# 2020–21 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented Northern Kentucky University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Norse, led by second-year head coach Darrin Horn, played their home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky as members of the Horizon League.

## Previous season

The Norse finished the 2019–20 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.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 74–73 | 1–0 | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| December 3, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Tennessee Tech | W 74–65 | 2–0 | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| December 5, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | L 72–79 | 2–1 | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, TN |
| December 8, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Dayton | L 60–66 | 2–2 | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| December 13, 2020* 2:00 pm | | at Kent State | L 73–92 | 2–3 | MAC Center Kent, OH |
| Horizon League regular season ||||||
| December 19, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Youngstown State | W 79–64 | 3–3 (1–0) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| December 20, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Youngstown State | L 60–70 | 3–4 (1–1) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| December 26, 2020 7:00 pm | | Oakland | Cancelled | Cancelled | Athletics Center O'rena Auburn Hills, MI |
| December 27, 2020 6:00 pm | | Oakland | Cancelled | Cancelled | Athletics Center O'rena Auburn Hills, MI |
| January 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 75–68 | 4–4 (2–1) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| January 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 70–68 | 5–4 (3–1) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| January 8, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | L 44–58 | 5–5 (3–2) | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH |
| January 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | L 71–74 $^{OT}$ | 5–6 (3–3) | Wolstein Center Cleveland, OH |
| January 15, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | L 69–74 | 5–7 (3–4) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| January 16, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | L 63–65 | 5–8 (3–5) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| January 22, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Robert Morris | W 81–76 | 6–8 (4–5) | UPMC Events Center Moon Township, PA |
| January 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Robert Morris | W 79–74 $^{OT}$ | 7–8 (5–5) | UPMC Events Center Moon Township, PA |
| January 29, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UIC | W 72–68 | 8–8 (6–5) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| January 30, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UIC | W 69–67 | 9–8 (7–5) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| February 5, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | W 87–73 | 10–8 (8–5) | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena Milwaukee, WI |
| February 6, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | W 79–65 | 11–8 (9–5) | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena Milwaukee, WI |
| February 12, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Green Bay | L 82–86 | 11–9 (9–6) | Kress Events Center Green Bay, WI |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Green Bay | W 71–66 | 12–9 (10–6) | Kress Events Center Green Bay, WI |
| February 19, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wright State | W 81–75 | 13–9 (11–6) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| February 20, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wright State | L 71–77 | 13–10 (11–7) | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| Horizon League tournament ||||||
| March 2, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | (5) Detroit Mercy Quarterfinals | W 70–69 | 14–10 | BB&T Arena Highland Heights, KY |
| March 8, 2021 9:30 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (3) Oakland Semifinals | L 58–69 | 14–11 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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