Wright State, Butler Advance to Finals Once Again

INDIANAPOLIS – When a team makes nine three-pointers in the first half, that generally means they are in a great position to win the game.  When they also hold that team to just 18 points in the first half, that usually points to a win.

Wright State did all that and rolled over Detroit 69-50 in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship.

Led by 6′ 9″ center Ronnie Thomas’ four three-pointers in four tries, the Raiders led 39-18 at the half.   The Titans shot just 38.1 percent (8-21) including 1-6 from 3-point land.

Wright State (20-11) didn’t set out in their game plan to set Thomas up to shoot three-pointers, that is just what the Detroit defense allowed the Raiders to do.

Detroit coach Ray McCallum’s game plan included packing it in around the basket to stop the easy shots, which opened things up for Raiders on the outside where they were 9-14 (52.2 percent).

“We knew they were an excellent three-point shooting team, but we wanted to take away layups.  We didn’t guard the three with our capability,” explained McCallum.  “We knew the shooters, we had them identified.  It was a quick turn around for our guys, we weren’t able to play Detroit basketball today.”

On the flip side Wright State coach Brad Brownell didn’t draw up any plays to get Thomas shots.

He said, “We didn’t try to have him be our game plan, but Ronnie has shot shots, and had some games where he made more than others.  It’s not like we told Ronnie not to shoot.  Most teams guard him out there a little differently, and if you leave him open, he’s going to make some shots.”

The game started off just fine for Detroit (20-14) when Thomas Kennedy hit a jumper to put them up 2-0.  By the 17:26 mark Kennedy hit a 3-pointer to put the Titans up by four at 7-3.  That was the biggest lead they would enjoy in the game.

Thomas hit a three-pointer at the 16:32 mark to get the Raiders within one at 7-6 and then Troy Tabler hit another to put Wright State up for good at 9-7.

Wright State got the lead up to 23 points at 36-13 with 3:03 to go in the first half.   When the teams headed to the locker room Wright State led 39-18.

In the second half Wright State expanded its lead to 25 three times, the last coming at the 6:06 mark when Scott Grote made a jumper to make the score 63-38.  After that Detroit went on a small 13-6 run to close the final point gap to 19 points.

Tabler, with 16 points in the game, felt that his team used the week off to their advantage, which helped them win tonight.

“It helped getting a week with no games, so we can focus our self in practice rather than focus on a game. This week we were able to get better as a team.”

Thomas led all scorers with 18 points, Eli Homan led Detroit with 12 points.

Butler Stops Milwaukee to Advance

For Butler, it came down to getting stops on defense, which finally caused Milwaukee to fall in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship 68-59.

Down 29-28 at the half, Butler came out and took the lead when Matt Howard made a jump shot at the 19:22 mark.  Milwaukee’s Anthony Hill made a layup to put the Panthers ahead at 31-30.  Another Jumper by Howard at the 18:41 mark put Butler ahead 32-31, and they never trailed again in the game.

When Butler’s Shelvin Mack made a layup with 11:56 left it stretched the Bulldogs’ lead to nine at 44-35.

But Milwaukee (20-14) wasn’t giving up.  By the time Ricky Franklin hit a three-pointer with 6:22 left, the Panthers were within a point at 50-49.

As the Butler fans got a little anxious, Butler coach Brad Stevens had faith in his players, so rather than call a timeout he let them play.

A couple of free throws by Howard, a lay up by Ronald Nored, then a free throw to complete the three-point play after a foul by Milwaukee’s Ja’Rob McCallum at the 5:20 mark and Butler had some breathing room with a 55-49 lead.

Over the last five minutes, Butler (27-4) worked its lead up to double digits, then as time ran tout Milwaukee’s Burleigh Porte hit a jumper to give Butler the nine-point win.

“It was a tough game, they are a very physical team.  I give those guys a lot of credit, third game in five days,” said Stevens.  ”I thought they played with outstanding effort and they didn’t get tired.”

Hill led Milwaukee with 15 points.

Matt Howard led all scorers with 18 points, 13 of which came in the second half.

“They were giving me the ball in good spots.  I was trying to attack and get the ball up on the rim, it was working today,” explained Howard.

Butler’s Gordon Hayward had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The tough Butler defense had Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter saying that Butler was able to play their style, while forcing his team out of how they wanted to play and that was a big factor in his team’s loss.

“We got to this point by playing a certain style, and it was too bad we didn’t get a chance to finish that style out,” Jeter said.

