Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release

Feb. 7, 2005

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With just three weeks remaining in the Horizon League men's basketball regular season, the chase for the championship and seeds in the conference tournament is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in League history.


League-leading UW-Milwaukee (17-5, 10-2), which has won 10 of its last 11 games, owns a one-game lead over rival UW-Green Bay (16-6, 9-3) entering this week's action. The Phoenix is the only team to beat UWM in that stretch, winning 76-72 at Green Bay Jan. 29 after losing to the Panthers by 30 (86-56) at Milwaukee just two weeks earlier.


A mere one game separates the six teams in third- through eighth-place in the current standings. At stake are a first-round tournament bye for the team that finishes the regular season in third place and first-round home games for teams seeded fourth through sixth. UIC (10-10, 5-5) enters the week in the pivotal third place with a half-game lead over Wright State (10-12, 5-6), Cleveland State (8-11, 5-6) and Detroit (8-13, 5-6). One-half game behind that trio are Loyola (7-15, 5-7 [.417]) and Butler (9-11, 4-6 [.400]). Five of this week's nine Horizon League games will pair those half-dozen teams head-to-head.


Youngstown State (4-17, 2-9) is in ninth place. The Penguins ended a 10-games losing streak with a 59-55 win over Detroit Feb. 3.

UW-Milwaukee Can Earn Tournament Hosting Rights with One More Win: With four Horizon League games remaining, UW-Milwaukee (10-2 HL) needs only one win to earn the right to host the quarter- and semifinals of the League tournament at U.S. Cellular Arena. Because second-place UW-Green Bay cannot host due to the unavailability of the Resch Center, the Panthers only need to finish better than the third-place team -- currently UIC (5-5) -- to host, and UWM owns the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series from the Flames. The Panthers could clinch hosting rights as early as this Wednesday, Feb. 9, when they play at Loyola. As last year's regular season champion, UW-Milwaukee hosted the two rounds as well as the championship game, which was played in front of a tournament-record crowd of 10,254.

Panthers, Phoenix Battle for Regular-Season Title: Although six teams still have a mathematical chance to win the regular-season title, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay have separated themselves from the pack by three games with three weeks remaining. The Panthers will play two of their final four Horizon League games at home; the Phoenix will host only one of its last four in its friendly confines. On an interesting note, UWM has only one League game in the final week-and-a-half, while Green Bay has two, including the lone game on the final day of the regular season, Sunday, Feb. 27, at Wright State.

Butler, Loyola Honored among Street & Smith's 100 Greatest College Basketball Programs: Horizon League members Loyola and Butler have been named two of the 100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time by Street & Smith's Specialty Publications in a magazine by the same name that was released nationwide Jan. 25. In 1963, Loyola (#97) pulled off the greatest feat in the storied history of the program, knocking off two-time defending NCAA champion Cincinnati in overtime to claim the NCAA National Championship. Butler (#100), which claimed basketball national championships in 1924 and 1929, compiled seven consecutive 20-win seasons from 1997-2003.

Westley Attempting Rare Scoring, Rebounding Double: Cleveland State senior forward Omari Westley currently leads the Horizon League in both scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg) and could become only the second player to earn both individual titles in a single season in the League's 26-year history. The only player to top both categories has been Parrish Casebier of former member Evansville, who averaged 25.4 points and 9.5 rebounds as a sophomore in the 1991-92 season. Westley, who is one of only eight players among 31 Division I conferences to rank atop both leaderboards in their respective leagues, also averages conference-bests of 20.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in League games only.

Mendiburu Registers Second Career Double-Double: UW-Green Bay senior guard Javier Mendiburu recorded his second career triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the Phoenix's win at Youngstown State Feb. 5. In last year's regular-season finale, the Badalona Spain, native had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a home win over Wright State. Mendiburu's triple-doubles are the only two in UW-Green Bay men's basketball history.

McCants, Tucker Power Panthers: Senior guard Ed McCants and junior forward Joah Tucker of UW-Milwaukee, a pair of preseason Horizon League first-team picks, are averaging a combined 31.9 points per game in leading the Panthers to the top spot in the League. That average is the highest among teammates in a League that features three sets of teammates among its top 10 scorers and five in the top 15. McCants has topped the 20-point mark nine times this season with a career-high 38 points against Detroit, while Tucker has done so on eight occasions with a career-best 26 versus UIC in the Panthers' most recent outing.

UIC Boasts Nation's Second-Toughest Non-Conference Schedule: UIC (10-10), the defending Horizon League Tournament champion, owns the nation's second-toughest non-conference schedule this season, according to rpiratings.com. The Flames' seven Division I non-League opponents enter the week with a combined record of 98-40 (.710). They have defeated Illinois State (16-6), UNC Wilmington (14-7) and Pennsylvania (11-7) while losing to Georgia Tech (13-7), Bowling Green (12-6), Duke (17-2) and DePaul (15-5). The toughest non-conference schedule belongs to Temple (10-9). As a conference, the Horizon League boasts the fourth-toughest out-of-conference schedule among the 31 Division I conferences.

