Home » Conference Notes » Currently Reading:

Horizon Notebook

January 16, 2008 Conference Notes No Comments



Horizon League Notebook

by Nick Dettmann

Player of the Week: Matt Howard, Butler. The freshman from Connersville, Ind., averaged 19.3 points and seven rebounds per game in leading the Bulldogs to three victories. He scored 22 points on Jan. 10 against Green Bay.

Butler Bulldogs (16-1 overall, 5-1 Horizon League)
Last week’s record: 3-0
Week recap:
Jan. 7 vs. Loyola: W 66-55
Jan. 10 vs. UW-Green Bay: W 74-65
Jan. 12 vs. UW-Milwaukee: W 72-56
Only top-ranked North Carolina has more victories in the country this season than the Bulldogs, who are off to their best start in school history. Senior guard Mike Green has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games – the same streak as the Bulldogs’ win streak.
This week, the Bulldogs will play two games in Ohio, including a battle for first-place against Cleveland State on Jan. 17.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 at Cleveland State
Jan. 19 at Youngstown State

Cleveland State Vikings (12-5, 5-0)
Last week’s record: 2-0
Week recap:
Jan. 10 vs. Detroit: W 74-64
Jan. 12 vs. Wright State: W 65-63
For years, the Vikings were looking up at the rest of the league. This year, they’re looking down as they lead the league just shy of the halfway point of the league season. The Vikings are 5-0 in league play, which is their best start since the 1992-93 season. The 12-5 mark is also their best mark in 15 seasons.
This week, eyes will be on J’Nathan Bullock, who just needs 20 points to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. This week, the Vikings will be tested when Butler comes to town in what should draw the biggest home game crowd since North Carolina came in a few seasons ago. Then, on Jan. 19, the Crusaders come to town.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 vs. Butler
Jan. 19 vs. Valparaiso

Detroit Titans (4-12, 0-6)
Last week’s record: 0-2
Week recap:
Jan. 10 vs. Cleveland State: L 74-64
Jan. 12 vs. Youngstown State: L 70-66
The Titans have lost 10 straight games, making a 4-2 start seem a distant memory. Detroit last won Nov. 28 against Eastern Michigan.
Senior Jon Goode did become the 34th player in school history to score at least 1,000 career points with a 21-point effort against Youngstown State. He now has 1,014 points. Goode also ranks second in the league in scoring at 18.1 points per game.
The 10-game slide is the longest since a 12-game losing streak in 1998-99. The Titans will head to Chicago for a pair of game in hopes of preventing the school’s longest losing streak.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 at Loyola
Jan. 19 at Illinois-Chicago

Illinois-Chicago Flames (9-7, 3-2)
Last week’s record: 1-0
Week recap:
Jan. 12 vs. Loyola: W 78-68 (2 OT)
In 2002, Loyola and Illinois-Chicago battled in overtime for the Horizon League tournament championship. On Jan. 12, they were at it again. Only this time it was in double overtime. The Flames won both instances. The victory on Jan. 12 snapped a three-game slide, and kicked off a three-game home stand on a positive note.
Junior guard Josh May led the Flames with a 20-point effort, and Scott VanderMeer scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Senior guard Karl White Jr. chipped in with 19 points.
This week, the Flames continue their home stand where they have been tough to outscore. The Flames are averaging 82 points per game at home, compared to 63 on the road. Wright State and Detroit come to Chicago this week.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 vs. Wright State
Jan. 19 vs. Detroit

Loyola Ramblers (5-11, 1-5)
Last week’s record: 0-2
Week recap:
Jan. 7 vs. Butler: L 66-55
Jan. 12 vs. Illinois-Chicago: L 78-68 (2 OT)
The Ramblers have lost at least four consecutive games for the second time this season. Earlier this year, Loyola lost five straight, and are just 3-11 since a 2-0 start, including dropping six of their past seven games.
Junior Justin Cerasoli scored a collegiate-high 21 points in the loss to the Flames. Cerasoli has averaged 13.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in seven games since becoming eligible following his transfer from Mississippi.
Junior J.R. Blount scored 23 points, his highest single-game effort since a 27-point game at Cleveland State last season.
The Ramblers hope a pair of home games will reverse some misfortunes. Loyola is 1-7 away from home this season, but are 4-4 at home.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 vs. Detroit
Jan. 19 vs. Wright State

