Men's Basketball Notebook (Feb. 11)

On the Schedule [all times ET] 
Tuesday, Feb. 12
Cleveland State at Detroit^*, 7 p.m. – ESPN3
Valparaiso at Wright State^*, 7 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Loyola at Milwaukee^*, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network

Friday, Feb. 15
Milwaukee at Youngstown State^*, 7:05 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Green Bay at Cleveland State^*, 9 p.m. -- ESPNU

Saturday, Feb. 16
UIC at Loyola^*, 2 p.m. – ESPN3/Full Court/Horizon League Network/Midwest Syndication
Detroit at Valparaiso^*, 6 p.m. – ESPN2

Sunday, Feb. 17
Milwaukee at Cleveland State^*, 2 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Green Bay at Youngstown State^*, 2:05 p.m. – Horizon League Network

On the Horizon
·         The Crusades: Holding a 1.5-game lead with five games to play, Valparaiso can clinch a share of the Horizon League regular season crown with two wins this week. However, those wins will have to come against the Crusaders’ closest pursuers.

Valparaiso travels to second-place Wright State (7 p.m. EST, HLN) on Tuesday ahead of hosting second-place Detroit (6 p.m. EST, ESPN2) as part of ESPN’s Rivalry Week on Saturday.

The top two teams in the Horizon League Tournament earn double byes to the semifinals, with the No. 1 seed hosting as long as it remains in the tournament.

·         The Wire: Of the seven Horizon League games played Thursday-Sunday, four were decided in the last minute of regulation or overtime.

Wright State claimed a double-overtime win at Green Bay on Thursday, only to be outdone by UIC, which grabbed a triple-overtime victory at Youngstown State, 88-83, on Sunday.

The three-overtime game was the longest in the Horizon League since Milwaukee (106) and UIC (112) played four overtimes on Jan. 11, 2001. The game was just the fourth Horizon League game to reach at least three overtimes in the conference’s 34-year history.

·         BracketBusters: One of the founding conferences of the Ramada BracketBusters, the Horizon League placed all nine of its teams in the event.

Detroit and Valparaiso were tabbed for the TV portion of the event, with the Titans drawing Wichita State (4 p.m. EST, ESPN/ESPN2) on Feb. 23. The Crusaders will host Eastern Kentucky at 1 p.m. (ESPNU) on the 23rd.

Upcoming Games
·         Valparaiso will try to clinch a share of the Horizon League regular-season title this week with two wins. However, those games will come against the teams tied for second in the League, sitting 1.5 games behind Valpo. Wright State (17-8, 8-4 Horizon) will host the Crusaders on Tuesday (7 p.m. EST, HLN), ahead of Detroit’s (16-9, 8-4 Horizon) trip to Valparaiso as part of ESPN’s Rivalry Week on Saturday (6 p.m. EST, ESPN2).

·         Still mathematically alive to earn a share of the conference title, Green Bay (13-12, 7-5 Horizon) will try to keep pace on the road, heading to Cleveland State (12-13, 4-7 Horizon). The game is part of the Horizon League’s Friday night ESPNU package (9 p.m. EST).

·         UIC (15-10, 6-6 Horizon) and Loyola (13-11, 3-8 Horizon) will renew their Windy City Rivalry on Saturday in the Horizon League Network Game of the Week (2 p.m. EST, HLN/ESPN3/Midwest syndication).

The Week That Was
·         UIC and Youngstown State played a three-overtime classic on Sunday, with the Flames emerging with an 88-83 win. The game was the longest in Horizon League history since Milwaukee (106) and UIC (112) played a four-overtime game on Jan. 11, 2001. It was just the fourth conference game in the League’ 34-year history to reach at least three OTs.

·         Valparaiso opened a 1.5 game lead in the Horizon League standings, knocking off Cleveland State, 80-72, on Saturday while  Detroit lost 68-59 at Green Bay and Wright State won 64-49 at Milwaukee, creating a tie for second.

·         For the first time in program history, Wright State swept the season series with both Green Bay and Milwaukee, winning on the road against both last week. The Raiders’ 15-point win at Milwaukee marked the first time in 14 years that WSU won at Milwaukee.

·         On the year, 17 Horizon League games have been within a single possession in the final minute of regulation.

