Cleveland State Vikings (6-1): The Vikings used a last-second shot by senior guard Trevon Harmon to defeat the St. Bonaventure Bonnies by a score of 67-64 in a very physical and hard-fought game. After this game, the Vikings headed off on a long series of road match ups. The Vikings began with a contest against the Kent State Golden Flashes, an in-state foe. The Vikings defeated the Golden Flashes, one of the best teams in the MAC, by a score of 57-53. The Vikings then headed east to Rhode Island to play three games in the Ticket City Legends Classic. Cleveland State began by defeating Boston University by a score of 63-62 in a game in which the Vikings came back from a 10-point deficit in the second half. The next day, the Vikings lost their first game of the season against the Hofstra Pride by a score of 63-53. On Sunday, the Vikings rebounded to defeat the Rhode Island Rams by a score of 67-45. The Vikings will have three days off before their first Horizon League match up on the road against the Wright State Raiders on Thursday.

Detroit Titans (3-4): This season is quickly becoming a nightmare season for the Titans, who began the season with hopes of knocking the Butler Bulldogs from their perch atop the Horizon League. At this point, the Titans do not have enough active scholarship players to conduct a 5-on-5 scrimmage during practice. Eli Holman remains on a leave of absence as he deals with an assault charge incurred at a fraternity house, and no updates have been given on his status. Senior forward Nick Minnerath recently suffered a season-ending ACL injury. John Hoskins left the team and guards Chris Blake and Brandon Romain are academically ineligible for the fall semester. Although the Titans were able to wallop Concordia (Mich.) by a score of 113-68, the Titans proceeded to lose two of their next three games in the CBE Classic in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Titans lost to the George Washington Colonials in the first game. In the second game, the Titans lost 67-61 to the Bowling Green Falcons. The Titans eked out a narrow overtime victory against Austin Peay in the final game by a score of 94-93. Playing their fourth straight game in Ohio this past Friday, the Titans lost 81-63 to a talented Akron Zips team. The Titans will return to action Thursday night in their first Horizon League match up against the Youngstown State Penguins.

Green Bay Phoenix (2-4): The Phoenix won a home game against Wyoming by the score of 52-44. The Phoenix then took their talents to Indiana to play Indiana State. Despite the offensive struggles of standout center Alec Brown, the bench helped the Phoenix stay in the game. However, the Phoenix eventually lost in the final seconds to the Sycamores by the score of 57-56 on a late 3-pointer. The Phoenix suffered another loss two days later on the road to the Virginia Cavaliers by a score of 68-42. On Thursday, the Phoenix will begin Horizon League play with a match up at home against the UIC Flames.

Loyola Ramblers (1-4): Despite having three players score in double figures, the Ramblers lost 63-51 on the road at Furman. Rookie head coach Porter Moser finally secured his first win as Loyola’s head coach with a 64-50 victory over Fordham in the Ramblers’ first game in renovated Gentile Arena. The Ramblers begin Horizon League play on Thursday with a road match up against the Milwaukee Panthers.

Milwaukee Panthers (5-1): The Panthers continued their strong start to the reason, which is impressive in light of the fact that star player Tony Meier has not played at all this season as a result of a lingering calf injury. After two impressive home victories over IUPUI and Texas Southern, the Panthers traveled to Michigan State for a road match up against the Spartans. Although the game was close at halftime, the Spartans pulled away in the second half for a 68-55 victory. The Panthers rebounded by defeating Arkansas-Little Rock by a score of 59-54. Kaylon Williams currently leads the Horizon League with an average of 6.0 assists per game. On Thursday, the Panthers will begin Horizon League play with a home match up against the Loyola Ramblers.

UIC Flames (2-3): The Flames dropped a 65-61 decision to Division II Quincy University but followed up with a 79-75 victory over Evansville. The Flames then lost to the Toledo Rockets by a score of 82-67 in a game in which a furious second-half comeback attempt could not overcome a large first-half deficit. The Flames will return to action on Thursday in their Horizon League opener on the road against the Green Bay Phoenix.

