Men’s Basketball Schedule (Jan. 2)
Oakland at Wright State – 7 p.m. | HLN
Youngstown State at Milwaukee – 8 p.m. | HLN
Cleveland State at Green Bay – 8 p.m. | HLN | ESPN3
UIC at Valparaiso – 8:05 p.m. | ESPN3
INDIANAPOLIS—The top four teams in the closest preseason poll voting in Horizon League history debut tonight in the opening round of conference play. Non-conference play proved one thing going into the new year about the Horizon League: it’s up for grabs.
Horizon League play will kick-off tonight as Oakland (picked fourth) travels to Wright State (picked second) while Cleveland State (picked third) takes the road to Green Bay (picked first). Milwaukee will look to continue its strong start when it hosts Youngstown State and UIC heads east to Valparaiso for a regional rivalry matchup.
Wright State strives to defend the Nutter Center in Oakland’s conference debut
Oakland makes its debut in Horizon League play led by senior Travis Bader who surpassed 2,000 points this past week after a 34-point performance against Defiance College. The Golden Grizzlies rank No. 11 in the country in non-conference strength of schedule, per RPIRatings.com, and are looking to make an immediate impact in the League in their first road test.
Wright State welcomes the newcomers to the Nutter Center where the team posts a perfect 7-0 record on its home court this year. Although Wright State isn’t starting from the bottom of the preseason poll rankings this year, the team does look to continue conference play success behind defensive-minded head coach Billy Donlon. In each of Donlon’s three years, the Raiders have ranked in the top- 15 nationally for defensive turnover percentage, per KenPom.com.
Forbes looks to continue offensive proficiency against the blocking expertise of Brown
Head coach Gary Waters collected his 144th win at Cleveland State last weekend as he looks to become the winningest coach in school history, just six shy of Ray Dieringer. The Vikings are led by sophomore Bryn Forbes who reached 100 career 3-pointers last Saturday and has had six games with 20 or more points this year. The team as a whole is averaging 76.6 points per game, putting the team on pace to average 70 points for just the second time in the last 14 seasons.
Green Bay looks to continue its offensive prowess as the preseason favorite ranks at the top of the League in winning percentage and ranked No. 7 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll. The Phoenix are the lone team in the conference returning multiple all-league honorees from a season ago in Keifer Sykes (first team) and Alec Brown (second team). This season, Brown became the all-time leader in career blocks at Green Bay with 257 and is currently ranked second in Horizon League history.
Milwaukee pursues another notch in the win column while Perry climbs in the record books
Milwaukee has already surpassed its win total from a season ago and set a school record by winning 10 regular season non-league games. The Panthers have won games in seven different venues and have beaten teams from eight different conferences. Milwaukee, picked last in the preseason poll, looks to surprise league-foes with its quick turnaround from a year ago.
Kendrick Perry leads Youngstown State in his final go-around in Horizon League play. The senior now has 1,621 career points and is the only Penguin in history with 1,500 points, 400 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals in a career. This season marks the most efficient offense in head coach Jerry Slocum’s tenure as the team has scored at least 80 points on eight occasions.
UIC and Valparaiso to test defensive efficiency in regional rivalry
UIC is coming off the 12th-largest turnaround in the country this year and despite a 5-9 record, the Flames have defeated two teams this season that have been picked to win their respected conference. UIC currently holds the best offensive efficiency under head coach Howard Moore and is led by senior Kelsey Barlow who has five games with 20 or more points. However, it will be the Flames’ defensive efficiency that will be tested throughout conference play.
Valparaiso has a lot of new faces this season as the team lost all five starters from the Horizon League championship team a year ago. The Crusaders have relied heavily on second-half performances, as they have outscored opponents on an average of 43.6-34.4. Valparaiso is also ranked among the top-5 teams in the nation in 2-point field goal percentage, thus far connecting on 51.4-percent of its attempts inside the arc.
