Men's Basketball Release #1
Nov. 2, 2007 Bulldogs Take Top Spot in Preseason Poll
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Butler opens the season as a near-unanimous favorite to win the 2008 Horizon League championship. The Bulldogs eclipsed the League's single-season record with 29 victories last year (29-7 overall including a 13-3 League ledger) and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship. This year's edition includes three returning starters, led by the backcourt tandem of preseason Player of the Year A.J. Graves and fellow senior Mike Green.
Graves was a First-Team All-League pick and earned All-America Honorable Mention from the Associated Press in 2006-07, averaging 16.9 points per game to rank fifth on the loop scoring charts. He canned a League-high 98 three-pointers to lead Butler's long-range arsenal and was tabbed the Most Valuable Player of the NIT Season Tip-Off after leading the Bulldogs to the tournament title. Graves also finished second in the nation with a .948 free-throw percentage.
Green earned Second-Team notice and the circuit's Newcomer of the Year trophy last winter, averaging 13.9 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. The carom count was eighth-best in the League, while he tied for second place on the loop assist list. A transfer from Towson University, Green started all 36 games for the Bulldogs last winter.
Opinions Vary in Wide-Open Race
Butler was picked first or second by all 46 voters in the League's preseason poll, but the race for the championship appears to be wide open, according to the results of the survey of media, coaches and sports information directors.
Butler was picked first by 42 voters, with the Bulldogs collecting 456 points in the balloting. Defending champion Wright State was second with 354 points despite not being picked first on any ballots. Green Bay received 333 points including a pair of first-place votes, with Milwaukee (325 points) fourth and Loyola (264 points) fifth. Loyola took the other two first-place votes.
League newcomer Valparaiso (227 points) edged Detroit (201) for sixth place, with UIC (171), Cleveland State (118) and Youngstown State (81) rounding out the field.
Opinions varied widely among the voters, though. Loyola was placed in every position on the list, and every school except Butler experienced at least a five-place range in the voting. Valparaiso, Detroit and UIC were all tabbed anywhere from second to tenth and Milwaukee was picked as high as second by some voters and as low as ninth by others.
Stevens Takes the Reins
Butler became the first team in League history to reach the top ten in the national polls, climbing to tenth in the AP rankings and ninth according to the ESPN/USA Today coaches' canvass on Feb. 5, 2007. The Sweet 16 appearance was Butler's second in the last five years, but BU has new leadership for the 2007-08 campaign after NABC National Coach of the Year Todd Lickliter took over at Iowa in April.
Lickliter's former assistant, Brad Stevens, was chosen as Butler's new boss three days later. At 30 years old, Stevens---a aide to Lickliter and Thad Matta for the past seven seasons---is the fourth-youngest head coach in Division I.
Welcome Aboard
The League's other new face on the sidelines stands on the opposite end of the experience spectrum as veteran coach Homer Drew brings Valparaiso into the Horizon League after a successful 25-year run in the Mid-Continent Conference.
Drew led the Crusaders to seven NCAA Tournament appearances during their Mid-Con run, posting 20 or more victories eight times. His 571 career victories (302 at Valpo) rank tenth among active Division I coaches.
Valparaiso concluded its Mid-Con tenure with a 16-15 record last season.
How Sweet (16) It Is
Butler earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament and made the most of its second chance with victories over Old Dominion (57-46) and Maryland (62-59) to advance to the regional semifinals. The Bulldogs' trek marked the League's third Sweet 16 participant in the last five years, joining Butler's
2002-03 team and the 2004-05 Milwaukee squad in that group.
The Horizon League ranks eighth among the 31 Division I conferences with those three Sweet 16 teams in the last five years. Only the Big East (15), Atlantic Coast (11), Big 12 (11), Southeastern (ten), Pacific-10 (eight), and Big Ten (seven) conferences, and Conference USA (five) have had more since 2003.
Butler's run came as a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament, the League's second-highest seed since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1982. Loyola was a No. 4 seed in 1985 when the Ramblers advanced to the Sweet 16.
New Coach the Key to Success?
Wright State won its first-ever League championship last season, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993 with a 60-55 victory over Butler in the final game of the Horizon League Championship at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.
First-year Raider coach Brad Brownell made his third NCAA appearance in five years after guiding the Raiders to a 23-10 overall ledger---the school's most victories since moving to Division I in 1983---including a 13-3 League ledger. Brownell followed in the footsteps of Milwaukee boss Rob Jeter, who took the Panthers to the Big Dance in his (2005-06) debut campaign.
