Men's Basketball Weekly Release #12

Jan. 23, 2006

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Ije Nwankwo, Cleveland State
Junior Center * Ann Arbor, Mich.
Nwankwo averaged 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in CSU's road victories at UIC and UW-Green Bay last week. He shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from the field and 75 percent (15-of-20) at the line, adding three assists, two blocked shots and two steals for the week. He collected 18 points and six rebounds in the Vikings' 66-63 victory at Green Bay after posting 14 points to lift Cleveland State past UIC. Nwankwo also logged a game-high 15 points in a loss at Akron on Monday.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending January 22

Brandon Cotton, Detroit
Junior Guard * Detroit, Mich.
Cotton provided a spark to the Titan offense in his return after a three-game absence due to a hand injury. Cotton scored 13 points in his first game back, a one-point loss to UW-Milwaukee, and poured in 24 to lift Detroit past UIC. For the week, he shot 56 (14-of-25) percent from the field.

Justin Bowen, UIC
Senior Forward * Chicago, Ill.
Bowen averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in two outings last week. Bowen shot 52 percent from the field in his two appearances, which included a career-best 26 points plus 13 rebounds versus Cleveland State for his sixth double-double of the season.

Majak Kou, Loyola
Junior Guard * Hamilton, Ontario
Kou tallied a career-best 24 points and added six rebounds, two blocks and two steals to help Loyola past Butler 74-64 on Thursday. Eighteen of those points came in the second half. Kou hit nine of 16 shots from the field including a pair of three-pointers.

Terry Evans, UW-Green Bay
Freshman Forward * St. Louis, Mo.
Evans matched his career-high with 14 points and grabbed five rebounds versus Cleveland State, two days after his eight-point, six-rebound effort against Wright State---a performance which also featured three blocks as the Phoenix handed WSU its first League loss of the season.

DaShaun Wood, Wright State
Junior Guard * Detroit, Mich.
Wood collected 17 ponts and five rebounds at UW-Milwaukee, after posting eight points, four rebounds plus four assists at UW-Green Bay. The junior was 10-of-13 at the charity stripe against the Panthers and also had two steals in each of his team's games last week.

Keston Roberts, Youngstown State
Junior Guard * Brooklyn, N.Y.
Roberts scored 23 points to lead the Penguins to a 64-62 victory over Butler on Saturday. He played all 40 minutes, hitting 10 of 18 shots from the floor and grabbing five rebunds. Saturday's victory marked the third consecutive game in which he led YSU in scoring.

Horizon League Players of the Week

Nov. 21-- Justin Bowen, UIC -- 14.3 pts., 7.3 rebs per game in Flames' 2-1 start
Nov. 28-- Brandon Crone, Butler -- 19.0 ppg., 68% FG at Ohio State, Michigan
Dec. 5-- Leon Young, Loyola -- Back-to-back double-doubles--15.0 ppg.,10.5 rpg.
Dec. 12-- Ryan Evanochko, UW-Green Bay -- 25.0 ppg., 61% FG vs. Wisconsin, Montana State
Dec. 19-- Quin Humphrey, Youngstown State -- 20 pts. (6-9 FG, 6-9 FT), 11 rebs. vs. Duquesne
Dec. 26-- Boo Davis, UW-Milwaukee -- 20 pts. (5 treys), 3 reb., 2 asst., 2 stl. vs. Oakland
Jan. 2-- Adrian Tigert, UW-Milwaukee -- 18.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg., in wins at Wyoming, Montana
Jan. 9-- Quin Humphrey, Youngstown State -- 27.0 ppg., 10-14 3FG, .682 FG% in three games
Jan. 16-- Ryan Evanochko, UW-Green Bay -- 29.5 ppg., 4.0 apg. in wins over UIC, UWM
Jan. 23-- Ije Nwankwo, Cleveland State -- 16.0 ppg., 5.5 rpg. in road victories at UIC, UWGB

This Week in the Horizon League

The League crosses the halfway point this week in its loop schedule this week, with eight games on the docket. When action concludes Saturday, 39 of 72 League contests will be in the books, providing plenty of fodder for discussion in preparation for the (Feb. 28-Mar. 7) League Champinoship tournament.

