#HLMBB News & Notes (Jan. 7)

Upcoming Games
• In a rematch of the 2013 Horizon League Championship, Valparaiso will host Wright State to kick off the conference’s ESPNU slate of games (Jan. 10, 9 p.m. ET)
• UIC and Cleveland State will each host its conference home openers this week, with the Flames welcoming Youngstown State on Jan. 7 (8 p.m. ET, HLN) and the Vikings hosting Detroit on Jan. 8 (7 p.m. ET, HLN).
• Two regional rivalries will be reprised over the weekend:
     o Detroit will host the Horizon League’s newest member, Oakland, on Jan. 11 (7 p.m. ET, HLN). The two schools have not played against one another since Dec. 3, 2003.
     o Green Bay will head to U.S. Cellular Arena to face Milwaukee on Jan. 12 (2 p.m. ET, HLN). The Phoenix and Panthers have the top two overall winning percentages in the conference.

The Week That Was
• Home teams went 7-1 on the opening weekend of Horizon League play. Cleveland State, led by Anton Grady’s 19 points and 11 rebounds, recorded the lone road win, 77-49, at Milwaukee.
• In 2012-13, there were a total of four games in which a player had 30 or more points. To this point in the season, Horizon League players have already eclipsed the mark 17 times:

• Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State 31 points at Milwaukee, Jan. 2 (L, 82-76) - 4th time
• Travis Bader, Oakland 34 points vs. Defiance College, Dec. 27 (W, 87-66) - 3rd time
• Alec Brown, Green Bay 40 points vs. Fairfield, Dec. 21 (W, 74-58)
• Travis Bader, Oakland 33 points vs. Eastern Michigan, Dec. 21 (L, 81-79, ot) - 2nd time
• Alec Peters, Valparaiso 30 points vs. Loyola Marymount, Dec. 14 (W, 80-73) - 2nd time
• Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State 33 points at UMKC, Dec. 7 (L, 88-80) - 3rd time
• Kelsey Barlow, UIC 31 points vs. SMU, Dec. 4 (L, 73-65) - 2nd time
• Jordan Aaron, Milwaukee 33 points at UMKC, Nov. 30 (W, 84-79)
• Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State 32 points vs. Austin Peay, Nov. 30 (L, 88-86) - 2nd time
• LaVonte Dority, Valparaiso 31 points vs. Mercer, Nov. 29 (L, 117-108 - 3ot)
• Kelsey Barlow, UIC 38 points vs. Wagner, Nov. 27 (W, 94-76)
• Kamren Belin, Youngstown State 32 points at Kent State, Nov. 27 (L, 83-79)
• Evan Bruinsma, Detroit 32 points vs. Stony Brook, Nov. 24 (L, 104-102 - 3ot)
• Alec Peters, Valparaiso 30 points at Evansville, Nov. 20 (L, 100-92)
• Travis Bader, Oakland 30 points vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, Nov. 24 (L, 68-62)
• Keifer Sykes, Green Bay 32 points vs. Wisconsin, Nov. 16 (L, 69-66)
• Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State 30 points vs. Eastern Kentucky, Nov. 10 (W, 75-67)

League Notes
• Oakland senior guard Travis Bader and Youngstown State senior guard Kendrick Perry are among the 30 men’s basketball nominees for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
• Both Bader and Perry were also tabbed as CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson Award nominees in the offseason.
• Perry and Green Bay guard Keifer Sykes were also named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, which is given to the top point guard in the country.
• Two Horizon League teams sit in the top 100 of the RPI, per RPIRatings.com. Green Bay checks in at No. 58, while Cleveland State is 100th. Overall, the Horizon League ranks 13th in conference RPI