Hometown Heroes Lead Horizon Teams: Horizon League coaches haven't gone far to find good talent as four of the nine teams' scoring leaders are from their college's city or neighboring suburbs. The four "hometown heroes" are Cleveland State's Omari Westley of Cleveland, Detroit's Brandon Cotton of Detroit, UIC's Cedrick Banks of Chicago and Loyola's Blake Schilb of nearby Rantoul, Ill. On the other end of the scale are UW-Green Bay's Benito Flores of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Youngstown State's Quin Humphrey of Ellenwood, Ga.

Cleveland State Ends Yet Another Losing Streak: With its 78-77 victory at Youngstown State Jan. 22, Cleveland State ended a 24-game road losing streak to Horizon League opponents. The Vikings had not beaten a League foe on the road since besting Youngstown State 58-48 on Feb. 14, 2002. Earlier this season, Cleveland State snapped a 23-game losing streak with a victory over Hillsdale in the opener and halted a 25-game losing streak to League opponents with a victory over YSU at home on Jan. 8. With six games remaining in the regular-season, the 8-11 Vikings have already double their win total (4-25) of a year ago.

Last Four Games a Tale of Two Teams for Butler: Butler's last four games have been on both ends of the spectrum with a pair of 20-point losses followed by back-to-back 20-point wins. The Bulldogs lost at Cleveland State (77-57) and UIC (73-49) and then came back with big wins at UW-Green Bay (70-47) and at home against Loyola (79-51). In the two wins, Butler has shot 51 percent (27-of-53) from three-point range, including 13-of-16 by junior guard Avery Sheets, compared to only 9-of-27 for their foes.

Raiders' Wood Knocking on Success' Door: Sophomore guard DaShaun Wood, a Preseason Second-Team All-League pick, has been a one-man wrecking crew for Wright State this season. He ranks fifth in the Horizon League in scoring with 14.8 points per game, including 12 or more points in 15 of the Raiders' 22 games. Wood also ranks 15th in rebounding (5.1 rpg), fifth in assists (3.82 apg), fourth in steals (1.77 spg) and 10th in field-goal percentage (.479). The 6-foot sophomore has posted career highs this season of 13 rebounds against Miami (Ohio) and 29 points versus Akron.

Detroit's Cotton Isn't Soft: Since becoming eligible at the semester break, Detroit sophomore guard Brandon Cotton is averaging a team-best 17.5 points per game, which would lead the Horizon League if he met the games minimum to be ranked. Cotton, a transfer from Michigan State and a former McDonald's All-American, has scored at least 11 points all 13 games he has played, including a season-high 27 against Eastern Michigan Dec. 20 in his debut.

Banks Cashing in for UIC: UIC senior guard Cedrick Banks, the Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year has lived up to his early-season hype by ranking fourth in the League with 16.2 points per game, including 34 at Detroit Dec. 30 and 29 against League-leading UW-Milwaukee in his most recent game. The League's active leading career scorer, he has 1,880 points and needs just 146 more to break Kenny Williams' (1990-94) school record of 2,025. Banks, who has started 99 of 112 career games for the Flames, has scored 20 or more points in a single half 12 times in his career.

Flores Leads Balanced Phoenix Attack: Balanced scoring has been a key to UW-Green Bay's 16-6 start as four players are averaging double figures in points and rank among the top 16 in the Horizon League statistics. Leading the way is junior forward Benito Flores, who ranks eighth in the League with 12.5 points per game and recently joined the starting lineup. Also averaging in double digits are senior guard Matt Rohde (12.0 ppg, 10th), sophomore forward Josh Lawrence (11.5, 11th) and senior guard Javier Mendiburu (10.9, 16th). Flores, the League's top scorer and rebounder among newcomers, also ranks in the top 10 in rebounding (6.2 rpg, fourth), field-goal percentage (.530, fifth) and steals (1.86 spg, third).

Graves a Sure Thing from the Line: Butler freshman A.J. Graves is a near-perfect 43-of-45 (.956) from the free-throw line this season and leads the Horizon League in that category. He does not, however, have enough attempts (2.5 fta/game) to rank among the NCAA leaders.

Williams Returns for Flames: UIC senior forward Armond Williams, a Preseason First-Team All-League honoree, missed the first four games while finishing coursework for his degree in movement studies but has come back strong, averaging 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He recently became the first player in UIC history to record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 150 steals in a career.

Road Trippin': Cleveland State recently concluded a stretch in which the Vikings played 9-of-10 games on the road, spanning six states, three time zones and 35 days with a total driving distance of 8,866 miles. But the Vikings are now ending the regular season with 7-of-9 games at home at the newly renamed Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center, where they are 6-2 this season and are outscoring their opponents by nearly 12 points per game.