Wednesday's schedule features the hottest team in the League as Cleveland State puts its four-game loop winning streak on the line hosting Butler while Wright State defends its second-place status as well as the home court when UIC comes to town.

On Thursday, the League's focus moves to Youngstown State when the Penguins host current front-runner UW-Milwaukee, while the other evening that night sees UW-Green Bay at Loyola.

Saturday includes a full slate of four games as Wright State travels to Butler, trying to end a two-game skid. Youngstown State goes up the road to Cleveland State, trying to avenge a 63-50 loss at the Beeghly Center on Jan. 14, a game which featured 16 points from Patrick Tatham and 14 by J'Nathan Bullock.

The other two Saturday afternoon contests take place roughly 11 miles apart in Chicago. UIC hosts UW-Green Bay in a re-match of the (Jan. 11) contest which say the Phoenix outlast the Flames 90-84 in overtime behind Ryan Evanochko's 30-point performance, while Loyola and Detroit square off for the second time this season. The Titans posted a 73-67 triumph at Calihan Hall the first time around (Jan. 5), shooting 54 percent from the floor and outrebounding the Ramblers 35-22.

Around the Horizon League

Panthers in familiar spot atop standings
UW-Milwaukee took control of the Horizon League standings with two victories last week, moving to 14-4 overall and 7-1 in the circuit by edging Detroit 72-71 on Wednesday and winning a showdown versus Wright State on Saturday. The Panthers' 61-54 victory over WSU puts UW-Milwaukee two games up on the rest of the League.

Senior guard Boo Davis scored 21 points in each game last week, including the game-winning free throws to cap a furious comeback at Detroit. The Panthers trailed by ten points with four minutes to play but rallied for the triumph. His 21-point effort versus the Raiders marked the eighth time Davis has crossed the 20-point mark this season and helped extend UW-Milwaukee's homecourt winning streak to 18 games, one of the longest streaks in the nation.

Davis got help from an unlikely source Wednesday when senior center Derrick Ford posted a career-high 14 points. Ford had entered the game averaging 1.6 points per contest (24 in 15 appearances, but hit all ten of his free throws and two of four shots from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds.

Senior forward Joah Tucker posted a double-duble with 12 points and 12 rebounds versus the Titans, and remains among the League scoring leaders in both scoring (eighth at 16.1 points per game) and rebounding (ninth at 5.9 caroms per contest). Senior forward Adrian Tigert stands sixth in rebounding (7.0 per game) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.516) as part of his 12.1 points-per-game norm.

In League action, the Panthers lead the League in only one statistical category but it's perhaps the most important---scoring margin---outscoring opponents by a rate of 7.4 points per game.

Raiders drop a pair on the road
Wright State fell to 8-8 overall and 4-2 in the League after suffering a pair of defeats on its trip through Wisconsin last week. The Raiders led at halftime in both games but were outscored 67-39 after intermission in setbacks at UW-Green Bay (57-44 on Thursday) and UW-Milwaukee (61-54 on Saturday).

The Raiders managed only 19 points after the break at Milwaukee, the team's lowest 20-minute output of the season.

Balance has been a staple of WSU basketball with as many as five players reaching double figures in some games this season. Against the Phoenix, however, sophomore forward Jordan Pleiman was the lone Raider in twin digits with 12. He also posted 11 at UW-Milwaukee.

Junior guard DaShaun Wood tallied 17 points at U.S. Cellular Arena, moving him closer to the 1,000-point mark in his career. Wood needs 44 more markers to become the 25th Raider to reach four figures, and his current 16.1 points-per-game pace (eighth-best in the League) puts Wood on track to achieve that milestone Feb. 2 against the Panthers. Wood also rates among the top players in the League in assists (fourth at 4.31 per game), steals (second with 1.94 per appearance) and free-throw percentage (fourth with a .800 mark). Wood's 80 free throws made are the most in the League.

