The 2008-09 Horizon League men's basketball season is here

Nov. 12, 2008

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Four teams coming off 20-win seasons
A Horizon League-record four teams posted 20 or more wins last season, led by Butler's record-setting 30. Valparaiso won 22 in its first year in the Horizon League, while Cleveland State (21) eclipsed 20 for the first time since 1993, and Wright State (21) did so for the second straight season. In the past five years, seven of the League's 10 teams have won 20 or more at least once, adding Milwaukee, UIC and Loyola to last year's quartet.

League hopes to continue NCAA success
Horizon League teams have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament four straight seasons and seven times in the last decade, including three Sweet Sixteen appearances in the past six years (Butler 2003, '07; Milwaukee 2005). The League claims eight NCAA wins in that six-year span, which is more than the Colonial (6), Mountain West (6) and WAC (5) and just one shy of the nine by the Missouri Valley, despite receiving nearly half as many bids in that time (8 NCAA bids to the Valley's 14).

League RPI nears top 10
The Horizon League was ranked 11th in conference RPI for the 2007-08 season, which was an improvement of one from the previous year and eight slots better than three years ago. The No. 11 ranking also was the League's best since being 11th in 2001 and one shy of its best ranking on record (10th in 1992 and 1996).
The League ranked ahead of such conferences as the Mid-American (12th), Colonial (13th), Sun Belt (14th) and West Coast (15th).
Four League teams were ranked in the top 100 in RPI, including Butler (16th), Cleveland State (65th), Wright State (86th) and Valparaiso (98th).

Cleveland State picked as preseason favorite
Coming off a second-place regular-season finish and runner-up in the Horizon League Tournament, Cleveland State is the preseason favorite as selected by the League's head coaches, SIDs and media members.
Four starters return for CSU, led by a pair of preseason All-League picks in senior forward J'Nathan Bullock (14.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and senior point guard Cedric Jackson (13.9 ppg, 4.9 apg). Also back are senior center Chris Moore (4.9 ppg) and senior forward George Tandy (4.2 ppg) for a team that adds two redshirt freshmen, a junior-college transfer and four true freshmen.
Last year, the Vikings improved their win total by 11 (10-21 in 2006-07 to 21-13 in 2007-08), becoming only the 15th team in NCAA Division I history to go from 20 losses to 20 wins in one season.

Poll suggests several contenders for HL title
On its way to the top spot in the Horizon League's preseason poll, Cleveland State received 40 of the 49 first-place votes. The Vikings totaled 478 points and were not picked lower than third on any ballot.
Wright State was predicted to finish second with 412 point and three first-place votes, followed by UIC with 361 points and two top picks. Green Bay was picked fourth with 335 points, and Butler fifth with 326 and three first-place votes.
Rounding out the poll were Milwaukee (216), Valparaiso (207), Loyola (189), Detroit (98) and Youngstown State (73). Loyola received the final first-place tally.

Mayo selected Preseason Player of the Year
UIC senior Josh Mayo was named the Horizon League's Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the head coaches, SIDs and media. Mayo, a 5-foot-11 guard, averaged 17.1 points and 3.2 assists per game last season while shooting 47 percent from three-point range (94-for-200) and 84 percent from the free-throw line (122-for-145). He was even more impressive at the UIC Pavilion, averaging 21.1 points per contest and 58 percent (52-for-90) from beyond the arc.
If Mayo earns Player of the Year honors at the end of the season, he would become the first from UIC since Mark Miller in 1997-98.

Seven schools represented on Preseason All-League Teams
For proof of the Horizon League's balance, look no further than the Preseason All-League Teams that feature players from seven of the 10 schools.
Preseason Player of the Year Josh Mayo of UIC headlines the first team that also includes senior forward J'Nathan Bullock and senior guard Cedric Jackson of Cleveland State, junior guard Vaughn Duggins of Wright State and sophomore forward Matt Howard of Butler, who was last season's Newcomer of the Year.
The preseason second team features senior forward Mike Schachtner of Green Bay, senior guard J.R. Blount of Loyola, senior forward Urule Igbavboa of Valparaiso, junior guard Todd Brown of Wright State and senior center Scott VanderMeer of UIC.

Starters aplenty back in the fold
Green Bay enters the season as the only program to return all five of its starters from a year ago, led by second-team All-League pick Mike Schachtner and 6-foot-5 forward Terry Evans, a two-time All-Defensive selection. Also back are senior guard Ryan Tillema, junior forward Randy Berry and sophomore guard Rahmon Fletcher.
Cleveland State and Loyola each have four starters back, while five others (Detroit, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State) boast three apiece. Only Milwaukee (2) and defending champion Butler (1) return fewer than three starters. All told, 31 of 50 starters return for the League's 10 teams.

Six of top nine scorers return
Six of the Horizon League top nine scorers from last season are back for 2008-09, led by Preseason Player of the Year Josh Mayo of UIC, who averaged 17.1 points per game to rank second a year ago. Other top scorers return are Green Bay's Mike Schachtner (15.8 ppg), Loyola's J.R. Blount (15.1), Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock (14.8) and Cedric Jackson (13.9), and Wright State's Vaughn Duggins (13.8). All but Duggins - a junior - are seniors this season.