Wright State was just 5-6 on Dec. 27, but won 19 of its next 22 games to claim the League title. Guard DaShaun Wood was named the League's Player of the Year, topping the circuit in both scoring (19.6 points per game) and steals (1.94 per outing) while ranking fourth at 3.87 assists per contest. His graduation leaves sophomores Vaughn Duggins (9.0 points per game last season) and Todd Brown (8.6) as the anchors of the Raider backcourt.
Who Takes the Next Step?
Six of the League's top ten scorers from last season are gone, leaving many teams looking to underclassmen or newcomers for key contributions.
Youngstown State must replace two of the League's top ten scorers in Quin Humphrey (second at 18.8 points per game) and Keston Roberts (sixth with 16.3), while Loyola attempts to cover the 17.0 points-per-game norm of Blake Schilb (fourth in the League). UIC's Othyus Jeffers (eighth at 15.4 points per game and second with 8.6 rebounds per outing) and Green Bay's Ryan Evanochko (ninth at 15.0 points per game) are also among the departed veterans.
Detroit's Brandon Cotton (18.1) is the top returning scorer after finishing third in the League scoring chase last season. Butler's A.J. Graves (16.9) was fifth.
Five of the top ten rebounders are also gone, including Detroit's Ryvon Covile who ranked sixth in the nation at 10.6 caroms per contest. Loyola's Andy Polka (7.2) is the top returning rebounder, followed by Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock (6.5) and Youngstown State's Jack Liles (6.4).
Many of the League's top set-up artists are back in 2007-08, led by Butler's Mike Green and Youngstown State's Byron Davis. Green finished second in the circuit last year, dishing out four assists per contest, while Davis was fifth with a 3.87 per-game norm. UIC's Josh Mayo was sixth at 3.19, with Milwaukee's Alan Hanson ninth (2.90) and UIC's Spencer Stewart tenth (2.71).
Good Things Happen in 3's, For Pete's Sake
Perhaps Butler guard Pete Campbell was just making up for lost time. After sitting out the previous season as a transfer from IPFW, Campbell set Horizon League records for three-point accuracy last season. He hit 51.9 percent of his attempts behind the arc, including a loop-standard 58.1 percent in League play. Campbell averaged 12.4 points per game in the circuit and 9.1 overall, leading a Butler squad that set another League record with 321 triples, including a loop-standard 20 at Cleveland State on Feb. 8.
Green Bay led the League in three-point accuracy with a .383 mark from 19-9 and beyond. The Phoenix also finished sixth in the nation at the charity stripe with a .760 free-throw percentage.
Phoenix Hopes to Rise to the Top
Green Bay used a late-season surge to finish 18-15 overall and tied for fourth place in the regular-season standings with a 7-9 League ledger.
The Phoenix will rely on a strong junior class if Green Bay is to live up to its third-place status in the preseason poll. That cast includes forward Mike Schachtner, who ranked tenth in the League in scoring last season at 14.9 points per contest.
Schachtner was the only player in the League to finish among the circuit's top ten in all three shooting-percentage categories---second in free-throw accuracy (.912), third in three-point shooting (.456) and fifth in field-goal percentage (.493). Junior guard Ryan Tillema and sophomore guard Troy Cotton combined for another 100 treys last winter.
Another junior, forward Terry Evans earned his second consecutive All-Defensive Team award in 2006-07, rating second in the League in steals (1.70 per game), third in blocked shots (1.42 per outing) and seventh in rebounding (6.3 per game) last season.
Panthers Hope to Learn From Experience
Milwaukee had a string of four consecutive 20-win seasons end with last year's 9-22 record, but one thing is different about the 2007-08 edition of the Panthers.
After opening last season with only one player having started a Division I game, this year's group features four returning starters. The players on the current roster combined for 122 starts a year ago.
Senior forward Paige Paulsen provided that early touch of experience and averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while senior guard Avery Smith paced the team in scoring at 15.5 points per outing. That was the seventh-best mark in the League and included three games of 30 or more points.
Senior guard Allan Hanson topped the Panther charts with 90 assists (2.90 per game) while also averaging 7.7 points per contest. He led the team with 47 three-point field goals during the 2006-07 campaign.
Loyola Looking for 20/20 (Victory) Vision
Junior guard J.R. Blount wasn't even born the last time Loyola hit the 20-win mark (1984-85), but he will play a key role in determining whether the Ramblers get back to the same level after the graduation of Blake Schilb and Majak Kou, the team's top two scorers last season. Blount averaged 12.9 points per game as a sophomore and joins forwards Andy Polka and Leon Young as the core of this year's group.
Polka had an impressive freshman campaign with averages of 6.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, ranking third in the League off the boards. Young battled through a series of injuries to average 8.7 points and 5.6 caroms per contest.