Cleveland State Vikings (9-7, 1-1 Horizon) -- Detroit (1/8, HLN)
• Saturday’s win over Milwaukee was head coach Gary Waters’ 145th at Cleveland State. Waters now sits four shy of matching Ray Dieringer (149) for the most in school history.
• Sophomore Anton Grady posted a pair of double-doubles in CSU’s Wisconsin swing. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds at Green Bay and a season-high tying 19 points and 11 rebounds at Milwaukee. Grady has scored in double figures in the last four games and is averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over the four game stretch.
• The Vikings held Milwaukee to an 0-of-16 effort from three-point on Saturday. It was the 16th time in program history a team failed to hit a three-pointer against CSU and the first since Butler went 0-of-8 on Feb. 11, 2012.
• Forcing turnovers on just 19.6-percent of opponents’ possessions, Cleveland State is on pace to post the lowest rate in Gary Waters’ tenure. Under Waters, the Vikings have never had an opponents’ turnover rate under 21.1 percent.
• CSU is averaging 75.3 points per game this year, putting the Vikings on pace to average 70.0 points for just the second time in the last 14 seasons. The 2010-11 squad posted 71.0 points per night.
• Effective field-goal percentage defense has been a telling stat during Waters’ tenure. When the Vikings have held opponents to a 47.7-percent mark or worse, they have finished with four 20-plus win seasons, going a combined 96-44. When the mark has been above 51.3 percent, the Vikings have gone 40-56. This year, the mark sits at 46.0 percent.

Detroit Titans (8-8, 1-0 Horizon)  -- at Cleveland State (1/8, HLN), Oakland (1/11, HLN)
• Detroit has also held five opponents under 60 points this season, including each of its last three opponents. The Titans are 5-0 in those contets.
• Eight Detroit games this season have been decided by five points or less, and the Titans have a 4-4 record in those contests. The latest came in Detroit’s 58-53 win over Wright State.
• A year after ranking 41st nationally with a 51.2-percent shooting percentage on 2-point field goals, Detroit is presently hitting on just 43.6 percent inside the 3-point arc. Overall, the Titans have posted an effective field-goal percentage of 44.7 313th nationally.
• Senior Evan Bruinsma had 17 points versus Wright State, including a stretch where he went on an 8-0 individual run. Bruinsma has reached 10 or more points in 10 games this season after having eight such efforts in his career.
• Bruinsma was nominated for the 2014 NABC Good Works Team. Bruinsma set a new Horizon League record by going 20-for-22 from the free-throw line in Detroit’s 104-102 loss to Stony Brook on Nov. 24. The 20 makes broke the previous record of 19, held by Wright State’s Julius Mays and Detroit’s Brandon Cotton.
• In each of head coach Ray McCallum’s five seasons, Detroit’s adjusted offensive efficiency has increased, moving from 88.8 (324th nationally) in 2008-09 to 112.5 (23rd) last season. The Titans currently hold a mark of 102.1.

Green Bay Phoenix (11-3, 2-0 Horizon) -- at Chicago State (1/7), at Milwaukee (1/12, HLN)
• Green Bay has won 6 straight games for the first time since 2008-09 and at 11-3 has matched the 2004-05 team for the best start in the past 17 seasons.
• Senior Alec Brown is averaging 20.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game during Green Bay’s winning streak. He is shooting 57.3 percent from the field during that span.
• Junior Keifer Sykes has games of 7,8,9 and 10 assists this season. In those four games, Sykes has committed just two total turnovers.
• Sophomore Jordan Fouse had a season-high 15 points against Cleveland State, making 8-of-9 shots from the field. Fouse has extended his streak of consecutive games with 5 or more rebounds to 32. The sophomore had back-to-back double-digit scoring games for 1st time in 2013-14.
• Green Bay is posting its best offensive numbers in head coach Brian Wardle’s four-year tenure. Through nine games, the Phoenix’s adjusted offensive efficiency of 109.3 is 73rd nationally and outpaces any of the previous three Phoenix seasons. The Phoenix’s effective field-goal percentage of 50.2 is slightly higher than last year, Green Bay has dropped its turnover percentage (20.8 to 17.9) and maintained its offensive rebounding percentage (33.1 to 32.8) from the 2012-13 season.
• With 50 blocks on the season, Alec Brown now holds the top-4 single-season blocks efforts in program history. The Phoenix all-time leader now has 265 blocks in his career, third-most in HL history. Brown is one of only two players nationally to rank in the top-40 nationally in career points, rebounds and blocks.
• Brown became the first player in conference history to record a point-rebound-block triple-double on Nov. 23. on Saturday night, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against Minnesota-Duluth. Brown, who owns the Horizon League single-game blocks record with 11, became the first conference player to post a triple-double since Milwaukee’s Kaylon Williams pulled the feat on Jan. 3, 2011.

