NKU 93, Wofford 83
Truist Arena | November 26, 2025
Buckle up. This one felt more like a football game to start than a basketball game. For twenty chaotic first-half minutes, the referees blew their whistles for sixteen Norse fouls resulting in thirty—THIRTY—Wofford free throws. This resulted in seven Norse players picking up two or more fouls before the break. At one point it looked like the game plan was “draw a foul, score, repeat” for the Terriers, who racked up 22 of their 43 first-half points from the charity stripe.
At the break, NKU led by 2. Norse locker room vibe: somewhere between furious and fired-up. And then the second half happened. NKU flipped the switch. The whistles quieted, the defense stiffened, and the offense continued to surge along. Only one Norse player (Donovan Oday, who, yet again came off the bench to lead the Norse in scoring) eventually fouled out. Everyone else danced on the edge and never fell off. The result? A 10-point victory over a Wofford team that came in as a near-mirror image in the analytics.
- Donovan Oday dropped a cool, ruthless 27 points on a very efficient night—7-11 from the floor, 2-2 from three, and a stone-cold 11-11 from the line. Five boards, a block, a steal, one lone turnover. Ice in his veins.
- Dan Gherezgher lit it up for 21, continuing to surge as the season moves along.
- LJ Wells was everywhere: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and the kind of two-way force that makes coaches grin in their sleep.
- Freshman Donovan Rakotonanahary played 15 minutes impressing me with —9 points, 5 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, zero turnovers. Kid’s got dawg in him.
Four double-figure scorers. Bench spark. Zero panic. That’s the 2025 Norse identity taking shape right in front of us.
KenPom Says Hello
Post-win, the Norse jump to No. 205 overall. Offense rolling along at 207th, defense at 206th, tempo a solid 152nd. Translation: NKU is enjoying some pace this season, while choking opposing offenses by slowing them down to a standstill. Still some leaks to patch—defensive rebounding (255th) and sending opponents to the line way too often (315th)—but when you’re 3-0 in the most crucial part of your non-con, nitpicking feels greedy.
Next Up: Boston University rolls into Highland Heights on Saturday. KenPom has the Norse as 78-73 favorites with a 67% chance to move to 4-0 in this brutal stretch.Three down, one to go. The streak is alive. The belief is soaring. Horizon League play is lurking on the horizon (next week), and these Norse look hungry. Buckle up again—this ride is just getting started. I’ll be on site for almost all of the Norse’s remaining home fixtures, and a couple of the road games as well!
