Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball

History

The program began in 1971, then known as Northern Kentucky State College, played out of Newport High School's gymnasium. The team played its first game on November 12, 1971, against Calvary Bible College; winning 109–65.

Over the past 15 years, NKU became one of the country's premier NCAA Division II college basketball programs. The Norse won three Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) tournament championships in 1994–95, 2002–03, and 2008–09; and GLVC East Division regular season champion in 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2008–09. In NCAA postseason play, NKU made 12 NCAA DII postseason appearances, including back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons.

On December 8, 2011, NKU officially announced it accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Sun Conference (now known as the ASUN Conference) and begin a multi-year transition to Division I beginning in 2012. The Norse began a full ASUN and Division I schedule in the 2012–13 season, however the university was not eligible for NCAA D-I postseason competition until becoming a full Division I member in 2016.

The team's 2013–14 season schedule featured 3 marquee games against Purdue, Kentucky, and North Carolina. This was also the first season in which the team hosted Division I non-conference home games.

In their first season of eligibility, the Norse qualified for the 2017 NCAA tournament. Northern Kentucky is just the seventh school to make the NCAA tournament in their first year of eligibility.

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Norse have three appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, with a record of 0–3.

NIT results

The Norse have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament once; their record is 0–1.

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Norse made thirteen appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, with a combined record of 17–14.

Awards and honors

[[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]]

Includes all NKU players designated as Consensus 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention All-American

• Drew McDonald – 2019

Record year-by-year

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Facility

Main article: Truist Arena

Truist Arena opened in 2008 as The Bank of Kentucky Center and serves as the home arena for the NKU Norse men's and women's basketball teams. The 9,200-seat, multi-purpose arena replaced the 1,800-seat Regents Hall, which had served as the home venue since opening in 1973. Regents Hall still serves as the home of women's volleyball and the practice facility for men's and women's basketball.

The arena name has since changed twice—first in 2015 after The Bank of Kentucky was purchased by BB&T, and then in 2022 after BB&T and SunTrust merged to form Truist Financial.

Notes

References

References

1. (May 11, 2015). "Northern Kentucky University to Join Horizon League in July". Horizon League.
2. Russell, Shannon. (October 24, 2004). "Bezold living his dream as NKU basketball coach". [[Cincinnati Enquirer]].
3. (November 2010). "Men's Basketball Team History". [[Northern Kentucky University]].
4. (December 8, 2011). "Fun in the Atlantic Sun". [[Northern Kentucky University]].
5. "Men's Basketball Archives: 1971". [[Northern Kentucky University]].
6. (2010). "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Records and Statistics: Division II men's basketball Championship". [[NCAA]].
7. AP Staff. (December 9, 2011). "NKU jumps to Division I conference, talking with Ohio State about basketball game". The Republic.
8. Oren, Paul. (March 7, 2017). "Northern Kentucky Wins #HLMBB Championship". Horizon League.
9. "Regents Hall". [[Northern Kentucky University]].
10. Ken Shields of Northern Kentucky University is not the same person as [[Ken Shields (basketball). the Canadian basketball coach of the same name]].