Valparaiso Crusaders (5-2): The Crusaders continued their impressive start to the season with three wins in the 2K Sports Classic. Their first victory was a 62-59 triumph over the talented Akron Zips. The next day, the Crusaders pounded IU Kokomo by a score of 79-48. Playing their third game in three days, the Crusaders defeated the Duquesne Dukes by a score of 84-68. After a four-day layoff, the Crusaders traveled to Columbus to play the nationally ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Although the Crusaders were only down by four points at halftime, the Buckeyes’ impressive shooting and the Crusaders’ abysmal shooting combined to produce a lopsided second half that resulted in an 80-47 victory for the Buckeyes. Ryan Broekhoff is currently tied for the Horizon League lead in rebounding with 9.3 points per game. The Crusaders will open Horizon League play with a match up against Butler on Saturday.

Wright State Raiders (2-4): The Raiders’ inexperience caught up to them during the second week of the season, as the Raiders dropped three straight games. The Raiders dropped a 78-65 decision to the Florida Gators. Two days later, the Raiders lost to North Florida by a score of 69-52. The friendly confines of the Nutter Center did not help the Raiders as they lost a close game to the Charlotte 49ers by a score of 70-66. The Raiders’ schedule will not get any easier as they begin Horizon League play on Thursday with a tough home matchup against the Cleveland State Vikings.

Youngstown State Penguins (4-1): The Penguins have continued their turnaround from last season’s disappointing campaign. Sophomore Kendrick Perry currently leads the Horizon League in scoring with 18.2 points per game and the team as a whole is dramatically improved. After a hard-fought defensive struggle against UC Riverside that ended in a 53-49 overtime victory, the Penguins headed to State College to face the Penn State Nittany Lions. Despite once again making a school-record 14 3-pointers, the Penguins fell behind early and lost to the Nittany Lions by a score of 82-71. The Penguins battled yet another Pennsylvania foe three days later when they battled the St. Francis Red Storm on the road. This time, the Penguins came away victorious by a score of 60-59 when senior DuShawn Brooks blocked a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer. The Penguins will travel to Detroit in their Horizon League opener to battle the Titans on Thursday.

Cleveland State Vikings (2-0): The Vikings shocked the nationally ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday by a score of 71-58. On Tuesday, the Vikings knocked off the Rio Grande Red Storm, an NAIA school, by a score of 86-57. Cleveland State will face another test on Friday evening at home when they square off against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Senior center Aaron Pogue missed Tuesday night’s match up with an undisclosed illness, and his availability for this important game is unknown.

Detroit Titans (1-1): The Titans began the season by defeating the Division II Lake Erie College Storm 95-57. On Monday, the Titans faded in the second half and lost to Notre Dame by a score of 59-53 in a game in which they led at halftime. The Titans will face Concordia (Mich.) on Friday at home. Eli Holman, whose presence is key to the Titans’ success this season, remains out indefinitely for the Titans to address personal matters, and no new information has been released about his status.

Green Bay Phoenix (1-2): The Phoenix started off the 2011-12 campaign by knocking off the University of Mary, a Division II school, by a score of 94-55. However, the Phoenix started slowly against the Duquesne Dukes on the road two days later and lost 84-66. On Wednesday, the Phoenix lost a close game on the road against North Dakota State by the score of 65-61. The Phoenix have received strong play from sophomore center Alec Brown, who posted double-doubles in his first two games and has averaged over three blocks per game to start the season.

Loyola Chicago Ramblers (0-3): Rookie head coach Porter Moser has had a rough start to his career at Loyola. The Ramblers started the season by dropping two games on the road to major conference schools. Beginning the regular season with a 67-49 loss to Illinois, the Ramblers also lost three days later to the Kansas State Wildcats by a score of 74-61. On Wednesday, the Ramblers collapsed in the second half in yet another road game and lost to Eastern Illinois by a score of 65-61. Loyola faces another game on the road against Furman Nov. 20 before returning home to the newly renovated Gentile Arena to face Fordham Nov. 26.

