With the basketball season only hours away, there are plenty of games on both the men’s and women’s schedules to keep an eye out for and pack Truist Arena. We’ve narrowed it down to the six best games for each squad, but make sure to check out nkunorse.com for the full schedules.
NKU Women’s Basketball
November 7 at the University of Kentucky
Whenever the Norse square down against the Wildcats, you know it is a game to check out due to the high-profile nature of the matchup. Both teams will be coming into this game with a completely revamped roster, but the changes in the women’s program at UK are worth noting. After hiring former Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks, they have brought over one of the top women’s basketball players in the nation, Georgia Amoore, also from Virginia Tech. l.
However, the additions do not stop there, as the Wildcats have 11 new players on their roster from last year. Brooks posted a career record as a Hokie of 180-82, including four tournament bids, all coming in the last four years. He bolstered a team last year that was 31st in the nation in field goal percentage at 45.2% and was 44th in the nation in three point percentage at 35%. That team also averaged 75 points per game, which was 33rd best in the nation. However, it was not just their offense that was good, as the team was top 10 in the nation in blocks at 5.6 per game.
Amoore was one his feature players, as she finished the season with more honors than one could imagine. She was first team all-ACC, all-ACC tournament second team, AP All-American third team and made the national ballot for the Wooden Award all in her senior year last year. She’s coming off a career best season of 18.8 points per game, 6.8 assists per game which also led the ACC and 41% shooting from the field.
November 17 at Marshall University
The Thundering Herd are coming into their first season under new head coach Juli Fulks after a historical season last year. Kim Caldwell coached them to a school-best 26 wins last year that would ultimately lead them to their second NCAA tournament appearance in school history. Despite the first round loss, they put together a season that was historic to say the least. Last year’s team’s offense liked to shoot the ball a lot and did it pretty efficiently.
Marshall was top three in both field goal attempts, at 71.2 per game and three point attempts, at 31.9 per game. They shot in the top 100 in both, shooting 42.5% from the field and 33.2% from the three point line. This led to them being top four in the nation in scoring at just over 85 points per game. However, their game translated on the other side of the court, as they finished third in the nation in steals per game with 13.2. Ironically enough, their season was ended by Kenny Brooks and Georgia Amoore’s former team Virginia Tech.
One of the leaders of this team was Aislynn Hayes, who is also coming off a career year. She was third on the team with 14.5 points per game while shooting 41.4% from the field and 38.2% from three. Hayes averaged 13 per game during the conference tournament on 48.9% shooting from the field and looks to be a major part of their offense with so much turnover on the team.
November 30 vs. Eastern Kentucky at 3:30 p.m.
The Colonels will be entering their fourth year under Head Coach Greg Todd, who has grown the program to a top five team in their conference. This past year, Todd led Eastern Kentucky to a 22-12 record and 9-7 in the Atlantic Sun conference, which is good for the fifth seed. He also led one of the better rebounding squads in the nation, as the team ranked 52nd in offensive rebounds per game at 13.4 and 60th in total rebounds per game at 39.5. In fact, this was a point of emphasis in last year’s matchup against the Norse. The Colonels tallied up 43 total boards, including 15 offensive rebounds en route to a 86-75 win over NKU.
In recent years, this matchup has become somewhat of a rivalry, with the all-time series tied at 2-2. The Norse had won the previous two games before last year, and look to get back on track with their winning ways versus the Colonels, as the Norse have won both of their series games in Truist Arena.
December 7 vs. Youngstown State at 1 p.m.
In this Horizon League home opener, the Norse will welcome the Penguins to Truist Arena. Youngstown State has struggled the last few years, as they have decreased in wins the last three seasons but hope to turn the tide with new head coach Melissa Jackson. She is not new to the Horizon League though, as she spent last year being Cleveland State’s assistant coach. Previously, she was the head coach at Akron from 2018-2023 and was the only head coach in the program’s history to have a winning record.
