HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Following a four-game road swing, Northern Kentucky's men's basketball team is back home for a five-game home stand. The Norse open the stretch at BB&T Arena against Horizon League rival Wright State at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky Norse (8-9 Overall, 4-4 Horizon League)
Wright State Raiders (11-8 Overall, 8-2 Horizon League)
Tuesday, Jan. 25 | 7 p.m. (ET) 
Highland Heights, Ky. | BB&T Arena (8,427)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 55KRC
Stats: Live Stats
Digital Program: NKU Men's Basketball Weekly – Week 11
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU posted a 3-1 record on its recent road swing and now returns to BB&T Arena for a five-game home stand. The Norse's first game is a rescheduled outing against Wright State. The teams' Jan. 10 game at BB&T Arena was postponed due to COVID-19 implications.
 
• The Norse's Jan. 30 game against Cleveland State has been moved up to 12 p.m. (from 2 p.m.) to avoid conflicting with the Cincinnati Bengals' AFC Championship game.
 
• NKU has been an offensive rebounding tour de force under Darrin Horn. The Norse were 117th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (29.7) in 2019-20, Horn's first season at the helm. NKU ascended to No. 15 (34.9%) in 2020-21. Now, 15 games into 2021-22, the Norse rank 12th (36.8%) per KenPom.com. The payoff for attacking the offensive glass: NKU's 217 second-chance points this season. That's an average of 12.8 points a game.
 
• In the national statistical rankings, NKU is ninth in offensive rebounds (13.9 orpg), 19th in steals (9.4 spg), 33rd in total steals (159) and 39th in made threes (9.4).
 
• According to KenPom, NKU ranks 12th in offensive rebounding percentage (36.7%) and 25th
in defensive steal percentage (12.5%).
 
• NKU was picked to finish third in a tightly contested #HLMBB preseason poll.
 
• 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 Marques Warrick, the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year, leads NKU in scoring (13.9 ppg). He has averaged 16.8 points in NKU's last six games.
 
• G Trevon Faulkner, a Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team selection, contributes a team-second 12.5 points. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 13 of his 16 games this season.
 
• G Sam Vinson, named Nike Horizon League Men's Freshman of the Week a fifth time Jan. 24, averaged 19.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals in wins at UIC and IUPUI.
 
• F Adrian Nelson, a Horizon League All-Academic honoree with a 3.42 GPA in Organizational Leadership, posted his seventh career double-double at Youngstown State (10 pts, 11 reb).
 
• F Chris Brandon has averaged 8.3 rebounds in NKU's last six games. His season average (6.3 rpg) is second only to Adrian Nelson's (8.3 rpg) on the Norse roster.
 
Last Time Out
Trevon Faulkner scored 18 points and Sam Vinson added 15 points and five assists in Northern Kentucky's 60-41 rout of IUPUI at Indiana Farmers Coliseum Jan. 20. The Norse broke open the game on a 17-4 first-half run and later led by as many as 25 points. Short-handed IUPUI, which had only six players available, turned over the ball 20 times throughout. NKU scored 25 points off turnovers and controlled the glass en route to the victory. The game was the finale of a four-game road swing in which the Norse went 3-1.
 
Scouting Wright State
The Raiders have won nine of their last 10 games, including three of their last four road outings. Tanner Holden (20.6 ppg) and Grant Basile (17.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg) pace a team posting the Horizon League's top scoring offense (76.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (46.8%). In its 11 victories, Wright State has averaged even more points (80.6) behind 51.% shooting. The Raiders rank 18th in the country in free-throw percentage (77.7) and average 15.4 made free throws per game.
 
Series Stuff
NKU has a 13-27 record all-time against Wright State. The teams split their two meetings last season in back-to-back games at BB&T Arena. The Norse won 81-75 on Feb. 19, 2021 behind Marques Warrick's 23 points. The Raiders were victorious the following night, beating NKU 77-71 with four double-figure scorers. Grant Basile led the way with 21 points.
 
 
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