NKyTribune staff
The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team has been crowned the 2017 Horizon League Tournament Champion after defeating No. 10 seed Milwaukee, 59-53, on Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
The Norse have earned an automatic NCAA Tournament berth in their first year on eligibility after being granted full Division I status in August.
No. 4-seeded NKU (24-10) was led by Lavone Holland II’s game-high 20 points. Drew McDonald posted his 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
En route to the championship, the Norse defeated No. 5 seed Wright State on Sunday in the quarterfinals, 82-77, and took down No. 9 seed Youngstown State, 84-74, in the semifinals on Monday.
The Norse can now sit back until Sunday evening when first round seedings and pairings in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be announced
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi predicts the Norse will be a 15 seed and will play No. 2 seed Louisville in Indianapolis in the first round.
Another projection has the Norse playing Kentucky in the first round.
Predicting seedings and matchups before the field is set is an iffy proposition at best.
Nonetheless, the NCAA looks to generate interest in games that seedings indicate will not be competitive. Matching one of Kentucky’s most storied programs against a team from the Commonwealth making its first appearance, at a site located less than a two-hour drive from both campuses, would certainly accomplish that goal and draw a lot of fans as well.
The Norse are just the seventh team all-time to reach the NCAA tourney in their first year eligible.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- Lavone Holland II was the Horizon League Tournament MVP. The junior totaled 56 points and 16 assists across NKU’s three games.
- Drew McDonald was named to the All-Tournament Team after registering 48 total points and 27 rebounds throughout the tournament.
STAT LEADERS
- Holland sank 20 points for the second-straight game. In addition to his game-high 20 points, Holland dished out four assists and pulled down six rebounds and posted two steals and a block.
- McDonald registered his 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
- Cole Murray added eight points, two assists and two blocks.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- NKU opened the game on a 13-4 run and led the rest of the way. McDonald drained seven points in the opening five minutes.
- The Norse kept Milwaukee at a seven-point distance until the Panthers rode a 9-2 run to make it a two-point game at 22-20 with 8:39 left in the half.
- A Holland triple broke up the run and extended NKU’s lead back to five at 25-20.
- NKU built up a game-high nine-point lead with 2:14 remaining but struggled to connect from the field throughout the remainder of the period.
- Milwaukee posted six-straight points to end the half to cut the NKU advantage to 31-28 at halftime.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Milwaukee came back within two of the Norse with 18:12 to play, but back-to-back treys from McDonald and Murray extended the NKU lead to 39-31 two minutes later.
- A 3:18 scoring drought from NKU allowed Milwaukee to come back within three at 41-38 with 12:05 left.
- A triple from Holland cushioned NKU’s lead back to 44-38.
- NKU’s lead fluctuated between four and six points from the 11:46 mark to the 1:11 mark as the teams traded buckets.
- Milwaukee came within three points of NKU twice within the final minute, but a McDonald jumper and a Holland free throw helped the Norse keep their distance.
GAME NOTES
- The Norse are 19-3 when at least one player reaches 20 points or more in a game.
- Holland now has 111 points and 37 assists across the last six contests.
- The Norse won the rebounding battle 38-30 as they improve to 21-5 when out-rebounding their opponent.
Northern Kentucky University media services contributed to this story