Men's Basketball Notebook (Jan. 28)

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Jan. 28)

On the Schedule [all times ET]
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Detroit at Wright State^*, 7 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Valparaiso at Youngstown State^*, 7:05 p.m. – ESPN3
Milwaukee at Loyola^*, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network

Thursday, Jan. 31
Green Bay at UIC^*, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network

Friday, Feb. 1
Milwaukee at Valparaiso^*, 8:05 p.m. – Horizon League Network
Youngstown State at Detroit^*, 9 p.m. -- ESPNU

Saturday, Feb. 2
Green Bay at Loyola^*, 2 p.m. – ESPN Full Court/ESPN3/Horizon League Network/Midwest syndication
Cleveland State at UIC^*, 8 p.m. – Horizon League Network

On the Horizon

• Halfway Post: Nearing the halfway point in the Horizon League season, Valparaiso has opened a 1.5-game lead thanks in part to its current six-game winning streak.
  Since losing its League opener to Loyola, the Crusaders have rattled off six consecutive wins, including a Horizon League-leading three road victories.
  The League’s balance is on display down the ladder, as five teams are within one game of one another in second through sixth; the top two seeds will receive byes to the League Championship semifinals, while the team finishing third will earn a bye into the second round.
  The standings may gain some semblance of order this week, as the teams sitting in first through sixth meet four times this week.
• Grand Company: Green Bay center Alec Brown joined the 1,000-point club on Friday night, scoring a career-high 23 points in the Phoenix’s 74-54 win at Milwaukee.
  With 1,004 points, Brown became the 25^th player in Green Bay history to reach 1,000 points; the center is the 144^th player in Horizon League history with 1,000 in his career.
  Brown joins Ryan Broekhoff, Ray McCallum, Ben Averkamp and Kendrick Perry as active Horizon League players with at least 1,000 career points.
• Ranked: The Horizon League continues to sit 12^th among Division I conferences in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.
  The Horizon League is rated 12^th by Jeff Sagarin, while Basketball State joins Pomeroy with its ranking of 12.  The conference is also 12^th in RPI.

• With six teams bunched within 2.5 games of each other in the Horizon League standings, some clarity may emerge this week, with four games between those teams. Tied for second, Detroit (13-8, 5-3 Horizon) heads to Wright State (14-7, 5-3 Horizon), where the teams will meet for the second time in nine days on Wednesday (7 p.m. EST, HLN). First place Valparaiso (16-5, 6-1 Horizon) travels to Youngstown State (12-8, 4-3 Horizon) on Wednesday (7:05 p.m. EST, ESPN3), where the Penguins sit in fifth place, two games back of the Crusaders.
• Thursday will see Green Bay (11-10, 5-3 Horizon) look for its second straight road win, taking on a UIC (13-8, 4-4 Horizon) squad that sits one game behind the Phoenix (8 p.m. EST, HLN).
• On Saturday, Youngstown State travels to Detroit, where the teams will meet at 9 p.m. EST on ESPNU.

• UIC snapped a 30-game Horizon League road losing streak with its 55-49 win at Wright State on Saturday.
• Loyola erased a late four-point deficit with a 16-0 run at Cleveland State to knock off the Vikings, 67-55, on Wednesday.
• Not to be outdone, UIC used a 19-0 closing run to knock off visiting Milwaukee, 60-50. In holding the Panthers to 8 second half points, the Flames set a new Horizon League record for scoring defense in a half.
• One the year, 12 Horizon League games have been within a single possession in the final minute of regulation, with UIC’s win over Wright State becoming the latest addition.

• As of Jan. 28, the Horizon League is ranked 12th by Jeff Sagarin. The conference checks in 12th in the Ken Pomeroy (KenPom.com), Basketball State (BBState.com) and RPI (RPIRatings.com) indexes. Up from its preseason rank of 15th in Pomeroy, the conference is one of the biggest climbers of the year.

• 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’s 12 losses this season have already eclipsed last year’s NIT squad, which finished 22-11. In his six previous seasons with the Vikings, head coach Gary Waters has taken them to the postseason four times.
• Freshman Bryn Forbes scored a career-high 22 points in the setback to Loyola and has now scored in double-figures in 13 straight games and 14 of the last 15 contests.
• Freshman Aaron Scales returned to action against Youngstown State after missing the previous four games with a concussion. He grabbed three rebounds in eight minutes.
• Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters sits 10th in career wins (132) among Horizon League coaches, while his 64 conference wins is 11th, one shy of former Butler head coach Tod Lickliter.

