NKU seeded 14th, to meet No. 3 seed Texas Tech in opening round of NCAA Tournament on Friday

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

Horizon League champion Northern Kentucky University will meet Texas Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s West Region on Friday afternoon at Tulsa, Okla. The game is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. and will be telecast on TNT.

The 14th-seeded Norse enter the NCAA Tournament with a 26-8 record. NKU captured the Horizon League’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning “Motor City Madness” on Tuesday night with a 77-66 triumph over Wright State.

Texas Tech is the No. 3 seed in the West Region and owns a 26-6 record. The Red Raiders also won a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship for the first time in program history.

NKU is led by Horizon League Player of the Year Drew McDonald, who averages 19.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. McDonald was also named most valuable player of the Horizon League Tournament.

The Norse also feature junior guard Tyler Sharpe, who averages 14.1 points per game and is 86-for-228 from 3-point range. NKU sophomore guard Jalen Tate is scoring 14.0 points per contest and has dished out a team-leading 122 assists.

This is the second time in three years the Norse have earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. NKU battled the University of Kentucky in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, with the second-seeded Wildcats holding off the 15th-seeded Norse, 79-70.

Texas Tech features Big 12 Player of the Year Jarrett Culver, who averages 18.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. The Red Raiders hold opponents to just 36.8 percent shooting from the field and 59.3 points per contest.

This will mark the second time NKU has squared off against Texas Tech on the basketball court. During the Norse’s inaugural season in Division I, NKU dropped a 75-69 decision to Texas Tech on Dec. 4, 2012, in Lubbock, Texas.

Jaye Crockett scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Texas Tech in that victory. Texas Tech shot 58.7 percent from the field and finished with a 36-18 advantage in rebounds. The Red Raiders won despite making just 48.1 percent of their free throws, including 10-for-20 shooting in the second half.

Eshaunte Jones scored 16 points to lead NKU, while Tyler White came off the bench and added 14 points. Jack Flournoy finished with 13 points for the Norse, who rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second half to make it close at the end.

Chad Jackson scored 13 points and collected four steals for NKU, which played in the state of Texas for the first time in the program’s history.