Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Nov. 19, 2012)
On the Schedule [all times ET]
Monday, Nov. 19
Youngstown State vs. North Dakota State3 4:30 p.m.
UIC vs. Iona5 5 p.m.
Cleveland State vs. Alabama-Huntsville2 5 p.m.
Milwaukee at Arkansas-Little Rock1 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 20
Youngstown State vs. James Madison3 4:30 p.m.
Cleveland State at Robert Morris2 7:30 p.m.
Green Bay at Idaho 10:05 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 21
Wright State vs. Central Michigan8 6 p.m.
Youngstown State at Duquesne3 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 23
Chicago State at Valparaiso4 8:05 p.m.
Wright State vs. Idaho State8 9:45 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 24
Bethune-Cookman/Nebraska-Omaha at Valparaiso4 TBA
Detroit at Miami 2 p.m.
Southeast Missouri at UIC 4 p.m.
Loyola at Northern Illinois 4 p.m.
Milwaukee vs. Jacksonville1 4:30 p.m.
North Dakota State at Green Bay 8 p.m.
Wright State at Utah8 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 25
Milwaukee vs. Rider1 4:30 p.m.
ON THE SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Nov. 18
Loyola 62, Maryland-Eastern Shore 46
Valparaiso 88, Kent State 83 (ot)
Cal State Fullerton 93, Green Bay 82
Saturday, Nov. 17
Cleveland State 67, Old Dominion 55
UIC 62, Mercer 36
Detroit 85, Drake 79
South Florida 68, Loyola 50
Milwaukee 73, Davidson 68
Nevada 71, Green Bay 69
Friday, Nov. 16
#rv/rv New Mexico 66, UIC 59
Western Michigan 81, Loyola 71
Wright State 56, North Carolina A&T 44
Youngstown State 75, St. Francis (Pa.) 60
Green Bay 66, Southern Utah 54
Thursday, Nov. 15
Nebraska 50, Valparaiso 48
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Valparaiso 69, Northern Illinois 46
St. John’s 77, Detroit 74
Wright State 56, Eastern Illinois 44
#5/5 Michigan 77, Cleveland State 47
Monday, Nov. 12
Cleveland State 79, Bowling Green 73 (ot)
Youngstown State 68, #-/rv Georgia 56
Loyola 64, Rockhurst 41
On the Horizon
Jumpers: Aided by a 23-9 start to the men’s basketball season, the Horizon League is out to a quick start among conference ratings. Pegged 15th to start the year, the Horizon League currently holds a ranking of 12th, making it the largest gainer of any conference through the first full week of basketball.
Through the first 10 days of the season, the Horizon League has not had a losing evening on any night in which at least two teams were playing.
Youngstown State and Wright State are two of the five biggest climbers in Pomeroy’s ratings as well, along with moving into the top 100 of Basketball State’s rankings.
Full Pomeroy and Basketball State analysis of each team is on Page 7 of the Weekly Release.
Are You Experienced?: In March, the Horizon League’s media, coaches and sports information directors voted the youngest First Team All-Horizon League in the conference’s history.
This fall, that entire First Team returns in the Horizon League, making the League the only Division I conference bringing back its full first team.
Two-time Preseason Player of the Year Ray McCallum (Detroit) leads the team, while 2012 Player of the Year Ryan Broekhoff (Valparaiso) will likely challenge McCallum for postseason honors.
Kevin Van Wijk (Valparaiso) joins his teammate on the team, while Kendrick Perry (Youngstown State) and Alec Brown (Green Bay) are both primed for breakout seasons in their junior years.
Favorites: The defending regular season champions, Valparaiso was tabbed the preseason favorite in the Horizon League, earning 40 of 44 first-place votes among the conference’s coaches, media and sports information directors.
Upcoming Games
Horizon League teams are in action every day this week except for Thanksgiving, continuing tournament play. Cleveland State, Valparaiso, UIC, Youngstown State, Milwaukee and Wright State will all participate in MTEs this week -- the Vikings continue the NIT Season Tip-Off on Monday and Tuesday; the Crusaders wrap the the Joe Cipriani Nebraska Classic; the Flames close the Paradise Jam; the Penguins resume play in the Legends Classic; and the Panthers head to the Hoops for Hope Classic over the holiday; and the Raiders head to Salt Lake City for the Utah Invitational.
