Men's Basketball Notebook (Feb. 25)

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Feb. 25, 2013)

On the Schedule [all times ET] 
Tuesday, Feb. 26
Loyola at Detroit^*, 7 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Milwaukee at Green Bay^*, 8 p.m. – ESPN3
Wright State at UIC^*, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Youngstown State at Valparaiso^*, 8:05 p.m. – Horizon League Network

Thursday, Feb. 28
Detroit at Temple, 7 p.m. – ESPN3

Saturday, March 2
Youngstown State at Wright State^*, 2 p.m. – Horizon League Network Game of the Week/ESPN3/ESPN Full Court/Midwest Distribution
Detroit at UIC^*, 2 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Cleveland State at Loyola^*, 3 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Valparaiso at Green Bay^*, 3 p.m. – ESPNU

On the Horizon
·         To the Wire: Two years ago, the Horizon League produced the first three-way regular season championship in the conference’s history. Last season involved a three-way tie for third. And this year, the conference could be headed for another multi-way tie.

Entering the last two weeks of the regular season, four teams are separated by just two games, with Valparaiso controlling its destiny. With a win on Tuesday versus Youngstown State, the Crusaders would clinch their second consecutive regular-season championship.

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 is alive. The No. 3 seed will earn a bye to the Second Round; presently, six teams are alive for one of the three spots.

Detroit controls its destiny for one of the coveted double byes, while Green Bay and Wright State run the gamut of possibilities, ranging from claiming a share of the regular-season championship to hosting a first-round tournament game and not receiving any of the three available byes.

·         Awards Circuit: Detroit’s Ray McCallum and Valpo’s Ryan Broekhoff are among the 25 finalists for the Lou Henson Award, presented annually by CollegeInsider.com.

The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in college basketball. Broekhoff was named the Midseason Lou Henson winner in January.

·         Motoring: Detroit enters the displaying one of the most energetic offenses in the country, averaging 79.0 points per game after a 94-79 loss at #rv/rv Wichita State. The Titans trailed by six with 10 minutes left to play before running out of gas.

Through Sunday, the Titans were 14^th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency at 114.0, playing at the 18^th-quickest tempo (70.9 possessions per game).

Upcoming Games
·         On Tuesday, Valparaiso will have a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed for the Horizon League Tournament, hosting Youngstown State (8:05 p.m. EST, HLN). The Crusaders presently hold a one-game lead on Detroit with two games remaining.
·         Wright State will try to maintain its grip on the No. 3 seed in the League Tournament, traveling to UIC on Tuesday (8 p.m. EST, HLN). The Raiders have played their last two game without the services of leading scorers Cole Darling (foot) and Reggie Arceneaux (concussion), going 1-1.
·         Tied with Wright State for third in the League standings, Green Bay hosts in-state rival Milwaukee on Tuesday (8 p.m. EST, ESPN3).

The Week That Was
·         Horizon League teams went 4-5 in the final installment of the Ramada BracketBusters, as Cleveland State, Milwaukee, Valparaiso and Youngstown State collected wins. For Valparaiso, the win was its third in last four BracketBusters TV games. All time, Horizon League members went 51-44 all time in BracketBusters play.
·         With wins at Loyola and Cleveland State, respectively, Valparaiso and Wright State each picked up its ninth road victories of the season. The duo is among 20 teams nationally with nine or more road wins this season.
·         On the year, 18 Horizon League games have been within a single possession in the final minute of regulation, with Green Bay’s win at Cleveland State the latest such affair.