Notes

• Detroit is the first team to post two upsets (by seed) in the tournament since the Titans did it in 1996.
• Former Wright State great Mike Grote and his brother former Michigan State player Steve Grote were in attendance tonight, along with Bob Grote, a former Raider great and father of Wright player Scott Grote.  Mike Grote played on the Raiders’ national championship team.  Those three are some very knowledgeable fans.
• Not to be outdone, Mike Nienabor, coach at Christian Brothers University, Kirk Nienabor, the all-time assists leader at Bethel University when he graduated and Mike Price, the coach of Cincinnati Oak Hills High School, were also on hand for the game.
• Wright State is in the Horizon League semifinal game for third time in the last four years.
• Wright State’s baseball team yesterday beat the number one ranked team in the country, University of Virginia 2-1.
• Wright State fans outnumbered Detroit fans about 10 to 1.   There were almost 1,000 Raider fans in attendance.
• Wright State has reached the 20-win mark for the fourth year in a row under coach Brad Brownell.
• Wright State leads the overall series with Detroit 20-19.
• Milwaukee is making their first appearance in the semifinals since they won the 2006 championship.
• Butler’s 19-game winning streak is the longest in the country.
• Butler won their fourth straight league title this season and is hosting the tournament for the third straight year.
• Butler is 13-0 at home and 42-3 in the last three years.
• Butler leads the all-time series with Milwaukee 30-10.
• Butler is in the Horizon League Championship game for the fifth year in a row, but lost three of the last four finals, including in 2007 against Wright State.  In the HL/MCC only Xavier had a longer run of final game appearances.
• With Wright State’s win tonight the Horizon League has five 20-win teams for the first time in conference history.  Only five other leagues/conferences have as many 20-game teams this season: Big East (8), Big 12 (7), SEC (6), ACC (5) and Atlantic 10 (5).  All of those conferences have more teams than the Horizon League.

Wright State and Butler play Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Horizon League Quarterfinals – Detroit Frustrates Green Bay, Milwaukee Takes Down Cleveland State

Detroit Frustrates Green Bay

INDIANAPOLIS – For Detroit it was part big man in the middle and part penetrating guards and part taking Green Bay’s leading scorer out of his game. All of this added up to a 62-53 win for the Titans in the Horizon League Championship quarter-final game.

Green Bay’s Rahmon Fletcher came in averaging 17.1 ppg and when the buzzer sounded he had just three points going 1-10 from the field.

The big man part for Detroit was 6’ 10” Eli Holman. He muscled in 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Detroit’s penetrating guards were Woody Payne and Chase Simon. Payne scored seven points and registered five assists. For Simon it was five points and three assists.

Part I, holding Fletcher’s scoring down was what Detroit coach Ray McCallum thought was the key to their win.

“Or focus was on him. Paying attention to Fletcher and slowing him down.”

The scoring started for Detroit (20-13) when Holman slammed home a dunk at the 18:37 mark and from that 2-0 lead the Titans never trailed in the game.

“One thing our coach preached to us, was going to the glass and I know I’m good at that, going to the glass,” said Holman.

The Phoenix got the score down to one point twice in the first half the last time on a 3-pointer by Troy Cotton with 13:52 left.

The Titans did get the lead up as high as eight points at 24-16 with 6:30 left, but Green Bay (21-12) kept fighting and when Seth Evans hit a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left they briefly got it two within two points at 28-26 before Thomas Kennedy hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left to push their halftime to five at 31-26.

In the second half Green Bay never got closer than five points.

“Without a question, a disappointing and frustrating loss. The key word is frustrating. Give Detroit credit for that, they took us out of what we wanted to do offensively and we got frustrated,” said Kowalczyk.

Milwaukee Takes Down Cleveland State

INDIANAPOLIS – The nightcap was similar to the first game only this time it was Milwaukee scoring the first basketball and going wire-to-wire to win 82-75 over Cleveland State.

The Panthers spread their scoring around with six players scoring in double digits.

It did get a little exciting in the second half. With Milwaukee leading by 20 points at 62-42, Cleveland State’s Norris Cole drove down the lane and made a layup. That led to 13 straight points by the Vikings to make it 64-55 with 5:58 left in the game.

Finally a layup by Milwaukee’s Anthony Hill at the 4:46 mark got the score back up to double figures at 66-55. Cleveland State (16-17) spent the rest of the game whittling the score down to the final deficit of seven.

“We responded, our guys responded with layups to break the pressure,” said Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter.

Panther player Ja’Rob McCallum also pointed out that they also kicked the ball out when pressured.

“We usually have a guy on the baseline and our bigs are in and out flashing high post.”

Cleveland State’s coach Gary Water agreed that going inside was the difference in this game.

“They could go inside anytime they wanted and get a basket,” Waters explained. “Anytime we made a run and went at them, they would go right to the heart of our defense.”

The first half saw Milwaukee (20-13) go up by as many as 11 points before ending the half up by eight points at 32-24.

Milwaukee’s balances scoring was led by Hill and McCallum with 14 points. Ricky Franklin had 13 points, Ryan Haggerty had 12 points, James Eayers had 11 points, with seven rebounds and Jason Everkamp pitched in 10 points.

Cleveland State’s Tim Kamczyc led all scorers with 20 points, Cole had 16 points, Jeremy Montgomery had 15 points and Lance James had 13 points.