Crusaders Crew Ready for New Horizon
Valparaiso joined the Horizon League this past summer after a 25-year run in the Mid-Continent Conference. Valpo attempts to make an immediate impact on the Horizon League with four returning starters, each of whom averaged more than 11 points per game a year ago.
Sophomore guard Samuel Haanpää was one of the nation's top three-point shooters in
2006-07, hitting 45.7 percent of his shots behind the arc while averaging 12 points per game. Junior forward Urule Igbavboa averaged 11.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while senior guard Shawn Huff (11.4) and junior guard Brandon McPherson (11.3) complete the quartet of twin-figure scorers.
Valpo begins its first Horizon League schedule at defending champion Wright State on Dec. 6.
History Not a Good Sign for Valparaiso
The Crusaders will have to buck historical trends if Valparaiso hopes to win the Horizon League title.
Green Bay is the only school to win the championship in its first season in the Horizon League. UWGB was one of six new entries into the League for the 1994-95 season and advanced through the tournament bracket and defeated another new entry---Wright State---for the title and an NCAA berth.
Valparaiso is the League's first new entry since Youngstown State joined the circuit for the 2001-02 campaign.
Guards Lead Titans into Action
Ryvon Covile recorded 16 double-doubles and finished sixth in the nation in rebounding (10.6 per game) last season. But Detroit brings a new look into the 2007-08 campaign following his graduation, with one of the League's smallest players forced to carry an even larger burden.
Senior guard Brandon Cotton earned Second-Team All-League honors for the third consecutive season in 2006-07, finishing third on the League scoring charts at 18.1 points per game. Cotton averaged 14.5 field-goal attempts last winter, accounting for 28.3 percent of the team's scoring. His scoring pace and career total of 1,464 points are the highest among active League players.
Cotton's running-mate, senior Jon Goode, averaged 9.2 points per game despite only starting six games last season. He led UDM with 49 three-pointers a year ago.
Flames Extinguish Opponents' Shots
UIC junior center Scott VanderMeer shattered the Horizon League single-season record with 111 blocked shots last season (19 more than the previous standard). He also etched his name into the school and League record books with a single-game mark of nine rejections against Cleveland State on Jan. 27. The 6-11 VanderMeer needs only 54 more blocks to set the school mark. VanderMeer ranked fifth in the nation with his rate of 3.47 blocks per game and also averaged 5.6 rebounds per contest last season.
First-Team All-League performer Othyus Jeffers left the program after last season, putting more pressure on junior guard Josh Mayo to carry the scoring load for the Flames. Mayo ranked among the League leaders with 41 percent touch from three-point range while averaging 12.2 points per contest.
Senior guard Robert Bush could take some of that pressure off Mayo. Bush averaged 9.8 points per game after joining the starting line-up for the final nine outings last year.
Vikings Bring New Look
Cleveland State lost three starters and has only five returning letterwinners from last year's 10-21 squad, but head coach Gary Waters brings ten newcomers into the fold this season.
At the head of that list is junior guard Cedric Jackson, a two-year starter at St. John's before coming to CSU. Jackson opened 35 contests in his two seasons for the Big East Conference entry, averaging 4.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per outing as a sophomore in 2005-06.
Jackson joins a Viking backcourt group that lost three point guards but still includes sophomore Joe Davis, who averaged nine points per game as a freshman.
Up front, junior forward J'Nathan Bullock continued his steady play last winter, leading the team with a rate of 13.5 points per game. He also ranked fifth on the League rebounding charts, pulling down an average of 6.5 caroms per contest.
Penguins Attempt to Continue Resurgence
Youngstown State posted its best showing in six seasons last winter, finishing 14-17 overall
(7-9 in the League) and hosting a first-round game in the League Championship for the first time since joining the circuit in 2001.
To continue that climb, however, the Penguins will have to replace more than half of the team's scoring with the graduation of two-time First-Team All-League pick Quin Humphrey and Keston Roberts, who combined for 35 points per game a year ago, ranking second and sixth, individually at 18.8 and 16.3, respectively.
Senior guard Byron Davis chipped in with 8.6 points per contest, the most among the returning players, and ranked fifth in the League at 3.87 assists per contest. He scored in double figures 11 times last winter, including eight against League competition.
Junior forward Jack Liles and senior forward John Barber anchor the frontcourt for YSU. Liles finished fourth on the League rebounding charts at 6.4 per game last season, with Barber averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per outing off the bench. Liles also averaged 7.4 points per game and ranked fourth in the League with 1.16 blocked shots per contest,
Teams Attempt to End Long Title Droughts
Butler carries the top spot in the League's preseason poll. The Bulldogs won 29 games last year but came up short in the League title tilt. That means BU aims for its first League title since 2001 this winter. Butler's four crowns (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001) are the most among the circuit's current members. Milwaukee is next with three (2003, 2005, 2006)
Two voters in the League's preseason poll predicted Green Bay to hoist t!he trophy in March. If that happens, it would be the second championship for the Phoenix, which won the crown in its first season in the League (1994-95).