Horizon League teams will meet Power 6 conference members just twice this week, beginning with Detroit’s trip to Miami on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN3). Wright State will take on Utah that same day (9:30 p.m. ET). To this point in the season, the Horizon League is 1-4 in those meetings thus far.
The Week That Was
H orizon League teams knocked off two teams tabbed to win its respective conferences. Milwaukee (picked 6th in the Horizon) beat Davidson, 73-68, picked to win the Southern Conference, on Saturday. Earlier that day, UIC (picked 8th) drubbed Mercer, 62-38, who was chosen to win the Atlantic Sun.
League Notes
The Horizon League is ranked 12th by Ken Pomeroy (KenPom.com), up from its preseason prediction of 15th.
For the first time since joining the Horizon League, Valparaiso was tabbed the preseason favorite in the Horizon League.
The defending regular-season champions, Valparaiso earned three points in the Associated Press preseason poll.
The Horizon League is the lone conference in the country returning its entire All-League First Team from a year ago.
Cleveland State Vikings (3-1)
The Vikings forced Old Dominion into an 0-for-10 performance from three-point range. It was the 16th time in program history that a team failed to make a three-pointer against the Vikings.
Cleveland State’s 79-70 overtime victory over Bowling Green on Monday was its first overtime game in 170 games. The last time the Vikings played an OT game prior to Monday was Nov. 17, 2007, a 69-66 win over Florida State.
The Vikings’ five starters have scored in double figures in three of its four games this year (Grambling, Old Dominion, Bowling Green). Cleveland State is 3-0 in those games.
Sophomores Marlin Mason and Charlie Lee notched their first career double-doubles in Monday’s win over Bowling Green. Mason had 11 points and a career-best 14 boards, while Lee finished with 14 points and a career-best five assists.
Among Horizon League players used on at least 20 percent of possessions, Lee ranks first in the Horizon League with a 120.4 offensive rating. Lee has been used on 21-percent of Cleveland State’s possessions.
Head coach Gary Waters won his 296th career game with Saturday’s win over Old Dominion. Waters isgned a seven-year contract with Cleveland State just prior to the season tipping off.
Throughout Waters’ tenure with the Vikings, Cleveland State has hung its hat on defense. The Vikings effective defensive field-goal percentage of 43.6 ranks 91st nationally.
One of the keys to Cleveland State’s 3-1 start has been its ability to hold onto the ball. With a turnover rate of 16.2 percent, the Vikings are 36th in the country.
Detroit Titans (2-1)
Senior forward Doug Anderson has scored 20 or more points in two of the first three contests including a career-high 26 points along with 10 rebounds against Drake. On the young season, Anderson is averaging 19.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 2.0 spg.
Junior guard Ray McCallum has scored 20 or more points in all three games this season, putting up 20 in Saturday’s win over Drake. Through three games, the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year is averaging 21.0 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 rpg and 2.3 spg.
The Titans will begin a three game road swing this weekend as Detroit will face Miami (Nov. 24), Bowling Green (Nov. 27) and Pitt (Dec. 1) before returning home to face Toledo (Dec. 5). Detroit’s games at Miami and Pitt will be carried on ESPN3.
Detroit has now won 10 straight games at home dating back to last season. The Titans last loss at Calihan Hall came against Valpo on Jan. 6, 2012.
The Titans continue to play at one of the country’s quicker paces, posting an adjusted tempo of 69.8 possessions per game, the 46th-quickest rate in the nation.
Like Cleveland State, Detroit has been one of the nation’s best teams in terms of taking care of the ball. The Titans’ 16.6 turnover percentage is 42nd in the country.
Green Bay Phoenix (2-2)
Green Bay went 1-2 at the World Vision Classic, cruising past Southern Utah in the opener before suffering a buzzer-beating loss to host Nevada. The Phoenix ran into a hot-shooting Cal State Fullerton squad to close the tournament.
Alec Brown ended his sophomore year with a Green Bay single-season record 89 blocks, including at least one block in 27 of 30 games. With four last week, Brown is 64 shy of matching the Horizon League’s all-time record of 228.