Quarterfinal Notes

• Wright State coach Brad Brownell had his team practice on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was an off day, then they practiced Thursday in Dayton and Friday for 90 minutes at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Brownell wasn’t sure if having a week off was a good thing or not. No games for a week, is good for his team, which is down two players due to injuries, so his team will be well rested. But playing either Detroit or Green Bay after they played two games might have them in a flow and his team a little rusty. The Raiders worked on things for each team. Today Wright State spent the bulk of their practice today working on their half court offense.

• Butler coach Brad Stevens had the same practice schedule as Wright State going on Monday and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday off. Stevens spent this week watching game films against his possible opponents, Milwaukee and Cleveland State. He also watched some film of them playing teams that he thought might be similar to Butler’s style of play. Stevens didn’t reveal anything different his team was doing before their semi-final game.

• This is Detroit’s first winning season in six years (18-13, 2003-04) and they reached 20 wins for the first time since going 25-12 in2000-01.

• Detroit leads the overall series with Green Bay 20-19.

• UWM-holds a 20-14 lead in the overall series with Cleveland State.

• Milwaukee advanced to the league championship game the last four times it reached the semifinals.

• Detroit plays Wright State Saturday at 5:15 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPNU on tape-delay at 10 p.m. EST that night.

• Milwaukee plays Butler at 8:00 p.m. The game in on ESPNU.

Big Quote:

“I can tell you we’re going to be in a post-season tournament. We are going to play in the post-season and we’re excited to play in the post-season.” Ted Kowalczy

Horizon Notebook – Looking Towards the End Game

Everybody’s doing it.  Everybody denies it, but everybody’s doing it.  No, not THAT… and not THAT.  Reviewing the schedule, deciding what games we’re sure to win, what games we have little hope to win, and what games can go either way.  At this time of the year, every coaching staff in America is scrutinizing its remaining schedule.  Can we win our conference?  Can we get a conference tournament bye?  Can we get an at-large bid to one tournament to another?  Can we be .500 in conference?  Can we get to 20 wins?  Can we beat anybody?  On the three staffs I was on we told our players to focus on the next opponent, the kid each of our kids was about to guard, how to win tonight.  But we couldn’t help ourselves, so we scrutinized and scrutinized.  And by this point in the season, ESPN commercials notwithstanding, most of the games are in the first and second category (games we really should win, games we really can’t win), and relatively few are in that all-important third group (games that can truly go either way).

In the Horizon, it is more apparent with each passing week that Butler is even better than it was last year, by far the best.  Absent major injury or major miracle, the Bulldogs should not be beaten in conference.  And while the late Al McGuire hated relying on freshmen, Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack simply are not like any other freshmen to come on the mid-major scene in recent memory, perhaps not like any pair of freshmen at this level, ever.  (Two nights ago ESPN2′s wonderful studio analyst Hubert Davis called Duke’s 6-8 sophomore forward Kyle Singler the best player-or the most valuable-in the ACC, and this writer has previously called Gordon Hayward “a freshman version of Singler, except that Hayward rebounds better”).

At the other end of the spectrum, I have thought all along that Ray McCallum’s Detroit Titans would win a game in conference, probably at home, though they missed the opportunity I’d circled on New Year’s Day hosting Youngstown State.  Back in the “first division,” Green Bay, Milwaukee, Wright State and Cleveland State should win the rest of their games against everyone else except Butler (what WSU gives up in personnel to the other three, it makes up with superb half-court defense and coaching), but the remaining games among those four should all be competitive.

That said, this writer was shocked by not one but two monstrous upsets this past weekend in the Horizon, upsets with huge impacts on the standings (on what I’ve called the “race for second”).  First on Thursday night, while this writer was in Indianapolis watching Butler dispatch Wisconsin-Green Bay, the other one-loss Wisconsin team, that hailing from Milwaukee, was visiting Homer Drew’s 2-6 Valparaiso team.  Still  playing without sophomore forward Benjamin Fumey (who had arthroscopic knee surgery the previous day), but with Erik Buggs and D’Andre Haskins back from the injury list, the Crusaders played their best defensive game of the year, upsetting the Panthers 63-51.  Valpo forced 20 Milwaukee turnovers, held the Panthers to 29% shooting (24% in the second half), and held three Milwaukee starters-Ricky Franklin, Avery Smith and Anthony Hill-scoreless for the game.  Senior Jake Diebler dominated the game offensively, scoring 19 on 7-13 shooting, including 5-9 from the arc.  No longer concussed but still diminutive freshman Erik Buggs contributed 14 (on 6-10 shooting) and seven huge rebounds.  And not a moment too soon, senior Urule Igbavboa finally went to the boards, grabbing 9 caroms.  The thrashing by Valpo may have had a lingering effect, as Milwaukee was never in the game two days later, falling at Butler 78-48.  The true impact of Valpo’s beating on Milwaukee’s collective psyche will be revealed on Wednesday, when the now three-loss Panthers return home to face eminently beatable Loyola.