Junior forward Drew Burleson had a ten-game double-figure-scoring streak snapped at ten with his six-point output at Green Bay but still averages 12.2 per game this season while Pleiman's 9.3 per-game pace includes an active run of six twin-figure performances. Pleiman is also eighth in the League at 6.1 rebounds per game.

Wednesday's home contest versus UIC marks the start of a run which has the Raiders playing six of their next eight at the Nutter Center, where the team is 6-1 this season.

Vikings making history of sorts
Cleveland State has climbed to third place in the League at 4-3 in loop play. The Vikings' 8-9 overall record also features four consecutive League triumphs as the Vikings claimed two key road victories by edging UIC (87-83 on Thursday) and UW-Green Bay (66-63 on Saturday).

The four-game League winning streak (sandwiched around a 62-50 loss to Akron on Monday) is the school's longest since 2000-01. Cleveland State has also won its last three road dates in the circuit, something that hasn't happened since the 1992-93 campaign when the Vikings went 15-1 to capture the regular-season Mid-Continent Conference championship.

Overall, CSU has won four of its last five games, coming back from a 4-8 start to the season. The difference can be attributed in part to a significant swing in rebounding as the Vikings have outrebounded each of their last five foes by a combined 31 caroms (210-179 overall, a plus-6.2 per-game rate). In addition, CSU has limited its opponents to 24 percent (17-of-70) shooting from three-point range during the streak.

Another difference has been the addition of junior center Ije Nwankwo, who is averaging 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per outing in nine games with the Vikings. In the team's eight games before he became eligible, Cleveland State was outrebounded by an average of 11.1 boards per game. Since Nwankwo took the court, CSU owns a plus-2.9 per-game margin.

Nwankwo has also helped solidify the VIkings' rotation as the only change to coach Mike Garland's opening line-up in the past 12 games. In contrast, CSU had different starting quintets in each of its first five contests this season.

Junior guard Carlos English leads the League at 2.00 steals per game and also stands second with a rate of 5.00 assists per contest. Junior forward Raheem Moss tops the Viking scoring chart with his average of 11.3 poinst per contest, while senior forward Frashon McGee ranks tenth in the League at 5.9 rebounds per outing.

Titans' roller-coaster ride continues
Detroit split two its two games last week, falling 72-71 to UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday but rallying to defeat UIC 76-65 on Saturday. The Titans start the week at 10-11 overall and 4-4 in League competition.

Wednesday marked the Titans' first home-court loss of the season as UW-Milwaukee rallied from a ten-point deficit in the final four minutes. With the victory over UIC, Detroit is now 8-1 at home this season.

Brandon Cotton wears uniform No. 5, but the junior guard appears to find something special about the number 24. His 24-point performance against the Flames matched a season-high he has hit no fewer than four times this season. Cotton also 20 points in another game earlier this year and currently ranks sixth on the League scoring chart at 16.1 points per game.

Senior forward Chuck Bailey posted one double-double and reached twin figures in scoring only five times last year. Bailey already has five double-doubles in 2005-06 after a team-high 18 points and career-high 12 rebounds versus UW-Milwaukee. He added 15 points against UIC for his 12th twin-digit scoring effort of the year, including each of the last six games. He has averaged 15.3 points per game over that span, shooting a torrid .692 (36-of-52) from the field to take over the League field-goal percentage lead at .596 for the season. He's also seventh in the circuit at 6.3 rebounds per outing---four spots behind senior forward Torvoris Baker (7.5)---and second at 1.38 blocked shots per game.

Sophomore guard Jon Good ranks seventh in the League at 2.86 assists per game while also shooting 43.3 percent behind the three-point arc (fourth-best in the League).