UW-Green Bay Phoenix (9-7, 3-3)
Last week’s record: 0-2
Week recap:
Jan. 10 vs. Butler: L 74-65
Jan. 12 vs. Valparaiso: L 82-73
Junior Mike Schachtner scored 34 points in the Phoenix’s loss to Valparaiso, matching the league’s highest scoring game this season. UIC’s Josh Mayo scored 34 points against Bradley on Nov. 10. Schachtner leads the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game. The Phoenix, as a team, rank sixth in the nation in free-throw percentage at 76.8 percent.
This week, the Phoenix host instate rival UW-Milwaukee.
This week’s game:
Jan. 19 vs. UW-Milwaukee

UW-Milwaukee Panthers (9-8, 4-3)
Last week’s record: 2-1
Week recap:
Jan. 7 vs. Youngstown State: W 61-39
Jan. 10 vs. Valparaiso: W 71-69
Jan. 12 vs. Butler: L 72-56
What looked like was going to be a rough season has turned into a promising one. The Panthers have lost a number of players for various reasons, including elite scorers Avery Smith and Torre Johnson, this season. But prior to the Panthers’ loss to Butler, the Panthers strung together six straight victories, last losing to Wisconsin on Dec. 12. The nine victories have already matched last season’s total win total.
Junior guard Deion James led the Panthers against Valparaiso with 20 points off the bench. And, against Youngstown State, the Panthers were a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line.
The lone game on the schedule this week is an hour-and-a-half trip north to Green Bay to play the Phoenix.
This week’s game:
Jan. 19 at UW-Green Bay

Valparaiso Crusaders (12-5, 3-2)
Last week’s record: 1-1
Week recap:
Jan. 10 vs. UW-Milwaukee: L 71-69
Jan. 12 vs. UW-Green Bay: W 82-73
Valparaiso’s 13-game home court win streak came to an end with a two-point setback to Milwaukee on Jan. 10.
Senior guard Jarryd Loyd came off the bench to score a team-high 18 points, marking the fourth consecutive game he led the Crusaders in scoring. Sophomore Samual Haanpaa scored 24 points to lead the Crusaders against the Phoenix. Loyd has not started a game this season, but still leads the team in scoring at 12.2 per game.
This week, the Crusaders hit the road to renew acquaintances with old Mid-Continent Conference rival Youngstown State. Then it’s off to league-leading Cleveland State.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 at Youngstown State
Jan. 19 at Cleveland State

Wright State Raiders (9-6, 2-4)
Last week’s record: 1-1
Week recap:
Jan. 10 vs. Youngstown State: W 66-55
Jan. 12 vs. Cleveland State: L 65-63
The defending league tournament champions split last week’s games with instate rivals Youngstown State and Cleveland State. In four of the Raiders’ six league games thus far, the final margin was decided by five points or less with the Raiders going 1-3 in those games.
Junior guard Vaughn Duggins scored 34 points with nine assists in the two games.
The injury bug has bit the Raiders also. Sophomore John David Gardner will miss four to six weeks with a broken bone in his left foot, and junior Gavin Horne will continue to miss at least another week with a sprained ankle.
The Raiders have a pair of games in Chicago this week with Illinois-Chicago and Loyola.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 at Illinois-Chicago
Jan. 19 at at Loyola

Youngstown State Penguins (7-9, 3-3)
Last week’s record: 1-2
Week recap:
Jan. 7 vs. UW-Milwaukee: L 61-39
Jan. 10 vs. Wright State: L 66-55
Jan. 12 vs. Detroit: W 70-66
The Penguins salvaged a rough start to a busy week with a victory over slumping Detroit, 70-66. This year, the Penguins are 7-0 when leading at halftime, and 0-9 when trailing after 20 minutes. In the victory over Detroit, the Penguins hit 11 3-pointers, marking the 11th time in coach Jerry Slocum’s three-year tenure at YSU that the Penguins have made at least 10 3-pointers in a game.
This week, the Penguins host the Crusaders for the first time since Feb. 10, 2001. Then Butler comes to town.
This week’s games:
Jan. 17 vs. Valparaiso
Jan. 19 vs. Butler

     

Comment on this Article:







Phil Kasiecki on Twitter

  • The next game will be on Wednesday night with Florida State at Boston College, a 7 p.m. tip. 1:57 AM February 7, 2012 from web
  • Final score: Stony Brook 57, New Hampshire 48. Stony Brook has now won 13 of 14 and is 11-1 in America East. 1:57 AM February 7, 2012 from web
  • Bryan Dougher's off-balance baseline jumper probably seals it, as it's 50-38 Stony Brook with a minute and a half to play. 1:48 AM February 7, 2012 from web
  • Chandler Rhoads just got his first points of the night to cut the UNH deficit to 48-38, but with 1:57 left it may be too little, too late. 1:47 AM February 7, 2012 from web
  • A technical was called on UNH right before the timeout, and Tommy Brenton makes both free throws for a 48-35 lead, Stony Brook ball. 1:45 AM February 7, 2012 from web
  • Stony Brook has the lead back to double digits on a runner by Dave Coley. It's 46-35 Stony Brook at the last media timeout, 2:44 left. 1:42 AM February 7, 2012 from web

Michael Protos on Twitter

Your Phil of Hoops

Northeastern is not yet a contender in the CAA

February 3, 2012 by

northeastern

After losing to Drexel on Wednesday night, where Northeastern stands is clear in the CAA. They are not contenders yet, and until they knock off a team ahead of them in the standings, that’s where they will be.

Harvard asserts itself in the opening weekend of Ivy League play

January 29, 2012 by

harvard

The first full weekend of Ivy League play is in the books, and one thing that wasn’t too surprising happened: the league favorites asserted themselves as just that. Harvard looked like a team on a mission, and coming away with two convincing road wins is what was desired.

Quick Hitters – January 27, 2012

January 27, 2012 by

author_kasiecki

Some quick hitters about Boston University’s rebounding, a transfer helping Marquette, an improving Husky guard and a couple of key road wins among others as we head into another weekend.

Quinnipiac finally pulls one out to close road swing

January 22, 2012 by

quinnipiac

Quinnipiac can now head home with the hope that their last game in the current road stretch does more for them than add one into the left-hand column. The Bobcats had a few tough games recently, and had another one in which they managed to pull out a 78-71 win in overtime at Bryant on Saturday.

Quick Hitters – January 21, 2012

January 21, 2012 by

author_kasiecki

We have a few quick hitters on a streaking America East team, another whose star had his first rough night, two inconsistent Patriot League teams and a couple of teams who have lost a player for the season but for different reasons.

Ron Hunter is already changing the culture at Georgia State

January 19, 2012 by

georgiastate

Ron Hunter knew he had a culture to change at Georgia State, and he knew he was in a different place. Now he has a different issue on his hands with his team, which stands 5-2 in CAA play after a loss at Northeastern on Wednesday night.

Boston College off to a surprising start in ACC play

January 15, 2012 by

bostoncollege

There’s a big surprise near the top of the ACC standings. With only Duke sporting an undefeated record, one team in the logjam at 2-1 is the very young Boston College Eagles after two straight home wins.

Boston University hopes to regain confidence with losing streak over

January 9, 2012 by

bostonuniversity

Just over a month ago, Boston University looked ready go on a good run. But a six-game losing streak resulted instead, and the Terriers hope to regain confidence after ending it on Sunday.

Harvard continues to live dangerously in Ivy League opener

January 8, 2012 by

harvard

Harvard improved to 13-2 on Saturday by winning the first Ivy League game of the season. While the bottom line is all positive, the Crimson also lived dangerously for a while, more so than the 16-point final margin of victory might lead one to believe.

UMBC’s non-conference struggles don’t matter with conference-opening road win

January 3, 2012 by

umbc

With conference play, a bad non-conference run with one loss after another doesn’t matter on the bottom line. One example of that is UMBC, a team that won one game in non-conference play but is tied atop America East after an 82-76 win at New Hampshire on Monday night.