Milwaukee Panthers (2-0): The Panthers began the season with a 71-65 victory over Division II Southwest Minnesota State. Two nights later, the Panthers pulled out a 59-57 nailbiter against Northern Illinois. The Panthers’ solid start has come without star player Tony Meier, who has been sidelined with a calf injury and has not played this season. On Friday, the Panthers will square off against IUPUI at home.

UIC Flames (1-1): The Flames started off the season by losing to Eastern Michigan by a score of 68-57. On Wednesday, they rode the strong play of their defense to a 59-42 win against Roosevelt in their home opener. The Flames will look to earn their second win of the season against Division II Quincy University at home Saturday.

Valparaiso Crusaders (2-1): Participating in the 2K Sports Classic, the Crusaders lost their first game of the season on the road against the Arizona Wildcats by a score of 73-64. The Crusaders rebounded later in the week to win their first game of the season against Georgia Southern by a score of 90-81. On Monday, the Crusaders pounded Holy Cross (Ind.), an NAIA school, by a score of 88-38. The Crusaders will play the Akron Zips Friday at home.

Wright State Raiders (2-1): The young Wright State squad opened the season with a tough road game against nationally ranked Ohio State, losing 73-42. However, the Raiders recovered two days later against Division III Kenyon College and won 80-56 in their home opener. On Wednesday, the Raiders earned their second victory of the season at home against Jackson State by a score of 56-39. The Raiders have no games this weekend, and they will most likely spend it preparing for their match up against Florida next Monday on the road in Tampa, Fla.

Youngstown State Penguins (2-0): The Penguins have started strong in a season in which they have been predicted to improve significantly upon last season’s dismal record. The Penguins notched their first win of the season by a score of 76-69 on the road against Samford. Returning home to the friendly confines of the Beeghly Center, the Penguins won 80-62 against Division II Notre Dame (Ohio) in a game in which the Penguins sunk a school-record 14 3-pointers. The Penguins look to continue their winning ways on Friday at home against UC Riverside.

Projected starting five:

Sr. F DuShawn Brooks
Jr. G Damien Eargle
Sr. G Ashen Ward
Jr. G Blake Allen
So. G Kendrick Perry

Important departures:

Vytas Sulskis: 13.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.0 apg

Starter Vytas Sulskis graduated. Reserves Tre Brewer (4.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.6 apg) and Sheldon Brogdon (2.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.4 apg) are no longer with the team.

% returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 63 percent
Rebounding: 55 percent

The Penguins return four starters: Damien Eargle, Ashen Ward, Blake Allen, and Kendrick Perry.

Additions:

Shawn Amiker Jr. is a freshman guard from Michigan who redshirted last season. D.J. Cole is a freshman guard from Kansas who was a third-team all-state player in Kansas. Cale Zuiker is a freshman forward from Wisconsin who was an all-state player in Wisconsin. Danny Reese is a freshman guard who is a hometown product from Youngstown, Ohio, and was named as an honorable mention all-state player in Ohio. Fletcher Larson is a freshman forward from New York who redshirted last season.

Schedule highlights:

The Penguins’ biggest nonconference match up is against Penn State. In Horizon League play, the Penguins face a tough three-game stretch against Butler, Milwaukee, and Green Bay.

Prediction: Although the Penguins will improve on last season’s performance, they will still struggle to reach the upper echelons of the Horizon League and finish seventh.

Back to Horizon League preview

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…).

