Men's Basketball Weekly Release #4
Dec. 13, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Horizon League men's basketball season begins its second month with 11 games on the schedule this week, including the second League game of the year.
League teams will play a pair of games against top-25 teams this week. UIC (3-3) plays at #7/9 Duke Tuesday, Dec. 14, in a game that will be televised on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET. UW-Milwaukee (6-1) will face instate rival and #--/22 Wisconsin Wednesday, Dec. 15, in Madison.
Saturday's six-game slate features Youngstown State (2-4) at Wright State (4-4) in the Horizon League opener for both teams plus three non-conference home games (IPFW at Butler, Illinois State at Loyola and Gannon at Detroit), a Chicagoland battle as UIC plays at DePaul and Cleveland State's (3-2) cross-country trip to Utah Valley State.
UIC Boasts Nation's Toughest Schedule: UIC (3-3), the defending Horizon League Tournament champion, owns the nation's toughest schedule this season, according to rpiratings.com. The Flames' five Division I opponents enter the week with a combined record of 28-6 (.820). They have defeated Illinois State (7-2) and UNC Wilmington (4-2), while losing to Georgia Tech (6-0), Bowling Green (5-1) and League rival UW-Milwaukee (6-1). The next-toughest schedules belong to Temple (3-4) and Oakland (0-6).
UW-Milwaukee Receives Vote in Associated Press Top 25: UW-Milwaukee (6-1) received one vote in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll to tie for 43rd with American and Iowa State. The Panthers were 36th last week with six points.
Phoenix Battling with the Best: With a 5-2 record, UW-Green Bay currently boasts the second-best overall mark in the Horizon League. The Phoenix has won four of its last five games with the only loss at #24/22 Wisconsin 65-55. In fact, UWGB's only other loss was at another top-25 team in Michigan State 104-46.
Road Trippin': Cleveland State's game at Utah Valley State in Orem this Saturday, Dec. 18, begins a stretch in which the Vikings will play nine of their next 10 games on the road. The nine road contests will span six different states in three different time zones over a 35-day span. The driving distance of the trek would cover 8,866 miles. CSU's only home game prior to Jan. 27 is Jan. 8 against local rival Youngstown State. The Vikings will end the regular season with eight of their final 10 games at home.
Road Trippin' II: UW-Milwaukee is halfway through a month-long six-game road trip with a 2-1 record marred only by a one-point loss (72-71) at Valparaiso in its most recent outing. The Panthers, who defeated UIC and Saint Louis, to begin the trip, have remaining games at Wisconsin (Dec. 15); against Kansas (Dec. 22) at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.; and at Manhattan (Dec. 30).
Collins Breaks UIC Wins Record: UIC's 76-67 victory at UNC Wilmington Dec. 12 was the 134th of Flames head coach Jimmy Collins' career, making him the winningest coach in the school's history (134-112) in his ninth year at the school. He surpassed his immediate predecessor Bob Hallberg, who posted a record of 133-129 from 1987-96.
UWM's Pearl Nearing 300 Wins: With 297 career wins to his credit, UW-Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl is just three victories away from 300 in his 13-year coaching career. He is 66-33 in four years as the Panthers' mentor after posting a record of 231-46, including a Division II national championship, in nine seasons at Southern Indiana. Entering the season, his overall winning percentage of .789 in 12 years as a head coach ranked him behind only Mark Few of Gonzaga and Roy Williams of North Carolina on the list of current Division I coaches.
Raiders' Wood Knocking on Success' Door: Sophomore DaShaun Wood, a Preseason Second-Team All-League pick, has been a one-man wrecking crew for Wright State so far this season. He leads the Horizon League in scoring with 18.3 points per game, including 20 or more points in six of the Raiders' eight games. Wood, a 6-foot point guard, also ranks fifth in rebounding (6.8 rpg), fifth in assists (4.0 apg), tied for seventh in steals (1.63 spg) and eighth in field-goal percentage (.511). Last week he had a career-high 13 rebounds against Miami (Ohio) and then a career-best 29 points versus Akron.
