Tournaments Abound Over Weekend in Men's Basketball

Horizon League Men's Basketball Weekly Release (Weekend Notes)

INDIANAPOLIS --Nine Horizon League teams will be in action this weekend, highlighted by three tournaments taking place with League squads involved.  Both UIC and Green Bay will wrap up tournaments, while Wright State kicks off its in-season tournament.  Four games will be carried for free, live, on HorizonLeague.com, from Friday through Sunday.

UIC (1-1) gets the weekend started on Friday night, when they meet Toledo in the pool-play portion of the 2k Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer.  With the Rockets serving as host, the Flames will play three games in just under 72 hours, taking on the hosts at 7 p.m. ET on Friday before games against the College of Charleston on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and Rhode Island on Sunday (2:30 p.m.).

Green Bay (1-1), after dropping an 89-69 contest at Marquette in its opening game of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, heads to Oxford, Ohio, and the campus of Miami University, for pool play.  The Phoenix open play against #25/ARV San Diego State, who knocked off #12 Gonzaga late on Tuesday night.  The teams will tip at 5:30 p.m. ET from Millett Hall on Saturday, and Green Bay will meet the host RedHawks at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.  The Phoenix wrap up pool play against IUPUI at 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday.

Wright State (1-1) plays its lone game of the weekend on Saturday, beginning the Chicago Invitational Challenge on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, hosting Southern at the Nutter Center.  The Raiders will wrap up the tournament after Thanksgiving weekend, playing two 2010 NCAA Tournament participants in Oakland (Nov. 23) and Richmond (Nov. 26) before taking on either #9 Purdue or Southern Illinois on the 27th.

The Raiders and Jaguars will be available on HorizonLeague.com, with coverage beginning shortly before the 7 p.m. tip-off.

On Friday, Detroit (0-2) returns home after two tough road contests to host Indiana Tech at 7:30 p.m. ET.  Prior to the game, the Titans will raise the jersey of Rashad Phillips to the rafters of Callihan Hall, and fans can catch the game live on HorizonLeague.com.  For Detroit, Eli Holman has posted double-doubles in each of the season's first two games and will be looking to do so against the Warriors on Friday.

Cleveland State (4-0), holding its best record since the 1984-85 season, will hit the road for the first time this season on Friday night, venturing to Lafayette, La., for a contest against the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette.  Norris Cole, who was named MVP of the World Vision Classic last weekend, takes his 22.3 points per game scoring average to the Cajundome.

Saturday brings with it six League contests, two of which can be watched live on HorizonLeague.com.  #16/18 Butler (1-1) gets the day started, tipping off against in-state foe Ball State at 2 p.m. ET from Hinkle Fieldhouse.  After a 25-point burst at Louisville on Tuesday, Shelvin Mack leads the League in scoring, averaging 22.5 points per game through his first two games of the year.

After a Thursday night contest in the friendly confines of the Gentile Center, Loyola (3-0) will play its first road game of the season on Saturday night, when the Ramblers head to the Zoo at Western Michigan for a 7 p.m. ET tip.  Walt Gibler earned MVP honors at the Nick Kladis Classic last weekend, averaging 15.7 points per game as Loyola got off to a hot start.

Off to its first 2-0 start in six years, Youngstown State (2-0) ventures away from the Beeghly Center for the first time this season, traveling 50 miles west on I-76 to meet Akron for a 7 p.m. ET tip.  With their balanced attack, the Penguins have gotten contributions from all 11 players who have seen the court.  Senior Vytas Sulskis is averaging 11.5 points and seven rebounds, while Devonte Maymon leads the team with 14 points per game.

Milwaukee (2-2) wraps up the Saturday night slate, returning home to U.S. Cellular Arena after a 5,000-mile sojourn to the Pacific Northwest and Niagara Falls.  Tone Boyle had a career-high 27 points at Niagara, as the Panthers exploded for 90 points in a 90-73 rout of Niagara on Wednesday.

In their home opener, the Panthers will host one of the 2010 NCAA Tournament's cinderellas when Northern Iowa comes to Milwaukee.  The game will be carried live on HorizonLeague.com, with the tip coming at 8 p.m. ET.

Sunday will see the League compete in all three tournaments, as UIC closes against Rhode Island, while Green Bay takes on MAC foe Miami and Wright State hosts Southern.

Valparaiso is the lone Horizon League team not playing this weekend; the Crusaders will host Purdue-North Central on Thursday night in a game that can be seen live on HorizonLeague.com, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.