All nine League schools represented on season's first NCAA men's basketball statistical charts

Dec. 5, 2006

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Indianapolis, Ind. -- Butler University has taken the national spotlight for the first month of the college basketball season, winning the NIT Season Tip-Off and climbing to 15th in the latest Associated Press national poll with a 9-0 record. But the Horizon League has several other highlights after the NCAA released its inital statistics of the season on Monday (Dec. 4), with all nine teams found somewhere on the various lists.

University of Detroit Mercy senior center Ryvon Covile boasts the League's top individual ranking, standing second in the nation with an average of 12.3 rebounds per game. Covile, who has posted double-doubles in each of the Titans' first seven games this season, trails only All-America candidate Nick Fazekas of the University of Nevada (13.7) on that chart while also ranking among the nation's top 100 players in blocked shots (61st at 2.00 per game) and field-goal percentage (89th at .561).

Butler junior guard A.J. Graves also dots a pair of national charts, standing third with a .980 free-throw percentage. Graves has missed only once in 50 attempts at the charity stripe, putting the junior behind Villanova University's Mike Nardi (19-of-19) and the University of Rhode Island's Jimmy Baron (18-of-18). Graves ranks 88th with a League-leading rate of 2.67 three-pointers per game.

Graves is one of three League entries among the top free-throw shooters, as Loyola University Chicago senior guard Blake Schilb is 32nd in that category at .914 (32-of-35) and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior guard Avery Smith ranks 48th at .897 (.26-of-29). Youngstown State University senior guard Quin Humphrey ranks 69th with his 18.8 points-per-game scoring average, while University of Illinois at Chicago junior forward Othyus Jeffers is 45th in rebounding by pulling down 9.0 caroms per contest. Jeffers' teammate, sophomore forward Scott VanderMeer, provides support up front with an average of 2.25 blocked shots per game which is 49th in the nation.

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay sophomore Terry Evans rates 58th on the rebounding chart at 8.7 boards an outing, with Phoenix teammate Ryan Evanochko 58th with an average of 5.29 assists per game. The Phoenix rates 56th as a team by shooting 39.4 percent fron three-point range.

Butler ranks among the nation's leaders in several categories. The Bulldogs are one of four teams boasting a perfect record through nine games (as of Dec. 3), joining Clemson University, the University of Missouri and Oklahoma State University in that short list. Butler is second only to Northwestern University (9.7) with an average of 10.1 turnovers per game, while only the University of California (.838) has a better mark at the free-throw line than Butler's .814 rating. In addition, Butler stands 14th in scoring defense, allowing only 56.0 points per game, contributing to the team's plus-12.7 points-per-game scoring margin which ranks 61st among the 325 Division I schools.

Loyola also stands among the top teams in scoring margin, starting the week at 97th as the Ramblers have outscored their opponents by an average of 8.2 points per game. The Ramblers lead the League in scoring at 75.4 points per game (92nd in the nation), based on a .482 field-goal percentage which ranks 57th in Division I. In addition, Detroit's rebounding margin of plus-5.0 per game is 64th on that list.

Cleveland State University's strong start is evident in two areas, as the Vikings rank 89th in free-throw shooting (.717) and 96th at 14.6 turnovers per game. The Vikings ranked last in the League with a .649 mark at the line last year but have improved dramatically under new coach Gary Waters. Wright State University ranks 93rd in the nation, collecting 8.25 steals per game.

The latest news in NCAA men's basketball and a complete list of the national leaders can be found online at http://ncaasports.com/basketball/mens. Statistics are updated every Monday afternoon.

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Note: The national team and individual statistical leaders can be found in the PDF version of this release..