Tipoff Notes
Top-seeded Youngstown State takes on fourth-seeded Northern Kentucky in the semifinals of the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, Monday, March 6. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, and the game will be broadcast on 570 WKBN and ESPNU.

Up Next
With a win the Penguins will advance to the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Game at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 7, at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind.

Last Time Out
Youngstown State defeated No, 8 Detroit Mercy, 71-66, in the quarterfinals on March 2. Adrian Nelson led the team with 20 points and seven rebounds while Dwayne Cohill posted 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Brandon Rush added 15 points with three 3-pointers.

Scouting Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky enters the game with a 20-12 overall record and earned the No. 4 seed after posting a 14-6 record in Horizon League play. The Norse advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 5 seed Oakland 81-74 in the quarterfinals on March 2. Marques Warrick leads the Norse with 19.1 points per game while Sam Vinson is averaging 11.4 points per contest. 

The Northern Kentucky Series
This is the 27th meeting between Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky in a series that dates back to 1976. The Norse leads the all-times series, 15-11, but the Penguins won the last contest, 74-56, at Beeghly Center on Feb. 4. In the first meeting this season, Northern Kentucky won in double overtime, 77-73, in Highland Heights, Ky.  

Last Time vs. Northern Kentucky
Youngstown State went on a 19-6 run in the first half and went on to post a convincing 74-56 win over Northern Kentucky on Feb. 4 at Beeghly Center. Adrian Nelson recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and three of his Penguins teammates joined him in double figures.  Brandon Rush tied for game-high honors with 18 points while making four 3-pointers, Dwayne Cohill scored 15, and Malek Green added 13. Youngstown State shot 58.8% for the game, and it made better than 58% in both halves. Defensively, the Penguins held the Norse to 32.2% from the field overall and 25.8% in the second half as they pulled away in front of 3,531 fans. Sam Vinson led NKU with 18 points to match Rush, and Trey Robinson scored 11.

A Win Would...

• Set the program all-time record for most wins in a season with 25.
• Improve YSU's record to 25-8.
• Advance the Penguins to the Horizon League Championship game for the first time.
• Advance the Penguins to the fourth conference championship game in program history and first since 1998.
• Be the 17th tournament win all-time and the 10th Horizon League Tournament victory.
• Be YSU's 12th win over Northern Kentucky and the second straight.
• Be the 221st in Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun's career and his 97th at Youngstown State.
• Make Jerrod Calhoun the third coach in school history to record at least 97 wins.
• Be Jerrod Calhoun's third win over Northern Kentucky.

Guins in the Tourney
Youngstown State has an overall conference tournament Horizon League tournament record of 16-33 dating back to 1983-84. The Penguins own a Horizon League tournament record (2001-02 to present) of 9-21, 4-7 in the Mid-Continent Conference (1994-95 to 2000-01) and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference (1983-84 to 1987-88). The Penguins have been to the Horizon League semifinals once and own a record of 2-6 in the Horizon League quarterfinals. Youngstown State has an all-time semifinals record of 3-3. 

YSU Semifinal Marks
OVC: 2-0 (1984 - W, 65-55 vs. Tennessee Tech; 1985 - W, 79-74 vs. Morehead State)
Mid-Con: 1-2 (1995 - L, 77-52 at Valpo; 1998 - W, 74-60 vs. Oral Roberts; 1999 - L, 72-58 vs. Oral Roberts)
Horizon League: 0-1 (2017 - L, 84-74 vs. Northern Kentucky)

Cohill Class by Himself
With 570 points and 157 assists, senior Dwayne Cohill became the first Youngstown State player since 1971-72 and the second in program history to score at least 500 points and dish out at least 150 assists. The last player to accomplish both was Bill Johnson with 522 points and 239 assists. With 30 more points, Cohill will become the first player in school history to post at least 600 points and 150 assists in the same season.

Guins Set D-I Wins Mark, Tie program record
With the 71-66 win over Detroit Mercy on March 2, Youngstown State set school Division I wins record at 24 and tied the program's all-time wins mark of 24 set in 1963-64. The last time Youngstown State won 20 games in season was in 1997-98.