Brown is the only returning player in the country to have averaged 13+ points, 8+ rebounds and 3+ blocks per game last year.
With Brown and burly forward Brennan Cougill up front, Green Bay poses a sizeable advantage on the boards. Green Bay’s 41.8 offensive rebound percentage is 34th nationally, while the Phoenix have allowed an offensive board in just 26.2 of its defensive stands, ranking 54th.
Green Bay broke the program record for free throws made in a game (41), breaking 31-year old record of 37 set against Northland on Feb. 23, 1980. Sykes’ 17-for-19 effort at the line set a new individual Phoenix record for made free throws.
The free-throw effort has helped Green Bay build a 54.3 free-throw attempt/field-goal attempt ratio, the 25th-best in the country.
Kam Cerroni ranked eighth nationally with a 66.7-percent true shooting percentage, per KenPom.com, in 2011-12. However, his struggles this year are one reason why the Phoenix are shooting just 20.6-percent from three-point range. The Phoenix will add another shooter, Cole Stefan, at the semester. Stefan was ranked as the 54th ranked shooting guard nationally before attending LaSalle in his freshman season. As a freshman, Stefan played 25 games, including one start, making three or more shots from long range in five different games.
Loyola Ramblers (3-2)
In its 10 victories under the direction of Porter Moser, Loyola has allowed a meager 49.5 points per game, including 45.7 in 2012-13.
Senior forward Ben Averkamp became the just the 19th player in the 95-year history of Loyola men’s basketball to rack up over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for his career. Averkamp is the 141st player in Horizon League history to achieve the feat.
When Loyola travels to Northern Illinois Saturday (Nov. 24) it will be facing its third opponent from the Mid-American Conference. The Ramblers own a 62-50 victory over Toledo to their credit and suffered an 81-71 loss to Western Michigan.
Freshman forward Matt O’Leary’s 30 points through the Ramblers’ first three games was the most by a Loyola true freshman since the 2005-06 season. Loyola’s highly touted crop of newcomers, which includes transfer Cully Payne, has made an immediate impact, accounting for 45 percent of the team’s points this season.
Averkamp has been named as one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. The Germantown, Wis.-native was voted Second Team All-League after his junior season, becoming Loyola’s first all-league pick since 2006-07.
This season, Loyola is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1963 NCAA Championship. To this day, Loyola is the only school from the state of Illinois ever to have won the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball title.
With 16 years of experience spread among 16 players, Loyola ranks as the seventh-youngest team in the nation. Averkamp and Jordan Hicks provide the bulk of experience with seven total years entering the 2012-13 season.
Milwaukee Panthers (2-1)
After Davidson went just 4-of-14 from beyond the arc in Milwaukee’s 73-68 win, UWM’s three opponents are a combined 7-of-46 from three-point range this season. The 16.0 defensive three-point field goal percentage ranks sixth nationally; last year, the Panthers were eighth (29.1 percent).
In his first three games with Milwaukee, Jordan Aaron has eclipsed 20 points twice, including a 23-point effort versus Davidson.
Milwaukee has scored better than 70 points in all three of its games.
Senior Demetrius Harris collected a collegiate-best 17 points in Saturday’s win. He also added six rebounds, including the game-clinching board in the waning seconds.
Kyle Kelm scored 11 points off the bench, his second double-figure effort in three games this season.
Thierno Niang collected 12 rebounds, the second double-figure rebounding effort by a Panther this season.
The Panthers have won 20 of their last 21 games at the Klotsche Center.
UIC Flames (2-1)
A year after bringing in nine newcomers to the roster, UIC adds eight newcomers to its ranks. Overall, UIC returns 65 percent of its scoring from the 2011-12 campaign.
Senior point guard Gary Talton has dished out 14 assists against just three turnovers through UIC’s first three games of the season, an assist/turnover ratio of 4.7. During the Paradise Jam, Talton is averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 40 percent (9-22) from the field.
Junior forward Hayden Humes is off to a blistering start through UIC’s first three games. The Valparaiso, Ind., native is shooting 57.5 percent (15-26) from the field, and 57.1 percent (8-14) from three-point range.