I was about to write that no one could catch Butler, these young Bulldogs being even better than last year’s group;  in fact, that history notwithstanding Brad Stevens’ current team just might run the table in the Horizon without a loss.  No, Wright State can’t beat them without Duggins (and with another week gone by, might Brad Brownell red shirt him?), and probably can’t even with its star in the lineup.  No, UIC won’t be able to beat them (I’m guessing Ronald Nored will guard Josh Mayo, and do just as well as CSU’s Norris Cole did last night).  Both having lost this week, neither Green Bay nor Milwaukee appear to guard well enough to beat Butler.  And even with Trey Harmon providing long-range shooting-and with athletic swingman D’Aundray Brown likely back for the game-no, I don’t think CSU can go into Hinkle on the last day of the regular season and beat Butler in its own gym.  So I was going to give the conference regular season-and the resulting double-bye and tournament home court advantage-to Butler on January 9th.

And then came Ray McCallum’s Detroit Titans into town on Saturday, losers of four in a row, all five conference games and 17 straight road conference games, with leading scorer Xavier Keeling still sidelined with a foot injury, fresh off a 64-41 drubbing at Valpo two night’s earlier.  Worse still, an early afternoon game at Hinkle, providing the visitors that much less turnaround time.  Well, the game appeared so one-sided, so noncompetitive, that this writer didn’t even bother checking the score until I walked into  Wolstein Arena that evening to watch UIC play Cleveland State.  And to my shock-and probably to all of yours-Detroit pushed Butler further than anyone has save Ohio State, losing 54-50, with a Tryl Hartfield jumper in the air to tie with under three second left (Matt Howard rebounded with under a second remaining, was fouled and hit two free throws, making the winning margin four).  To coin a phrase, I guess “that’s why they play the games.”  Thomas Kennedy, Eulis Stephens and Eugene Blue each had 8 to lead the Titans, with Nemanja Jokic adding 6 along with a game-high 7 rebounds.  Behind Jokic’s 7 boards-and with Matt Howard limited to 26 minutes with foul trouble–Detroit outrebounded Butler for the game 29-20.

So where do we go from here?  Does the Titans’ near miss signal that Butler can be had, or did it provide just the wake up call Coach Stevens’ group needed to concentrate on conference play?  Did it expose freshman inconsistency (Gordon Hayward scored just 5 in 36 minutes, and worse, grabbed just one rebound;  Shelvin Mack scored just 7), or will it serve as the impetus for freshman growth?  Well, with both Wisconsin teams now having lost, Wright State having lost three three and UIC in free-fall, well, I wish 4-2 Cleveland State hadn’t played its home game with Butler before Harmon became eligible.  Nonetheless, Gary Waters has said more than once that “in the end, the team that wins the Horizon regular season will have four losses,” which means that his Vikings remain in the hunt.  I’m not sure I can find four losses on Butler’s schedule-not sure I even see one-and somehow, I suspect the entire rest of the conference is now playing for second place.  That said, second place is quite the plum in the Horizon, as the double-bye in the conference tournament (assigned to the first and second seeds) is even more valuable than the bye earned by first and second seeds in each NFL conference.

Horizon news and notes:

• In CSU’s home win Saturday night over UIC, sophomore Norris Cole blanketed league-leading scorer Josh Mayo for all 34 minutes Mayo played, holding him to just two field goals (2-10) and 6 points, in fact holding him scoreless until he cashed in two free throws more than 14 minutes into the second half.  CSU center Chris Moore led all scorers in the game with 18 (on 8-8 shooting), and UIC freshman power forward Jelani Poston emerged to play his best half of the year in the second, finishing the game with 14 points on 6-6 shooting (all near the goal), and 7 rebounds.  Back to Cleveland State, freshman guard Josh McCoy-who hit from way out while playing Mayo in practice Friday on CSU’s scout team-continued right where he left off in practice, hitting all three treys he took in the UIC game.  Coach Waters told the media after the game that McCoy earned his playing time with his strong practice shooting mimicking Mayo.
• Trey Harmon started both CSU games this week for injured D’Aundray Brown, and against Loyola scored 17 in 34 minutes, on 5-9 shooting, including 4-7 from the arc.
• After losing 64-48 at Butler Thursday night, a Duggins-less Wright State squad turned things around, winning at Valpo Saturday night by an identical score.  Todd Brown led all scorers with 19 (6-12) and grabbed 5 boards.  John David Gardner continued to improve offensively, scoring 18 (5-11).  6-5 sophomore guard Michael Rogers led Valpo with 12 (4-7) and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
• After surprising UIC 80-70 on Thursday night, Youngstown State couldn’t parlay that win into a home sweep, falling to Loyola 68-57 on Saturday night.  Junior guard Aric Van Weelden rebounded from a subpar performance at CSU Thursday night to lead the Ramblers with 12, hitting all four of his shots, all treys.  Kelvin Bright of YSU led both teams in scoring, continuing to grow offensively with 22, on 9-18 shooting.  In Thursday’s win over UIC, Bright had outscored Josh Mayo 23-20, on 6-15 shooting, including 3-6 from the arc and 8-9 from the line.
• CSU and YSU have their toughest weeks of the season upcoming (in terms of basketball, geography and weather) as both teams travel to Wisconsin to face Milwaukee and Green Bay.  CSU’s games Thursday night in Green Bay and Saturday night in Milwaukee will both be televised back in Cleveland on SportsTime Ohio, those games to air at 8:30 and 8 eastern, respectively.
• The second installment of the weekly Friday night ESPNU game features Wright State at Detroit, again at 9 pm on January 16.  That game should tell both whether Coach McCallum can build on the near miss at Butler, and whether we’ll get to see Vaughn Duggins at all this year for Coach Brownell’s Raiders.  Here’s hoping game no. 2 of that weekly series is as exciting as the Green Bay-Milwaukee game was last week.

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.

Just one game on Friday December  19:  a three-point win for Youngstown State at High Point University of the Big South Conference, 64-61.  Nothing like beating North Carolina except the geography, but any YSU win, and especially any YSU road win, is a good thing.  (And conference teams better not take Coach Slocum’s Penguins too lightly).

Then on Saturday, CSU beat Division III La Roche College;  not much more noteworthy, Butler beat new Division I Florida Gulf Coast, both games at home.  Valpo hung tough into the second half against North Carolina at the United Center, eventually succumbing 85-63;  Detroit also hung in for most of the first half in Champagne, losing to Illinois 82-51.  Wisconsin-Green Bay beat North Dakota at home, Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat Bradley at home, Loyola won at Northern Illinois, and Wright State won its first of three straight in San Juan, over Oral Roberts.  The only negative of the day was Jimmy Collins’ Illinois-Chicago team, which was upended at Illinois State, 67-60.

On Sunday, Youngstown State was beaten at UNC-Charlotte, and Wright State won its second in Puerto Rico, beating the Big East’s South Florida 60-43 behind Todd Brown’s 15 (on 7-11).

On Monday, Loyola beat Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at home (not a monumental win), Green Bay won at Houston-Baptist, and Wright State completed its three-game sweep in San Juan, besting Murray State.  Only Valpo fell short this day, losing at Central Florida.

Then there was last night, Tuesday December 23rd.  Most of the damage was against the MAC Conference.  UIC got back on the winning track by winning at rebuilding Toledo;  not a monster win.  Better, Detroit built on its strong first half at Illinois, winning at Central Michigan, 67-55.

In the battle of preseason MAC and Horizon League favorites in Cleveland, CSU demolished Kent State in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as its 67-41 final.  Led by Norris Cole, CSU’s guards stymied Kent’s vaunted backcourt combination of MAC Player of the Year Al Fisher and newly eligible Tyree Evans, holding them to a combined 14 points.  Viking star forward J’Nathan Bullock scored 24 on 9-16 shooting and grabbed 10 boards;  rebounding machine George Tandy grabbed 13 boards in just 24 minutes, and must surely be in the top five in the country in rebounds per minute played.

