Despite gaining a school-record 26 wins, tying for its conference title and winning eight of its last 10 games, NKU is not the favorite to advance from the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional, which opens tonight.
It's a familiar predicament for the Norsemen.
A 21-6 NKU squad entered last year's regional an underdog as well, forced to play host to Southern Indiana for the right to advance to the Elite Eight. That team came one win away from a national championship, falling to Fort Hays State in the finals, 70-63.
''We're basically where we want to be,'' NKU coach Ken Shields said. ''We would have liked to have been the host, but we're going to make the best of it. We're in a position to be able to win two games to move on.''
NKU (26-4), the region's No. 2 seed, has a bye in tonight's first-
round action at the University of Indianapolis's Nicoson Hall. Quincy College (19-8) and Southern Indiana University (23-4) meet at 5:30 p.m. to determine NKU's opponent in a 5:30 p.m. game Friday.
It may be only the third seed, but Southern Indiana made as strong a case for the top seed as either of the two teams ahead of it. The Eagles come off overtime victories last week against both NKU and top-seed Indianapolis (23-4).
''I would have liked for them to be in the other bracket,'' Shields said. ''But I'm fine with playing Southern Indiana. We beat them by 17 at home.''
If the Norse win Friday, a potential showdown with the host looms on Saturday. Indianapolis won both its meetings with NKU during the season, but the Great Lakes Valley Conference's first-place team all season closed it by dropping three of five contests.
Experience is on NKU's side as it guns for a return to the Elite Eight. Four starters - senior guard Paul Cluxton (15.3 points per game), senior forward LaRon Moore (16.1 ppg), senior guard Shannon Minor (10.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Kevin Listerman (6.0 ppg) - saw significant action in last year's run.
Cluxton, who last week broke the NCAA record for consecutive free throws made, is now working on the first-ever perfect season. He stands at 81-for-81.
Previous tourney stories
NKU FORCED TO GO ON THE ROAD March 3, 1997