League Notes
·         As of Feb. 25, 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	.8668	1. Big Ten	84.95	1. Mountain West	67.854	1. Big Ten	.5857
2. Big East	.8304	2. Big East	83.53	2. Big East	66.301	2. Mountain West	.5856
3. ACC	.7928	3. Big 12	82.28	3. Big Ten	66.129	3. Big East	.5821
4. Mountain West	.7915	4. ACC	81.49	4. ACC	64.286	4. ACC	.5704
5. Pac-12	.7747	5. Mountain West	80.64	5. Big 12	62.502	5. Big 12	.5640
6. Big 12	.7538	6. Pac-12	80.62	6. Pac-12	60.613	6. Pac-12	.5601
7. SEC	.7429	7. SEC	80.22	7. SEC	60.028	7. Atlantic 10	.5502
8. Atlantic 10	.6973	8. Atlantic 10	78.71	8. Atlantic 10	59.585	8. SEC	.5470
9. Missouri Valley	.6927	9. Missouri Valley	76.89	9. Missouri Valley	57.125	9. Missouri Valley	.5369
10. West Coast	.6509	10. West Coast	75.18	10. Conference USA	56.903	10. West Coast	.5294
11. Conference USA	.5315	11. Conference USA	74.38	11. West Coast	55.137	11. Conference USA	.5188
12. Horizon League	.5117	12. Horizon League	72.73	12. Horizon League	52.508	12. Horizon League	.5023
13. WAC	.5041	13. WAC	72.42	13. WAC	49.985	13. WAC	.4987
14. MAAC	.4760	14. MAAC	72.26	14. MAC	49.311	14. MAAC	.4924
15. MAC	.4431	15. Big West	71.07	15. Sun Belt	48.802	15. Sun Belt	.4901
16. Big West	.4355	16. Colonial	71.05	16. Ohio Valley	48.249	16. Ohio Valley	.4856
17. Patriot	.4215	17. MAC	70.92	17. Patriot	47.245	17. MAC	.4809
18. Ivy League	.4154	18. Ivy League	69.83	18. Big West	47.239	18. Patriot	.4781
19. Colonial	.3995	19. Sun Belt	69.28	19. MAAC	47.059	19. Summit	.4769
20. Sun Belt	.3958	20. Patriot	69.13	20. Ivy League	47.040	20. Northeast	.4761
21. America East	.3676	21. Ohio Valley	68.57	21. America East	45.683	21. Big West	.4732

·         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 (14-16, 5-10 Horizon)
·         Cleveland State’s 10 League losses are the most for the program since the 2006-07 campaign, head coach Gary Waters’ first year with the program.
·         The Vikings handed Western Illinois just their second home loss this season in 12 games as CSU managed 60 points against the second ranked scoring defense in the nation (52.2 ppg).
·         Freshman Bryn Forbes 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.
·         Forbes has 376 points this season, 24 shy of becoming the fourth freshman in school history with 400 points.
·         Sophomore Charlie Lee has 16 games with at least five assists this season, while his 146 assists are the 10^th-most in a single-season in CSU history.
·         Sophomore Marlin Mason has 32 steals, 30 blocked shots and 28 assists this year, needing two more assists to become the second player in school history with at least 30 of each in a single season.

Detroit Titans (18-10, 10-4 Horizon)
·         In its 94-79 loss at Wichita State, Detroit was outscored off the bench, 32-0. The Titans played the game without Juwan Howard, Jr. (hip).
·         Prior to his 29-point effort at Wichita, junior Ray McCallum finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals against Cleveland State. The effort was the first-such game in regulation since Ben Gordon in Dec. 2003 (17/16/11/5 vs. Iona). McCallum is the 12^th Titan to join the 1,500 point club and now has 1,534 in his career.
·         For the first time this season, Detroit changed its starting lineup due to Howard, Jr.’s injury. The five normal starters - McCallum, Jason Calliste, Howard, Jr., Anderson and Nick Minnerath - have accounted for 86.9 percent of the team’s points this season.
·         The Titans are 14-1 when scoring 80 or more points and are 28-1 in their last 29 games when doing so.
·         Senior Doug Anderson has recorded a dunk on 64 of his 145 field goals this season.
·         Junior Evan Bruinsma came off the bench to post a double-double on Feb. 16 with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
·         McCallum currently leads the Titans in in three categories this season scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (4.6 apg), and steals (1.9 spg.) and is also climbing up the career record board in all three. McCallum has 1,534 points (12^th), 434 assists (8^th) and 164 steals (4^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 became the 38^th player in Detroit history to reach 1,000 for his career and 145^th in League history. Calliste now has 1,027 in his career.