VanderMeer leads top returning rebounders
Seven-foot-senior center Scott VanderMeer returns to anchor the inside for UIC after leading the Horizon League in rebounding with 7.5 per game a year ago. Other top returning rebounders are Valparaiso senior forward Urule Igbavboa (7.3 rpg), Green Bay senior forward Terry Evans (6.9) and Loyola junior forward Andy Polka (6.7). VanderMeer also topped the conference with 2.58 blocked shots per contest, which was more than twice as many as the next-best player.

Butler reloads around Howard
Coming off a 30-win season, Butler must replace four starters from last year's League-championship team, including Player of the Year Mike Green and two-time first-team All-League pick A.J. Graves. The Bulldogs will build this season's team around 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Matt Howard, the Newcomer of the Year and a second-team All-League pick. Howard averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 58 percent from the field as a freshman. The remaining returnees averaged just 10.5 points per game for Butler, which also adds six true freshmen to the roster.

Wright State bids for 20 again
Wright State enters the season aiming for its third straight 20-win season after going 23-10 and 21-10 the last two years. If the Raiders reach 20 wins again, it would mark the first time they have done so since the 1984-85 through 1986-87 seasons, which were also Wright State's final three years in Division II.

Rookie coaches continue success
First-year head coaches have enjoyed unprecedented success in the Horizon League recently. In each of the past three seasons, the Horizon League champion has been led by a rookie coach. Milwaukee's Rob Jeter started the string in 2005-06 when he directed the Panthers to a 22-9 record, the League title and a first-round NCAA Tournament victory. Brad Brownell then coached Wright State a 23-10 mark and the Raiders' first League championship in 2007. Last season, Brad Stevens took Butler to the conference title and the second round of the NCAAs en route to a League-record 30 wins.

McCallum takes reigns at Detroit
Veteran head coach Ray McCallum is the new man in charge at Detroit, taking over for long-time Titans coach Perry Watson. McCallum comes to UDM from Indiana, where he was an assistant coach for two seasons following one year at Oklahoma. Prior to that, he was head coach at Ball State (1994-2000) and Houston (2001-04), compiling a record of 170-149 with four national postseason tournament appearances. McCallum's staff includes three former college head coaches in Carlos Briggs (Schoolcraft College), Jay Smith (Central Michigan) and Derek Thomas (Western Illinois).

Several coaches nearing milestone wins
Four Horizon League head coaches enter the season on the verge of milestone victory numbers. Valparaiso's Homer Drew needs just seven wins for 600 in his 32-year career, while Loyola's Jim Whitesell is also only seven shy of 350 in 22 years of coaching. Jimmy Collins is six shy of 200 wins at UIC and also will become only the second League coach to record 100 conference victories with his team's first League win of the season, joining former Detroit coach Perry Watson (131). Finally, Green Bay's Tod Kowalczyk needs eight wins to reach 100 in his seventh season at the helm.

Rare upsets in League championship
The two upsets by seed last season were the first in the Horizon League Championship since 2005. Eighth-seed Loyola upset fifth-seed Milwaukee 57-51 in the first round, and sixth-seed Valparaiso knocked off third-seed Wright State 72-67 in the second round. Prior to last year's upsets, the seeds had held for two years, with the most recent upset being third-seed Detroit's 61-55 victory over second-seed Green Bay in the semifinals in 2005.
The League tournament's format rewards the top two seeds with byes to the semifinals, with the regular-season champion hosting the second-round and semis. The championship game is hosted by the higher remaining seed.

All 10 League teams again set for ESPNU BracketBusters
For the fifth year in a row, all 10 Horizon League teams are part of the pool of teams eligible for the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters event, scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2009. Loyola, Valparaiso, Wright State, Youngstown State, the Milwaukee and UIC will host games, while Butler, Cleveland State, Detroit and Green Bay will play on the road.
The 102-team field includes 12 squads from the Mid-American Conference and Colonial Athletic Association in addition to 10 from the Horizon League, Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
This year's BracketBusters pool features teams with 77 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including a team in the Final Four -- George Mason (2006), one in the Elite Eight -- Davidson (2008) and six Sweet Sixteen squads -- Butler (2007), Southern Illinois (2007), Bradley (2006), Wichita State (2006), Milwaukee (2005) and Nevada (2004).

Loyola to represent League in NIT Season Tip-off
Loyola will carry the Horizon League banner into this year's NIT Season Tip-off as the Ramblers will face Georgia Nov. 17 in first-round action at West Lafayette, Ind. They will then face either Purdue or Eastern Michigan in the second round. The four regional winners will advance to Madison Square Garden in New York. Two seasons ago, Butler won the NIT Season Tip-off en route to the Sweet Sixteen at the end of the year.
Other League teams participating in early-season tournaments include Cleveland State (CBE Classic/Miami), Green Bay (Glenn Wilkes Classic/Daytona Beach, Fla.), Milwaukee (World Vision Classic/Ames, Iowa), Valparaiso (Paradise Jam/St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) and Wright State (San Juan Shootout/San Juan, Puerto Rico).

Detroit to host NCAA Final Four
The University of Detroit Mercy will serve as host for the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four to be played April 4 and 6 at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Butler University and the Horizon League office will co-host an NCAA Men's Regional March 27 and 29 at the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.