Seven League Contests, Meeting with #1 Duke On Tap Throughout Weekend

INDIANAPOLIS -- Horizon League men's basketball play begins in earnest Thursday and continues into Saturday, with seven conference clashes among the nine contests this weekend.  All eight League matchups will be carried live on HorizonLeague.com, for free.  In non-conference action, Butler stages a national championship rematch versus #1 Duke at 3:15 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN, while UIC hosts Akron at 4 p.m. that same day.

After Butler and Loyola whetted the appetite with a riveting 65-63 Bulldogs win on Wednesday, three Horizon League games are slated for Thursday night, all beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Valparaiso (4-2) continues a five-game trek away from home, traveling the Skyway to the UIC Pavilion, where the Flames await.  UIC (4-3) is coming off a one-point win over Toledo on Sunday, getting a Robo Kreps three with nine ticks left to sneak past the Rockets.  Meanwhile, the Crusaders took both neutral-court matches at the Las Vegas Invitational, claiming the Upper Division championship after wins over Northern Colorado and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Horizon's last unbeaten team, Cleveland State (8-0), who picked up a vote in the Associate Press Top 25 poll this week, will look to snap a 1-19 stretch on its trips through Wisconsin when they open the League season at the Resch Center in Green Bay.  In a matchup of two of the Horizon League's top scorers, Norris Cole brings his 21.5 points per game average into a matchup with Green Bay's (3-3) Rahmon Fletcher, who is third in the League with 17.5 ppg.

Off to its best start in a decade, Youngstown State (4-1) opens the conference schedule at Milwaukee (3-4).  Vytas Sulskis, who joined the Penguins' 1,000-point club on Saturday, carries a 17.0 ppg scoring average through five games.  The Penguins have turned into bombers from long range, pacing the League with 9.2 three-pointers made per game.

Entering the game last in the conference in scoring defense, the Panthers will lock to down against one of the Horizon League's top scoring teams.  Tone Boyle and Anthony Hill will look to counter the Youngstown State attack, as each ranks among the top 20 scorers in the League entering Thursday night, averaging 14.4 and 13.7 ppg, respectively.

After a travel day Friday, all 10 Horizon League teams will be in action on Saturday, beginning with a 12 p.m. ET clash between travel partners Detroit (4-4) and Wright State (3-4).  Both teams are coming off of Wednesday night losses, as the Titans dropped a 77-69 home contest to Akron, while the Raiders fell to BIG EAST member Cincinnati by the same score.

Green Bay will host Youngstown State at 2 p.m. ET, while Butler and #1/1 Duke (7-0) will meet at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., for the teams' second neutral court contest in eight months.  ESPN will carry the game, with tip-off slated for 3:15 p.m. ET, with Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas on the call.

In lieu of a League game, UIC brings a third Mid-American Conference foe to the UIC Pavilion, as Akron will tip-off against the Flames at 4 p.m. ET, live on HorizonLeague.com.

Loyola (7-1, 0-1 Horizon), coming off its first defeat of the season, will attempt to gain a split of the weekend, as Valparaiso travels up Lake Shore Drive to arrive at the Gentile Center for a 4 p.m. ET tip.

Cleveland State and Milwaukee round out the weekend, meeting at 8 p.m. ET at U.S. Cellular Arena.