NKU, Cleveland St. start Horizon play

Northern Kentucky (2-3, 0-0) vs. Cleveland State (4-2, 0-0)

Wolstein Center, Cleveland; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Northern Kentucky and Cleveland State meet in the first Horizon game of the season for both teams. In conference play last season, Northern Kentucky finished with 11 wins and seven losses, while Cleveland State won 16 games and lost four.

BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: The Norse are led by Trevon Faulkner and Sam Vinson. Faulkner has averaged 13.4 points while Vinson has recorded 8.8 points, four assists and 2.2 steals per game. The Vikings have been anchored by seniors D'Moi Hodge and Torrey Patton, who have combined to score 22.5 points per outing.TERRIFIC TREVON: Faulkner has connected on 51.5 percent of the 33 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 17 of 33 over the last five games. He's also made 76.9 percent of his free throws this season.

STREAK STATS: Cleveland State has scored 77.3 points per game and allowed 60 over its four-game home winning streak.

ASSIST RATIOS: The Vikings have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Norse. Cleveland State has an assist on 51 of 88 field goals (58 percent) across its previous three outings while Northern Kentucky has assists on 33 of 76 field goals (43.4 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Cleveland State has committed a turnover on just 16.1 percent of its possessions this season, which is the second-lowest percentage among all Horizon teams. The Vikings have turned the ball over only 11 times per game this season.

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