Perhaps less surprising to readers of this space, but more so to a national television audience on ESPNU, was the result on Friday night when Cleveland State visited Youngstown State.  Having witnessed YSU’s hard-nosed eight point home loss to Butler on December 6th, and having called sophomore swingman Vytas Sulskis-recently ensconced in Coach Slocum’s doghouse-and junior second guard Kelvin Bright, respectively, “a poor man’s Gordon Hayward” and “a poor man’s Shelvin Mack,” this writer expected a spirited effort by the Penguins in defense of their home court.  What I didn’t expect was yet another subpar defensive effort by Cleveland State, witnessing no Viking except Norris Coles (guarding Bright) defend hard or well.  In the first half, YSU junior forward Sirlester Martin dominated a game played at the Penguins’ preferred pace-slow–scoring 10 of YSU’s 29 points (on 5-9 shooting) and grabbing 5 rebounds.  Martin having shown the way, Penguin senior center Jack Liles joined the first half party, contributing 8 points (on 4-7) and 6 boards, and YSU led by 4 at the break, 29-25.

CSU’s defense was no better in the second half, and while J’Nathan Bullock’s effort kept them close (Bullock finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds), the Vikings could never pull even on the scoreboard.  Remarkably, the Vikes showed little interest in increasing the pace YSU controlled.  And oddly, instead of pressing for much of the game, CSU employed a passive “triangle and two” for a stretch (one of the “two” was Kelvin Bright, second leading scorer in conference play coming into the game-but no Michael Jordan-and at least at one point, the other one of the “two” was low-scoring Tom Parks).  Finally, at the 17:54 mark of the second half, down by 6, the Vikings went to full-court pressure, and while they forced two turnovers the rest of the way and were able to pull within 2, the change-of-pace proved too little too late, and the Vikings fell 64-60.  While the differences on the stat page were Penguin forwards Martin and Liles (15 on 7-13 for Martin with 9 boards, and 18 on 7-11 for Liles with 6 boards), the game was controlled and won by Penguin Coach Jerry Slocum, who got everything he could have hoped for from a roster not nearly as strong as his opponent’s.

The loss was devastating to Cleveland State, as even coming off an oh-for-Wisconsin trip the previous weekend, the 4-4 Vikings still had second place and the coveted double-bye squarely in their sites coming into the game.  Green Bay and Milwaukee had each lost for the second time the night before, and Milwaukee still had Butler to play twice (they then lost in Indianapolis on Saturday);  the Vikings had both Wisconsin schools and Wright State all coming to Wolstein Arena in the second half of the conference season (and only Butler among first division opponents away);  and defender/rebounder/all-around hustler D’Aundray Brown on the mend, soon to return from injury.  Only a visit to the lowly Penguins was asked of them before returning home to the friendly confines.  But those pesky Penguins had other ideas, and instead of being 5-4 and just two games behind with a favorable schedule, the Vikings are 4-5 at the turn, with no reasonable chance for that coveted second spot.   Oh, what might have been.

Horizon News and Notes:

• Separated by just 70 miles, at least from the Youngstown State perspective Cleveland State could be their biggest rival, and 6,249 screaming Penguin fans contributed to Friday’s upset, the fourth largest crowd ever in Beeghly Center.
• If you’ll indulge me, having seen my share of Big Five games in Philly’s Palestra, and having watched the discontinuation of the “Basketball Beanpot” in Boston some years ago, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Northeast Ohio’s four D-Is-two in the MAC and two in the Horizon-were to institute some kind of regional competition for bragging rights.  That would require each team to play both of the schools in the other conference once (presumably one at home and one away), in addition to the home-and-home games within the respective conferences;  the best record among the four would win some kind of cup or trophy.  The fans of the four schools would love it, and I suspect help fill one another’s gyms.
• Continuing on that theme, in the wake of its upset of CSU, YSU played an unusual late January non-conference game Monday night, hosting Akron in Beeghly.  In front of barely ¼ of the audience three nights earlier, the Pens were unable to sustain their terrific play, falling to the improving Akron Zips 67-63.  For three quarters of the game YSU got little from its forwards, and Akron got little from its guards.  But Akron’s guards began contributing something-barely something–midway in the second half, and YSU’s forwards never did.  Senior Nate Linhart led the Zips with 15, on 6-11 shooting, and 9 rebounds;  Chris McKnight added 13, mainly on late game free throws, and also had 9 boards.  Junior YSU guard DeAndre Mays led all scorers in a losing cause with 18, on 7-14 including 2-5 from the arc, and had 8 boards, and Martin pulled down 11 rebounds for the Pens.
• With each pair of conference teams yet to play each other a second time (and Cleveland State and Akron not currently playing one another at all), here are the current standings for Northeast Ohio’s unofficial “Lake Erie Cup”:
  • Akron:  2-0
  • Cleveland State:  1-1
  • Kent State:  1-2
  • Youngstown State:  1-2
  • Of course, in addition to remaining games in which Akron visits Kent State and Youngstown State visits Cleveland State, it is possible that conference foes will meet in their respective conference tourneys (or even that one of these four will meet another-some day-in the NCAA Tourney, the NIT or the CBI).  Yes, the “Lake Erie Cup.”  (Of course, a regional sponsor will quickly gobble this up, making it the “Key Bank Cup,” or the “NCB Cup.”  On the other hand, the way things have been going lately, maybe I shouldn’t wait by the phone for any bank or brokerage to be calling…).

