Leaders Seek Separation as League Season Nears Halfway Point

Horizon League TV Schedule, Weekend of Jan. 20 (all times ET)
Thursday, Jan. 20
Detroit at Cleveland State, 7:30 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Wright State at Youngstown State, 7:45 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com

Friday, Jan. 21
Green Bay at #rv/rv Butler, 7 p.m. -- ESPNU
Milwaukee at Valparaiso, 7 p.m. -- ESPN3.com

Saturday, Jan. 22
Wright State at Cleveland State, 2 p.m. -- Horizon League Game of the Week (check local listings), ESPN3.com, ESPN Full Court, HorizonLeague.com
UIC at Loyola, 4 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Detroit at Youngstown State, 7:05 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com

Sunday, Jan. 23
Green Bay at Valparaiso, 1 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com
Milwaukee at #rv/rv Butler, 2 p.m. -- HorizonLeague.com

The seven Horizon League men's basketball teams with records at .500 or better square off this weekend, giving some the chance to break away from the pack, while others are looking to climb the League standings ladder.

Detroit (10-9, 4-3 Horizon) kicks off its road swing through Ohio at Cleveland State (16-3, 5-2 Horizon), who holds a one-game lead on the Titans and Green Bay.  The Titans will be looking to snap a two-game losing skid after dropping home contests to Butler and Valparaiso last weekend.  The Vikings enter the Wolstein Center knowing that this weekend could prove crucial to any at-large NCAA Tournament hopes, as they host two teams with a combined League record of 9-5.

In the opposite game on Thursday, Wright State (12-7, 5-2 Horizon) heads to the Beeghly Center after an emotional Sunday night win over Butler.  Youngstown State (7-10, 1-6 Horizon) enters the game looking to build on an effort that has seen them play two of the League's top teams down to the wire after a Saturday loss to Cleveland State.  The Raiders will have to defend the three-point line against a Penguins team that is knocking down nearly eight three-pointers per game.

After Thursday's contest, the Vikings will entertain the Raiders in the Horizon League Game of the Week on Saturday.  The HL Game of the Week package airs on WWRD (Dayton), WADL (Detroit), MyYTV (Youngstown, Ohio), MyNDY (Indianapolis), Comcast SportsNet Chicago, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), Time-Warner Cable Sports32 (Wisconsin) and Metro Sports (Kansas City, Lincoln).

Saturday will see two of the League's top defensive teams go head-to-head at the Wolstein Center; through Jan. 17, Wright State was 23rd in the nation, allowing just 59.9 points per game, while Cleveland State was 30th, permitting 60.6 ppg.  Two veterans of Horizon League play -- Norris Cole of Cleveland State and Wright's State's N'Gai Evans will each look to control the offensive flow for their respective teams and give their squad a potentially key tiebreaker as the conference season hits its halfway point.

The Titans wrap up their road swing against Youngstown State at 7:05 p.m. on HorizonLeague.com.

Once again, the ESPN family of network will feature the Horizon League on Friday night, as Green Bay (10-9, 4-3 Horizon) brings its four-game winning streak to Hinkle Fieldhouse for an ESPNU meeting with #rv/rv Butler (13-6, 5-2 Horizon) at 7 p.m.  The Phoenix capitalized on their homestand, taking all four contests to move into a tie for fifth in the Horizon League, just one game behind Wright State, Cleveland State and the Bulldogs.

After being outscored, 14-4, over the last 4:30 in a narrow defeat at Wright State, Butler looks to rebound behind Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack, and the improved play of Andrew Smith.  Smith has posted the four highest scoring totals of his career in his last four games, and the Bulldogs will look for the lift against Green Bay's Alec Brown, who is closing in on the single-season blocks record for the Phoenix, needing eight more to tie the mark of 48.

ESPN3.com will once again head to Valparaiso (14-5, 6-1 Horizon), where the League-leading Crusaders are already 2-0 on ESPN3 during the Horizon League season.  The Crusaders play host to a Milwaukee (9-10, 4-4 Horizon) team that has run hot and cold during the League season at 7 p.m. from the Athletics Recreation Center.

Valpo boasts the defending Horizon League Player of the Week in Brandon Wood, while the Crusaders are off to their best start since joining the Horizon League.  The Panthers, meanwhile, have run hot and cold throughout the year, averaging 79.1 ppg and shooting 51 percent from the floor in their last six wins; in its losses, however, Milwaukee is hitting just 35 percent of its attempts and scoring just 53.2 ppg.

Milwaukee will head to Butler on Sunday for a 2 p.m. meeting in which the Bulldogs will be looking to avenge a 24-point drubbing on Jan. 3 that snapped their 22-game Horizon League regular season winning streak.  Green Bay will head north on I-65 for a 1 p.m. contest with Valparaiso, with the contest serving as a warmup for the NFC title game representing the two schools to follow.

Saturday will see a Windy City rivalry at 4 p.m., as UIC (5-14, 0-7 Horizon) takes Lake Shore Drive up to Loyola (11-8, 2-6 Horizon).  The Ramblers are looking to build on a comeback win at Milwaukee last Saturday, while the Flames will attempt to break a seven-game losing skid.  In the last 14 games between the schools, the series is deadlocked at seven wins apiece.  The post will feature a matchup of forwards with strong inside-outside games, as Ben Averkamp of Loyola and UIC's Paul Carter will tangle throughout the contest.