• The Titans are 9-1 when scoring 80 or more points and are 23-1 in their last 24 games when doing so. Detroit ranks among the top-10 in the nation in scoring (78.4) and turnover margin (+5.9).
• Senior Doug Anderson has recorded a dunk on 54 of his 109 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 85.6 percent of the team’s points this season.
• McCallum currently leads the Titans in in three categories this season scoring (18.1 ppg), assists (4.6 apg), and steals (1.7 spg.) and is also climbing up the career record board in all three. McCallum has 1,381 points (19th), 401 assists (9th) and 146 steals (9th) 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 (1st), 548 assists (4th) and 190 steals (2nd).
• McCallum was named one of 20 finalists for the Bob Cousy Awardto the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in college basketball. An original list of 60-plus candidates was trimmed by a Hall of Fame appointed, nationally based committee to the below list of 20 student-athletes.

• Green Bay’s 20-point win at Milwaukee was its largest margin of victory in Horizon League road win since Feb. 5, 2005 at Youngstown State (78-49).
• Junior Alec Brown went over 1,000 career points with career-high 23 at Milwaukee. Brown is the 25th member of the program’s 1,000-point club. Brown is averaging 16.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game in the past five games.
• With 5 blocks last week, Brown now has 192 career blocks. He is averaging 3.0 blocks per game in Horizon League play. The junior is seventh in League history with 192, trailing Sascha Hupmann by a single block.
• Sophomore Keifer Sykes has reached double figures in points in 19 of 21 games this season and has led the Phoenix in assists in 15 straight games.
• Brown is the only returning player in the country to have averaged 13+ points, 8+ rebounds and 3+ blocks per game last year.
• Green Bay has the top rebounding margin in Horizon League play and has outrebounded its opponents in eight of the last nine games.
• Green Bay has won seven consecutive home games at the Resch Center and went 4-0 on its recent four-game homestand. The Phoenix allowed just 50 points per game and 32.6% shooting during homestand.

• Loyola’s 67-55 victory over Cleveland State was its first at Wolstein Center since Feb. 1, 2007, and marked the third time this year that the Ramblers have rallied from a deficit of nine or more points to earn a victory.
• Freshman Devon Turk needs two more three-point field goals to equal the single-season school record for a true freshman - 42 set by Brian Wolf in 1989-90.
• Sophomore forward Christian Thomas has come into his own this season and over the last 11 contests is pitching in 12.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg. He has recorded a double-double in four of the last nine games and has scored in double digits nine times in the last 11 outings.
• Loyola is just 10-30 (.250) at home in Horizon League play since the start of the 2008-09 season. Ironically four of the Ramblers’ last five League wins have come on the road.
• In just his second season at Loyola, head coach Porter Moser has guided the Ramblers to a five-game improvement from a year ago. The school record for greatest improvement by a head coach from his first year to his second is a six-game leap, from 13 wins to 19, by Jim Whitesell’s squad in 2005-06.
• With 18 points on Wednesday, senior forward Ben Averkamp moved into the top 20 on Loyola’s career scoring chart with 1,280 points. Averkamp has scored in double digits in five straight games, giving him a career total of 1,293 career points.
• Averkamp is one of 15 players in NCAA Division I 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 1,293 points, 602 rebounds, 169 assists and 144 blocks. Two other Horizon League players are closing in on those figures - Valparaiso’s Ryan Broekhoff and Green Bay’s Alec Brown.
• Averkamp has been named as one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. The Germantown, Wis.-native was voted Second Team All-League after his junior season, becoming Loyola’s first all-league pick since 2006-07.
• 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.

• Freshman J.J. Panoske is averaging 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in his last seven outings. Versus Green Bay, Panoske nearly tallied a double-double, finishing with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
• 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 14 of the first 20 games of the season. Opponents have also hit double-digits 14 times.
• After Austin Arians (twice) and Ryan Haggerty (once) came off the bench last week to post double-digit scoring efforts, Milwaukee had 0 bench points in its loss to Green Bay.
• Haggerty made his 100th appearance Wednesday 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 (Paris Gulley, Jordan Aaron, Arians, Panoske) had a combined 98 collegiate appearances entering Haggerty’s 100th game.
• Milwaukee is allowing opponents to grab offensive rebounds on 36.3 percent of its possessions, ranking 311th in the nation. The Panthers’ effective field goal percentage of 42.6 ranks 332nd.