Green Bay Phoenix (15-13, 9-5 Horizon)
·         Junior Alec Brown has 1,102 career points, 500 rebounds and 208 career blocks. Brown is one of two players in Horizon League history to reach these numbers.
·         With 589 career rebounds, Brown is one of two players in Horizon League history with 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 200 blocked shots, joining Evansville’s Dan Godfread (1,386/737/226) in the club. Youngstown State’s Damian Eargle (989/578/290) sits 11 points shy of making the group a trio.
·         Freshman Jordan Fouse broke the program’s freshman record for rebounds in a season, which was set by Dennis Woeffler (210) in 1969-70, the first season in Green Bay history.
·         Fouse has 45 steals, the third-most all-time by a Phoenix freshman, and with 6 more would break the all-time freshman record.
·         Green Bay’s 137 blocked shots rank second in program history, just 5 shy of program record of 142 set last season.
·         For the first time since 2006-07, Green Bay went 2-0 on its road trip through Cleveland State and Youngstown State.

Loyola Ramblers (14-14, 4-10 Horizon)
·         Last week, senior forward Ben Averkamp, who has missed the last five games because of concussion symptoms, was named Capital One Second Team Academic All-America. The Germantown, Wis., native, who is one of only 19 players in Loyola history to rack up 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, is the first Academic All-American in Loyola men’s basketball annals.
·         Sophomore forward Christian Thomas has scored in double digits in each of the last 13 outings and over the last three contests, has been putting up 23.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 2.0 apg, while shooting 51 percent from the field. After managing only 4.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg in conference play as a freshman, he is registering 14.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg in Horizon League play this season.
·         Loyola’s 70-63 loss to Kent State was its first at home in non-conference play this season and moves the Ramblers’ record to 15-4 (.789) in its last 19 non-league contests.
·         Getting leads hasn’t been a problem for Loyola this season, but holding onto them has. The Ramblers have let leads of 10 points or more slip away on five occasions this year and last week saw an 11-point first -half lead versus Kent State evaporate in a 70-63 setback.
·         Five of Loyola’s 10 losses in League play have been by three or fewer points. The last time the Ramblers dropped five or more games by three points or less was in 2000-01 (6).
·         Averkamp needs three more blocked shots to become the first player in Loyola history to rack up 1,300 points, 600 rebounds, 150 assists, and 150 blocks.
·         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 58 on the year, Turk has hit at least one trey in 26 of the Ramblers’ 28 games.

Milwaukee Panthers (8-22, 3-12 Horizon)
·         The Panthers have now used eight different starting lineups this year, the most recent with Paris Gulley and Demetrius Harris coming off the bench.
·         After wins over UIC and IUPUI, Milwaukee has won back-to-back games for the first time all season. The Panthers’ road win at IUPUI was the team’s first of the season.
·         Senior Paris Gulley has been in double figures in points in 21 of the 25 games he has played in this season, including six 20-point performances. He missed the first six games of the year with a broken hand. Gulley had 20 in Milwaukee’s win at IUPUI.
·         Milwaukee’s 12 League losses match the program’s most since the 1996-97 season, when the Panthers went 4-12 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.
·         UWM has struggled in the second half of League games this season, being outscored in 12 of its 15 League games.
·         Freshman J.J. Panoske set a school record with seven blocked shots against Loyola while the Panthers tied a school record with 11 as a team.
·         After playing a stellar first half and leading 42-25, the Panthers were outscored 35-8 in the second half at UIC on Jan. 23. 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.
·         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 34.8-percent of its possessions, ranking 288^th in the nation. The Panthers’ effective field goal percentage of 45.1 ranks 297^th.

