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Indiana will seek to keep its winning streak alive against the 4-6 Northern Kentucky Norse.

The Hoosiers are coming off a 64-56 victory against Notre Dame and have two buy games before facing Big Ten competition. First up is a Northern Kentucky team that has struggled early in the season.

Head coach Darrin Horn coached his team to an NCAA tournament bid two seasons ago, but just 18-17 since that point. Horn has a young roster, averaging just 1.5 years of experience as a whole.

One thing the Norse like to do is shoot the ball. They attempt 29.5 threes per game but are among the worst at scoring inside the arc in the nation. Their field goal percentage of 40.7 percent puts them in the lowest tier of scoring efficiency among all Division I teams. However, Northern Kentucky has some great shooters who could catch fire at any moment.

Leading scorer is 6-foot-2 guard Marques Warrick is only a sophomore but has already accomplished quite a bit in his young career. He was the 2020-21 Horizon League rookie of the year and found a spot on the All-League third team. He averaged 15.8 points per game last season but is down to 12.8 this season as his efficiency numbers have taken a hit. He's down to 33.6 percent shooting and 31 percent from three. But, in the last three games, he is averaging 21.3 points on 47.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three.

Next to Warrick is reigning second-team all-conference player Trevon Faulkner. The 6-foot-3 senior averages 12.1 points per game after averaging 16.7 last season. He is an outside-dominant player (36.2 percent 3pt) but is shooting just 37.5 percent from the field overall. 65.3 percent of his shot attempts come from deep.

Freshman, 6-foot-5 guard, Sam Vinson is another key contributor, averaging 9.8 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting. Vinson also gets it done on the defensive end, averaging 2.6 steals each matchup.

The two other big-minutes players are point guard Bryson Langdon (6.2 ppg) and guard/forward Adrian Nelson. Nelson is the biggest player in the starting lineup at just 6-foot-7, which could pose some problems going up against Trayce Jackson-Davis.

The Norse go as much as ten deep on any given night, but their main bench contributors are Hubertas Pivorius and David Bohm, who score 9.4 and 5.6 rebounds per game respectively.

NKU's top six scorers are all guards and perimeter players.

G - Bryson Langdon (Sr; 5-9; 170)

Season Stats: 6.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.1 apg

G - Marques Warrick (So; 6-2; 170)

Season Stats: 12.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg

G - Trevon Faulkner (Sr; 6-3; 190)

Season Stats: 12.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.2 apg

G- Sam Vinson (Fr; 6-5; 195)

Season Stats: 9.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.7 apg

G/F - Adrian Nelson (Sr; 6-7; 220)

Season Stats: 7.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg

The point guard play for Indiana. Xavier Johnson has struggled after getting off to a solid start early in the season. His shot selection and turnover-happy style of play have begun to draw the ire of fans and coaching staff alike.

If Johnson continues to play out of control, Rob Phinisee may get more looks in big moments. Phinisee had several clutch plays down the stretch against Notre Dame and finished with six points, five, rebounds, and five assists.

The point guard battle is something to monitor going forward, although an imminent change is not likely. The turnover and shots attempted column will be key to monitor for Johnson moving forward.

With NKU's trigger-happy style of play from the perimeter, it is something to keep an eye on if it starts to get hot from deep. Indiana holds opponents to just a 27.6 percent rate from three this season, one of the best three-point defenses in the country.

Who: Indiana (9-2) vs. Northern Kentucky (4-6)

When: Wednesday, Dec 22nd, 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Bloomington, IN

TV: BTN

Radio: IU Radio Network with Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and Joe Smith

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QUICK HITTERS

• This is the first-ever matchup between Indiana and Northern Kentucky.

• Northern Kentucky attempts the 12th-most threes per game in the country (29.5)

• Northern Kentucky is among the best in the country at turning the ball over -- averaging 10.6 steals per game

• Northern Kentucky's roster has an average height of 6-foot-4

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