INDIANAPOLIS – Northern Kentucky has advanced to a fourth straight Horizon League Championship semifinal, and third in a row at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Norse face Purdue Fort Wayne at 9:30 p.m. Monday in an ESPN2-televised showdown.
 
The No. 3-seeded Norse and No. 2-seeded Mastodons are vying for a place in Tuesday's 2022 Keeps Horizon League Championship title game.
 
Game Information
#3 Northern Kentucky Norse (19-11)
#2 Purdue Fort Wayne (21-10)
Monday, March 7 | 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Indianapolis, Ind. | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (6,800)
TV: ESPN2
Radio: ESPN1530
Stats: Live Stats
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU is the only Horizon League team that has reached the conference tournament semifinals all three years since the event moved to Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. The Norse, the No. 3 seed in this year's tourney, defeated sixth-seeded Detroit Mercy in a quarterfinal and now face second-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne in a semifinal.
 
• The Norse, winners of 13 of their last 15 games, have held their opponents this season to a Horizon League-low 65.8 points. NKU has limited its last four opponents alone to 62.5 points en route to four straight victories.
 
• In the national statistical rankings, NKU is 14th in total steals (273), 14th in steals per game (9.1) and 37th in made threes per game (9.0).
 
• NKU has been an offensive rebounding juggernaut 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. Thirty games into 2021-22, the Norse rank 16th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (12.8). The payoff for attacking the offensive glass: NKU's 373 second-chance points this season. That's an average of 12.6 points a game.
 
• The Norse are undefeated this season (16-0) when scoring 70 or more points. When it comes to rebounding, they're 15-4 when besting their opponents on the boards.
 
• NKU is riding a streak of five straight seasons with a winning percentage, beginning with the
2016-17 team. NKU has won the Horizon League regular season twice (2018, 2019) and league tourney three times (2017, 2019, 2020). The Norse have qualified for either the DI NCAA Tournament (2017, 2019, 2020) or NIT (2018) every year except 2021.
 
• G Marques Warrick, an All-League Second Team member, averages 16.3 ppg. He has scored in double figures 24 times including 13 straight. In those 13 games, he has averaged 19.5 points.
 
• G Trevon Faulkner averages 11.9 points and has made at least one 3-pointer in 24 of his 29 games. He surpassed the 1,000-point career milestone in November and now has 1,309 points.
 
• G Sam Vinson is the Horizon League Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year and member of the All-Freshman team. His 62 steals thus far are a new Horizon League freshman record.
 
• F Adrian Nelson, a Horizon League All-Academic Honorable Mention, ranks sixth all-time at NKU with 717 rebounds. His 3.1 offensive boards per game rank second in the Horizon League.
 
• F Chris Brandon has recorded two double-doubles this season, most recently Feb. 9 at Milwaukee (17 pts, 11 reb). He averages a league-first 3.2 offensive rebounds per game.
 
• G Bryson Langdon's assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) ranks fifth in the Horizon League and 71st nationally. He's averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.
 
Last Time Out
Marques Warrick scored 25 points and No. 3-seed NKU punched its ticket to a fourth straight conference tournament semifinal by defeating No. 6 seed Detroit Mercy 77-59 Mach 3 at BB&T Arena. The Norse avenged a regular-season sweep by the Titans and led by as many as 20 points. The game featured three ties and three lead changes but NKU controlled the scoreboard for nearly 34 minutes. Detroit Mercy pulled within eight points with 12:37 left, but Warrick found Adrian Nelson for a lay-up, launching a 14-2 run that gave NKU an 18-point lead. The Norse maintained a double-figure cushion the rest of the way. Trevon Faulkner added 13 points. Bryson Langdon scored 10 points with four assists and just one turnover.
 
Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
The Mastodons (21-10) have won 10 straight games, including a 102-98 triple-overtime victory over Cleveland State on Feb. 14. More recently, PFW downed UIC 78-72 in the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals for the right to move on to the semis. Senior guard Jarred Godfrey leads the 'Dons in scoring (15.4 ppg) and Jalon Pipkins (13.8 ppg) is another key contributor. PFW leads the Horizon League in 3-point percentage (37.7) and averages 9.8 triples per game.
 
Series Stuff
NKU leads the series with PFW, 27-13. The teams split in the regular season, with the 'Dons winning 71-57 in their first meeting (Dec. 4 in Fort Wayne) behind Jalon Pipkins' 21 points. The Mastodons piled up 19 points off turnovers and led by as many as 18 points early in the second half. Trey Robinson paced the Norse with 16 points. The Mastodons' victory snapped NKU's 16-game winning streak in in the series. NKU won Game Two (Jan. 28 at BB&T Arena) behind its defense. It denied PFW a field goal for the final 11:58 and finished the 59-49 win on a 23-4 tear.