Men's Basketball Weekly Release #5
Dec. 20, 2004
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The Horizon League men's basketball season continues this week with a lighter-than-normal schedule due to the upcoming holiday weekend.
Only nine games dot the schedule, highlighted by UW-Milwaukee's (6-2, 1-0) game against #2 Kansas Wednesday, Dec. 22, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.
With only two Horizon League games having been played, UW-Milwaukee is tied with Wright State (5-5, 1-0) for first place. The Raiders defeated Youngstown State 72-51 Dec. 18 in their League opener this past weekend.
Youngstown State (2-6, 0-1) will play its second League game this Tuesday, Dec. 21, as the Penguins host Loyola (2-7, 0-0) in the week's only League contest.
UIC Boasts Nation's Second-Toughest Schedule: UIC (3-5), the defending Horizon League Tournament champion, owns the nation's second-toughest schedule this season, according to rpiratings.com. The Flames' seven Division I opponents enter the week with a combined record of 45-12 (.790). They have defeated Illinois State (8-2) and UNC Wilmington (5-3), while losing to Georgia Tech (7-1), Bowling Green (5-1), Duke (8-0), DePaul (6-3) and League rival UW-Milwaukee (6-2). The toughest schedule belongs to Temple (3-5). UIC has the toughest non-conference schedule to date.
Road Trippin': Cleveland State's game at Utah Valley State in Orem this past Saturday, Dec. 18, began a stretch in which the Vikings will play nine of 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, however, will end the regular season with eight of their final 10 games at home.
Road Trippin' II: UW-Milwaukee is in the midst of a month-long six-game road trip with a 2-2 record. The Panthers, who defeated UIC and Saint Louis, to begin the trip, have remaining games against Kansas (Dec. 22) at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.; and at Manhattan (Dec. 30). All six games of the stretch are against teams that played in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last season.
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 (134-114) 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 66-34 in four years as the Panthers' mentor after posting a record of 231-46, including an NCAA 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 16.5 points per game, including 17 or more points in six of the Raiders' 10 games. Wood, a 6-foot point guard, also ranks fourth in rebounding (6.3 rpg), fifth in assists (4.2 apg), third in steals (1.8 spg), ninth in field-goal percentage (.491) and 12th in free-throw percentage (.712). Two weeks ago, 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 22-10 (.690) in non-conference home games so far this season with three of the nine teams remaining undefeated in their friendly confines. UW-Milwaukee and Butler pace the League with perfect 4-0 records at home, while UW-Green Bay is 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.
Balanced Scoring Drives Phoenix: Balanced scoring has been a key to UW-Green Bay's 5-3 start as five players are averaging double figures in points and rank among the top 22 in the Horizon League. Leading the way is sophomore forward Josh Lawrence, who ranks eighth in the HL with 13.1 points per game, followed by Benito Flores (ninth, 13.0 ppg), Ryan Evanochko (16th, 11.0) and Matt Rhode (19th, 10.4). In addition, Javier Mendiburu is averaging 10.0 points per game and leads the League with 6.67 assists per contest.
Panthers Winning by Committee: UW-Milwaukee's 6-2 start has been a group effort as six players are averaging five points or more, including three among the top 25 scorers in the Horizon League. Junior forward Joah Tucker ranks second in the League with 15.1 points per game, while senior guard Ed McCants is 13th with 12.5 per contest. Junior forward Adrian Tigert is second in the conference in rebounding with 7.3 per game and 25th in scoring at 9.8 per contest.
Vikings Start Strong: Coming off a 4-25 campaign that included a 23-game season-ending lost streak, Cleveland State (3-3) 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 for CSU: Cleveland State senior forward Omari Westley, a Preseason First-Team All-League pick, currently leads the Horizon League with 9.7 rebounds per game, which is nearly two-and-a-half better than the second-best mark of 7.3 by Adrian Tigert of UW-Milwaukee. Westley also is averaging 13 points per game to tie for ninth in the conference.
Vikings' Niakate Lighting It Up: Cleveland State senior guard Modibo Niakate ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a 14.8 points-per-game scoring average through six 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. In addition, he ranks fourth in the League in field-goal percentage at .569 (33-of-58).
Butler's Sheets Shines after Surgery: Despite having an emergency appendectomy Nov. 4, Butler junior guard Avery Sheets missed only one exhibition game and has averaged 30 minutes per game this season for the 4-3 Bulldogs. A Preseason Second-Team All-League selection, he is averaging 8.9 points per game and boasts a League-leading assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.0 with 36 assists (5.14 apg) and only nine turnovers.
Horan Means `Three' for Butler: After making 96 three-pointers last season, Butler junior guard Bruce Horan has become one of the top long-range shooters in the country this year. He currently leads the Horizon League in both three-pointers made (4.0 pg) and three-point percentage (.500, 28-of-56). In fact, Horan, who has attempted only four two-pointers this season, has hit at least three three-pointers in all seven games and nailed five on three occasions already.