• UIC got back to its defensive ways last week, holding Milwaukee and Wright State to just a combined 32.7 percent effort from the field, including an 18.5 percent output from three-point range.  In back-to-back halves against Milwaukee (2nd half) and WSU (1st half), UIC surrendered just a combined 22 points.  With consecutive wins over the Panthers and Raiders, UIC improved to 8-1 on the season when holding its opponent to 50 or fewer points.
• In the 13 UIC victories this season, the Flames have held their opponents to just 51.4 points per game and 34.9 percent shooting, and dished out an average of 13.0 assists per game. However, in the eight losses, UIC opponents are shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and scoring an average of 72.2 points per contest. Additionally, in the setbacks, the Flames have distributed 10.6 assists per game.
• Saturday’s win at Wright State ended a 30-game Horizon League regular season road losing streak for the Flames. Before Saturday, UIC’s last regular season Horizon League road win was on Feb. 27, 2009 against rival Loyola.
• When UIC holds its opponent between 30-39 percent shooting, the Flames are 9-1 on the season. UIC is also 7-1 when leading at halftime, and 5-1 when out-rebounding its opponents.
• Defensively, UIC is limiting its opponents to an effective field-goal percentage of 44.9, the 49th-best rate in the country.
• The Flames are holding the opposition to a 29.9-percent mark from three-point range, raking 33rd nationally.
• 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’s 16-5 record matches the program’s best through 21 games at the Division I level.
• On its first six-game winning streak since Feb. 23-Mar. 7, 2008, the Crusaders are on their first six-game conference winning streak since Jan. 15-31, 2004, before Valpo joined the Horizon League.
• Senior Ryan Broekhoff gave the Crusaders the go-ahead points in both games, hitting two free throws versus Detroit and the go-ahead layup against Wright State. Broekhoff averaged 18.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 4.5 apg on the week.
• Broekhoff continues to climb the tempo-free offensive rankings, sitting 22nd in the country with an offensive rating of 128.8.  Broekhoff’s 67.1-percent true-shooting mark is 11th in the country, while his 61.3-percent effective field goal percentage is 44th.  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.
• Valparaiso’s 89-88 comeback win at Detroit was the program’s largest in at least 20 season. The Crusaders trailed by 22 points with 17 minutes to play and had just a 0.5-percent chance of winning, down 11 points with three minutes to play, per Ken Pomeroy.
• 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.
• Valparaiso’s 52.9 effective field-goal percentage ranks 32nd in the country. The Crusaders have been one of the best teams in the nation at getting to the free-throw line, holding a 43.6 FGA/FTA rate. The mark is 26th nationally.
• Senior Kevin Van Wijk serves as the focal point of the Valparaiso offense, being used on 26.5 percent of the team’s possessions. Van Wijk’s 7.1 fouls drawn per 40 minutes is the 9th-best rate nationally.
• Broekhoff’s 26.2 defensive rebounding percentage ranks 19th in the country, while the Crusaders are allowing offensive rebounds on just 25.2 percent of possessions, fifth nationally.
• With a turnover percentage of 22.3 on its possessions, Valparaiso ranks 267th in the country.

• Wright State suffered its first home loss on Saturday; the Raiders were 8-0 at the Nutter Center this season.
• Led by Reggie Arceneaux, Wright State has given up a steal on just 7.6 percent of its possessions, ranking 14th.
• The Raiders’ 24.4 defensive turnover rate ranks 22nd nationally, while Wright State is holds a defensive effective field-goal percentage of 45.8, 79th nationally.
• Junior Jerran Young came off the bench to score 18 points at Youngstown State, the fourth 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.
• Young’s 14-point, 10-rebound double-double at Cincinnati was the first by a Wright State player since Cory Cooperwood had 19 points and 12 rebounds against Loyola on January 30, 2010.
• 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 12th 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.

• Junior Kendrick Perry is just the 22nd player in school history to score at least 1,100 points in a career. Perry is also the only player at YSU with 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals. Perry has 1,104 points, 329 assists and 152 steals.
• Senior Blake Allen needs just six more three’s to tie and seven more to break the YSU all-time record of 198, held by  Craig Haese.
• Senior Damian Eargle sits 64 points from becoming the 34th player in YSU history to reach 1,000 points. The senior increased his Horizon League blocks records to 276 overall and 146 in League play.
• Led by Eargle, the Penguins are 22nd in the country with a 14.1 percent block percentage.
• Junior Kamren Belin has tallied career-high scoring efforts in two of his last three games; after a 21-point outing at Milwaukee on Jan. 19, Belin posted a career-high 24 versus Cleveland State on Jan. 26.
• Last year, Youngstown State was among the nation’s most reliant teams on the three-pointer. 38.1 percent of YSU’s total points came via the three, the eighth-highest mark in the nation. 40.8 percent of the Penguins’ attempts were three-pointers, ranking 28th nationally. To this point in the year, the Penguins are displaying more balance, getting just 27.1 percent of its points from long range and holding a 31.8 percent 3PA/FGA rate.