League Notes
·         As of Feb. 11, the Horizon League is ranked 12^th by Jeff Sagarin. The conference checks in 12^th in the Ken Pomeroy (KenPom.com), Basketball State (BBState.com) and RPI (RPIRatings.com) indexes. Up from its preseason rank of 15^th in Pomeroy, the conference is one of the biggest climbers of the year.

Ken Pomeroy		Jeff Sagarin		Basketball State		RPI
1. Big Ten	.8699	1. Big Ten	85.16	1. Mountain West	72.111	1. Big Ten	.5891
2. Big East	.8321	2. Big East	83.42	2. Big East	70.956	2. Mountain West	.5879
3. ACC	.7962	3. Big 12	82.36	3. Big Ten	70.040	3. Big East	.5860
4. Mountain West	.7914	4. ACC	81.69	4. ACC	68.558	4. ACC	.5745
5. Pac-12	.7747	5. Pac-12	80.72	5. Big 12	67.204	5. Big 12	.5676
6. Big 12	.7617	6. Mountain West	80.67	6. Pac-12	65.402	6. Pac-12	.5638
7. SEC	.7401	7. SEC	79.89	7. SEC	64.328	7. Atlantic 10	.5527
8. Atlantic 10	.6970	8. Atlantic 10	78.85	8. Atlantic 10	63.947	8. SEC	.5480
9. Missouri Valley	.6852	9. Missouri Valley	76.91	9. Missouri Valley	61.126	9. Missouri Valley	.5340
10. West Coast	.6539	10. West Coast	75.59	10. Conference USA	60.779	10. West Coast	.5307
11. Conference USA	.5280	11. Conference USA	74.43	11. West Coast	59.267	11. Conference USA	.5177
12. Horizon League	.5209	12. Horizon League	73.58	12. Horizon League	57.164	12. Horizon League	.5057
13. WAC	.4972	13. WAC	72.31	13. MAC	53.336	13. WAC	.4949
14. MAC	.4494	14. MAAC	71.74	14. WAC	52.871	14. Sun Belt	.4881
15. MAAC	.4467	15. Big West	71.70	15. Sun Belt	52.459	15. MAAC	.4858
16. Big West	.4414	16. MAC	71.25	16. Ohio Valley	52.186	16. Ohio Valley	.4853
17. Patriot	.4183	17. Colonial	71.00	17. Ivy League	51.739	17. MAC	.4816
18. Ivy League	.4094	18. Ivy League	70.01	18. Patriot	51.388	18. Summit	.4774
19. Colonial	.3981	19. Sun Belt	69.58	19. Southland	50.958	19. Big West	.4745
20. Sun Belt	.3933	20. Patriot	69.30	20. Big West	50.790	20. Patriot	.4739
21. Ohio Valley	.3502	21. Ohio Valley	68.36	21. MAAC	49.877	21. Northeast	.4737

·         The Horizon League is the lone conference in the country returning its entire All-League First Team from a year ago.

·         The Horizon League is building off a 2011-12 season that saw a record five teams earn postseason bids.  Detroit represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament, while Valparaiso and Cleveland State each went to the NIT. Butler and Milwaukee participated in the CBI.

·         Four Horizon League point guards were among the candidates named for the Bob Cousy Award, annually given to the nation’s top collegiate point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Detroit’s Ray McCallum, Loyola’s Cully Payne, Youngstown State’s Kendrick Perry, and Green Bay’s Keifer Sykes were named to the list.

Cleveland State Vikings (12-13, 4-7 Horizon)
·         Sophomore Charlie Lee had six assists against Valparaiso on Saturday, the 14th game of at least five assists for Lee this season. With 202 career assists, Lee is the fifth player in CSU history to reach 200 career assists as a sophomore.

·         Junior Devon Long scored a career-high 23 points in Tuesday’s win over Youngstown State. He had 14 first half points to better his old career-high of 13 points over the first 20 minutes.

·         Freshman Bryn Forbes is leads the team in scoring (12.2) and is attempting to become just the seventh freshman in school history to lead team in scoring and the first since J’Nathan Bullock averaged 11.3 points in 2005-06.