Jackson will look to revive the offense, as the team ranked 200th or worse in many of the key offensive stats including field goal percentage, three point percentage and points per game.
The conference matchups between the Norse and the Penguins have gone punch for punch. The series is tied 9-9, but NKU has taken some hard hits the last six matchups, as they have lost four of the last six. The last five matchups have been decided by six points or less. NKU has gone 5-3 at home against Youngstown State, but have lost their last two home matchups including losing their most recent matchup 68-64.
December 15 vs. Ball State at 3:30 p.m.
The Cardinals are coming off their best season in school history with a 28-6 that gave them the second best record in the MAC. Head Coach Brady Sallee fielded a nationally impressive team as they ranked in the top 50 in field goal percentage at 44.4%, three pointers per game at 8.1, assists per game at 15.6 and steals per game with 10.5. They ranked just outside the top 50 in points per game at 72.7, which paired quite well with their allowance of only 60.9 points per game for their opponents.
Ball State and NKU have not played each other in over 10 years, so this game will be a building matchup that will break the series tie at 1-1 between the teams. In their lone game at home against the Cardinals, the Norse were unable to come away with a win so they will look to avenge this decade old loss this December.
January 25 vs. Green Bay at 1 p.m.
The Phoenix are exiting the Kevin Borseth chapter of the program due to his retirement after five NCAA tournament appearances, nine 20-win seasons, seven conference titles and over 500 total wins with the team during his stints at the school. Kayla Karius will walk into a highly-touted program that she knows very well. Karius was a part of the 2011 Sweet 16 team and is one of the school’s 1000-point scorers and experienced massive success both individually and collectively with the team during her time as a player.
She has had her share of coaching experience, as she has spent the last nine years as a coach, with the last two years being the head coach of the South Dakota women’s basketball program. During her time there, she had a 52-16 record and had a pair of Womens NIT berths.
Green Bay brought a hard hitting offense to the court, as they were 10th in the nation in field goal percentage at 47.8% and free throw percentage at 78.6%. They are also 7th in the nation in assists per game at 19.1. Karius posted numbers that were similar, as her Coyotes had the 91st best field goal percentage at 42.7% and the 14th best free throw percentage at 78%. While the numbers are not the same, Karius will be welcoming in a different player pool at Green Bay.
NKU has struggled historically against Green Bay, as they have only mustered up three wins all-time in this series. They are currently on a five-game skid against the Phoenix, losing eight of the last nine against this team.
February 12 vs. Cleveland State at 6 p.m.
Cleveland State will come into another season under Head Coach Chris Kielsmeier, and will look to make their second NCAA tournament in three years. Kielsmeier took the Vikings to a record of 29-6, the second best record in program history and won them a regular season conference title. He now has the team set up to go for another good year, as they are the preseason number one team in the Horizon League.
However, the stars on the court are the ones to watch. There are three Vikings that are featured on the preseason Horizon League first team: Destiny Leo, Colbi Maples and Mickayla Perdue. In fact, Maples earned the honor of preseason player of the year in the conference after she posted a career high in points per game at 16.6, steals per game at 1.8, assists per game at 4.1, field goal percentage at 44.4%, three point percentage at 34% and free throw percentage at 68.7%. These elite stats made it a no-brainer for her to earn the conference’s player of the year award.
The Norse have struggled mightily against the Vikings, only winning four of the 20 series games. Cleveland State is on a roll, winning five straight games and winning 10 of the last 11 matchups against NKU. The Norse will look to get revenge against the team that knocked them out of the Horizon League tournament last year.
NKU Men’s Basketball
November 4 @ Florida St at 7 p.m.