UIC’s stingy defensive effort has certainly been notable early this season. The Flames are holding their opponents to just a 36.1 percent effort from the field, and a 24.4 percent output from three-point range. Along with limiting the opposition to just 51.3 points per game, UIC has also forced its foes into an average of 15.3 turnovers per game. The Flames are also averaging 7.3 steals per game entering Monday’s contest against Iona.
In all three of its games, UIC has seen at least three players score in double figures. The staples have been senior point guard Talton and Humes, who have posted double-digit scoring outputs in each of the Flames’ contests. Entering Monday’s game against Iona, seven players are averaging at least 3.3 points per game, including four players that are scoring 9.0 points per game or more.
Valparaiso Crusaders (3-1)
Headed to the free-throw line down 75-72 with 7.2 seconds left, Valparaiso had just a 7.5-percent chance of winning. But after making the first free throw, Erik Buggs’ second came off the iron, where it was batted into Kevin Van Wijk’s hands. Van Wijk’s layup sent the game to overtime, where Valparaiso collected a key road win at Kent State, 88-83. The overtime win was the third straight OT win for the Crusaders.
Valparaiso’s 57.7 effective field-goal percentage comes in 20th in the country.
Entering the game with a 54.2-percent mark from three-point range, Valparaiso shot just 2-of-15 from long range in its 50-48 loss at Nebraska. The Crusaders were also without point guard Erik Buggs down the stretch due to injury.
Ryan Broekhoff tallied the best efficiency-per-possession rating of any starter in ESPN’s Tip Off Marathon, cooly collecting 20 points, 13 rebounds and 0.533 efficiency/possession rating in Valpo’s 69-46 rout of Northern Illinois.
Broekhoff spent part of the summer playing with the Australia Boomers, participating in national team camp ahead of the Olympics and becoming one of the team’s last cuts ahead of the 30th Olympiad.
Shortly before its season opener, Valparaiso announced that Bobby Capobianco (hernia) will miss the first 4-6 weeks of the year due to surgery.
Wright State Raiders (3-0)
After beating North Carolina A&T, 56-44, Wright State is 3-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
Freshman JT Yoho has emerged as Wright State’s most efficient player, posting a 0.391 eff/poss rating through first three collegiate games.
One of the key factors for Wright State’s early success has been its defensive rebounding. The Raiders have allowed offensive rebounds on just 22.7 percent of its defensive possessions, the 17th-best rate in the country.
A season after opening the year as the sixth-youngest team in the country, the Raiders are once again the sixth-youngest team in the nation. Wright State has 15 players with a total of 14 years of collegiate experience. The Raiders are one of a handful of teams to open the year without a senior on their roster.
Wright State returns just 36.9 percent of its scoring from a year ago; the Raiders return six letterwinners from last year, led by point guard Reggie Arceneaux.
In his two years as Wright State’s head coach, Donlon has hung his hat on defense. Last year, the Raiders were fourth in the country at defensive turnover rate, turning opponents over 25.6-percent of the time. In 2010-11, the team ranked 12th at 24.3-percent, per KenPom.com. Wright State has not been outside the top 20 in the category in each of the last four seasons.
Youngstown State Penguins (3-0)
Youngstown State has started 3-0 for the second straight year, rolling past St. Francis (Pa.), 75-60, in the Penguins’ home opener.
One of the keys for YSU has been its bench. The Penguins’ reserves are contributing 25.3 ppg, 34.1-percent of the team’s total. Last year, those figures were 13.1 percent and 8.8 ppg.
The Penguins recorded their first win over a SEC opponent, routing Georgia, 68-56. Kendrick Perry rebounded from a bout of food poisoning to post 23 points for the Penguins.
Senior Damian Eargle posted his first double-double of the year, collecting 10 points and 10 boards, adding 3 blocks.
Allen now has 143 career 3-pointers. Allen needs just 56 more to break the record of 198 set by Craig Haese from 1997-2001. Allen is one shy of moving into sixth all-time.
Last year, Youngstown State was among the nation’s most reliant teams on the three-pointer. 38.1 percent of YSU’s total points came via the three, the eighth-highest mark in the nation. 40.8 percent of the Penguins’ attempts were three-pointers, ranking 28th nationally.