·         Senior Tim Kamczyc has started 99 consecutive games and should start his 100^th straight on Tuesday at Detroit. His streak is the third longest in school history with J’Nathan Bullock and Norris Cole both starting 106 straight games.

·         Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters sits tied for ninth in career wins (134) among Horizon League coaches, matching former Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk, while his 66 conference wins has him 10^th, two shy of former Evansville head coach Jim Crews.

Detroit Titans (16-9, 8-4 Horizon)
·         Detroit’s 59 points at Green Bay marked a season-low output for the Titans. Still, the Titans sit eighth in the country averaging 78.3 points per game.

·         The Titans are 12-1 when scoring 80 or more points and are 26-1 in their last 26 games when doing so.

·         Senior Doug Anderson has recorded a dunk on 61 of his 132 field goals this season.

·         The Titans have started the same five players all season and all five average in double figures in scoring.The five starters - The five starters - Ray McCallum, Jason Calliste, Juwan Howard, Jr., Doug Anderson and Nick Minnerath - have accounted for 86.8 percent of the team’s points this season.

·         McCallum currently leads the Titans in in three categories this season scoring (18.9 ppg), assists (4.5 apg), and steals (1.8 spg.) and is also climbing up the career record board in all three. McCallum has 1,474 points (17^th), 416 assists (9^th) and 157 steals (6^th) in his career. The last Titan to rank among the top-10 in all three of those categories was Rashad Phillips. Phillips finished his career with 2,319 points (1^st), 548 assists (4^th) and 190 steals (2^nd).

·         Calliste is closing in on 1,000 career points. He currently has 982 and is averaging 14.0 ppg this season.

Green Bay Phoenix (13-12, 7-5 Horizon)
·         Junior Alec Brown has 1,065 career poitns and 198 career blocks. Brown is now fourth all-time in Horizon League history in blocked shots.

·         Freshman Jordan Fouse broke the Green Bay Division I freshman record for rebounds and is 19 shy of breaking the all-time freshman record of 209.

·         Fouse has 40 steals, the third-most all-time by a Phoenix freshman, and with 11 more would break the all-time freshman record.

·         Sophomore Cole Stefan is averaging 10.7 points and shooting 7-of-12 from three-point range in the past three games. He is also 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Stefan entered last Saturday’s game at Loyola with 12 points and 3 three-pointers all season, but had 13 points and went 3-of-5 from long range.

·         Green Bay’s 118 blocked shots rank third in program history, just two shy of second. The all-time team record of 142 was set last season.

·         Continuing to work his way back from an ankle injury, sophomore Keifer Sykes scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half of Green Bay’s 68-59 win. Sykes scored or assisted on 10 of team’s 13 second-half field goals.

Loyola Ramblers (13-11, 3-8 Horizon)
·         Senior Ben Averkamp was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District V Team. Averkamp will now appear on the national ballot for the Capital One Academic All-America teams, which are scheduled for announcement in late February. The 6-foot-8 forward and team captain is joined on the Capital One Academic All-District V Team by Aaron Craft (Ohio State), Cody Zeller (Indiana), Jordan Hulls (Indiana), and Andrew Smith (Butler)

·         Head coach Porter Moser has steered Loyola to a six-game improvement from a year ago to match the school record for greatest jump by a head coach from his first year to his second. Jim Whitesell’s 2005-06 squad also had a six-game improvement from 13 wins to 19.           

·         With a three-pointer against Wright State on Feb. 4, guard Devon Turk broke Brian Wolf’s school record for three-pointers by a freshman set in 1989-90, with his 43^rd of the year. With 49 on the year, Turk has hit at least one trey in 22 of the Ramblers’ 24 games.

·         At 13-11 and with at least seven games left on the 2012-13 schedule, Loyola has an opportunity to record just its sixth winning season in the last 28 years. Four of those winning seasons have come in the last 11 years.

·         Averkamp is one of 15 players nationally who entered the season with a legitimate chance of topping 1,000 points, 750 rebounds, 100 assists and 100 blocks for his career. Averkamp has recorded 1,340 points, 623 rebounds, 176 assists and 147 blocks. Two other Horizon League players are closing in on those numbers - Valparaiso’s Ryan Broekhoff (1,476/794/221/89) and Green Bay’s Alec Brown (1.065/578/68/198)

·         With 16 years of experience spread among 16 players, Loyola ranks as the seventh-youngest team in the nation. Averkamp and Jordan Hicks provide the bulk of experience with seven total years entering the 2012-13 season.