Ramblers finding success at home
Loyola won its only game of the week, improving to 11-6 overall and 3-4 in the League with Thursday's 74-64 victory over Butler. The Ramblers are now 8-1 this season at the Gentile Center, where the team will play all three of its games this week.

Junior guard Majak Kou scored a career-high 24 points against the Bulldogs, hitting nine of 16 shots from the field including a pair of three-pointers. Kou is averaging 22.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his last two outings while also helping the Ramblers limit opponents to 62.5 points per game during that span.

The six-foot-five Kou has regained the top spot on the League's blocked-shot charts, swatting away 1.53 attempts per game. He also ranks third at 1.65 steals per game but shouldn't be considered just a defensive specialist, as his 12.5 points-per-game scoring pace puts the junior 13th in the League in that category.

Loyola's recent success can also be traced to the efforts of junior guard Blake Schilb. In his last three games, Schilb has scored a total of 73 points (24.3 per outing) and also averaged 5.7 rebounds plus 3.7 assists per contest while shooting 57 percent (28-of-49) from the floor. Schilb has now scored in double figures in 23 consecutive regular-season League games and is on a run of eight straight twin-digit totals overall. He ranks second in the League at 18.4 points per game while also standing fifth with 3.71 assists per contest and first in free-throw shooting (.835).

Chris Logan could easily be lost among the accomplishments of his teammates but the senior guard has quietly become the League's top three-point shooter, hitting nearly 46 percent behind the arc.

Loyola boasts the League's highest-scoring offense at 74.0 points per game, due in part to a loop-best .464 field-goal percentage. Five players average in double figures, led by Schilb and Kou (12.5 per game). Freshman forwards J.R. Blount (12.3) and Leon Young (10.8) plus Logan (10.4) round out that group. Young also rates second in the League at 8.1 rebounds per game and is second only to teammate Schilb at the free-throw line (.827).

Phoenix prepare to hit the road
UW-Green Bay wrapped up a four-game homestand last week, moving to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in the League by splitting two contests at the Resch Center. The Phoenix ended Wright State's four-game winning streak with a 57-44 victory on Thursday but dropped a 66-63 decision to Cleveland State on Saturday.

The win over Wright State also marked the second consecutive game in which the Phoenix knocked off an undefeated League leader, following on the heels of an 84-77 victory over then-frontrunner UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 14.

Junior guard Ryan Evanochko posted his third consecutive 20-point performance (and seventh of the season) with a 22-point showing against WSU. He had just two points at halftime but scored 20 in the final 20 minutes. He has now gone for 20 or more in three consecutive games twice this year---a feat only accomplished once in school history before 2005-06.

Evanochko's heroics have lifted the junior to the fifth position on the League scoring list at 16.2 points per game. He's the only Phoenix player to average double digits and also ranks third in the circuit at 4.58 assists per contest.

Junior forward Josh Lawrence and sophomore guard Ryan Werch don't have enough made free throws to rank among the League leaders but have made the most of their opportunities at the charity stripe. Lawrence is 32-of-36 for a .889 clip which would lead the League, while Werch is 20-of-23 (.870). Lawrence is averaging 9.1 points per game, just behind freshman Mike Schachtner (9.9) for second place on the team list. Redshirt freshman Terry Evans stands atop the Phoenix charts (and 12th in the League) at 5.7 rebounds per game.

Penguins crash the boards
Youngstown State begins the week at 6-11 overall and 3-4 in the League after edging Butler 64-62 on Saturday. The Penguins have already surpassed their victory totals for all of last season, when YSU was 5-23 overall and 2-14 in the loop.

Junior guard Keston Roberts paced Youngstown State with 23 points in Saturday's victory, hitting 10 of 18 shots from the field in a full 40-minute effort. He has now led YSU in scoring in each of the past three games and raised his season pace to 16.0 per game, ninth-best in the League.

