2018–19 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2018–19 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented Northern Kentucky University (NKU) during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Norse, led by fourth-year head coach John Brannen , played their home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky as members of the Horizon League . They finished the season 26–9, 13–5 in Horizon League play, to win a share of the regular season championship with Wright State . They defeated Detroit Mercy , Oakland , and Wright State to be champions of the Horizon League tournament . They received the Horizon League's automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Texas Tech .
During the season, forward Drew McDonald became the school's all-time career leader in both scoring and rebounds. He passed LaRon Moore's previous record of 859 rebounds[ 1] Eastern Kentucky ,[ 2] Green Bay in the team's final regular-season game on March 2.[ 3]
Previous season
The Norse finished the 2017–18 season 22–10, 15–3 in Horizon League play, to win the Horizon League regular season championship. They were upset in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament by No. 8 seed Cleveland State . As a regular season league champion who failed to win their league tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Louisville .
Roster
2018–19 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
F 0
Silas Adheke 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg)
RS So Evansville
Chattanooga, TN
G 2
Paul Djoko 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
RS Fr Châlons-Reims
Strasbourg, France
G 3
Tre Cobbs 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Jr Lima Central Catholic
Lima, OH
F 4
Adrian Nelson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
RS Fr Pickerington Central
Pickerington, OH
G 5
Zaynah Robinson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
GS Norfolk State
Atlanta, GA
G 10
Gerald Gray Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
RS Fr Pleasure Ridge Park
Louisville, KY
G/F 11
Jalen Tate 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
RS So Pickerington Central
Pickerington, OH
G 12
Trevon Faulkner 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
RS Fr Mercer County
Harrodsburg, KY
G 15
Tyler Sharpe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
Jr Bullitt East
Mount Washington, KY
G 24
Brooks Ely 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
Jr Glenville State
Lexington, KY
G/F 25
Bryant Mocaby 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Fr Derby
Derby, KS
G 32
Dantez Walton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Jr Lima Central Catholic
Lima, OH
C 33
Chris Vogt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg)
So Graves County
Mayfield, KY
F/C 34
Drew McDonald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg)
Sr Newport Central Catholic
Cold Spring, KY
F/C 44
David Wassler 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg)
Fr St. Xavier
Cincinnati, OH
Head coach Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on Roster
Schedule and results
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance)
Exhibition
Oct 30, 2018 *7:00 pm
Urbana W 84–47 BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
Wilmington (OH) W 102–38 1–0
BB&T Arena (2,454)Highland Heights, KY
Nov 9, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Illinois
W 88–85 2OT
2–0
Convocation Center DeKalb, IL
Nov 11, 2018 *6:00 pm, ESPN+
Wabash NKU Basketball Classic W 99–59 3–0
BB&T Arena (2,472)Highland Heights, KY
Nov 16, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
UNC Asheville NKU Basketball Classic W 77–50 4–0
BB&T Arena (2,936)Highland Heights, KY
Nov 17, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Manhattan NKU Basketball Classic W 59–53 5–0
BB&T Arena (3,351)Highland Heights, KY
Nov 18, 2018 *6:00 pm, FSOH
Coastal Carolina NKU Basketball Classic W 89–83 6–0
BB&T Arena (2,718)Highland Heights, KY
Nov 24, 2018 *6:00 pm, ESPN3
at UCF
L 53–66 6–1
CFE Arena Orlando, FL
Nov 27, 2018 *7:30 pm, ESPN+
at Morehead State
W 93–71 7–1
Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY
Nov 30, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
UMBC W 78–60 8–1
BB&T Arena (3,462)Highland Heights, KY
Dec 4, 2018 *7:00 pm, FSOH
at Cincinnati
L 65–78 8–2
Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH
Dec 8, 2018 *6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Kentucky
L 74–76 8–3
McBrayer Arena Richmond, KY
Dec 16, 2018 *7:00 pm, FSOH
Miami (OH) W 72–66 9–3
BB&T Arena (3,100)Highland Heights, KY
Dec 20, 2018 *7:00 pm, ESPN+
Northern Illinois W 65–62 10–3
BB&T Arena (2,757)Highland Heights, KY
Horizon League regular season
Dec 28, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN+
IUPUI W 92–77 11–3
BB&T Arena (3,303)Highland Heights, KY
Dec 30, 2018 6:00 pm, FSOH
UIC W 73–58 12–3
BB&T Arena (2,923)Highland Heights, KY
Jan 3, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Oakland
L 74–76 12–4
Athletics Center O'rena Auburn Hills, MI
Jan 5, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Detroit Mercy
W 95–73 13–4
Calihan Hall Detroit, MI
Jan 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Wright State Men's Basketball Alumni Night W 68–64 14–4
BB&T Arena (5,848)Highland Heights, KY
Jan 17, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Cleveland State
W 91–76 15–4
Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH
Jan 19, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Youngstown State
W 82–74 16–4
Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH
Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm
Green Bay W 87–65 17–4
BB&T Arena (3,257)Highland Heights, KY
Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm
Milwaukee W 73–60 18–4
BB&T Arena (4,225)Highland Heights, KY
Feb 1, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
at IUPUI
L 77–83 18–5
Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN
Feb 3, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+
at UIC
L 67–69 18–6
Credit Union 1 Arena Chicago, IL
Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Detroit Mercy W 97–65 19–6
BB&T Arena (3,025)Highland Heights, KY
Feb 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
Oakland Homecoming W 79–64 20–6
BB&T Arena (6,792)Highland Heights, KY
Feb 15, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPNU
at Wright State
L 77–81 20–7
Nutter Center Fairborn, OH
Feb 21, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
Youngstown State W 76–69 21–7
BB&T Arena (3,408)Highland Heights, KY
Feb 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
Cleveland State Senior Night L 77–83 21–8
BB&T Arena (5,047)Highland Heights, KY
Feb 28, 2019 8:00 pm
at Milwaukee
W 65–55 22–8
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena Milwaukee, WI
Mar 2, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN+
at Green Bay
W 86–82 23–8
Resch Center Ashwaubenon, WI
Horizon League tournament
Mar 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+
(2)
(7) Detroit Mercy Quarterfinals W 99–88 24–8
BB&T Arena (3,394)Highland Heights, KY
Mar 11, 2019 9:30 pm, ESPNU
(2)
vs. (3) Oakland Semifinals W 64–63 25–8
Little Caesars Arena Detroit, MI
Mar 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN
(2)
vs. (1) Wright State Championship W 77–66 26–8
Little Caesars Arena (5,612)Detroit, MI
NCAA tournament
Mar 22, 2019 *1:30 pm, TNT
(14 W)
vs. (3 W) No. 9 Texas Tech First Round L 57–72 26–9
BOK Center Tulsa, OK
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West region.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
Source: [ 4]
Awards and honors
Honorable Mention: Drew McDonald
References
^ "Northern Kentucky University Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF) . p. 59. Retrieved March 3, 2019 .^ Owen, Don (December 8, 2018). "McDonald sets NKU career rebounding record, but Eastern Kentucky pulls out last-second 76-74 win" . Edgewood, KY : Northern Kentucky Tribune. Retrieved March 3, 2019 . ^ Danneman, Joe (February 28, 2019). "McDonald becomes NKU's all-time leading scorer in win" . Cincinnati : WXIX-TV . Retrieved March 2, 2019 . ^ "Northern Kentucky University Athletics" . nkunorse.com . Retrieved February 21, 2024 .
