The Norse have started 2-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season after Wednesday’s victory over South Dakota. The 102-94 victory was propelled by a trio of Norse players with 20+ points. Noah Pagotto led the way with 30 points, Willie Foster and Eric Acker scored 22. This was the first time 3 NKU players have scored 20 or more points since Feb. 8, 2024 against Oakland. Eric Acker added in 12 assists for a double-double to lead the way. That is a Norse Division I record for single game assists. 

If you want to revisit the game flow, you can check out the live blog here:

Revisiting the Keys to the Game:

Rebounding: NKU won the rebounding battle 29-26. However, with the offensive explosion, there weren’t many missed shots to find throughout the night.

Shooting: NKU shot 9-14 from deep, and 35-56 from the field overall. That kind of a performance is going to win a lot of games. NKU clearly emphasized getting the ball inside tonight and it worked well for them, creating clean looks consistently.

Turnovers and pace: NKU put up 102 points. The game featured a ridiculous 78 possessions and was played at breakneck speed for most of the night. A season ago, NKU broke 78 possessions just 5 times, with one of those being in overtime.

Depth and Conditioning: This goes right along with key three. However, NKU had 3 guys who played 35 plus minutes tonight (Acker, Pagotto, and Davis-Ray). They played 9 guys total, though Ryan Tolliver and JJ Apathjang played seven minutes total.

NKU got significant contributions from BJ Davis-Ray tonight, who had a much better motor on defense, and was much more efficient than Monday. He finished with 15/5/1 and 2 fouls. Donovan Rakotonanahary was vital in his 15 minutes with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Takeaways:

NKU is going to play fast, and they’re going to score in droves all season and they’re going to be extraordinarily fun to watch.

Willie Foster is the front runner for Horizon League freshman of the year.

Eric Acker and Noah Pagotto are playing like first team all-conference guys.

Overall, NKU has been extremely underrated this offseason, and the vision is clear for this team.

No, South Dakota or UTEP aren’t elite opponents, however, both are teams who aren’t pushovers.

The Norse will now turn their attention to Texas A&M Friday.