Men's Basketball Weekly Release #17 - Championship Preview

Feb. 26, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Josh Mayo, UIC
Sophomore * Guard * Merrillville, Ind. (Merrillville)
Mayo helped the Flames to a pair of critical League victories last week, lifting UIC to the sixth seed for the League Championship. He averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists while shooting 53 percent from the field. The sophomore point guard had the game's final five points, including the game-winning jumper with ten seconds remaining to push UIC past cross-town rival Loyola, 52-51, on Saturday. He finished with 14 points in that game, and had 11 points and eight rebounds in the Flames' 72-59 triumph over UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Previous Players of the Week: DaShaun Wood, WSU (Nov. 13); A.J. Graves, BU (Nov. 20); A.J. Graves, BU (Nov. 27); Othyus Jeffers, UIC (Dec. 4); Keston Roberts, YSU (Dec. 11); Mike Schachtner, UWGB (Dec. 18); DaShaun Wood, WSU (Dec. 26); Keston Roberts, YSU (Jan. 2); J.R. Blount, LU(Jan. 8); T.J. Gray, UIC (Jan. 15); Paige Paulsen, UWM (Jan. 22); Troy Cotton, UWGB (Jan. 29); Blake Schilb, LU (Feb. 5); DaShaun Wood, WSU (Feb. 12); Quin Humphrey, YSU (Feb. 19).

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending February 25

Brandon Crone, Butler
Sr. * F * Frankfort, Ind.
Crone helped the Bulldogs to a share of the regular-season title, averaging 15.3 points and six rebounds in three games. He had 12 points and ten boards against Loyola on Thursday and scored 17 points versus Detroit on Saturday.

Ryvon Covile, Detroit
Sr. * C * Detroit, Mich.
Covile averaged 15.5 points and 14 rebounds last week, logging his 16th double-double of the year with 23 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's victory over Cleveland State and grabbing 15 caroms in Saturday's loss at Butler.

Blake Schilb, Loyola
Sr. * G * Rantoul, Ill.
Schilb scored 28 points with five assists to lead the Ramblers past #15 Butler 75-71 on Wednesday, Loyola's first victory over a ranked foe since 1986. He came back with 18 points, six caroms and six assists in Saturday's loss to UIC.

Mike Schachtner, UW-Green Bay
So. * F * Somerset, Wis.
Schachtner led the Phoenix in scoring in both games last week, scoring 13 points in Monday's loss to #15 Butler and posting a game-high 23 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the floor Saturday versus UW-Milwaukee.

Roman Gentry, UW-Milwaukee
Fr. * G * Sioux City, Iowa
Gentry had his best game of the season with 17 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's loss at UIC. He came back with eight points and four boards in Saturday's victory at UW-Green Bay, and shot 56 percent from the field for the week.

Quin Humphrey, Youngstown State
Sr. * G * Ellenwood, Ga.
Wood scored 35 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, leading the way as YSU knocked off League co-champion Wright State 72-57 on Thursday. He posted eight points and nine rebounds Saturday at Cleveland State.

Trio of 20-Win Teams Leads Way Into League Championship

For the first time in four years, the Horizon League boasts at least three teams with 20 or more victories. Regular-season co-champions Butler (26-5) and Wright State (21-9), along with Loyola (20-10) give the League a trio of 20-win squads for the eighth time in the circuit's 28-year history.

Butler set a League record with 26 regular-season victories, but Wright State used a strong late-season run---a nine-game winning streak including a victory over Butler on Feb. 10---to claim the top seed in this week's League Championship. The Raiders finished 13-3 in loop play, including a sweep of the regular-season series against Loyola which eventually provided the difference after Butler tied WSU's League ledger.

Wright State surpassed the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1992-93, when the Raiders finished 20-10. The 21 victories also match the most by a WSU squad since the school moved to Division I in 1987-88.

Loyola is in the 20-win club for the first time since 1984-85, when high-scoring Alfredrick Hughes led the Ramblers to a 27-6 record as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year on the way to the NCAA Championship's Sweet 16.

Butler can match the League single-season victory record if the Bulldogs win the League Championship. BU needs two more wins to match the current loop mark, set when Xavier finished at 28-5 in the 1989-90 campaign.

UW-Green Bay (16-14) would give the League a fourth 20-win team if the Phoenix can win the tournament title. UWGB opens its quest for the crown Tuesday, hosting Cleveland State in the first round. The League has never had four teams reach the 20-win mark in one season.

The 28th annual League Championship begins Tuesday at campus sites before moving to Dayton's Ervin J. Nutter Center for Friday's second round and Saturday's semifinals.

News From Around the League

Raiders prepare to host League summit
Wright State carries the top seed into the League Championship, standing at 13-3 in loop play and 21-9 overall. The Raiders dropped their only game last week, having a nine-game winning streak snapped with Thursday's 72-57 loss at Youngstown State.

WSU shot a season-low 25.5 percent from the field in Youngstown, making 14 of 55 attempts while committing 14 turnovers. The Raiders had maintained 46 percent accuracy and committed 9.4 turnovers per game during their streak.

Senior guard DaShaun Wood became the first Raider to win Horizon League Player of the Year honors after leading the circuit in scoring (19.4 points per game) and steals (1.90 per outing) during the regular season. Wood also ranks third in free-throw percetnage (.888) and fourth with a rate of 3.83 assists per game.

Junior forward Jordan Pleiman scored ten points Thursday, making all three shots from the field and four of eight attempts at the line. Pleiman tops the loop charts with a .572 field-goal percentage, while senior forward Drew Burleson is eighth in rebounding at 5.9 per outing.

Freshman guards Vaughn Duggins and Todd Brown both landed spots on the All-Newcomer Team, combining for 18 points per game during the regular season. Duggins adds 2.60 assists per contest.

The Raiders' share of the regular-season title represents Wright State's first crown since the school joined the League in 1994. As the top seed, Wright State has a bye into the semifinals, reaching that round for the first time since 2001. Wright State adanced to the championship game in its debut season in the circuit (1994-95), but has not been back to the final since then.

WSU has already secured its first 20-win season since the 1992-93 campaign when the Raiders finished 20-10. The 21 victories also match the most by a Raider squad since the school moved to Division I in 1987-88.

Bulldogs make history but miss top seed
Butler set a Horizon League record with its 26th victory of the regular season, defeating Detroit 56-36 on Saturday to improve to 26-5 overall and 13-3 in League play. The victory wasn't enough to gain the top seed in the League Championship, however, following Thursday's 75-71 loss to Loyola.

Butler needs two more victories to match the overall League record, set by the Xavier squad which finished 28-5 in 1989-90. Todd Lickliter has now coached all three BU teams to record 25 or more wins in a single season.

Junior guards A.J. Graves (24) and Mike Green (23) combined for 47 points against the Ramblers. Graves ranks fourth on the League scoring charts at 17.3 points per game, moving into 17th place in school history with 1,272 career markers. He also leads the League with a .954 free-throw percentage and 88 treys, while ranking fifth with 1.40 steals per game.

Green is 11th in the circuit in scoring (14.5 points per outing) and tenth in rebounding (5.8 rebounds per game). The League's Newcomer of the Year also stands third with a rate of 4.00 assists per contest.

Junior forward Pete Campbell set a Horizon League record for three-point accuracy in loop play, canning 50 of 86 attempts for a .581 mark behind the arc. For the season, Campbell's .519 clip tops the loop charts as part of his 8.9 points-per-game scoring average.

Detroit's 36 points represented the fewest allowed by a Butler team in more than five years. Birmingham-Southern managed only 34 points in a 70-34 loss on Dec. 1, 2001, and Butler is now 19-0 when holding opponents under 60 points this season.

Butler became the first team in League history to top both the offensive and defensive scoring charts in loop play in the same season, averaging 69.4 points per game in League action while allowing only 54.9.

Three the magic number for Ramblers
Loyola enters the tournament as the third seed, finishing the regular season with a 20-10 mark (10-6 in League play) including Wednesday's 75-71 victory at Butler and a 52-51 home-court loss to UIC on Saturday.

Loyola became the League's third 20-win team Wednesday, hitting that mark for the first time since 1984-85 when the Ramblers finished 27-6 and reached the NCAA's Sweet 16. The ten League victories are Loyola's best showing since a 13-1 mark that same season.

Saturday's defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Ramblers---the longest since a similar seven-game streak in 1991-92. The Ramblers' latest run included the program's first victory over a ranked foe since 1986. Senior guard Blake Schilb scored 28 points against the Bulldogs, and is fifth on the League scoring charts at 16.1 points per game. He stands among the top ten in seven other categories, including second with 4.21 assists per outing.

Senior guard Majak Kou and sophomore guard J.R. Blount also rank among the League's top scorers with 13.4 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Freshman forward Andy Polka is fourth with an average of 6.9 rebounds per contest.

As a team, Loyola boasts the League's top-scoring offense with an average of 70.2 points per game. LU also paces the loop charts in field-goal percentage (.453) and rebounding margin (plus-3.3 per game).

