Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (March 4)
Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket | Horizon League Men's Basketball Awards
First Round Schedule (Tuesday, March 5)
No. 7 Loyola at No. 6 Youngstown State -- 7:05 p.m. EST, HLN
No. 9 Milwaukee at No. 4 Green Bay -- 8 p.m. EST, HLN
No. 8 Cleveland State at No. 5 UIC
INDIANAPOLIS -- Three first round games kickoff the Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament tonight at campus sites across the conference.
The winner of each game will advance to the second round of action, which will take place on Friday, March 8, at the ARC on the campus of Valparaiso University, the No. 1 seed and regular season champions. The Crusaders receive a bye into the semifinals on Saturday, as does Detroit, the No. 2 seed. Wright State receives a first round bye for clinching the No. 3 seed on the final day of the regular season.
Tonight's first game pits No. 7 Loyola (15-15, 5-11 HL) against No. 6 Youngstown State (16-14, 7-9 HL) at the Beeghly Center at 7:05 p.m. EST. The matchup should be highly contested -- although the Penguins won both matchups this season, both games were decided in the last 10 seconds of regulation and by a grand total of three points.
On Jan. 5, Kendrick Perry's jumper completed a late Youngstown State comeback to stun Loyola, 68-66, at Gentile Arena. A month later, it was Blake Allen who hit a three in the closing seconds to knock off the Ramblers, 60-59, at the Beeghly Center.
An 87-60 win over Cleveland State on Saturday could be just the boost the Ramblers need going into tonight's matchup. Ten of the past 12 times that Loyola has won its regular season finale, the Ramblers have gone on to win in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament.
This is the second-straight year Youngstown State has hosted a first round game and its second-straight year as the No. 6 seed. The Penguins are 2-1 when hosting in the first round -- they beat Green Bay last season and Detroit in 2007 but fell to UIC in 2009.
YSU is hoping to be led tonight by Perry, its First Team All-Horizon League guard, who could return after missing the last three games due to injury. Either way, the Penguins will be able to look to Defensive Player of the Year Damian Eargle and All-Newcomer honoree Kamren Belin against the Ramblers, who will be led by Second Team All-Horizon League forward Ben Averkamp and the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, Jordan Hicks.
Tonight's other first-round games will both begin at 8 p.m. EST.
In a regional rivalry, No. 4 Green Bay (16-14, 10-6 HL) hosts No. 9 Milwaukee (8-23, 3-13 HL) at the Resch Center. The game will be a rematch of the regular-season finale for the Panthers, who were swept by Green Bay this season. The Phoenix played one more game after their most recent matchup with their in-state foes, falling to No. 1 Valpo on Saturday.
This is the first time the two Wisconsin schools have matched up in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament since 2000. Between the rivals, Milwaukee has posted more recent tournament success -- despite a 14-14 record overall in postseason play, the Panthers are 12-7 in the tournament since 2003 with three Horizon League titles. They've won at least one game in the tournament in four consecutive seasons.
The Phoenix hopes to contend Milwaukee's recent success with one of the most decorated lineups in the Horizon League, led by First Team All-Leaguer Keifer Sykes. Green Bay also features Second Teamer Alec Brown and All-Newcomer honoree Jordan Fouse, both of whom were named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team. The Panthers are led by Jordan Aaron, an All-Newcomer honoree.
In both the meetings this season, Brown has set a new career high for scoring. In Green Bay's 74-54 win at Milwaukee, Brown finished with 23 points as he moved into the 1,000-point club. Last Tuesday, Brown tallied 28 points to better his career best.
Tonight's third matchup sees No. 8 Cleveland State (14-17, 5-11 HL) travel to the Pavilion to take on No. 5 UIC (16-14, 7-8 HL).
The Vikings have won 12 straight against UIC, including both regular-season matchups this year. Cleveland State grabbed its first Horizon League win of the season, blunting UIC's start to the conference season with a 60-50 win at the Wolstein Center. On Feb. 2, the Vikings raced out to a big lead and held on down the stretch, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 77-66 victory at the UIC Pavilion.
However, this will be the 11th time the teams have faced off in postseason action and the series is split 3-3 in the Horizon League Tournament. (UIC and CSU went 2-2 against each other in AMCU Tournament action prior to joining the Horizon League.)
Since star guard Anton Grady went down early in the season with a knee injury, Cleveland State has been led by freshman Bryn Forbes, who yesterday was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year. The Flames look to counter with Second Team All-Horizon League guard Gary Talton and All-Newcomer honoree Josh Crittle.
All three of tonight's games will be streamed on HLN.
