Northern KentuckyWhen: Friday, February 18, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Calihan Hall
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM & 92.7 FM
The Titans conclude the regular season with a 4-game homestand that, with the Horizon League Tournament, will largely determine if the season can in any way be deemed a success. First up is Northern Kentucky, the hottest team in the HL. The Norse have won 9 of 10 in the last month, losing only to our Titans two weeks ago. A sweep this weekend in Detroit would put the Norse in the driver's seat for the #2 seed in the conference tournament, and make catching Cleveland State for #1 a real possibility, given that the Vikes are playing their last four on the road, including two in the Detroit metro area. For the 10-13 Titans, a loss would mean we'd have to win 5 in a row--the last three of the season and two in the tournament--but to assure a .500 season, and would have to reach the conference final to get a winning season.
Re the Norse, there's not much to add to what
I wrote two weeks ago--no major injuries or lineup changes. They treated the loss to our Titans as a bit of a hiccup on their final drive--since then they've won three straight on the road, including a 36-point win at Milwaukee and a win over Wright State in which they dominated the Raiders until the final 3 minutes. If anything, I'd say they are playing better than they were two-weeks ago. They'll play their usual zone, and rely on Chris Brandon and Adrian Nelson to scoop up the offensive rebounds to cover for their poor shooting.
The Titans won in Highland Heights with a balanced attack in which Antoine Davis took just 13 shots. The last time he took fewer was just over two years ago, against ... NKU. In fact, an interesting stat:
Antoine Davis, Career Games with fewer than 15 shots (from most recent to furthest back):
13 Northern Kentucky, Feb. 5, 2022
13 IUPUI, Dec. 2, 2021
13 Northern Kentucky, Mar. 2, 2021
13 Oakland, Dec. 27, 2020
12 Northern Kentucky, Feb. 8, 2020
13 Northern Kentucky, Jan. 3, 2020
Hmmm. Note that as a freshman, AD took 24, 23, and 29 shots in three games against the Norse. In the 4 games since, i.e the 4 listed above, and the only 4 since Darin Horn became the Norse head coach, he's not taken more than 13. Obviously, Horn has geared his defense to "make the others beat us." And, interestingly, the Titans were 0-3 against the Norse when AD was taking all those shots (losing by 22, 32, and 11), and are 2-2 since. Of course, lots of variables here and a very small sample size, but maybe you beat the Titans by not worrying about AD and shutting everyone else down. In February's win over NKU, the Titans, AD scored 19, but three other Titans--Akec, McAdoo, and Harvey--scored 15 each.
As for the Titans, it looks like we'll have to go without Akec this time. That's going to make it awfully tough, but I'd rather have him get better for the tournament than come back too soon. Let's hope Willy is back at 100%.
As noted in another thread, the Titans enter the game on a 12-game home court winning streak. Let's defend the Hall! Go Titans!
NKU StartersPG: #11 Bryce Langdon, 5-9 Jr. (5.8 ppg, 4.0 apg, 28.0% 3Pt)
G: #3 Marques Warrick, 6-2 Soph. (14.8 ppg, 2.4 apg, 32.9% 3Pt)
SG: #22 Trevon Faulkner, 6-3 Sr. (12.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 38.8% 3Pt)
SG: #2 Sam Vinson, 6-5 Fr. (12.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 36.4% 3Pt)
PF: #21 Chris Brandon, 6-8 Sr. (5.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg; 69.6% FG)
BenchG: #1 Trey Robinson, 6-6 Soph. (4.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
G: #34 Hubertas Pivorius, 6-2 Fr. (5.3 ppg, 41.7% 3Pt)
G: #24 Jake Evans, 6-1 Soph. (1.8 ppg)
PF: #4 Adrian Nelson, 6-7 Sr. (7.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg)