Men’s Basketball Schedule:
Loyola at Butler, 7 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Cleveland State at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Youngstown State at Green Bay, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network
UIC at Valparaiso, 8:05 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Being Valentine’s Day, the assumption goes that hearts will be beating out of love. In eight markets, they will do so out of nerves, with so much on the line as the Horizon League men’s basketball season draws closer to its conclusion.
Two of the three teams involved in a three-way tie for third will be in action, while two desperate teams will clash in Milwaukee, one of whom is trying to keep pace with the League leader, also playing tonight.
The first game of the evening takes place at Hinkle Fieldhouse, where Butler (15-12, 9-6 Horizon) will look to build on its 2-0 road trip when Loyola (6-18, 1-13 Horizon) pays a visit.
For the Bulldogs, it was their youth that stepped up on their road trip to Youngstown State and Cleveland State, as Roosevelt Jones helped power the Bulldogs past Cleveland State with a career-high 17 points, including a 7-10 performance at the free throw line. That scoring total topped his previous high of 16 points, which he accomplished three times in Butler’s previous seven games.
And guard Jackson Aldridge, who had just one double-figures scoring performance since Jan. 1, came off the bench and matched his collegiate scoring-high with 15 points at Youngstown State. His 15 points matched the total he compiled in Butler’s victory at Stanford just before Christmas.
Meanwhile, Loyola will turn to its pillars in the post, Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler, as the Ramblers look for back-to-back League wins. Averkamp, returning from injury, keyed Loyola with 17 points in Saturday’s 78-69 victory over UIC. Gibler became just the 18th player in Ramblers history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for his career, grabbing nine boards in the victory.
Tuesday’s meeting will be the 82nd meeting between two of the Horizon League’s charter members. The 81st edition saw a 63-57 decision at Gentile Arena last month. In that game, Joe Crisman and Walt Gibler tallied 14 points apiece for the Ramblers, but it wasn't enough to overcome Ronald Nored's 16-point, six-rebound, nine-assist, three-steal performance that drew high praise from Loyola head coach Porter Moser.
Entering last week atop the Horizon League ladder, Cleveland State (20-6, 10-4 Horizon) saw its hopes of hosting the League Tournament take a hit with a 0-2 effort at home. Now tied in the loss column with Valparaiso and lacking a tie-breaker, a desperate Vikings squad heads to Wisconsin, where they meet a Milwaukee (15-12, 8-7 Horizon) squad licking its wounds from a 0-2 road swing last week.
When the teams first met, it was a battle for the Horizon League lead, but it was Cleveland State who made a statement in an 83-57 victory at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings shot 63.5 percent from the field, leading from start to finish. Milwaukee looked like it might have survived an opening burst from Cleveland State, cutting a 13-point deficit down to eight at the half. But a 13-0 run by the Vikings early in the second half restored control for CSU, who held the Panthers to 35-percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers.
Getting away from home may be the best medicine for the Vikings, who have been proving their mettle away from home this season, posting a 12-3 record in those contests. CSU is 11-2 in "true" road games and 1-1 in neutral site contests. The 11 "true" road wins are tied for the most in the nation (Wagner), while CSU's 12 wins away from home are the second most in the country (Harvard & Iona have 13).
Meanwhile, Milwaukee has enjoyed a 10-3 mark at U.S. Cellular Arena, largely due in to a defensive effort that has held opponents to just 37.5 percent shooting and 55.3 points per game at home, compared to 43.8 percent shooting and 65.8 points against on the road.
Both teams will turn to their seniors to help turn their respective fortunes around, with the backcourt of Trevon Harmon and Jeremy Montgomery going up against Kaylon Williams and forward Tony Meier.
At the Resch Center, Youngstown State (14-11, 9-6 Horizon) will try and keep pace with Butler and Detroit in a venue in which the Penguins have not won since 2003. Standing in their way is a resilient Green Bay (10-14, 6-8 Horizon) squad that owns a 9-2 mark at home.
The Phoenix will be out for revenge after Youngstown State blistered the nets in a 77-47 victory over Green Bay in January. The Penguins knocked down 12 three-pointers in that game, and on the year, YSU has made 217 3-pointers in 25 games this season for an average of 8.7 3-pointers made per game. They are on pace to break the school's single-season mark of 235 set last year. If the ‘Guins continues this pace over the next five guaranteed games, they will finish the season with 260 3-pointers made.
While the Penguins have relied on their perimeter play, Green Bay has mixed it up, utilizing Alec Brown on the interior in combination with point guard Keifer Sykes to lay the foundation for the future. Brown, averaging 13.8 ppg, already owns the career record for blocks and the top two single-season totals in Green Bay history.
Facing Brown in the post will be the League’s top shot-blocker, Damian Eargle. The junior has recorded a block in every game this season. He has posted multiple blocks in 22 of 25 games and has swatted at least three blocks in 20 games. With 101 blocks this season, Eargle’s 4.0 bpg average is third nationally.
Sykes, one of the country’s youngest players, is averaging 14.6 points and 4.6 assists per game since turning 18 on Dec. 30.
Tasked with slowing Sykes will be YSU sophomore Kendrick Perry, who has been on his own scoring binge while breaking the Penguins’ sophomore steals record. Perry has scored at least 20 points six times this season, leads the Horizon League in scoring with 16.2 points per game and a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. With a career-high seven steals against Loyola on Feb. 5, Perry set the YSU sophomore record for steals in a season with 56 and currently has 61 steals this season, needing just four more to set the single-season mark.
Wrapping up the evening will be League-leading Valparaiso (18-9, 11-4 Horizon), who hold a magic number of three, needing any combination of three wins and Cleveland State losses to clinch the regular season championship and No. 1 seed. The first opportunity comes against UIC (7-17, 3-11 Horizon) at the ARC.
As good as the Crusaders looked in a 59-41 win over Cleveland State, they looked just as out of sorts against Youngstown State in falling by 18 points. Valpo played that game without Kevin Van Wijk, the fourth-leading scorer in the Horizon League and leader in field-goal percentage, and his availability for tonight remains in question due to a bruised knee.
Without Van Wijk, Richie Edwards stepped up for the Crusaders finishing with 20 and 19 points on the weekend, complementing the efforts of Ryan Broekhoff, to whom much of the defensive focus will be shifted. Broekhoff tallied two double-doubles last weekend, including a 24-point, 10-rebound effort last Thursday.
Broekhoff’s play throughout the year has put him near the top of any League Player of the Year list, as the Aussie ranks third in scoring (15.2 ppg) while leading the conference in rebounding (8.7 rpg).
It was Broekhoff who keyed a 10-0 burst late in Valpo’s 60-55 win over UIC on Jan. 21, combining with Van Wijk for all 10 points in the stretch that put the Crusaders up nine points with seven minutes to play before a UIC run late drew the game within a single possession in the final miute.
The game was one of 11 contests played by UIC that has been decided by five points or less -- only five Division I teams (Illinois, Delaware, Gardner-Webb, Louisiana Tech and Idaho) have played more games decided by five points or fewer this season.
For a UIC squad that featured nine newcomers at the start of the year, the pieces are coming together, as the Flames boast two of the Horizon League's top-15 scorers, in point guard Gary Talton (11.5 ppg; 12th) and guard Daniel Barnes (11.4; 13th).
For Hayden Humes, the game marks a return home, and as one of the nine newcomers, the forward has delivered in his sophomore season. Humes has become one of UIC's most reliable scoring and rebounding threats, ranking third in the Horizon League in three-point field goal percentage (.419). In five of the last six games, Humes has led the Flames in rebounding and over the past three contests, is averaging 10.3 points.
