The Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the Northern Kentucky Norse Friday at 12:30 inside the BOK center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Northern Kentucky Norse have one of the most interesting stories and coaches in the entire country. They became a D1 athletic program by joining the Atlantic Sun Conference soon after in the 15-16 season they became an official D1 athletic program and joined the Horizon league. In their 4 years as an official a D1 program they have made 2 NCAA tournament appearances and an NIT appearance.
The Norse are led by their all-time leading scorer Senior Forward Drew McDonald who averages 19.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.9 APG. Head Coach John Brannen has this Norse team rolling with a 26-8 overall record and leading them to a Horizon League title they split with Wright State. Not to mention they are 39th in the country in scoring at 79.1 PPG, 24th in Field Goal percentage, 69th in 3-point percentage and 7th in assist which allows them to have 4 guys averaging over 11 PPG.
This will be a big test to start of the tournament for the Red Raiders as every Tech player on the floor will have to guard their man effectively, especially due to how many 3s the Norse shoot. “We know a lot of times in this tournament upsets happen from 3s. In this tournament anything can happen, teams get hot. They’re a really good shooting team. We’re going to have to defend the 3-point line as part of our game plan to defend the 3-point line.” Senior Guard Matt Mooney.
If the Red Raiders can stay discipline on defense and stick to their guns offensively, they will advance to the round of 32 and face the Buffalo Bulls or the Arizona State Sun Devils.
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