And then Butler played Xavier.  In a matchup featuring the Horizon’s best team against formerly 8th-ranked and current no. 12 Xavier from the Atlantic 10, a game played at Xavier, Butler led most of the way, and held on for a monster win, 74-65.  Matt Howard and emerging star Gordon Hayward each had 19 points, and those two grabbed 14 and 10 rebounds, respectively.  Look for Butler to improve on its current No. 5 ranking in CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25, and to break into the Top 25 of the national rankings come Monday.  The entire conference is now off for Christmas, resuming play on Saturday.

So on the heels of this monster week for the Horizon, this might be the best time to address the schools, in some combination the league’s head coaches, athletic directors and presidents, on four points.  Here goes;

1. Recognizing the difficulties inherent in mid-major scheduling, as well as the fact that some of the early season tournaments include Division II teams (forcing you to play them if you want to be included in the field), please stop scheduling sub-Division I opponents.  I spent the last couple of years with the Colonial Athletic Association, and those schools don’t schedule sub-Division I’s.  Now that the Horizon is ahead of the CAA in conference ranking (at least for last year, and likely for this year as well), please stop playing games that can’t help at season’s end;
2. Schedule a Media Day each October at a central location, probably best in Indianapolis where the conference office is located.  The CAA does it at DC’s ESPN Zone, the MAC does it at Quicken Loans Arena (site of their conference tournament), and both are big hits.  Invite the coaches (men’s and women’s), AD’s, SID’s, local and national media, and go to town!
3. Begin playing the conference tournament at one venue, be it the same venue each year like the Big East, the MAC and the CAA, or a different venue each year like the Big Ten, the ACC and the SEC.  That’ll make season’s end like a big convention of teams, administrators and fans, and help promote the league.  I don’t care if we use civic arenas or our larger on-campus arenas (Hinkle has obvious appeal, at least for years in which the Big Ten Tournament isn’t in Indy);  and
4. Stop protecting the first seed (or the first two seeds) through the double-bye format, and initiate the same format most other conferences use for their tournament:  a first round or play-in day, in which seeds 6-10 play a doubleheader, leaving 8 schools going forward.  Then play day and evening quarterfinal doubleheaders on the next day, followed by a semi-final doubleheader and a final game.  More action for our two best teams, and fairer for everyone else.

The reason for these suggestions:  as long as we’re playing like a top-10 conference, include universities in major urban markets, and boast sizable and beautiful arenas, let’s use all of these things to our advantage.  As someone once said about a former corn field in Iowa:  “Build it and they will come!”

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.

In holding UIC to 31, Coach Brownell’s forward line collectively held UIC 7 foot center Scott Vandemeer to 10 points, just 2 in the game’s final 28 minutes.  Even more impressive, Brownell’s guards, principally 6-3 senior Will Graham, held UIC’s prolific scoring guard Josh Mayo to 6 points on two treys, 11 points under his season average.  And oh yes, while this win was all about defense, and precious little offense was needed, Todd Brown, a 6-5 junior guard from Canton-McKinley High School, had the best offensive night of any Raider this season, scoring 23 of WSU’s 57 points, on 9-18 shooting, including 4-9 from the arc.

Having played for former Indiana assistant Royce Waltman at DePauw, coached under another former Knight assistant Jim Crews at Evansville, then coached under Waltman at the University of Indianapolis, Brad Brownell is very much a member of the Bob Knight coaching family tree.  And he has learned his man-to-man defense well.  When we wrote about Brownell’s Raiders after the win over Cleveland State, we compared the defense they play to that played by the Hoosiers in the late 70s and 80s, an era in which Indiana staffs spent more time drilling defense than they did later, a time when defense was still more important than motion offense.  As we’ve written here before, more like Butler’s defense than Cleveland State’s, Wright State’s man-to-man does not apply pressure all-over the court, plays from the arc to the basket (against some opponents a step closer than the arc), the guards are sound individually, keep their men in front of them, and when required the help angles and rotations are absolutely sound.