Detroit has won the title twice (1994 and 1999) while UIC also has two League Championship trophies (2002 and 2004), but no school has endured a longer drought in the League than Loyola. One of the circuit's charter institutions, Loyola claimed its only loop crown in 1985.
Wright State won its first title last March, leaving Cleveland State, Youngstown State and Valparaiso as the only League schools without a title. Cleveland State joined the League in 1994 with Youngstown State moving into the loop in 2001 and Valparaiso coming aboard this past July.
Seeds Important in League Title Chase
Butler and Wright State shared the regular-season title with 13-3 loop ledgers in 2006-07 but Wright State earned the tie-breaker edge and home-court advantage for the League Champioonship by virtue of a sweep of third-place Loyola. The Ramblers' victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse in the last week of the regular season earned a split of the series with Butler.
The Raiders used that home-court atmosphere to ride to its first-ever League title, edging BU 60-55 in the championship showdown in front of a packed house at the Ervin J. Nutter Center.
Loyola (10-6) pulled away from the rest of the field to finish three games ahead of three teams who shared fourth place at 7-9. Green Bay drew the fourth seed for the League tournament, with Youngstown State fifth and UIC slated sixth. All three of those schools earned first-round home dates, with YSU drawing that edge for the first time in the school's six-year tenure in the League.
Just one game kept Milwaukee and Detroit (each 6-10) away from a home date, forcing Milwaukee to travel to UIC and sending the Titans to Youngstown State. Cleveland State (3-13) finished at the bottom of the standings and had to go to Green Bay for its first-round match-up.
For the second consecutive year, all seeds held true at the League summit, with Green Bay (78-59),Youngstown State (82-80) and UIC (83-77) winning at home to advance to Dayton. The Phoenix then ousted the Penguins 72-55 while Loyola avenged two regular-season losses by eliminating cross-town foe UIC 66-62 in the second round.
In the semifinals, Butler and Loyola met for the third time, with the Bulldogs posting their second overtime victory over the Ramblers, 67-66. Wright State dispatched Green Bay 67-51 in the other semifinal before earning an automatic NCAA Tournament entry with a 60-55 victory in the final.
Ten Teams, But Same Format for League Championship in 2008
The addition of Valparaiso brings the League's membership to ten schools for 2007-08. It also means one additional first-round game for the 2008 Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, putting added emphasis on finishing first or second in the regular-season standings.
The top two seeds earn byes into the semifinals, while the third-place team will now have a first-round contest against the tenth-seeded team. Seeds 4-6 host other first-round action, against the teams seeded ninth through seventh, respectively. The winners of those four games will now meet in second-round action, at the home of the top seed.
The home-court advantage has loomed large in recent years, with the top seed winning the title in each of the last three years. Milwaukee edged Detroit 59-58 in 2005 and defeated Butler 87-71 in 2006 at U.S. Cellular Arena before Wright State slipped past the Bulldogs at the Nutter Center last March.
Want to Play in the National Title Game?
Play the Horizon League in the Tournament
Butler advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual champion Florida last spring. That combination of events marked the third year in a row that the school eliminating a Horizon League team reached the national championship game.
The Gators also ousted 2006 Horizon League titlist Milwaukee in the second round of that year's national summit en route to their first national crown, while Illinois scored a third-round victory over UWM's Panthers in 2005 on the way to its runner-up finish. North Carolina defeated the Fighting Illini in the championship game that year.
Detroit to Host Regional Championships
The Horizon League's tradition of hosting premier NCAA championship events continues this season as Detroit hosts regional competition in the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships. The event is scheduled for March 28 and 30 at Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions.
Detroit then will host the Final Four in 2009 (April 4 and 6), one week after Butler and the Horizon League co-host a men's regional at Lucas Oil Stadium (future home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts) on March 27 and 29.
Championship action returns to Indianapolis the following two years when Butler and the League host the Men's Final Four in 2010 and the Women's Final Four in 2011.
In the past three years, the League office and/or member institutions have hosted a women's volleyball regional (at Green Bay in 2004), two men's basketball opening rounds (in Cleveland and Indianapolis in 2005), two Women's Final Fours (Indianapolis in 2005 and Cleveland in 2007), a women's basketball regional (in Cleveiand in 2006), a Men's Final Four (in Indianapolis in 2006) and a men's golf regional (in Cleveland in 2006).