Milwaukee Panthers (11-5, 1-1 Horizon) -- at Oakland (1/8, HLN), Green Bay (1/12, HLN)
• Saturday night marked the first time since Feb. 4, 2006 at Butler that Milwaukee failed to make a 3-pointer. That streak was 249-straight games until Saturday’s 0-for-16 effort.
• Senior Kyle Kelm has recorded double-doubles in two of his last three games. Kelm notched 12 points and 10 rebounds in Milwaukee’s 82-76 win over Youngstown State.
• UWM set a school record by winning 10 regular season non-league games. It bested the nine regular season wins outside of the Horizon League in 2002-03. Seven of Milwaukee’s wins this season have come outside of the city.
• A year after posting an adjusted offensive efficiency of 93.6 (296th nationally), the Panthers have posted a mark of 104.1 to this point in the year, an improvement of 128 spots from last season, per KenPom.com.• Milwaukee won an in-season tournament title for the first time since December of 2002, capturing the Northern Illinois Invitational. Matt Tiby and Jordan Aaron each made the all-tournament team.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies (6-11, 1-1 Horizon) -- Milwaukee (1/8, HLN), at Detroit (1/11, HLN)
• Senior Travis Bader reached 2,001 career points after a 34-point effort against Defiance College. Bader is second amongst active NCAA D-I players with 2,036.
• Senior Duke Mondy sits second in the country with 3.85 steals per game. Mondy previously led the Big East and Summit League in steals per game and has a chance to lead three different conferences in the category.
• With an adjusted tempo of 67.4, Oakland is playing at its slowest rate since the 2008-09 season, per KenPom.com. Since 2009-10, the Golden Grizzlies have been among the 31 fastest teams in the country each season.
• Oakland has made a 3-pointer in 786 consecutive games, the eighth-best streak in the country.
• Oakland is 65-10 in last 75 games at the Athletics Center O’rena. This season, the Golden Grizzlies are averaging 85.4 points per game at the O’rena.

UIC Flames (5-10, 0-1 Horizon) -- Youngstown State (1/7, HLN), at Wright State (1/12, HLN/ESPN3)
• Senior Hayden Humes is on the verge of eclipsing several milestones during his final season as a college basketball player.  Humes needs just 11 more points to reach 900 for his career, which includes his one year at Toledo (183) and three seasons with UIC (706).  The 6-foot-8 sharp-shooter also needs just five more treys to crack UIC’s top 10 career made threes list as he currently sits at 111.
• Senior Jordan Harks has been a model of efficiency this season shooting 54-of-85 (63.5%) from the floor, which ranks second among all Horizon League players.  Harks has performed even better as of late, connecting on 24 of his last 31 shot attempts throughout the past five games.  The Lombard, Ill., native scored nine points versus Valpo last Thursday, posting eight or more points for the ninth time this season.
• Senior Kelsey Barlow now has five games with 20 or more points after scoring 20 at Colorado State and 21 versus Illinois.
• Barlow is the lone player in the conference to average 16 points, five rebounds and four assists or more per game.  His 38 points against Wagner on Nov. 27 is the second highest single-game point total in the Horizon League this season and the most by a UIC player since Feb. of 2005.
• With its win over Southeast Missouri, UIC has now defeated two teams that have been picked to win their conference.  SEMO was picked to win the OVC-West and Wagner was the NEC preseason favorite.
• UIC is enjoying is best offensive efficiency under Howard Moore, posting a mark of 101.7, per KenPom.com. The Flames have never had an adjusted offense above 96.7 under Moore. However, UIC’s adjusted defensive efficiency of 111.2 would be the worst for the Flames in Moore’s four seasons.