Milwaukee Panthers (5-20, 1-10 Horizon)
·         Milwaukee’s 10 League losses match the program’s most since the 2006-07 season, when the Panthers went 6-10 in conference play. The worst Horizon League record in UWM history was a 3-13 mark in 1994-95, the program’s first year as a member of the conference.

·         Milwaukee continues to struggle in the second half of league games. The Panthers have been outscored in nine of the 11 second halves in League play.

·         Senior James Haarsma scored 26 points off the bench to lead the Panthers against Detroit, going past 1,000 points in his Division I career at UWM (523) and Evansville (482).

·         Senior Paris Gulley has been in double figures in points in 15 of the first 19 games he has played in this season, including four 20-point performances. He missed the first six games of the year with a broken hand.

·         After playing a stellar first half and leading 42-25, the Panthers were outscored 35-8 in the second half at UIC. UWM did not score over the final 9:32 of the game, missing its final 11 shots. And, the eight points in the second half set a new school record.

·         Milwaukee has now been in double figures in offensive rebounds in 15 of the first 25 games of the season. Opponents have also hit double-digits 14 times.

·         Senior Ryan Haggerty made his 100^th appearance at UIC. To put his experience in perspective relative to the inexperience of the rest of the roster, UWM’s four leading scorers on Jan. 19 versus Youngstown State (Jordan Aaron, Austin Arians, J.J. Panoske, Gulley) had a combined 98 collegiate appearances entering Haggerty’s 100^th game.

·         Milwaukee is allowing opponents to grab offensive rebounds on 35.5 percent of its possessions, ranking 301^st in the nation. The Panthers’ effective field goal percentage of 43.1 ranks 322^ndt

UIC Flames (15-10, 6-6 Horizon)
·         UIC’s 88-83 triple-overtime win over Youngstown State marked the longest game played by the Flames since joining the Horizon League in 1994.

·         The Flames tallied winning records in each of the first three months of the season, going 5-1 in November, 4-3 in December and 5-4 in January. The last time UIC collected winning records in each of the first three months of the season was during the 2003-04 campaign. The Flames are currently 1-2 in the month of February.

·         In UIC’s six Horizon League wins, after the final media timeout, senior point guard Gary Talton is shooting 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from floor, 100 percent (3-3) from three-point range and 88.2 percent (15-17) from free throw line. That includes the game-winning basket against Loyola with 1.7 seconds remaining, and the go-ahead field goal against Milwaukee with just 1:35 left. Most recently, Talton hit the game-tying jumper with 0.8 second left to lift UIC into overtime at Youngstown State.

·         UIC’s turnaround this season has been notable. The Flames enter Saturday’s game at Loyola with 15 wins, seven more than the 2011-12 campaign, including six victories in Horizon League play (double its entire HL win total from last season). The Flames’ seven-game improvement over last year equals the sixth-best turnaround through games on Feb. 10.

·         UIC enters this week’s slate of games with the third-most wins (15) among the 13 Division I schools in the state of Illinois. The Flames are 4-1 against in-state foes this season.

·         A year after bringing in nine newcomers to the roster, UIC adds eight newcomers to its ranks.   Overall, UIC returns 65 percent of its scoring from the 2011-12 campaign.

Valparaiso Crusaders (19-6, 9-2 Horizon)
·         With one more victory, Valparaiso would reach 20 wins for the 13^th time in the last 20 years.

·         Over its last three games, the Crusaders have shot 57.1 percent from the floor, including 50.8 percent from 3-point range.

·         Valparaiso was ruthlessly efficient in its 86-61 win over UIC: in just 64 possessions, the Crusaders averaged 1.35 ppp, recording an eFG percentage of 75.0.

·         Senior Ryan Broekhoff continues to show the form that nearly put him on the Australian Olympic Team, sitting 32^nd in the country with an offensive rating of 125.3. Broekhoff’s 65.8-percent true-shooting mark is 14^th in the country, while his 60.6-percent effective field goal percentage is 44^th. Offensive rating measures an individual player’s efficiency at producing points for the offense, while true-shooting takes into account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws. Effective field-goal percentage adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal.

