Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Feb. 10, 2011)
Horizon League TV Schedule, weekend of Feb. 10 (all times ET)
Thursday, Feb. 10:
Wright State at Butler, 7 p.m. -- ESPNU
Green Bay at UIC, 8 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Milwaukee at Loyola, 8 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Detroit at #-/rv Valparaiso, 8:05 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Saturday, Feb. 12:
Youngstown State at #rv/- Cleveland State, 2 p.m. -- Horizon League Game of the Week, check local listings
Green Bay at Loyola, 4 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Milwaukee at UIC, 4 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Detroit at Butler, 8 p.m. -- ESPN2, ESPN3.com
Wright State at Valparaiso, 8:05 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
From first through seventh, the Horizon League men's basketball standings are closer than they have ever been, with just three games separating first-place Valparaiso from seventh-place Green Bay. Key contests dot the schedule as teams jockey for tournament seeds.
Thursday, ESPNU brings fans a Rivalry Week contest between Wright State (17-9, 10-4 Horizon) and Butler (16-9, 8-5 Horizon) at 7 p.m. ET from Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Raiders took the first contest against the Bulldogs, squeaking out a 69-64 victory at the WSU Nutter Center on Jan. 16. The backcourt of N'Gai Evans and Vaughn Duggins has carried Wright State through a stretch where the Raiders have missed seniors Cooper Land and Troy Tabler due to injury.
Butler also comes into the game with injury questions, as video and photos of Matt Howard's bloodied face made the rounds on the internet throughout the week. Howard, who sits just ahead of Duggins in scoring this season (17.1 ppg to 16.9 ppg) is out for tonight due to a mild concussion suffered on Monday, meaning that Preseason Player of the Year Shelvin Mack will shoulder more of the scoring burden. A Bulldogs victory brings them within a half-game of Wright State in the League standings and would keep them alive in the race for the League championship.
Up I-65, Valparaiso (17-7, 9-3 Horizon) will host one of the hottest teams in the League when they tip off against Detroit (14-12, 8-6 Horizon) at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The Crusaders lead the League by percentage points over both Cleveland State and Wright State and are the only team that controls its destiny in the race for the Horizon League regular season championship.
Brandon Wood posted a League season-best 31 points in his last game, helping the Crusaders rally past Youngstown State on Saturday. The win marked the sixth time this season that Valpo overcame a 10-point deficit to capture a victory. The last time Valpo met Detroit, a first-half surge in which they scored on 11 consecutive possessions to take a 78-68 contest at Calihan Hall.
The Titans have not lost at Calihan Hall since, winning three straight games at home last weekend to jump to sixth in the Horizon League standings, within striking distance of a first-round bye. Detroit capped its homestand with a three-point win over visiting Cleveland State on Monday, crashing the glass and using its size to take a three-point win. Nick Minnerath, who posted a double-double against Valpo in the teams' first meeting, set a new career high with 26 points on Monday, while Eli Holman collected his 11th double-double of the year with 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Detroit will head down I-65 for a Saturday matchup with Butler, with ESPN2 televising the contest at 8 p.m. ET. Wright State will head to northwest Indiana for an 8:05 p.m. ET tip with the Crusaders.
Chicago will play host to foes from Wisconsin during the weekend, with the hottest team in the Horizon League, Milwaukee (13-11, 8-5 Horizon), looking to extend its season-best four game winning streak at Loyola (13-11, 4-9 Horizon) on Thursday night. The Panthers will be out for a measure of revenge, as their second-to-last defeat came at the hands of the Ramblers, who rallied for a 71-65 victory at U.S. Cellular Arena on Jan. 15.
Since then, Milwaukee has gone 4-1, with Anthony Hill leading the way of late. The defending Horizon League Player of the Week had a 29-point, 15-rebound effort to key the Panthers' 88-75 win over visiting Green Bay last Saturday after controlling the paint the week before in triumphs over Detroit and Wright State.
Controlling Hill will be paramount for Loyola, who can matchup with the forward down low with Ben Averkamp, who collected 12 points in the win in January. Geoff McCammon added to his sixth man of the year campaign in the contest with a game-high 21 points. The senior needs 12 three-pointers the rest of the way to set a new Ramblers single-season record and is averaging over 20 points per game in his last three meetings with Milwaukee.
Across town, UIC (6-19, 1-12 Horizon) returns to the Pavilion, while Chicago welcomes a native son when Brian Wardle brings Green Bay (12-12, 6-6 Horizon) to the south side of town. The Phoenix have been outrebounded just once in 12 League games, but that streak will be put to the test against a UIC squad that is the best in the League in rebounding margin, outrebounding foes by 5.8 caroms per contest.
Just 3-7 on the road this season, Green Bay will need to improve upon its road mark if it wants to climb into position to host a Horizon League Tournament contest. The Flames, meanwhile, will enjoy the comforts of the Pavilion for four of its last six games after spending last week on the road for three contests. Robo Kreps and Paul Carter have both merited All-League worthy campaigns, with Kreps becoming just the ninth player in UIC history to score more than 1,500 career points, while Carter has collected a League-high eight double-doubles in the conference season.
Wardle's homecoming will continue on Saturday, when the Phoenix go to the north side for a clash with Loyola, while Milwaukee heads to UIC.
The Horizon League Game of the Week features northeast Ohio travel partners, as #rv/- Cleveland State (21-5, 10-4 Horizon) looks to snap a two-game skid when Youngstown State (8-16, 2-12 Horizon) comes to the Wolstein Center.
The Vikings led the League by 1.5 games just a week ago, but two straight losses have backed the Vikings into a tie for second in the League with Wright State. Still, Cleveland State returns to the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center, where they hold a 13-1 record this season. Norris Cole continues his stellar play for the Vikings, earning a finalist spot on the Bob Cousy Award watch list. Given to the nation's top point guard, Cole is one of 10 candidates for the award, averaging 20.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 5.3 apg, leading the League in scoring and assists.
While Youngstown State has just one win in its last three contests, the Penguins are playing their best basketball of the season, knocking off Butler last Thursday before taking Valparaiso to overtime and Wright State to the wire in the last two games. Kendrick Perry beat Butler with a three with 20 seconds to go, while his jumper on Saturday at the buzzer forced overtime. On the interior, Damian Eargle is steadily climbing the YSU blocking ranks, sitting in third with 70 rejections this season.