Valparaiso Crusaders (9-8, 1-1 Horizon) -- Wright State (1/10, ESPNU)
• The Crusaders have been a second-half team this season, outscoring opponents, 43.1-34.5, on average.
• Saint Louis-transfer Keith Carter made the most of his home debut on Thursday, scoring a career-high 19 points in Valparaiso’s win over UIC.
• Valparaiso continues to try its form on the road, where the Crusaders are 1-6. At the ARC, Valpo owns a 7-2 mark.
• Valpo has ranked among the top-5 teams in nation in 2-point field goal perceantage in each of the last three years, besting 55 percent in all three seasons. Thus far, Valpo has connected on 52.1-percent of its attempts inside the arc.
• Valparaiso has been on the wrong end of the turnover game throughout the season. The Crusaders are turning the ball over on 22.1 percent of its possessions, 319th nationally. Valpo’s 15.0 defensive turnover rate is 329th.
• Head Coach Bryce Drew inked a 10-year contract extension on Dec. 18. Drew was the quickest coach in program history to reach 50 wins in his career.
• A year after returning all five starters, Valparaiso does not bring back a single starter from last season’s Horizon League championship team. Among the seniors who have moved on are a pair who have signed professional contracts: Ryan Broekhoff (Besiktas JK, Turkey) and Kevin Van Wijk (Oviedo CB, Spain).

Wright State Raiders (9-8, 1-1 Horizon) -- at Valparaiso (1/10, ESPNU)
• Wright State continues to struggle away from the Nutter Center; the Raiders are 0-8 on the road, but a perfect 8-0 at home.
• The Raiders continue to employ one of the country’s stingiest defenses a year after posting an adjusted defensive efficiency of 92.4 (30th) and a defensive effective field-goal percentage of 46.8 (94th). This year, WSU is 59th nationally with an adjusted defense of 97.4 and sixth with a defensive turnover percentage of 25.3.
• After Chrishawn Hopkins made his Wright State debut on Dec. 14, Tavares Sledge returned to the Raiders’ lineup on Dec. 29 against Bowling Green. Playing 14 minutes, Sledge had two points and two rebounds.
• A year ago, Wright State returned just 36.9 percent of its scoring; this season, the team brings back 97.2 of its points from a year ago (2,171 out of 2,233). The Raiders also return 91.7 percent of its minutes from last season, turning what was one of the youngest teams in the nation a year ago into one of the most experienced squads in the country. In each of Donlon’s three years, Wright State has ranked in the top 15 nationally for defensive turnover percentage, per KenPom.com. Last year’s rate of 24.3 percent was 15th in the country.
• Wright State is not going to play fast, typically, as its adjusted tempo have never been quicker than 63.2 possessions per game. This year’s tempo sits at 66.2.

Youngstown State Penguins (9-8, 0-2 Horizon) -- at UIC (1/7, HLN)
• Senior Kendrick Perry now has 1,666 career points and needs 155 more to tie the YSU division I scoring record of 1,821. Perry sits 38th in Horizon League history in scoring and is the only player in YSU history with 1,500 points, 400 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals in a career.
• Perry is YSU’s career leader in steals with 216, becoming the first player in school history with 200 career steals. The senior is fifth in conference history and is 21 from matching the conference record of 237 (Terry Evans, Green Bay).
• Sophomore Bobby Hain turned in a solid week averaging 14 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Hain scored a team-high 18 points with seven rebounds and three assists against Green Bay and added 10 points with six boards against Milwaukee.
• Sophomore Ryan Weber has made seven of his last 12 3-point attempts. Weber tied a career-high with four against Milwaukee.
• Youngstown State is enjoying its most efficient offense in head coach Jerry Slocum’s tenure. The Penguins’ mark of 108.2 ranks 88th nationally. YSU’s 51.6 effective field-goal percentage is also the best in Slocum’s nine seasons.