After the game I compared the defense with Indiana’s 25 or 30 years ago.  Coach responded that “that’s high praise.  We don’t always play as if we’re trapped in a bunker (implying that they often do).”  When I asked how the defense stays so good without his two best players, Coach responded this way:  “Duggins and Gardner are without question my toughest kids, and toughness is a talent.  Without them, well, the defense isn’t nearly as tough, as aggressive, but it remains fundamentally sound.  Tonight the kids dug in and played as good a 40-minutes of defense as we’ve done yet.”

Having attended Youngstown State’s home upset of Cleveland State just 24 hours earlier, the disparity in personnel in the league was on my mind, so I broached recruiting with Brownell.  Introducing the topic, I pointed out that Gardner was really Coach’s recruit at UNC-Wilmington (and he merely followed his coach to Ohio), and pointed out that he hasn’t exactly brought in the likes of Matt Howard, Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack at Butler, Josh Mayo at UIC or J’Nathan Bullock, Trey Harmon or Aaron Pogue at Cleveland State, Pogue being from Dayton.  Brownell acknowledged that he has yet to break through in his recruiting, pointing out all of the schools he’s recruiting against in-state, many with better basketball tradition and prettier campuses.  “Most of the MAC is here in Ohio, and that includes the MAC’s best programs.  And in our own city Dayton [of the Atlantic-10] has much more visibility.  We just have to keep improving, building our program, defending, and eventually the kids will come.”  Given how this group guards, look out for the Raiders once they get players as good as those at Dayton, Xavier, Miami, Kent, Akron and Cleveland State (never mind Ohio State and Cincinnati).

Finally, since we were talking about recruiting, and also about Indiana under Bob Knight, I asked Coach Brownell what he thought about an old statement about Knight, half compliment, half criticism, one I still don’t believe:  that Knight purposely didn’t recruit the best athletes in America, preferring to beat you with lesser players playing better defense.  Well, Brownell smiled, agreed that he didn’t believe the statement either, and repeated that “we’re doing our best to get kids who can apply more pressure, not play as passively, disrupt our opponents some, and perhaps even get a steal or two.”

On the other side of the coin, Jimmy Collins’ UIC team had wilted against WSU’s man-to-man defense, and Coach Collins was frustrated with his group.  “Wright State is a good team, and we quit.  UIC’s kids are individuals rather than a team right now, and we quit.  No one helps Mayo when he’s triple teamed, no one sets the picks they’re supposed to set, preferring to post up themselves and ask for the ball.  Our team is now selfish to a fault.  And we didn’t play hard, smart or together.”  That’s what Wright State’s defense can do to a team.

Finally, I think back to the non-conference season, when teams hadn’t figured out how to stop Mayo, and UIC had monster road wins at Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.  At the same time Wright State was losing at Wake Forest (though playing them even in the second half).  Now it’s a month or six-weeks later, Wright State is without either of its two best and toughest players, and it is the Raider defense that dominated UIC, causing them to quit.  Who knows what could happen if Brownell were ever able to bring big-time recruits into his program.

Horizon News and Notes:

• At the halfway point of its conference schedule, Wright State is a respectable 6-3.  Green Bay having fallen to Butler on Thursday, Milwaukee to both Butler and Valpo this weekend, and Cleveland State in its only game at Youngstown, fourth place WSU is now just one game behind 7-2 Green Bay for the coveted second spot in the conference, is even in losses and just half a game behind 7-3 Milwaukee, and is two full games ahead of 4-5 CSU.  And in the second half of its schedule, WSU has three of those four-Butler, Green Bay and Milwaukee-coming into the Nutter Center.
• The second half of Wright State’s schedule begins as the first half did, on the road, with games this week at Youngstown State on Thursday and at Cleveland State on Saturday.  And as the Vikings found out on Friday night, YSU can be pretty darned tough at home.  This writer will get to see WSU again on Saturday night in Cleveland, and then at home against Butler a week later on February 7th.  .