Horizon Notebook – CSU Loses Wisconsin Two-Step for the Two-Seed

CLEVELAND -  Even in the context of Butler’s home scare at the hands of Detroit a week ago Saturday, we suggested in this space that everyone else in the Horizon is already playing for second.  (We’ve also suggested more than once that the deepest line in the sand is between the double-bye and home semi-final game to be awarded the second seed and the two extra games the third seed must play in the conference tourney).  Coming into the weekend just past, with Butler a perfect 5-0, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee each had one loss, Cleveland State had two, and Wright State had three.  And predictably, Butler stayed perfect, taking care of business this weekend in Chicago, beating Loyola and Illinois-Chicago;  also predictably, Wright State took care of business in its lone game at Detroit, still stuck on three losses.  So there was Cleveland State on its annual brutal trek through Wisconsin, needing two wins to be tied for second and a split to stay close;  it got neither.  So now the preseason favorite Vikings wake up in Cleveland at 4-4 and in fifth place, three full games and the head-to-head tiebreaker behind Milwaukee for second.

It was a better trip offensively than CSU had the right to expect, as finally shoot-first point guard Cedric Jackson was able to contribute at that end of the floor.  21 points at Green Bay on Thursday (7-12, 4-5 from the arc) and then 17 points (7-13) to go with 10 assists and 7 boards Saturday in Milwaukee.  And even with J’Nathan Bullock scoring 22 and 19 in the two games, CSU’s improved offense could not overcome its poorest defensive weekend of the season.  The Vikes lost 80-65 to Green Bay in a game not nearly that close, and after a furious comeback form nineteen down in the last five minutes in Milwaukee, they lost by two 77-75, when a Trevon Harmon trey rimmed and came out with less than two seconds remaining.  It has been that kind of year for the Vikings.

Needless to say, under Gary Waters CSU is known for its tenacious, stifling pressure defense, and coming into the weekend the Vikings had held 6 of their previous 10 D-I opponents to 50 points or less.  So one would have thought that 65 points in Green Bay and 75 in Milwaukee would have been enough to win at least one of those games, and maybe both.  The problem:  while CSU’s defense can grind you down over forty minutes when the Vikings have the lead, when they’re behind it becomes a reaching, lunging and fouling defense, risking everything for steals, and thus vulnerable against good teams to back-door cuts, guard penetration and lots of open jump shots.  Now, playing that kind of 100% style (as opposed to the aggressive but under control style made famous by late 70s and 80s Indiana teams and played these days by Butler and Wright State), the results can be, well, inconsistent.  The game can become a schoolyard game, and for short periods CSU can make steals and make hay against its opponent.  Witness the last 5 minutes at Milwaukee, and a similar stretch during the last 8 minutes of the first half at Green Bay, during which the Vikings returned from the dead to tie that game at the half.  In the long run, however-at least against quality opponents-playing defense that way is pure suicide, allowing a team that might have scored 55 or 60 against the Vikings to score 70 or more.  And with CSU’s poor perimeter shooting on offense, that difference is just too much to overcome.  Thus, two losses in the Wisconsin snow.

Now in the race for second, all is not utterly lost for the Vikings.  Coach Gary Waters having said that the regular season Horizon winner will have four or more losses, even if Butler doesn’t the rest of the teams in the league should, or at least could.  So, if freshman Trey Harmon improves, and sophomore D’Aundray Brown returns from his rib injury, the second half of the conference schedule is more favorable for the Vikings.  Home and home with Youngstown State (Jerry Slocum’s Penguin team is pretty darned tough at home), all three teams the Vikes are chasing for second still to play at home in Wolstein Arena, and then a season-ending rematch with Butler at Hinkle on Saturday February 28.  And both one-loss Wisconsin teams yet to play Butler at all.  So if Butler should beat Green Bay and Milwaukee twice, and if Wright State beats one or both of the Wisconsin teams on their trips to Dayton, and if CSU makes those Wisconsin schools’ trips south as miserable as they did to the Vikes going north, well, CSU can still be heading for Indianapolis for that February 28th game with a shot at the second seed, and with more to play for that day than the Bulldogs.  But first they need to right the ship with a win at Youngstown State this Friday night, a game the Vikings must win to stay in the hunt for second.  To do that they better be ready to stop YSU second guard Kelvin Bright, who has scored most of his 14 points per game on his home floor.

