Chances for Early Statements Throughout Weekend
Horizon League Weekly Release (Jan. 6, 2011)
Horizon League TV Schedule, Weekend of Jan. 6, 2011 (All times Eastern):
Thursday, Jan. 6
Wright State at UIC, 8 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Detroit at Loyola, 8 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Friday, Jan. 7
#rv/rv Cleveland State at #rv/rv Butler, 7 p.m. -- ESPNU
Youngstown State at Valparaiso, 7 p.m. -- ESPN3.com
Saturday, Jan. 8
Detroit at UIC, 2 p.m. -- Horizon League Game of the Week (check local listings)
Wright State at Loyola, 4 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Milwaukee at Green Bay, 8 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Sunday, Jan. 9
Youngstown State at #rv/rv Butler, 2 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
#rv/rv Cleveland State at Valparaiso, 2:35 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- By Sunday evening, the Horizon League standings may be a tad less jumbled. Several teams have chances to record early-league statement wins and begin to separate themselves from a crowded field, beginning Thursday night.
The weekend marks the first regular appearances for League members on TV, as #rv/rv Cleveland State (15-1, 4-0 Horizon) heads to #rv/rv Butler (10-5, 2-1 Horizon) for a Friday night contest on ESPNU, with the tip coming at 7 p.m. ET. The Vikings have been picking up national headlines with their strong start and will be looking for a statement win in conference play.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are coming off a 24-point loss at Milwaukee (8-8, 3-2 Horizon) on Monday, which snapped a 22-game regular season conference winning streak, the longest in Horizon League history. A home loss to Cleveland State would put the three-time defending regular season champions 2.5 games back of the Vikings after just four League games.
Also on Friday, ESPN3.com will carry Youngstown State's (6-7, 1-3 Horizon) visit to Valparaiso (10-5, 2-1 Horizon). Both teams are coming off of losses from last Saturday and will be looking to avoid picking up a second straight defeat. The Penguins got off to a hot start last weekend, as Ashen Ward dumped in a career-best 26 in a Thursday night win over UIC before YSU fell to Loyola.
Valpo is seeking to get off to better starts in each of the halves than it did in a loss defeat to Butler last week. Early runs buried the Crusaders' chances of completing a comeback, though they were able to close within two possessions midway through the second half.
Saturday will see the Horizon League Game of the Week kick off with Detroit (8-7, 2-1 Horizon) visiting UIC (5-10, 1-3 Horizon). The Titans open the week against Loyola (10-5, 1-3 Horizon) in what could prove to be a crucial matchup between a team trying to climb its way back up the League ladder and a squad still learning to win on the road.
Detroit will be looking to continue its improvement on Saturday, when it meets a Flames team that will have played its first home game in 32 days when they host Wright State (9-6, 2-1 Horizon) on Thursday night. The Raiders hold an 8-0 record at the Nutter Center but are just 1-4 on the road.
The Flames and Titans will feature a matchup of two of the Horizon League's top point guards in Robo Kreps and Ray McCallum, respectively. Kreps is among the most experienced players in the League, climbing into UIC's top 10 in scoring and ranking fifth in the conference with a 16.1 ppg average, while handing out 3.5 assists per game.
McCallum represents one of the bright young stars in the Horizon League, ranking in the top 10 of the League in both scoring (15.7 ppg) and assists (4.7).
Milwaukee, winners of two straight conference games after a torrid-shooting effort in both, heads up I-43 to the Resch Center for an-always entertaining rivalry game with Green Bay (1-3, 7-9 Horizon). After an up-and-down stretch over the last few weeks, the Panthers hope to have hit on a consistent effort and look to carry the momentum of Monday's victory into Saturday night.
While the Panthers were taking care of Butler on Monday, the Phoenix were easing past visiting Houston Baptist to snap a two-game losing skid. The emergence of Jarvis Williams has aided Green Bay of late, giving the Phoenix another scoring option to go along with Rahmon Fletcher, Alec Brown and Bryquis Perine.
The three-point line will be key in the contest, as Milwaukee has hit 27 threes in its last two games; meanwhile, Green Bay ranks last in the Horizon League, allowing its opponents to shoot 41 percent from behind the arc.
Both Butler and Valparaiso wrap up homestands on Sunday afternoon, as the Penguins pay a visit to Hinkle Fieldhouse and the Vikings look to put more distance between themselves and the Crusaders. HorizonLeague.com will carry both contests.