The Norse will head down to sunny Tallahassee, Florida to face the Seminoles of Florida State in what will be the first ever matchup between these two teams. Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton will be entering his 22nd season as the program’s head coach. Hamilton is well-respected among collegiate sports, as he bolsters a school record for and is the fifth winningest coach in ACC history with his 404 career wins. He has earned multiple coach of the year honors, and has taken his team to eight NCAA tournament appearances, but in recent years his team has struggled. In the last three seasons, Hamilton has posted a 44.79% winning percentage and has finished no higher than eighth in the ACC.
Among the shooting splits, Florida State’s highest ranking came in the field goal percentage at 45.3% which ranked 134th in the nation.
However, a bright spot for the Seminoles is senior Jamir Watkins who led the team in scoring last year. The six foot seven forward posted a career best 15.6 points per game, 1.9 steals, 2.8 assists and 6 rebounds per game on career best shooting splits of 45.7% from the field, 34.4% from three and 79.5% from the charity stripe. Watkins withdrew his name shortly before the deadline closed for the NBA draft, and has stated that he is excited to return to Florida State. He will be expected to be a major support system within the team who hopes to return to their winning ways.
November 8 at No. 14 Purdue University at 7 p.m.
In the second matchup ever that has spanned across 11 years, The Norse will head to West Lafayette to take on the 14th nationally ranked Boilermakers. Matt Painter will be leading this team into the season for the 20th time after completing the winningest season in Purdue history, as he coached them to 34 wins and their first national title appearance since the 1968-69 season.
The national title game was no fluke either, as Painter conducted one of the most efficient and powerful offenses last season. His team was 12th in the nation in field goal percentage at 48.8%, 2nd in three point percentage at 40.4%, 5th in assists per game at 18.5, which all led to the 15th most points per game at 82.3.
However, there will be a large difference this season, as the 2023-24 Naismith Award, AP Player of the Year, Wooden Award, Big-Ten Player of the Year and many more honored Zach Edey will know longer be a part of their offense. However, two of their top four scorers will be returning this season. Braden Smith, who averaged 12 points per game last year, and Fletcher Loyer, who averaged 10.3 points per game, will both be returning with the goal in mind to take another deep run into the tournament.
The Boilermakers will also be welcoming a freshman who is familiar to this area, Raleigh Burgess. Burgess is from Cincinnati, OH and dominated during his time at Sycamore High School. While the six foot eleven forward does not have the trophy case as Edey did, he hopes to replicate and build on his 15.4 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game and 3.2 blocks per game statistics he posted in his senior year.
November 19 vs. No. 20 the University of Cincinnati at 7 p.m.
The Bearcats and Norse will look to renew their budding rivalry and see who will break the split of their three year series. UC will be coming into this season with their best preseason national ranking since the 2017-18 season when they were ranked 12th, and hope to use the strength of their recruits and transfers to push them through the season.
The Bearcats will be returning four of their top five scorers in Dan Skillings at 12.9 points per game, Simas Lukosius at 11.8 points per game, Day Day Thomas at 10.4 points per game and Jizzle James at 8.8 points per game. While UC’s stats seemed to hover around the middle of the pack nationally this past season, they showed their fire power down the stretch of last year.
After only winning four out of the last ten games leading into the Big 12 tournament, the Bearcats rattled off two big wins in the conference tournament against West Virginia and 16th ranked Kansas before suffering a tough loss to 14th ranked Baylor. After wins over San Francisco and Bradley, they came up just short of an appearance in the NIT title when they lost to Indiana State.
UC will be bringing lots of firepower, including former 54th nationally ranked Rayvon Griffith, 37th nationally ranked Tyler Betsey and 64th nationally ranked Tyler McKinley are just a few of the new faces that will be coming to Truist Area looking to avenge their loss here from two years ago.
December 18 vs. the University of Detroit Mercy at 7 p.m.
The Norse will open their Horizon League home schedule with a showdown against the Titans. Detroit Mercy is coming off a rough season, in which they went 1-31 giving them the worst record in the Horizon League. However, they will look to have a bounce back season after hiring new head coach Mark Montgomery.