Full Court Sprints

Round 233: UNC vs. Duke tips off with more than pride at stake

The first of two regular-season meetings between two of the most hate-filled rivals in American sports goes down tonight when Duke makes the short trip to the Dean Dome to visit North Carolina. As is usually the case in recent years, this game has significant importance in the standings, with …

Conference Coverage

Big Sky Conference update – Jan 26, 2012

January 26, 2012 by

bigsky

JUST IN TIME FOR TONIGHT’S GAMES… All the news you ever wanted to know about the Big Sky, the weekly edition. YOUR WEEKLY DAMIAN LILLARD IS A STUD LINK-FEST: A Salt Lake Tribune story on his success. USA Today also jumped in sometime in the last week to talk about …

Cleveland State Vikings Overwhelm Milwaukee Panthers 83-57

January 22, 2012 by

horizon

In a game with major implications for the regular season Horizon League championship and seeding for the Horizon League Tournament, the Cleveland State Vikings dominated the Milwaukee Panthers by a score of 83-57 in a game in which the Panthers never led. The Vikings and Panthers began the day in …

Big Sky Conference update – January 18, 2012

January 18, 2012 by

bigsky

One team stands alone atop the standings for now, with another a little behind them and a logjam near the middle of the pack.

Cleveland State Use Barrages from Outside to Defeat Loyola

January 7, 2012 by

horizon

The Cleveland State Vikings started 2012 off on a winning note with a 69-48 victory at home on Saturday afternoon over the visiting Loyola Ramblers. In his pregame radio comments, Vikings coach Gary Waters stated that the Ramblers’ 5-10 record heading into Saturday’s matchup was deceiving and that the Ramblers were …

Big Sky roundup, week 1

January 5, 2012 by

bigsky

Opening weekend in the Big Sky Eastern Washington Record: 7-7, 1-1 Weekend: 1-1 Major superlatives: Won by 16, lost by 8; 76.5 ppg for, 72.5 against; plus-4 scoring margin; 52-112 FG; 20-53 3pt; 29-43 FT. Summary: One night, the lead stuck. The other, it didn’t. The Eagles made an early …

Your Big Sky Conference primer

December 28, 2011 by

bigsky

The Big Sky is about to dive in to conference play, and so far, the season has unfolded pretty much as expected, with Sacramento State looking like the one surprise.

Around the Horizon League: Week 7

December 28, 2011 by

horizon

Like the rest of the country, the Horizon League teams have been enjoying the holiday season and taking it easy on the hardwood. Here’s a roundup of the action that did go down during the past week.

Cleveland State messes with Texas, defeats Sam Houston State Bearkats

December 22, 2011 by

clevelandstate

Cleveland State had plenty of Christmas cheer to share in the Vikings’ easy win against Sam Houston State, though they didn’t exactly give the Bearkats a festive feeling.

Around The Horizon League: Week 6

December 22, 2011 by

horizon

Butler Bulldogs (5-7): Butler began the week with a matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Having struggled in the early part of the season, the Bulldogs probably weren’t given much of a chance by most observers against the Boilermakers. Summing up some of the magic that has helped …

Around The Horizon League: Weeks 4-5

December 14, 2011 by

horizon

Butler Bulldogs (4-6): Butler has continued to struggle in the early stages of the 2011-12 college basketball season. However, don’t start writing Butler’s obituary just yet. Horizon League fans shouldn’t forget that Butler began last season slowly and bottomed out with a loss to Youngstown State before turning their season …

A busy and exciting week in the Big Sky

December 13, 2011 by

bigsky

We take a quick run through the results from the past week in the Big Sky Conference, giving a little love to each team in the conference.

Oklahoma has the best Big 12 player you don’t know

December 12, 2011 by

oklahoma

Missouri and Baylor are looking great, but we love the improvement of one of Lon Kruger’s guards.

Vikings pull out dramatic victory over Akron

December 10, 2011 by

clevelandstate

Longtime Cleveland sports fans are familiar with the “Kardiac Kids,” which was the nickname bestowed on the 1980 Cleveland Browns team that won multiple games in the waning seconds of the game. Although the 2011-12 college basketball season is still somewhat young, the Cleveland State Vikings have already given that …

Cleveland State Vikings Defeat Detroit Titans 66-61

December 4, 2011 by

clevelandstate

The Vikings keep rolling as they take out Detroit in an early battle for positioning at the top of the Horizon League.

No cause for alarm in the Big East

November 29, 2011 by

bigeast

Yes, a few Big East teams have faltered early in the season. No, that’s not a reason to panic, as it is still November.