His emergence provides strong support for junior guard Quin Humphrey, who logged his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds. The board count was the best by a Horizon League player this season as well as a career-high, and further entrenched the six-foot-two Humphrey atop the League charts in both scoring (19.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 per contest). He remains on pace to become the first player to lead the League in both categories since Evansville's Parrish Casebier in 1991-92.

The Penguins outrebounded Butler by a 41-22 margin on Saturday, marking the 11th time this season YSU has won the battle of the boards.

Humphrey needs 78 points to become the 30th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. At his current pace, he would hit four figures at home versus UIC on Feb. 2.

Senior guard Domonique Crawford scored only two points Saturday but they were the difference, as his two free throws with 28.4 seconds remaining put YSU ahead 63-62 and he grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw 22 seconds later to help the Penguins secure the victory.

Bulldogs come up short
Butler starts the week at 9-8 overall and 2-3 in the League after 74-64 loss at Loyola plus Saturday's 64-62 defeat at Youngstown State. Senior forward Brandon Polk scored 26 points, with five rebounds and three blocked shots versus YSU, but the Bulldogs missed nine of 17 free-throw attempts as a team.

The Bulldogs were outrebounded 41-22 at Youngstown, the third consecutive time BU had endured a double-digit margin off the glass. In the last three games, Detroit, Loyola and YSU combined for a 111-68 carom advantage, a margin of almost 15 per game.

Butler has offset much of that gap with single-digit turnover counts in six of its last seven games, committing only five miscues at Loyola and nine at the Beeghly Center. BU's norm of 9.6 turnovers per game is easily the lowest in the league (Loyola is next at 12.5) and third-best in the nation. According to the latest NCAA rankings (through Jan. 17), only Temple (7.4) and West Virginia (9.0) have been more careful with the ball this season.

Senior guard Bruce Horan hit a season-high six three-pointers for all 18 of his points at YSU. He has now made at least one triple in 64 consecutive games and 74 of 75 in his career, and is the League's most prolific three-point shooter at 3.24 treys per game this season. His 256 career tri-lighters are fifth on the all-time League list and account for 768 of his 840 career points (91.4 percent).

Polk stands third on the League scoring charts at 16.4 points per game, while his .540 field-goal percentage is good for fourth-best in the circuit. Junior forward Brandon Crone leads the Bulldogs at 4.9 rebounds per game, with senior guard boasting not only a team-best 3.18 assists per game (sixth in the League) but a League-topping 2.57 assist-to-turnover ratio.

As a team, Butler leads the League in three-point accuracy (.380), hitting 149 of 383 attempts behind the arc. BU averages 8.76 triples per game, with 43.8 percent of its field-goal attempts coming from the tri-light zone.

Flames' slide continues
UIC saw its losing streak stretch to six games following an 87-73 loss to Cleveland State on Thursday and a 76-65 setback at Detroit on Saturday.

The skid---the Flames' longest since a seven-game slide during the 2000-01 campaign---has dropped UIC to 8-11 overall and 1-6 in the League. The Flames have not enjoyed victory since defeating Youngstown State 85-84 in overtime on the final day of 2005.

Senior forward Justin Bowen tallied his sixth double-double of the season Thursday, logging a career-high 26 points and collecting 13 rebounds. He hit 10 of 14 shotsfrom the field and also added three steals, two assists and a blocked shot, while freshman Josh Mayo also posted a personal-best with his 22 points (including four three-pointers) along with five assists.

Bowen is currently tenth in the League at 15.9 points per game, two spots ahead of sophomore forward Othyus Jeffers (12th at 12.6 per contest). Bowen has five 20-point games and six double-doubles in the 2005-06 campaign.

Jeffers holds the fifth spot on the loop rebounding sheet at 7.2 per game---joining Bowen as a strong one-two frontcourt tandem for the Flames---and also leads the team with his 2.74 assists-per-game average which is 10th-best in the League. Jeffers is also the only UIC player to start all 17 games this season.