Horizon News and Notes:

• Both Green Bay and Milwaukee get their first looks at Butler’s freshman class this week, Green Bay playing at Hinkle on Thursday at 7 pm eastern, and Milwaukee playing there on Saturday at 2 pm eastern.
• Cleveland State plays at Youngstown State in this Friday night’s 9 pm eastern ESPNU game.
• To date still playing without Vaughn Duggins, Wright State faces Illinois-Chicago at home on Saturday night, that game to tip at 7 pm eastern.  If Duggins is ready to play this weekend, he’ll get a home warmup Thursday night against Loyola, and then face UIC.  If he’s not ready to play this weekend, expect Coach Brownell to announce a decision to redshirt him some time next week.

Horizon Notebook: Brownell Leads Wright State Back Into Race

CLEVELAND -  There are some really good coaches in the Horizon League.  Jimmy Collins was really good back when I was on a staff that faced him in the late 90s, and has been to 3 NCAAs and an NIT since.  Homer Drew is a legend at Valpo (and could pass for a man twenty years his junior).  Brad Stevens at Butler appears to be the best young coach in the country.  I’ve watched Gary Waters build Kent and improve Rutgers, and his teams defend awfully hard.  Ray McCallum was super at Ball State, and will rebuild Detroit.  And then there’s Brad Brownell at Wright State.  Having spent the last two years covering the Colonial Athletic Association, I missed Brownell’s time at UNC-Wilmington, but heard the whispers about how terrific a coach he was.  During four seasons at UNCW, Brownell won 83 games and two CAA Conference Tournaments;  now in two years at WSU, Brownell has won 44 games, and upset Butler to capture the 2007 Horizon Tournament.  That’s 3 NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons.  And the job he’s done to reach 7-7 this year at Wright State might be his best ever.

Coming into this season, returning the top two players and three starters from a group that tied Cleveland State for second, including preseason first team all-conference selection Vaughn Duggins, Brownell’s team was picked near the top of the Horizon, and at the top by the only publication not naming CSU (USA Today).  They started slowly, losing by eight to now 13-0 Illinois State, in overtime on the road at Central Michigan (before it was as cold up there as it is now), to Charlie Coles’ rugged Miami team, and in Texas at Sam Houston State.  Then the unthinkable happened, as Duggins broke a finger in practice prior to the December 4 conference opener at Green Bay (Duggins could return next Thursday for the game at Butler).  Duggins-less conference losses at Green Bay and Milwaukee made the season-opening record 0-6.  Then a home win against rebuilding Toledo, a big road win at Arkansas-Little Rock, and as good a loss as one could have at now No. 6 Wake Forest, 66-53.  Four more wins, one against Norfolk State and three at the San Juan Shootout, those three including a thrashing of the Big East’s South Florida.  So with nationally ranked Dayton getting 90% of the local press (Dayton is ranked Nos. 20 and 23 in the polls this week), the Raiders were 6-7 as they resumed conference play Tuesday night hosting Cleveland State.

While Wilmington fans the last two-plus seasons have seen a team reminiscent of Paul Westhead’s at Loyola Marymount, fans in southeast North Carolina mostly remember good Seahawk defense under Brownell.  Wright State fans have seen the same thing these past two years, and it is that part of the game that started coming together in Winston-Salem, holding Wake Forest to 66 in a loss, and in four subsequent wins holding every opponent in the 40s.  Now, Wright State doesn’t play its man-to-man defense the way Cleveland State does;  the Raiders look more like the Indiana teams of the late 70s and 80s, picking up at the three-point line, tucking in, guarding the goal (yes, I know there was no three-point line back in the 70s and early 80s).

Brownell likely having watched Butler’s win at CSU dozens of times, Tuesday night a Duggins-less Wright State team dominated the game against Cleveland State with its half-court defense.  In fact, that defense was so good to start the game, WSU clamped down so hard at the defensive end, that at the 13½ minute mark Cleveland State had scored only 6 points, on J’Nathan Bullock’s two field goals, in 16 CSU shot attempts.  Using that defense to jump out to a thirteen-point lead, WSU was never headed, and the game was not nearly as close as the final score of 71-62.  Now they play Youngstown State at home on Saturday, and then MAY get Duggins back before next week’s Butler/Valpo road trip.

