# 2019–20 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented Northern Kentucky University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Norse, led by first-year head coach Darrin Horn, played their home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 23–9, 13–5 in Horizon League play, to finish in second place. They defeated Green Bay and UIC to become champions of the Horizon League tournament. They received the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Norse finished the 2018–19 season 26–9 overall, 13–5 in Horizon League play, where they finished as co-regular-season champions, alongside Wright State. In the Horizon League tournament, they defeated Detroit Mercy in the quarterfinals, Oakland in the semifinals, advancing to the championship game, where they faced Wright State, ultimately winning the game, to become Horizon League tournament champions. In turn, they received the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Texas Tech in the first round.
On April 14, 2019, it was announced that former head coach John Brannen had accepted the head coaching position at Cincinnati. On April 23, former Texas assistant Darrin Horn was named as the next head coach.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Zaynah Robinson | 5 | G | 6' 0" | 180 | Graduate student | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Gerald Gray Jr. | 10 | G | 6' 3" | 170 | RS Freshman | Louisville, KY | Walk-on; left program |
| Brooks Ely | 24 | G | 6' 4" | 205 | RS Junior | Lexington, KY | Left program |
| Chris Vogt | 33 | C | 7' 1" | 240 | Sophomore | Mayfield, KY | Transferred to Cincinnati |
| Drew McDonald | 34 | F/C | 6 '8" | 250 | Senior | Cold Spring, KY | Graduated |

## Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Adham Eleeda | G | 6' 5" | 200 | Junior | Toronto, ON | Junior college transferred from Sheridan College |
| Bryson Langdon | G | 5' 9" | 160 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Junior college transferred from Arizona Western CC |
| Karl Harris | G | 6' 5" | 185 | Graduate student | Chicago, IL | Transferred from Northern Arizona after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2019* 7:00 p.m. | | Transylvania | W 71–45 | | BB&T Arena (2,593) Highland Heights, KY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | UC–Clermont | W 105–55 | 1–0 | BB&T Arena (2,857) Highland Heights, KY |
| November 8, 2019* 8:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Missouri | L 56–71 | 1–1 | Mizzou Arena (8,486) Columbia, MO |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 69–68 | 2–1 | HTC Center (1,015) Conway, SC |
| November 17, 2019* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Coppin State Collegiate Hoops Roadshow – Norse Regional | W 82–70 | 3–1 | BB&T Arena (2,807) Highland Heights, KY |
| November 20, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 59–57 | 4–1 | Worthen Arena (3,722) Muncie, IN |
| November 23, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Texas Southern Collegiate Hoops Roadshow – Norse Regional | L 96–98 $^{2OT}$ | 4–2 | BB&T Arena (3,118) Highland Heights, KY |
| November 25, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Midway Collegiate Hoops Roadshow – Norse Regional | W 86–56 | 5–2 | BB&T Arena (2,478) Highland Heights, KY |
| November 30, 2019* 3:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Arkansas | L 60–66 | 5–3 | Bud Walton Arena (14,080) Fayetteville, AR |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 76–54 | 6–3 | Millett Hall (1,588) Oxford, OH |
| December 8, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 76–57 | 7–3 | BB&T Arena (3,199) Highland Heights, KY |
| December 15, 2019* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 79–64 | 8–3 | BB&T Arena (2,820) Highland Heights, KY |
| December 21, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 50–67 | 8–4 | Fleming Gymnasium (648) Greensboro, NC |
| Horizon League regular season ||||||
| December 28, 2019 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Milwaukee | W 74–64 | 9–4 (1–0) | BB&T Arena (2,551) Highland Heights, KY |
| December 30, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Green Bay | L 59–73 | 9–5 (1–1) | BB&T Arena (3,127) Highland Heights, KY |
| January 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Detroit Mercy | L 58–66 | 9–6 (1–2) | Calihan Hall (1,323) Detroit, MI |
| January 5, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oakland | W 75–64 | 10–6 (2–2) | Athletics Center O'rena (2,879) Auburn Hills, MI |
| January 10, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at UIC | W 68–52 | 11–6 (3–2) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,858) Chicago, IL |
| January 12, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at IUPUI | W 96–71 | 12–6 (4–2) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (789) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 16, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Youngstown State | W 88–63 | 13–6 (5–2) | BB&T Arena (3,232) Highland Heights, KY |
| January 18, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cleveland State | W 75–49 | 14–6 (6–2) | BB&T Arena (4,390) Highland Heights, KY |
| January 24, 2020 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Wright State | L 63–95 | 14–7 (6–3) | Nutter Center (6,217) Fairborn, OH |
| January 31, 2020 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Green Bay | W 71–62 | 15–7 (7–3) | Kress Events Center (1,885) Green Bay, WI |
| February 2, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | W 65–56 | 16–7 (8–3) | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,070) Milwaukee, WI |
| February 6, 2020 7:00 p.m., FSOH | | Oakland | W 73–70 | 17–7 (9–3) | BB&T Arena (3,241) Highland Heights, KY |
| February 8, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 84–65 | 18–7 (10–3) | BB&T Arena (6,231) Highland Heights, KY |
| February 14, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | IUPUI | W 84–70 | 19–7 (11–3) | BB&T Arena (3,013) Highland Heights, KY |
| February 16, 2020 2:00 p.m., FSOH | | UIC | L 43–73 | 19–8 (11–4) | BB&T Arena (3,545) Highland Heights, KY |
| February 20, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | W 73–59 | 20–8 (12–4) | Wolstein Center (1,508) Cleveland, OH |
| February 22, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Youngstown State | W 61–59 | 21–8 (13–4) | Beeghly Center (4,213) Youngstown, OH |
| February 28, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Wright State | L 62–64 | 21–9 (13–5) | BB&T Arena (6,776) Highland Heights, KY |
| Horizon League tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2020 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) Green Bay Semifinals | W 80–69 | 22–9 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,923) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 10, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) | vs. (4) UIC Championship | W 71–62 | 23–9 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,861) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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