The 2018–19 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky, United States. Established in 1968, it is the youngest of Kentucky's eight public universities. The university has seven constituent colleges in arts and science ...

(NKU) during the

2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2018. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded with the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 8, 2019. Pract ...

. The Norse, led by fourth-year head coach

John Brannen John Brannen may refer to: * John Brannen (basketball) (born 1974), American basketball coach * John Brannen (singer) John Brannen (born March 19, 1952) is an American roots rock/ heartland rock, singer-songwriter whose song "Somebody" appea ...

, played their home games at

BB&T Arena Truist Arena, formerly The Bank of Kentucky Center and BB&T Arena, is a 9,400-seat multi-purpose arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky, on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. The arena was topped off on June 21, 2007, and the first event ...

Highland Heights, Kentucky Highland Heights is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,662 at the 2020 census. Highland Heights is home to Northern Kentucky University and General Cable, a Fortune 500 company whose pre ...

as members of the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

. They finished the season 26–9, 13–5 in Horizon League play, to win a share of the regular season championship with Wright State. They defeated Detroit Mercy,

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, and Wright State to be champions of the Horizon League tournament. They received the Horizon League's automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

. During the season, forward Drew McDonald became the school's all-time career leader in both scoring and rebounds. He passed LaRon Moore's previous record of 859 rebounds in a December 8 loss to

Eastern Kentucky Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

, and passed Craig Sanders' previous record of 2,007 points in a win over Green Bay in the team's final regular-season game on March 2.

Previous season

The Norse finished the 2017–18 season 22–10, 15–3 in Horizon League play, to win the Horizon League regular season championship. They were upset in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament by No. 8 seed

Cleveland State Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school th ...

. As a regular season league champion who failed to win their league tournament, they received an automatic bid to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

where they lost in the first round to

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Roster

Schedule and results

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Awards and honors

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

*Honorable Mention: Drew McDonald

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball seasons

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is an urban area in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky consisting of the southern part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The three main counties of the area are Boone County, Kentucky, Boone, Kent ...