Home Cookin': Horizon League teams are a combined 21-10 (.680) at home so far this season with three of the nine teams remaining undefeated in their friendly confines. UW-Milwaukee paces the League with a perfect 4-0 record at home, while Butler and UW-Green Bay are both 3-0. One of the home losses was UIC's near-upset (60-59) of #3 Georgia Tech, last year's national runner-up, in the Flames' season opener.
Panthers on Prowl out of the Gate: UW-Milwaukee's 6-1 start to the season is the Panthers' best since going 8-0 in the 1992-93 season en route to an 18-1 mark. UWM has outscored its opponents by an average of 24.5 points per game (78.0-55.7). That number is even more impressive in that the Panthers edged Air Force 50-45 in a low-scoring affair Nov. 28 and lost to Valparaiso 72-71 Dec. 11.
Balanced Scoring Drives Phoenix: Balanced scoring has been a key to UW-Green Bay's 5-2 start as four Phoenix players rank among the top 18 in the Horizon League with double-digit scoring averages, the most of any League team. Leading the way is sophomore forward Josh Lawrence, who ranks sixth in the HL with 13.7 points per game, followed by Benito Flores (12th, 12.9 ppg), Ryan Evanochko (16th, 11.1) and Matt Rhode (18th, 10.4). In addition, Javier Mendiburu is averaging 9.2 points per game and would lead the League with 7.4 assists per game if he qualified for the rankings.
Panthers Winning by Committee: UW-Milwaukee's 6-1 start has been a group effort as six players are averaging five points or more, including three among the top 17 scorers in the Horizon League. Junior forward Joah Tucker is third in the League with 16 points per game, while senior guard Ed McCants is seventh with 13.6 per contest. Junior forward Adrian Tigert is second in the conference in rebounding with 7.6 per game and 17th in scoring at 10.9.
Vikings Start Strong: Coming off a 4-25 campaign that included a 23-game season-ending lost streak, Cleveland State (3-2) rebounded to open the year with three straight wins. The last Viking team to accomplish that feat was the 1985-86 squad which won a school-record four games to start. In addition, the three consecutive victories marked the longest winning streak at CSU since the 2000-01 Vikings claimed seven straight late in the season.
Williams Returns for Flames: UIC senior forward Armond Williams, a Preseason First-Team All-League honoree, made his season debut in the Flames' loss to UW-Milwaukee Dec. 4, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. He missed the first four games while finishing coursework for his degree in movement studies. Williams averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season and was named the Horizon League Tournament MVP after leading the Flames to the tourney title.
Westley Pulls Double Duty: Cleveland State senior forward Omari Westley, a Preseason First-Team All-League pick, currently leads the Horizon League with 9.4 rebounds per game, which is nearly two better than the second-best mark of 7.6 by Adrian Tigert of UW-Milwaukee. Westley also is averaging 12.4 points per game to rank 14th in the conference.
Niakate on Point-a-Minute Pace: Cleveland State senior guard Modibo Niakate ranks second in the Horizon League with a 17.0 points-per-game scoring average through five games, including a career-high 31 in a win over Norfolk State Nov. 27. What makes his performance even more impressive is that he is averaging a mere 21 minutes per game, all off the bench. Niakate is averaging nearly a point per minute with 85 points in only 106 minutes. In addition, he ranks third in the League in field-goal percentage at .569 (33-of-58).
Sheets Shines after Surgery: Despite having an emergency appendectomy Nov. 4, Butler junior guard Avery Sheets missed only one exhibition game and has averaged 29.7 minutes per game this season for the 3-3 Bulldogs. A Preseason Second-Team All-League selection, he is averaging 8.7 points per game and boasts an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.22 with 29 assists (4.83 apg) and only nine turnovers.