Phoenix gain #4 seed despite two losses
UW-Green Bay carries a 16-14 overall mark into the League Championship, entering as the fourth seed with a 7-9 record. The Phoenix open at home Tuesday versus Cleveland State, although the Resch Center wasn't kind to UWGB last week in losses to Butler (68-58 on Monday) and UW-Milwaukee (74-73 on Saturday).

The Phoenix shot 75 percent (15-of-20) from the floor in the second half against the Panthers, marking the team's best one-half performance since going 13-of-17 (.765) to finish a 70-63 victory at Butler on Dec. 22, 2003. That wasn't enough, however, as UWM claimed the win on a basket in the closing seconds.

Sophomore forward Mike Schachtner had a game-high 23 points Saturday. He finished the League season hitting 46 of 48 free throws for a .958 mark, as a miss Saturday prevented him from eclipsing the loop-only record of .970 set by Jesse Deister of Wright State in 2000-01.

Schachtner stands tenth in the League in scoring (15.2 points per game) and is the only player among the League's top five in all three shooting categories. He ranks second in free-throw accuracy (.913) and three-point shooting (.467) plus fifth with a .497 field-goal percentage.

Senior guard Ryan Evanochko is one spot above Schachtner on the scoring charts at 15.3 points per game, and tops the loop charts with 5.20 assists per contest. Sophomore forward Terry Evans ranks seventh in rebounding (6.0 per game) and third in blocks (1.27 per outing).

Penguins at home for first time
Youngstown State earned the fifth seed and will open the League Championship at home for the first time since joining the circuit in 2001. The Penguins, who enter the loop summit at 13-16 overall (7-9 in the League), knocked off top-seeded Wright State 72-57 on Thursday but fell 68-55 at Cleveland State on Saturday.

Senior guard Quin Humphrey poured in 35 points against WSU, hitting 10 of 18 shots from the field including four treys plys 11-of-12 at the line. He also grabbed 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season while reaching the 30-point for the third time this season. His 1,674 career points are second in the school's Division I history.

Humphrey ranks among the League's top ten in nine statistical categories, including second in scoring (19.1 points per game) and third in rebounding (7.2 per outing). In League play, he topped the circuit by averaging 19.7 points per contest.

Head coach Jerry Slocum recorded his 600th career victory against the Raiders. He owns a 600-362 ledger in his 32-year career.

Senior guard Keston Roberts added 19 points versus WSU, and now has 846 in just 57 games at Youngstown State. He has scored in double figures in 24 of 29 games this year.

Freshman guard Byron Davis has averaged 4.7 assists in his last ten games, and sophomore forward Jack Liles has grabbed 70 rebounds in his last nine outings.

Flames ride momentum, streak into tourney
UIC secured the sixth seed for the League Championship, closing the regular season on a three-game winning streak after victories over UW-Milwaukee (72-59 Wednesday) and Loyola (52-51 Saturday) last week. The Flames enter the loop summit at 13-17 overall including a 7-9 League ledger.

UIC hosts the Panthers again on Wednesday, attempting to match the team's 2002 run which began as the sixth seed and finished with the League title. The teams split two regular-season meetings and square off in the postseason for the first time since the Flames defeated UWM to win the 2004 League Championship crown.

Sophomore center Scott VanderMeer recorded six blocked shots in Saturday's victory, becoming the first player in League history to reach 100 in a single season. He has 105 on the year, ranking among the national leaders with an average of 3.50 per contest.

Junior forward Othyus Jeffers led the way with 15 points Wednesday, pacing four double-figure scorers. Jeffers ranks second in the League in rebounding at 8.9 per game, and is seventh in scoring with 15.7 points per contest. His 1.57 steals per game and .474 field-goal shooting are third and sixth, respectively.

Sophomore guard Josh Mayo adds 11.8 points per game, and also ranks sixth in the League at 3.12 assists per game. Sophomore guard T.J. Gray's 11.1 points per game come in part from 84 three-point field goals.

Panthers enter new territory
UW-Milwaukee split two games last week, moving to 9-21 overall and 6-10 in League play. The Panthers fell at UIC 72-59 on Wednesday but rallied to slip past instate rival UW-Green Bay 74-73 on junior forward Paige Paulsen's buzzer-beater Saturday.

The Panthers return to Chicago for Tuesday's first-round match-up against UIC. UWM looks for back-to-back wins for only the second time this season, accomplishing that feat Jan. 17 (versus UIC) and 21 (versus Wright State).

