Trevon Faulkner never let the trophy go.
When the players on the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team arrived back on campus Wednesday afternoon as newly crowned Horizon League Tournament champions, NKU’s most veteran player carried the trophy with him.
It stayed with him as he got off the bus, greeted dozens of fans who came to cheer on the team, and stayed in his arms as he went onto the court in Truist Arena and stood for media interviews.
Faulkner, a fifth-year senior who enters the NCAA Tournament with 1,624 career points, is known as a serious competitor. But he was all smiles while holding that trophy, which is his third with the Norse (2018 and 2019).
“We've had great success over the years,” he said. “Even my first couple of years, going back-to-back. The community is great here and the fans, I love it and I think we are getting noticed.”
A look at the Norse in 'The Big Dance':NKU basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament
NKU returned to Highlands Heights from Indianapolis after winning the Horizon League tournament final Tuesday night over Cleveland State, 63-61.
The win was NKU’s fourth league tournament championship in the past seven seasons. The Norse will play in the NCAA Tournament next week, and their opponent and destination will be announced in the bracket reveal Sunday evening.
Sam Vinson and Trey Robinson, local stars, living dream with NKU in NCAA Tournament
“As a kid, I would always watch this tournament like I'm sure the rest of the team did,” said sophomore Sam Vinson, a Highlands High School graduate. “It was always a dream of mine growing up to play in March, playing the tournament, and it still really hasn't hit me yet that we're going to go do that. It's a great feeling and I'm super excited to go play and just have fun. “
Starter Trey Robinson, a Hamilton (Ohio) High School graduate, grew up in the college basketball hotbed which is Greater Cincinnati. And he loves being a part of it now.
“It's something I always dreamed of,” he said. “So it's surreal just being here. I came here because I thought we could do this and to finally get it done in my third year is exciting.”
NKU played in the NCAA Tournament in 2017, losing to Kentucky in the first round, then lost to Texas Tech in the first round in 2019. The Norse also won the conference tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it in 2020, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
March Madness special for NKU coach Darrin Horn
This is the first time head coach Darrin Horn will coach the Norse in the tournament, and the first time every Norse player other than Faulkner will play in the NCAA Tournament.
“For our university and community, this is a really big deal to be a part of March Madness officially,” Horn said. “In 2020 it was literally taken away from us with the pandemic, so they have the opportunity to actually be a part of it and play, and it's something that's really special for all of these guys.”
Horn took over a program that a lot of success in Division II, finishing as NCAA national runner-up twice, and he took over when the Norse were transitioning from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Horizon League.
“You're looking at a program that, going back to the 90s, was playing for national championships,” Horn said. “So Northern Kentucky University has got a great tradition of winning in March. We've been fortunate to be able to keep that going and stay at the top of the league. That doesn't happen without university commitment. It doesn't happen without a lot of really good players. The players are the ones that make the plays in March that matter on both ends of the floor and our guys stepped up and did that.”
NKU holding public watch party on Selection Sunday
The Norse are planning a public watch party for the bracket reveal Sunday but have not finalized the details. Bracketologists expect NKU to be a 15 or 16 seed in the tourney, meaning that like their previous two trips to the Dance, the Norse would play a big-name program and be a decided underdog. But that doesn’t bother them.
“Yeah, it's like, why not us?” Robinson said. “Why can't we steal a game or two? You never know what can happen. It's just exciting to be a part of it.”
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