Newcomers Break out for Detroit: Detroit newcomers Jon Goode and Chuck Bailey had breakout games in the Titans' 73-68 loss at Northeastern Dec. 8 with 17 points apiece after neither had hit double figures in the first five games. Bailey played two seasons at the University of Michigan prior to transferring to UDM, while Goode is the son of former U of M All-Big Ten guard Eric Turner, a second-round draft choice of the Detroit Pistons in 1984.
Cotton Coming for Titans: Detroit has struggled to a 1-6 start, but help may soon be on the way in the form of transfer Brandon Cotton, who will become eligible for the Titans' game against Eastern Michigan Dec. 20. Cotton, a 6-foot sophomore guard, came to UDM following one semester at Michigan State a year ago. As a high school senior, he was a McDonald's and Parade All-American after averaging 26.7 points and 4.3 assists in leading Detroit's DePorres High to the Class C championship.
NIT Pickin': Wright State's 72-66 overtime victory at Tulsa in the first round of the Preseason NIT Nov. 19 marked the first win by a Horizon League team in the tournament since former member Xavier defeated Louisville 85-83 in 1988. Following the Tulsa game, the Raiders faced #10/11 Arizona on the road, losing 83-66.
Horizon League Player of the Week - Dec. 13
Cedrick Banks
UIC
Guard
Senior
Chicago, Ill.
Cedrick Banks of UIC has been named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 13.
Banks scored a season-high 24 points, including 21 in the second half, in the Flames' 76-67 come-from-behind victory at UNC Wilmington Dec. 12 in UIC's only action of the week. He was 7-of-14 from the field in the second half and connected on five of his career-tying six three-pointers after halftime when UIC trailed 31-27.
Banks, the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, has now scored 20 or more points in a half 10 times during his career.
For the season, he is averaging 14.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Other Top Horizon League Performers - Dec. 13
Ryan Evanochko
UW-Green Bay, Sophomore, Guard, Beaver Falls, Pa.
Evanochko averaged 12.5 rebounds and 4.5 rebounds per game as UW-Green Bay split a pair of road games last week. He had six points and rebounds in a 65-55 loss at #24/22 Wisconsin, and then posted a career-high 19 points plus five rebounds in the Phoenix's 75-70 victory at Montana State.
Quin Humphrey
Youngstown State, Sophomore, Guard, Ellenwood, Ga.
Humphrey scored a team-high 16 points in Youngstown State's 81-59 loss to Bowling Green in the Penguins' only action of the week. He shot 6-of-11 from the floor while also adding three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Black Schilb
Loyola, Sophomore, Forward, Rantoul, Ill.
Schilb averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds for Loyola, which lost both of its games last week on the road. He posted a team-high 13 points and six rebounds in a 65-51 loss at Western Illinois before springing for team highs of 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Ramblers' 109-60 loss to eighth-ranked North Carolina. For the week, he shot 59 percent (13-of-22) from the field.
Patrick Tatham
Cleveland State, Sophomore, Center, Brampton, Ontario
Tatham averaged 11.5 points and eight rebounds per game as Cleveland State lost a pair of games last week. He had seven points and eight rebounds in a 79-75 loss at Akron and followed that with 16 points and eight boards in the Vikings' 71-68 loss to Kent State.
Joah Tucker
UW-Milwaukee, Junior, Forward, Milwaukee, Wis.
Tucker averaged 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent (18-of-36) from the field as UW-Milwaukee went 1-1 last week. He scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed six rebounds in a 57-45 victory over Saint Louis. In a 72-71 loss at Valparaiso, he had 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
DaShaun Wood
Wright State, Sophomore, Guard, Detroit, Mich.
Wood averaged 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a pair of losses for Wright State during the week. He had 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 59-54 overtime loss to Miami (Ohio) and then scored a career-best 29 points in the Raiders' 81-70 loss to Akron. Against the Zips, he was 10-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the line.