Now 7-7 (1-2 in conference) after starting 0-6, the Wright State “no-names” have also improved of late on offense.  Guard John David Gardner-he played well enough Tuesday night for me to use all three names-was first recruited by Brownell from Homewood, Alabama High School to UNC-Wilmington, played just seven games due to injury in 2005-06, followed his coach to Wright State, sat out 2006-07, and was again sidelined last winter by injuries, playing in just 11 games.  Now a junior and finally healthy, the 6-4 guard is now defending like crazy, scoring 9 points per game, shooting 47% (36% from the arc) and handing out 4 assists compared to just 2 turnovers per game.   6-7 forward Cory Cooperwood is scoring 10 points per game, shooting 50%, and grabbing 5 rebounds.  And 6-5 junior guard Todd Brown is averaging 6 points, not yet shooting a good percentage, and grabbing 4 boards per game.  But it is a total team effort, at both ends of the floor.  And Duggins is almost ready to return.

This writer showed up Tuesday night knowing only that Duggins is out, and that “that kid with three names” earned MVP honors in San Juan but still scores in single figures.  And while none of the current players jumped out as all-conference material, I haven’t seen a team play more soundly, more AS A TEAM, in a long time.  In the first half, the half in which the methodical pace was set and both teams came to believe that Wright State could prevail, the Raiders played a nearly perfect defensive 20 minutes, holding CSU to 22% shooting.  And only a miracle shot-clock beating trey near the end of the half by CSU’s Eric Schiele, which became a four-point play on a bad foul, got CSU into the 20s at the half, trailing 27-22.  And in the second half, with CSU pressing, lunging, reaching and fouling, the Wright State kids put on an offensive clinic, beating overplays with back door cuts, and hitting medium range jumpers, twice leading by 13, and with the game firmly in hand at the last media timeout winning comfortably by 9.

After the game Brownell deflected questions about regaining .500 (at 7-7) after an 0-6 start, responding that “we just play each game.”  When I asked about integrating Duggins with the current group when he’s ready, Coach responded merely that “we’ll see how he practices, and go from there.”  Coach wouldn’t rule out that, in consultation with the young man and his family, he may yet make Duggins a medical redshirt, but I got the idea everyone would like to see the preseason all-conference selection play again this year, and also see just how good this team can be when coach gets his leading scorer integrated with the current “no-name” group.

Based on Coach’s responses, I can’t imagine Duggins playing Saturday at home against Youngstown State (a YSU team that managed a two-point win AT Detroit on New Year’s Day), but I do think we could see him off the bench at Butler next Thursday.  Now, I’m not sure Duggins will be in all-conference form his first night back, but he just might be ready by the time Illinois-Chicago gets to Dayton on January 24.  And then for games at Cleveland State on January 31 and at home against Butler on February 7.  This writer is gonna try to get to both of those games, and Horizon fans in southern and northern Ohio might make a point of catching one or the other.

Horizon News and Notes:

• When this writer saw YSU play Butler tough at home a few weeks back, I suggested that Coach Slocum might be awfully competitive at home in the conference.  Well, what do I know, as the Penguins managed to win their first road conference game yesterday in Detroit.
• In a conference more impressive each week than the week before, Wisconsin-Milwaukee went into Chicago and bested high-flying UIC Tuesday night, 71-66.  The Panthers featured a balanced offensive attack, with Avery Smith, Tone Boyle, Ricky Franklin and Tony Meier scoring 15, 14, 13 and 12, respectively.  Perhaps more impressively, Milwaukee’s backcourt defended Josh Mayo so well that he had to take 17 shots to score 18 points;  and by holding Scott Vandermeer to 9 rebounds (to go with his 16 points), Milwaukee kept the rebounding close, UIC only winning that category 38-33.
• And continuing to play a rough and tumble schedule, now-25th ranked Butler came back from an 11-point first half deficit to defeat Alabama-Birmingham at home Tuesday night, 72-68.  Freshman guard Shelvin Mack from Lexington, some nights outshined by fellow freshman Gordon Hayward, fueled the early second half comeback with 5 treys, and finished tying his high of 22.  Sophomore center Matt Howard chipped in 19 points, and Hayward grabbed 9 rebounds.

Horizon League Notebook – Early Showdown between Butler and Cleveland State

No, they’re not the best team in the country as their RPI of 1 earlier this week suggested. (RPI rankings really are silly, especially early in the year.) And no, they’re not the 27th-best team in America as their Sagarin ranking suggests. Yes, like teams in higher conferences they’ve played 4 of their 5 games at home, only venturing away from the friendly confines of Hinkle to visit Drake to open the season. And no, they haven’t faced the Dukes, North Carolinas and Connecticuts of the world, with Northwestern near the bottom of the Big Ten having been their most serious opponent – and at home. But to the surprise of some, with three freshmen in Brad Stevens’ starting lineup, the Butler Bulldogs have completed the first portion of their non-conference schedule undefeated, and will bring a 5-0 record into Wolstein Center Thursday night to face preseason Horizon favorite Cleveland State.