Tuesday's contest will be the Panthers' first League Championship action outside Milwaukee since 2004, when UWM defeated Detroit 58-50 in the semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Panthers are now 5-2 in games decided by five points or less this season. Four players finished in double figures against UW-Green Bay, led by sophomore guard Ricky Franklin with 17 points. Junior guard Avery Smith had 16, with Paulsen and junior guard Allan Hanson adding 12 and 11, respectively.

Freshman Roman Gentry collected 17 points and nine rebounds at the UIC Pavlion on Wednesday, marking the 19th time this year a Panther reserve has scored in double figures. Gentry is averaging 7.2 points and five rebounds in his last eight games off the bench.

Smith stands eighth on the League scoring charts at 15.6 points per outing, with Paulsen 17th at 11.1 per game. Paulsen also averages a team-high 5.8 rebounds per contest.

Titans fall short at the end
Detroit dropped to the eighth seed at 6-10 in the League and 11-18 overall after splitting two games last week. The Titans defeated Cleveland State 60-48 on Wednesday but lost 56-36 at Butler on Saturday to finish the regular season.

Senior center Ryvon Covile posted his 16th double-double of the year in his final Calihan Hall appearance, collecting 23 points and 13 rebounds while matching his season-high with three assists. Covile leads the League off the glass, averaging 10.8 caroms per contest for the year---the highest rate by a League player since Wright State's Thad Burton averaged 10.9 in 1997-98.

The 36 points Saturday marked UDM's lowest output since a 33-point showing at South Carolina on December 31, 2005, a span of 47 games. The Titans shot just 27.5 percent from the field at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Take away Covile's 14-for-26 effort in the two games, and the rest of the team was just 27.7 percent (23-of-83) for the week.

Junior guard Zach Everingham returned to action Saturday after missing Thursday's game due to a concussion suffered against Buffalo on Feb. 17.

Junior guard Brandon Cotton finished the regular season third in the League in scoring at 17.6 points per game. Covile is 12th on that list at 13.9 points per contest, and ranks second in field-goal percentage (.560) and blocked shots (1.48 per game).

Detroit's seventh-place finish marks the team's lowest in the League standings since 1991.

Vikings carry momentum into tournament
Cleveland State improved to 10-20 overall and 3-13 in the League with Saturday's 68-55 victory over Youngstown State. The Vikings opened the week with a 60-48 loss at Detroit on Wednesday.

CSU attempts to halt a six-year losing streak in the League Championship when the Vikings travel to UW-Green Bay for first-round action. Cleveland State is 3-11 all-time in the loop summit and hasn't won since defeating UIC 62-61 in the quarterfinals on March 3, 2001.

The Vikings matched a season-low with eight turnovers versus YSU, the third time Cleveland State has hit that mark in the last five outings. CSU has averaged just 13.5 turnovers per game this season---an improvement of 2.6 from last year's rate---but has been even more efficient of late with only 10.6 miscues per game over the last nine contests. The Vikings have finished with ten or fewer six times during that span.

Senior guard Raheem Moss scored 21 points in his final homecourt appearance, leading the way to the Vikings' victory over their northeast Ohio neighbors. Moss averages 10.6 points per game for the season.

Sophomore forward J'Nathan Bullock tops the team charts in both scoring (13.6 points per outing) and rebounding (6.5 per appearance, fifth-best in the League). Bullock and sophomore guard Bahaadar Russell each had double-figure scoring efforts in both of the Vikings' games last week.

Crusaders near finish line in Mid-Con
Valparaiso---which officially joins the League in 2007-08---closed the regular season at 16-14 overall and 9-5 in Mid-Continent Conference play. Valpo ran past Southern Utah 75-48 on Thursday and defeated UMKC 77-61 on Saturday.

Freshman guard Samuel Haanpaa leads a balanced attack with an 11.7 points-per-game scoring pace, just ahead of sophomore forward Urule Igbavboa (11.4), junior guard Shawn Huff (11.3) and sophomore guard Brandon McPherson (11.3). Igbavboa also ranks second with 7.4 rebounds per contest and third as a 55.6 percent shooter from the floor, while McPherson's 3.30 assists per game rank fifth on that conference chart. Igbavboa posted his eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season last week.

Huff led the way with 21 points against UMKC, leading a quartet of Crusaders in double figures as Valpo recorded its seventh consecutive homecourt victory and secured its 13th winning season in the past 14 seasons.

Valpo enters the Mid-Con tournament as the third seed, opening play Sunday night in a re-match against UMKC. Top seed Oral Roberts hosts the event, with Oakland owning the second seed. Valpo, which is after its eighth Mid-Con title, already has won more championships than any other school in that League (Southwest Missouri State is next with three, while Horizon League member UW-Green Bay has two and Cleveland State and Wright State each own one Mid-Con crown).