Don Owen: NKU dispatches nemesis Cleveland State, now focuses on Friday showdown at Wright State

While shedding the tag of “The guy who replaced John Brannen,” Northern Kentucky head coach Darrin Horn has brought a different approach to Highland Heights this season. He’s also stayed away from talking about last year’s NKU results — good or bad — against Horizon League opponents.

That is, until Cleveland State visited BB&T Arena this past Saturday.

You remember, the same Cleveland State program that’s been an irritating nemesis for NKU. The Cleveland State squad that eliminated NKU from the Horizon League Tournament in a shocker two years ago, followed by a stunner at BB&T Arena last season to spoil the Norse’s Senior Night. Remember those two games?

“I knew about the (Cleveland State) game from last year,” Horn said during Saturday’s postgame press conference. “This is the first time I’ve mentioned anything [to the players] from last year, because philosophically I don’t believe in that.”

Whatever Horn said to the players, it worked. NKU rolled to a 75-49 win over Cleveland State on Saturday night. But his message wasn’t just about a Vikings team that entered those previous two games as enormous underdogs.

“The point wasn’t about Cleveland State,” Horn said. “The point was, ‘How do you lose those games?’ You lose those games by not being ready to play. Or by overlooking someone, or thinking (a win) is just going to happen. By our players’ own admission, that’s something they struggled with last year.

“I did mention the Cleveland State game from last year. It was less about Cleveland State and more of a reminder that we’ve done a really good job of being ready to play every night. Let’s not get away from that.”

NKU didn’t. The Norse scored 18 unanswered points in the first half and cruised to the win. But Horn’s team also didn’t look ahead to this week’s showdown with Wright State — even though the temptation was there.

“I asked the players in the locker room, ‘How many of you have had someone ask you about the Wright State game?’ before we played Cleveland State,” Horn noted. “You can’t play your best if you’re not focused on the opponent you’re playing. I think it’s a credit to our guys that they’ve done that.”

NKU’s sole focus is now on Wright State, which will play host to the Norse at 9 p.m. Friday in Fairborn, Ohio. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. It’s become the top rivalry in the Horizon League in a very short time. And this contest is a first-place showdown, with NKU trailing the Raiders by a game in the standings.

NKU is 14-6 overall with five straight victories, and the Norse are 6-2 in Horizon League play. Wright State is 17-4 overall, 7-1 in the Horizon League. The Raiders own a commanding 24-12 lead in the all-time series.

NKU is 1-3 at the Nutter Center since joining the Horizon League, including an 81-77 setback a year ago. The Norse saw a 16-point lead (43-27) vanish in that loss as Bill Wampler poured in a career-high 29 points to ignite the Wright State comeback. They were also forced to watch Raiders big man Loudon Love do his best Hulk Hogan flexing routine after pulling down a rebound in the final seconds of the win.

That’s something Horn won’t have to remind his players about.

•So, what’s the key to Friday’s showdown? NKU needs to keep Wright State off the glass and limit Love’s touches on the inside. The Raiders are No. 2 nationally in total rebounds (870) and have five players averaging at least 4.2 boards per contest. Love, a 6-foot-9, 270-pound inside force, averages 9.9 rebounds per game and is virtually unstoppable in the lane. He is scoring 15.1 points per contest.

•Which NKU players will defend Love? Silas Adheke (5.3 rebounds per game) and Adrian Nelson (6.1 rpg) will have the arduous task of containing Love inside. Nelson enters Friday having recorded double-figure rebounding totals in four straight games. With leading rebounder Dantez Walton still sidelined with an injury, the 6-foot-7 sophomore will need another big game on the glass. Nelson and Adheke must avoid foul trouble, something that will be difficult if Love gets position in the paint.

•Which Wright State player has quietly hurt NKU in the past? That would be senior guard Cole Gentry, who seems to thrive on hitting clutch shots against the Norse. Gentry averages 11.2 points per game and is 38-for-90 (42.2 percent) from 3-point range. He’s also made 92.1 percent of his free throws.

•Who’s the most impressive newcomer on the Wright State roster? That would be 6-foot-6 freshman Tanner Holden, who averages 10.9 points per game. Holden also pulls down 7.0 rebounds per contest and grabbed a career-high 17 boards against Toledo.

•How does NKU pull off a win Friday? It will take a lot of 3-pointers going through the Nutter Center nets. NKU ranks 11th nationally in 3-point attempts (541) and 21st in made triples (178). Plus, Tyler Sharpe is sizzling from beyond the arc at the moment. He averaged 25.5 points per game in a pair of wins last week and drained 67 percent (12-of-18) from 3-point range.

•How physical is Wright State? The Raiders rank fourth nationally in total free-throw attempts (482) and 15th in makes (318) at the charity stripe. If Wright State gets to the line, they don’t miss many freebies.

•Since all 10 teams automatically are in the Horizon League Tournament, what’s really at stake Friday? The top two seeds in the Horizon league receive double-byes into the tournament semifinals at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The remaining eight teams will battle it out in two prior rounds at campus sites, with the two survivors advancing to the semifinals against the two top seeds.

The other benefit to winning the regular-season title (and being the No. 1 seed) is being assured of a berth in the NIT. Wright State was the No. 1 seed last year (even though NKU shared the regular-season title) and played in the NIT after losing to the Norse in the Horizon League Tournament championship game.

•What kind of crowd is expected on Friday? When these two teams met last year in the Nutter Center, a crowd of 6,233 witnessed the showdown. An estimated 1,000 NKU fans also made the short trip north to Fairborn, Ohio.