Huge weekend of Horizon League basketball. I'm contractually obligated to call it a full slate of games. Everybody plays on the men's side with no fewer than SEVEN games right here on the network. Six women's teams play with four of them taking on major conference opponents.
Let's start with the men and the only game that involves two league teams. In what we're a "rogue" HL game, Youngstown State travels to Green Bay with hopes of heading into the holidays with a league win under their belt. This game is far from the lock we thought it would be last week. Green Bay is still without Rahmon Fletcher and Youngstown State attacked the basket Wednesday against Saint Francis (PA) to get back in the win column. To quote Lee Corso, "This is going to be closer than the experts think."
Cleveland State is reeling. What better way to get back on track than to host West Virg...wait! This isn't right. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that Cleveland State can hang with the Mountaineers unless several things go their way. A competitive effort would be a step in the right direction for the Vikings. Crazier things have happened though.
Miami (OH) tries to take down its second consecutive Horizon League opponent when they visit The Cell. Milwaukee is still trying to figure out its identity. They have some good pieces but can't put together a full 40 minutes. The Panthers rebound well but haven't been able to get much going offensively. Strangely, a win over the 3-7 Redhawks would be their best victory so far this season.
The marquee match-up on the men's side is Xavier at Butler. For those of you that are new to the Horizon League, this used to be the marquee match-up every year. The Bulldogs are coming off their biggest win of the year...but so is Xavier. The Musketeers shoot very well from the perimeter and play at a quicker pace than Butler. In years past I would have said this will be a battle of pace and Butler would win that battle. Not this year. Coach Stevens is much more willing to play at a quicker pace than his predecessors, mostly because he has better athletes. Last year it was Xavier that had the preseason hype and the visiting Bulldogs went to Cincinnati and won. Xavier doesn't have the size of some of Butler's previous opponents this year. Expect Matt Howard to be productive inside and whoever Ron Nored guards to struggle offensively.
(Note: Damon and I will be at this game live blogging and keeping an eye on all the league's action on Saturday. Just come right back here and we'll be your tour guides during this Basketball Bonanza.)
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