Montgomery is not new to coaching as he was the head coach at Northern Illinois from 2011-20, in which he had three of the top 10 seasons with the most wins. He coached the second most wins in a season in Huskies history when he led them to 21 wins in 2015-16. He finished his career with 124 wins as head coach, which is the third-most in school history.
The Norse have dominated the Titans in recent years, as they lead the all-time series 14-4 including winning the last four matchups and six of the last eight. However, Detroit Mercy hopes that with a revamped team featuring six true-freshman and 11 total newcomers, they will give NKU a challenge.
January 11 vs. Oakland University at 6 p.m.
Oakland is sitting at the top of a Horizon League basketball mountain right now after their fourth NCAA tournament brought one of the biggest upsets in program history. Head coach Greg Kampe brought his team into the tournament with their fourth most wins in program history, and an overall record of 24-12 and an astounding 15-5 in conference play. After knocking off Milwaukee in the conference title, a showdown with offensive powerhouse Kentucky loomed over them.
However, 10 three pointers and 32 total points from Jack Gohlke drowned the Wildcats and opened the gates for the Golden Grizzlies to face off against Cinderella NC State. In a game that went to overtime, 52 combined points by Trey Townsend and Gohlke was not enough to keep Oakland moving forward, ending their season after they were just getting started.
Nonetheless, they will be rolling back a very talented squad, as they were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll. The team also features a conference second teamer in DQ Cole. Cole posted 8.7 points per game and 4.2 boards per game on 47.2% from the field and 36.2% from three. Besides Cole, there are only two other players returning, Cooper Craggs and Isaiah Jones. Nine of the players on the roster are either a graduate student, a senior, or a junior, meaning there is plenty of experience on this roster.
Despite the recent success from the Golden Grizzlies, the Norse have fared well in the last seven matchups, winning five including their most recent one this last February. The Norse averaged nearly 78 points per game in those last seven matchups and hope to continue their recent success against Oakland.
January 18 vs. Wright State at 2 p.m.
The Raiders will once again be entering rival territory when they showdown in the 22nd all-time matchup against the Norse. Wright State will be entering this matchup with new head coach Clint Sargent, after spending the last eight years under Scott Nagy. They were not as sharp this past year, as they finished the season with an 18-14 record, 13-7 conference record and a tough overtime loss to NKU in their first game of the conference tournament.
One of the many returning players on this Wright State roster will be redshirt junior forward Brandon Noel. Noel is coming into this season with high expectations, as he is the preseason pick to win conference player of the year. He is coming off a season in which he averaged a career high 14.5 points per game on a career best 40% shooting from three and nearly 80% shooting from the free throw line. In the two games against NKU last year, he averaged 17 points per game on 52% shooting from the field, in which the Raiders took both games.
January 24 vs. Milwaukee at 7 p.m.
Milwaukee will be coming to Truist Arena in a hostile tone after knocking the Norse out of the Horizon League tournament last season. The Panthers have a similar roster to last year, with a few new faces, but it is exactly what they hope they will need to live up to their preseason hype. They will be coming into this season being tied at the top for the number one team in the Horizon League tournament.
Head Coach Bart Lundy will be coming into his third season as the leader of the team, and has been off to a good start, leading the team to back-to-back 20 win seasons. While the Panthers were near the middle of the pack to near the bottom in shooting percentages, they did have their strengths. They ranked 10th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 13.5 and 35th in total rebounds per game at 39. The team even found their way to being the 44th best scoring team in the nation on a per game basis, in which they averaged 79.5 points per game.
The history between these two have been slightly edged by the Norse, as they have a 13-8 series lead against the Panthers, however it has been those same Panthers that have won four of the last five in this matchup. The last time that these two played at NKUthough, the Norse won in large fashion in a game where they held these Panthers to 72 points while also going for a 90 point explosion. They will hope to replicate against a Panthers team that hopes to trounce their way through the Horizon League.