Double 1K Club
Graduate student Adrian Nelson is now in a very special club. With 19 points and nine rebounds against Milwaukee, Nelson surpassed the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound plateaus for his college career. He now has 1,065 career points and 1,033 career rebounds.

200 3's
Youngstown State has made 259 3-pointers this season to reach 200 3s made for the 12th consecutive full season. The Penguins also made 186 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The streak started in 2010-11 when the Penguins made 235 3-pointers. 

Rush Climbing 3's List
Junior Brandon Rush is quickly climbing the Youngstown State single-season 3-pointers made chart. Rush now has 73 made 3s this season and ranks eighth on the single-season list. He is also just the sixth player in school history to make at least 70 3s in a season.  

More Storylines

• Youngstown State won the first regular-season conference championship in program history with a 15-5 Horizon League mark this season. 
• This is the first time Youngstown State has been the No. 1 seed in a conference tournament.
• Youngstown State tied the program record for most wins in a season with 24 after its 71-66 win over Detroit Mercy in the Horizon League quarterfinals on March 2. The last time Youngstown State won 20 games was in 1997-98 as members of the Mid-Continent Conference (now the Summit League). The last time YSU won 24 games was in 1963-64 when it set he school record.
• Youngstown State has an overall conference tournament Horizon League tournament record of 16-33 dating back to 1983-84. The Penguins own a Horizon League tournament record (2001-02 to present) of 9-21, 4-7 in the Mid-Continent Conference (1994-95 to 2000-01) and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference (1983-84 to 1987-88).
• This is the second time the Penguins have made the Horizon League semifinals. The last time was in 2017 when the Penguins faced Northern Kentucky. The Norse won that contest, 84-74, on March 6, 2017.
• The Penguins also set a program record with 15 conference victories after the win over the Jaguars. The previous record was 12 set in 2021-22. Over the last two seasons, Youngstown State has won 27 conference games.
• Youngstown State tied a pair of school single-game record against IUPUI on Jan. 7. The Penguins tied the school records for most 3-pointers with 18 and 33 assists. The 3-pointer record was set against Oakland in 2013 while the assist mark was set in 1990 against Point Park. This is also the first time in school history the Penguins were credited with at least 30 assists in a game multiple times in a season. YSU had 30 assists against Westminster on Dec. 8.
• Senior Dwayne Cohill eclipsed an historic career-scoring milestone against IUPUI on Jan. 7. Cohill scored 13 points to surpass the 1,000-point scoring plateau and now has 1,267 career points. He also became the 42nd player in YSU history to score 1,000 points after posting 18 against Milwaukee on Feb. 16.
• For the third time this season, senior Dwayne Cohill was named the Horizon League men's basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 26. He scored 26 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor with three 3-pointers. He is the first YSU player to be named league's player of the week three times in a season.
• Senior Bryce McBride set the Youngstown State Division I single-game record with a career-high 15 assists against Westminster on Dec. 8, and became just second player in school history to record a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists.
• Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun picked up the 220th win of his career with the Penguins' 71-66 win over Detroit Mercy on March 2. Calhoun also has 96 wins at Youngstown State, which ranks third on the YSU all-time wins list.
• Youngstown State has put up at least 81 points in 18 of its 32 games and has eclipsed the 90-mark eight times. In those 18 games with at least 81 points, the Penguins are 17-1. The Penguins poured in 90+ points against IUPUI (93-79), Green Bay (95-65), Wright State (91-89), IUPUI (105-74), against Westminster (117-65), against Grace Christian (96-68) and in a 90-72 victory over Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 9 after opening the year with a 92-point performance against Canisius on Nov. 7. 
• The Penguins have been quite efficient from the field in 2022-23 season. Youngstown State is shooting 49.2 percent from the field, six players are making at least 50 percent of their field-goal attempts, and seven are above 47 percent from the floor. The Penguins have also shot at least 50 percent from the field in 18 of their 31 games. YSU is also 17-1 this season when connecting on more than half its shots.
• The Penguins have a quintet of players above or nearing the career 1 ,000-point scoring plateau. Garrett Covington has 1,302 career points while Malek Green, Brandon Rush and Dwayne Cohill have eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this season with 1,370, 1,276 points, and 1,267 points, respectively. Adrian Nelson reached 1,000 career points after scoring 19 against Milwaukee and has 1,065.