UIC Flames (15-12, 6-8 Horizon)
·         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, when the Flames tallied winning marks in November (5-1), December (4-3), January (6-3) and February (7-0). UIC is 1-5 thus far in the month of February.
·         Senior point guard Gary Talton enters Tuesday’s game with 715 career points for his two-year career. The Dallas native handed out his 200^th career assist and grabbed his 200^th career rebound last Saturday at Loyola.
·         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.
·         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.
·         Talton’s heroics temporarily extended into non-conference play, where the senior hit the go-ahead layup with :37 second to play, giving the Flames a 62-61 lead ahead of Bradley’s game-winning bucket.
·         UIC’s turnaround this season has been notable. The Flames enter three 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 in the country.

Valparaiso Crusaders (22-7, 11-3 Horizon)
·         Valparaiso can clinch the No. 1 seed for the Horizon League Tournament with a win over Youngstown State on Tuesday.
·         Fifth-year senior Erik Buggs will set a new Valpo career games played record (134) when he takes the court on Senior Night against YSU oin Tuesday.
·         The Crusaders shot 68.2 percent from the floor against EKU, their best effort in over 15 years (Northern Illinois, 68.8%, January 1998).
·         Senior Ryan Broekhoff has routinely ranked among the top 30 players in the country in terms of offensive rating, but is currently at 42^nd in the country with an offensive rating of 123.5. Broekhoff’s 63.6-percent true-shooting mark is 40^th in the country, while his 58.1-percent effective field goal percentage is 92^nd 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 24.0 defensive rebounding percentage ranks 49^st in the country, while the Crusaders are allowing offensive rebounds on just 27.2 percent of possessions, 21^st nationally.
·         Senior Kevin Van Wijk serves as the battering ram down low. Van Wijk’s 6.7 fouls drawn per 40 minutes is the 18^th-best rate nationally.
·         Valparaiso’s 55.6 effective field-goal percentage ranks 11^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 41.9 FGA/FTA rate. The mark is 36^th nationally.
·         With a turnover percentage of 22.0 of its possessions, Valparaiso ranks 276^th in the country.

Wright State Raiders (18-10, 9-5 Horizon)
·         Wright State played Wednesday night’s game at Cleveland State without its two top scorers; Reggie Arceneaux (concussion) and Cole Darling (foot) both sat out as the Raiders won, 50-41. Arceneaux is expected back for Tuesday’s game at UIC, while Darling’s status is yet to be determined.
·         Freshman JT Yoho came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points against Evansville. Yoho added 11 rebounds in tallying the double-double.
·         Junior Jerran Young moved into the starting lineup at Cleveland State and scored 11 versus Evansville. Young has been in double figures in five of his last nin games. Young’s career-high 24 points versus Mount St. Joseph came in his only career start.
·         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.
·         Wright State did not lead in either of the overtime sessions at Green Bay until 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.
·         The Raiders’ 25.1 defensive turnover rate ranks 10^th nationally.
·         In his two years as Wright State’s head coach, Billy 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.

Youngstown State Penguins (16-12, 7-7 Horizon)
·         With 16 wins on the year, Youngstown State has won at least 16 in conseucitve season for the first time since the 1983-84 (18) and 1984-85 (19) seasons.
·         Sophomore DJ Cole had his first career double double with 12 points and a career high 12 assists against Central Michigan.
·         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 1,247 points, 355 assists and 167 steals.
·         Senior Damian Eargle needs just 11 more points to become the 34^th player in YSU history to score 1,000 points. For his entire career, Eargle has 1,258 points.
·         Senior Blake Allen became YSU’s career leader in three-pointers made after making five against UIC on Feb. 9. Allen has 212 made threes for his career and is the first YSU player to reach 200.
·         Eargle returned for Youngstown State after missing two games with a broken nose, posting the 290^th block of his Horizon League career.
·         Freshman Bobby Hain made two starts in Eargle’s place, averaging 10 points and five boards per game. Hain had a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds against Green Bay.              
·        Junior Kamren Belin Belin has scored double figures in 11 straight games