UWM's Pearl Notches 300th Career Win: UW-Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl recorded his 300th career win in the Panthers' 73-56 victory over Loyola Jan. 8 at U.S. Cellular Arena. With the win, he becomes the second-fastest current Division I head coach to reach the mark, doing so in just his 382nd career game. Among active coaches, only Roy Williams of Kansas and North Carolina was quicker to 300 wins. Pearl is 77-37 in his fourth season at UWM after going 231-46 in nine years at the University of Southern Indiana with one Division II national title to his credit.

NBA Brother Connections: Loyola freshman guard Pierre Parker of Lisle, Ill., is the younger brother of San Antonio Spurs all-star Tony Parker Jr. and Northwestern University sophomore point guard T.J. Parker. Detroit sophomore forward Muhammad Abdur-Rahim of Marietta, Ga., is the younger brother of eight-year NBA veteran Sharif Abdur-Rahim of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Horizon League Player of the Week - Feb. 7

Avery Sheets
Butler


Guard
Junior
Lafayette, Ind.

Avery Sheets of Butler has been named the Horizon League Player of the Week for Feb. 7.


Sheets, a junior guard, averaged 23 points, four rebounds and four assists per game as the Bulldogs won both of their games last week after losing the previous three. He connected on an astounding 13 of 16 three-point attempts (.813) for the week.


In a 70-47 win at UW-Green Bay Jan. 31, Sheets scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting and added five rebounds and three assists. He then hit a perfect 7-of-7 three-point tries in a 79-51 victory over Loyola Feb. 3 on his way to a career-high 26 points while adding five assists. Sheets' 7-of-7 three-point shooting was a Butler record and just two shy of the NCAA mark.

Other Top Horizon League Performers - Feb. 7

Cedrick Banks
UIC, Senior, Guard, Chicago, Ill.In UIC's lone game of the week, Banks tallied a game-high 29 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Flames lost 85-75 Feb. 5 at League-leading UW-Milwaukee. He netted 22 of his points in the first half, marking the 12th time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in a half. Against UWM on national television, Banks tied his career-high with six three-pointers and also had three assists.

John Barber
Youngstown State, Redshirt Freshman, Forward, Detroit, Mich.Barber averaged 11.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as Youngstown State split a pair of games last week. In the Penguins' 59-55 victory over Detroit Feb. 3, he scored a season-high 15 points and sank two free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining to extend YSU's lead to 59-55. Barber finished with week with eight points and two rebounds in a 78-49 loss to UW-Green Bay Feb. 5.

Brandon Cotton
Detroit, Sophomore, Forward, Detroit, Mich.Cotton averaged 18.5 points and three rebounds per game in an 0-2 week for Detroit. He scored 20 points in the Titans' 59-55 loss at Youngstown State Feb. 3 and followed that with 17 points in a 69-62 defeat at Cleveland State Feb. 5. The 20-point effort was his fifth in 13 games this season, which is more than any Detroit player had last season.

Benito Flores
UW-Green Bay, Junior, Forward, Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicFlores averaged 15.7 points, eight rebounds and four steals per game as UW-Green Bay went 2-1 during the week. In back-to-back wins at Cleveland State Feb. 3 (69-62) and Youngstown State Feb. 5 (78-49), he had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven steals against the Vikings and 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals versus the Penguins. Flores began the week with 14 points and eight rebounds in a 70-47 loss to Butler.

Blake Schilb
Loyola, Sophomore, Forward, Rantoul, Ill.Schilb averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 assists and four rebounds per game in a 1-1 week for Loyola on the road. He tallied 11 points and added five assists and five rebounds in a 79-51 loss at Butler Feb. 3 before erupting for 26 points, a career-best eight assists and five boards in a 74-57 victory at Wright State Feb. 5. Schilb has scored in double figures in 16 straight games and had five 20-point outings in League contests.

Joah Tucker
UW-Milwaukee, Junior, Forward, Milwaukee, Wis.Tucker averaged 21 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as UW-Milwaukee maintained its League lead with a 2-0 week. He scored 16 points in the Panthers' 79-70 victory at Wright State Feb. 2 and then netted a career-high 26 points plus six rebounds in a 85-75 win over UIC Feb. 5 on national television. For the week, Tucker shot 55 percent (17-of-31) from the field and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the free-throw line.

Omari Westley
Cleveland State, Senior, Forward, Cleveland, OhioWestley averaged 22 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as Cleveland State split its two games last week. He posted his League-best seventh double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-62 loss to UW-Green Bay Feb. 3. Then, in a 69-62 win over Detroit Feb. 5, he had 20 points and seven rebounds as the Vikings came back from a 24-point second-half deficit.