·         Broekhoff was named the Lou Henson Mid-Major Midseason Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I basketball.

·         Broekhoff’s 25.9 defensive rebounding percentage ranks 18^th in the country, while the Crusaders are allowing offensive rebounds on just 27.1 percent of possessions, 30^th nationally.

·         Senior Kevin Van Wijk serves as the focal point of the Valparaiso offense, being used on 26.0 percent of the team’s possessions. Van Wijk’s 7.1 fouls drawn per 40 minutes is the 10^th-best rate nationally.

·         Valparaiso’s 54.4 effective field-goal percentage ranks 18^st in the country. The Crusaders have been one of the best teams in the nation at getting to the free-throw line, holding a 43.0 FGA/FTA rate. The mark is 27^th nationally.

·         With a turnover percentage of 21.8 on its possessions, Valparaiso ranks 254^th in the country.

Wright State Raiders (16-8, 7-4 Horizon)
·         Wright State’s win at Milwaukee was the first for the Raiders in Milwaukee since defeating the Panthers 75-65 on February 21, 1998, snapping a 14-game losing streak. WSU had also dropped two Horizon League Tournament games in Milwaukee during that time, falling to Detroit in the 2005 tournament and to Cleveland State in 2011.

·         The victory also gave Wright State a sweep of Green Bay and Milwaukee on the road for the first time ever.  The three schools have been in the same conference together since the 1993-94 season.

·         In two of its last three wins, Wright State has overcome double-digit deficits. The Raiders trailed by 14 to Loyola with 19:51 to play before rallying for a 62-59 win; at Green Bay, WSU found itself down 24-10 with 7:55 left in the first half, eventually winning 70-68 in double overtime.

·         Wright State did not lead in either of the overtime sessions at Green Bay until J.T. Yoho’s three with 9.2 seconds left in double overtime. Miles Dixon’s three with 1.7 left in the first overtime tied the game.

·         Yoho had a career-high 19 points at Green Bay, including the game-winning three in double overtime. The freshman had not scored more than six points in a game since Dec. 22 at Cincinnati, when had 13.

·         The Raiders’ 25.5 defensive turnover rate ranks 10^th nationally.

·         Junior Jerran Young came off the bench to score 18 points at Milwaukee, the eighth time this season he has come off the bench to post 10 or more points. Young’s career-high 24 points versus Mount St. Joseph came in his only career start.

·         In his two years as Wright State’s head coach, Donlon, has hung his hat on defense. Last year, the Raiders were fourth in the country at defensive turnover rate, turning opponents over 25.6-percent of the time. In 2010-11, the team ranked 12^th at 24.3-percent, per KenPom.com. Wright State has not been outside the top 20 in the category in each of the last four seasons.

·         A season after opening the year as the sixth-youngest team in the country, the Raiders are once again the sixth-youngest team in the nation. Wright State has 15 players with a total of 14 years of collegiate experience. The Raiders are one of a handful of teams to open the year without a senior on their roster.

Youngstown State Penguins (14-11, 6-6 Horizon)
·         Junior Kendrick Perry is just the second player in YSU history to record 100 or more assists in each of his three seasons.  Perry is the only player at YSU with 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals. Perry has 1,207 points, 347 assists and 162 steals.

·         Senior Damian Eargle needs just 21 more points to become the 34^th player in YSU history to score 1,000 points. For his entire career, Eargle has 1,247 points.

·         Senior Blake Allen became YSU’s career leader in three-pointers made after making five against UIC. Allen has 202 made 3’s and is the first YSU player to reach 200 in a career. Allen also hit the game-winning three-pointer with 10 seconds left against Loyola on Feb. 7.  

·         Over the last five games, Kamren Belin is averaging 15.7 points, shooting 50.2% from the field and 49.3% from three-point range. The junior is averaging 3.2 three per game in his last five games.

·         Belin has tallied career-high scoring efforts in two of his last five games; after a 21-point outing at Milwaukee on Jan. 19, Belin posted a career-high 24 versus Cleveland State on Jan. 26.

·        Led by Eargle, the Penguins are 27^th in the country with a 13.5 percent block percentage.