Green Bay's Mendiburu Triples His Pleasure: After becoming the first UW-Green Bay player in school history to register a triple-double last season, senior guard Javier Mendiburu may accomplish the feat again this season. He already has had a point-rebound double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds vs. IUPUI) and a point-assist double-double (11 points, 14 assists vs. Weber State). For the season, the Badalona, Spain, native is averaging 10 points, a League-leading 6.67 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Banks Aiming for UIC Scoring Record: UIC senior guard Cedrick Banks, the leading active scorer in the Horizon League, moved into third place on the Flames' career scoring list with 12 points at Duke last week and currently has 1,662 points. He trails only Kenny Williams (2,025 points from 1990-94) and Sherrell Ford (2,012 from 1992-95) on the UIC list.
Loyola's Gouard Sidelined, but Parker Debuts in Style: Loyola senior guard DaJuan Gouard will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering ligament damage in his knee. He was averaging a team-leading 12.9 points per game at the time of the injury. In his place, freshman Pierre Parker of Lisle, Ill., started against Illinois State Dec. 18 and responded with season highs of 12 points and six rebounds plus three assists. Parker is the younger brother of San Antonio Spurs standout Tony Parker Jr. and Northwestern University junior guard T.J. Parker.
More NBA Brother Connections: Loyola freshman guard Pierre Parker -- the brother of San Antonio Spurs all-star Tony Parker Jr. -- is not the only current Horizon League player with a sibling in the NBA. Detroit sophomore forward Muhammad Abdur-Rahim of Marietta, Ga., is the younger brother of eight-year NBA veteran Sharif Abdur-Rahim of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Cotton Coming for Titans: Detroit has struggled to a 2-6 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 on Monday, 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.
Youngstown State Game Goes Four Overtimes: Youngstown State played four overtimes against Siena Dec. 15 before succumbing to the Saints 79-78. It was the longest game at home in the Penguins' history and the second-longest overall to a six-overtime loss at Gannon (71-69) on Feb. 28, 1966. Both Jon Mends and Derrick Harris played more than 50 minutes against Siena.
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. 20
Zakee Boyd
Wright State
Forward
Sophomore
Newark, N.J.
Zakee Boyd of Wright State has been named the Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 20.
Boyd, a sophomore forward, scored a game-high 22 points in the Raiders' 72-51 homecourt victory over Youngstown State in their Horizon League opener. Against the Penguins, he was 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, as Wright State (5-5, 1-0) tied UW-Milwaukee atop the League standings. Earlier in the week, Boyd had team highs of eight points and seven rebounds in a 54-42 loss at Southern Illinois (7-2).
For the week, he averaged 15 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc.
Other Top Horizon League Performers - Dec. 20
Derrick Harris
Youngstown State, Junior, Guard, Cambridge, Mass.
Harris scored a career-high 22 points and hauled down eight rebounds in Youngstown State's four-overtime 79-78 loss to Siena as he played 57 minutes. Later in the week, he had five points in a 72-51 Horizon League loss to Wright State. He averaged 13.5 points per game for the week.
Javier Mendiburu
UW-Green Bay, Senior, Guard, Badalona, Spain
Mendiburu scored 14 points to lead four UW-Green Bay players in double figures in a 76-65 loss at Northern Iowa. He added team-highs of seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Phoenix's only game of the week.
Brandon Polk
Butler, Junior, Forward, Wichita, Kan.
Polk sparked Butler with 15 points in only 18 minutes of the Bulldogs' 73-39 victory over IPFW. He came of the bench with Butler trailing 11-5 and scored 11 of the first 13 points in a 17-0 run that gave his team the lead for good. Polk shot 6-of-8 from the floor with one of the misses a desperation three-point attempt as the shot clock expired.
Blake Schilb
Loyola, Sophomore, Forward, Rantoul, Ill.
Schilb scored 16 points and added seven rebounds and four assists in Loyola's 73-67 loss to Illinois State in the Ramblers' only action of the week. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line while grabbing five of his seven rebounds on the offensive end.
James Thues
Detroit, Senior, Guard, Detroit, Mich.
In leading Detroit to its first win in seven games, Thues led all scorers with 19 points while tying for the team lead with seven rebounds as the Titans defeated Gannon 62-49. He shot 7-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, was 3-of-3 from the free-throw line and added three steals.
Armond Williams
UIC, Senior, Forward, Hillside, Ill.
Williams averaged 10.5 points and a team-high six rebounds per game as UIC dropped a pair of tough road decisions at Duke (88-55) and DePaul (80-62). Against the Blue Demons, he scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds.