As this writer projected after attending an exhibition game four weeks ago, this is a different kind of Butler team, quite frankly a more interesting and more exciting Butler team. It is one that will be able to play the more physical and athletic style often required to beat teams from major conferences. At least for the moment – until Gordon Hayward really gets going – they’re not the three-point shooting team we’ve come to expect Butler to be: the team’s 32 percent three-point shooting puts Butler more than two percentage points out of the nation’s top hundred. What they’re doing it with is solid defense, defense already better than that which led the Horizon in fewest points allowed the last three seasons.

As has been suggested a time or two in this space, points allowed can be a deceptive stat, as teams like Princeton, Dartmouth, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Butler (like the Super Bowl winning Giants with O.J. Anderson) can use all of the shot clock each time down the floor, control the ball for 25 of 40 minutes, and limit opposition possessions and attempts to a precious few. And respectfully, it is that style more than great individual man-to-man pressure that has caused Butler to lead the league in scoring defense in recent years. No more.

In the five games Butler has played, they’ve yielded an average of just 50 points, and never given up 60. Their opponents are shooting a combined 37 percent from the field (and 32 percent from the arc), and while the NCAA won’t publish statistics on defensive field goal percentage until tomorrow, I suspect that 37 percent number will be in America’s top ten, maybe top five. Focusing as I often do on the point guard position, while Alabama native Ronald Nored has struggled offensively (particularly from the line, where he’s started his career 4-14), it was the freshman’s stout defense more than anything else that turned defeat into victory against Northwestern on Wednesday night.

In the Northwestern game, Nored was assigned the task of defending the opposition’s best player, backcourt star Craig Moore, fresh off of a 31-point performance and Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors. Putting in yeoman’s work at the defensive end, Nored held Moore to just 11 points, on 4-11 shooting, 3-8 from the arc. And if the other team’s radio broadcasters were on the money (isn’t it wonderful to listen to faraway college basketball on one’s car radio after dark this time of year), it was Nored’s defensive work more than anything else that allowed Butler to come back from a deficit that reached 12-points in the first half and was 9 at intermission, to defeat the Wildcats 57-53.

Offensively and on the boards, it is no surprise that star sophomore Matt Howard is leading the way, holding the fort until the freshmen are truly ready. Howard is tied for fifth in the league scoring 13.3 per game, is second in shooting percentage at 57.5 percent, and tied for seventh with 6.3 rebounds. More importantly (though not surprisingly), 6-8 freshman guard Gordon Hayward is on Howard’s heels in every category and also shoots threes: through the first five games of his career Hayward is tied for tenth in the conference in scoring at 12 points per game, fourth in field goal percentage at 51.6 percent, fourth in steals at 2 per game (this is a surprise), fifth in treys made with 2 per game, and sixth in three-point percentage at 44.4 percent; he’s also grabbing 5 rebound per game. In the backcourt, with 18 points on 8-11 shooting in yesterday’s win over Evansville (including 2-2 from the arc), Lexington’s Shelvin Mack has raised his scoring average to 12 per game, and will be listed among the conference’s top twenty scorers when conference stats are recalibrated tomorrow. And in addition to Ronald Nored’s stellar individual defense, he’s dished out 2.8 assists per game, tied for ninth in the Horizon.

So while this edition of the Bulldogs doesn’t quite shoot like recent groups did (Hayward excluded, and maybe Mack), they may already be among the best defensive teams that has patrolled Hinkle, and are destined to become over the next two years the best Butler team ever. That said, they should be good enough to compete at Cleveland State Thursday night (in CSU’s second conference game in three days, but just Butler’s first), though perhaps not yet ready for their freshman to beat the Vikings’ seniors in their gym. Then the Bulldogs will proceed down the road and be more ready for a conference road win at Youngstown State on Saturday night. All being held together by Matt Howard, as those three freshman get better and better and better.

Horizon News and Notes

• Saturday was a big day for conference teams as in addition to Butler’s 75-59 win over Evansville, Loyola beat Holy Cross 58-53, Detroit beat St. Louis 62-57, Wisconsin Green-Bay beat Massachusetts 84-67 and Illinois-Chicago beat Central Michigan 77-67. Not surprisingly, Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost in Madison to the Badgers, 67-46; Youngstown State was edged at home by St. Francis of Pennsylvania, 66-65. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that after yesterday’s 84-65 loss to Sam Houston State, Wright State will begin conference play 0-4 on the season.
• With many conferences now adding one or two pre-Christmas conference games, this week provides Horizon fans with a great taste of what January and February will be like. The conference schedule begins Tuesday night with just a singleton, Valparaiso at Cleveland State. Then four conference games tip off on Thursday: Valpo at Youngstown State, Butler at CSU, Detroit at Milwaukee and Wright State at Green Bay. Four more conference tilts come on Saturday: Butler at YSU, Wright State at Milwaukee, Detroit at Green Bay and Loyola at Illinois-Chicago. Enjoy your early taste!
• Note that Thursday’s game between Butler and Cleveland State in Cleveland will start at 8 pm, rather than CSU’s usual 7 pm, and be telecast nationally on ESPNU.