play, Warrick has elevated his scoring efforts to 17.5 ppg, which is 5th best in the league.
• G Trevon Faulkner earned a spot on the All-Horizon League Second Team.
• Faulkner has impacted the game in all facets with averages of 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
• Faulkner is 23rd in the nation in made free throws (98) and his 35 steals rank 71st.
• G Bryson Langdon has hit his stride lately, averaging 13.5 ppg over the last nine games.
• In NKU's two games versus Wright State, he averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 assists per game.
• F Adrian Nelson was named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team this year. He has a 3.46 GPA in Organizational Leadership.
• Nelson ranks 23rd in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (3.35) and 22nd in total rebounds per game (9.9).
• In the last 14 games, Nelson has averaged 9.4 ppg while shooting 82 percent (58-of-71).
 
Last Time Out
NKU split a pair with regular-season co-champion Wright State to close out the year. Warrick led a quartet of Norse in double-figures with 23 points as Northern Kentucky nabbed an 81-75 win on Friday. Faulkner (17), Langdon (15) and David Böhm (14) also cleared the 10-point plateau, while Adrian Nelson snared 11 rebounds. Warrick's 21 points combined with Nelson's 10-point, 13-rebound double-double were not enough to overcome WSU on Saturday, as the Raiders came away with a 77-71 win.
 
Scouting Detroit Mercy
Detroit Mercy may be the hottest team in the Horizon League, winning 11 of its final 13 games entering the postseason. The Titans are coming off of a first round win over Robert Morris in the Horizon League Tournament thanks to a 46-point showing from first team all-league honoree Antoine Davis. Davis, the nation's third-leading scorer at 24.3 ppg, paces an offense that puts up 76.9 ppg. Bul Kuol and Noah Waterman contribute double-figure scoring for the Titans at 15.4 and 11.4ppg, respectively. However, the Titans rank 310th in 3-point field-goal defense (37.3 percent), 286th in field-goal defense (46.4 percent) and 266th in scoring defense (74.1 ppg).
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky is 9-2 all-time against Detroit Mercy, including a 5-1 home mark in which the lone loss was the first ever home meeting at BB&T Arena between the schools. However, the two teams split last season, with each team defending its home turf.