Red Line Lounge, Week 05--The Mid-Majority
DL: Let's talk Butler. As you know, I was there, and I can tell you that the Bulldogs were still a little "on-again, off-again"...but overall it was a much better effort, more in line with what people have expected them to look like this season. Specifically, Gordon Hayward had his breakout game of the season...24 points, 8 boards, 50% from the 3-point line, etc. What I'm saying is, there was plenty of Spankmaster-ing. Biggest difference in the game: offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs pulled in 12, while Ohio State had only 5.
KW: I hate to get off on this, but a lot of others are talking about Butler too, the same people that had them buried five days ago after the loss to Georgetown in New York. "Oh, they're not going to get an at-large bid now." Then they beat a ranked BCS team like Ohio State, and all of a sudden... they're back, baby! There's not a lot of subtlety in that approach. To me, this is just a team with issues of selective focus, and their best bet is to shut the hype rollercoaster out of their minds. Brad Stevens is doing his best; he's giving plain-vanilla responses to every question, but under the circumstances, I applaud him for that.
DL: I think what people sometimes forget about teams like Butler, or other teams that have been in a similar situation to theirs, is that they aren't playing for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. They're playing to win every single game, ya know? If they've got issues, they've got issues...and it's better to get them worked out now, rather than later. When it comes down to it, all they REALLY need to win is 2/3/4 games in the HL Tournament, and they'll get their NCAA Tournament bid. They could care less about their "at-large" chances. Now, granted, I said on Friday in the Chat Block that they needed to win Saturday if they wanted to remain in the at-large picture, and I believe that to be true. But it's not like they care at all about those chances...they just want to get better, and be on the same page so they win every game they play.
KW: Like I always say, win the damn league. I understand all the at-large talk at this time of year, but that's insurance. Not a game, not a game, not a game... we talking about insurance. We are a culture that's had insurance shoved down our throats -- geckos, chicks with too much makeup, like a good neighbor, etc., etc. -- so I understand why people are so obsessed with it. What will happen if something bad happens at the conference tourney in March? OooooOOOOoooo!! But that isn't about the game they go out there and die for and play every game like it's their last. We talking about insurance. How silly is that?
What We Learned: Butler makes most of opportunity--The Sporting News
STF Road Trip: Indianapolis, Part One--Storming The Floor
STF Road Trip: Indianapolis, Part 2--Storming The Floor
Butler's Hayward wins Horizon honors--The Indy Star
Butler's Hayward named Player of Week--The Indy Star
Butler brand remains strong--Indy Star Butler Insider
Gordon Hayward Named Horizon League Player of the Week--ButlerSports.com
Vikings pleased by Ajere's development: Northeast Ohio College Basketball Insider--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Basketball Team Hosts Two Quality Teams in Robert Morris and Virginia This Week--Let's Go Vikes!
Men's Basketball Hosts Robert Morris--csuvikings.com
Three gain entrance into Cleveland State's Athletics Hall of Fame--Cleveland Plain Dealer
WBB Q&A: Assistant Coach Mike Geary--detroittitans.com
When will UIC win again?--ChicagoNow.com
Flames Sunday schooled--Whoosh!Net
Men's Basketball To Promote Lupus Awareness This Wednesday--uicflames.com
Men's Basketball Returns Home, Hosts Oregon State This Wednesday--uicflames.com
Chicago City Rankings - 12-14--ChicagoNow.com
A long road ahead for Loyola--ChicagoNow.com
Post-Game Quotes Loyola vs. San Francisco--LoyolaRamblers.com
Ramblers Travel To Bradley Wednesday In Search Of Third Consecutive Win--LoyolaRamblers.com
Women's basketball: UWGB ranked No. 23, cracks Top 25 for first time since 2006-07--Green Bay Press Gazette
Wojta Named Horizon League Player of the Week--uwgbathletics.com
Green Bay No. 23 in AP Poll--uwgbathletics.com
New Horizon League TV deal doesn't help UWGB much--UWGB Basketball
Milwaukee Looks to Make Another Charge with Victory Over North Dakota State, 84-73--Milwaukee Panther Tracks
Panthers Take On Illinois State Tuesday--uwmpanthers.com
Sports Digest: Valparaiso men's hoops team to play several games on Horizon League Network--The NWI Times
Men's basketball
VU FEATURED TWICE ON HLN GAME OF WEEK: The Valparaiso men's basketball team will host a pair of games which will be a part of the Horizon League Network's Game of the Week package. The featured home games include a Jan. 16 meeting against Cleveland State and Feb. 6 against Detroit. Both games will start at 1 p.m. For a full schedule of the package's games, visit horizonleague.org.
Valpo to be Featured Twice on HLN Game of the Week--valpoathletics.com
Mississippi State provides challenge for Wright State--Dayton Daily News
Raiders in spotlight tonight against Mississippi State--Dayton Daily News
Preview: Wright State (6-3) vs. Mississippi State (7-2)--Dayton Daily News
The Raiders have landed--Mark Katz's Blog
Charlie Coles on UD, WSU and the place that could “save” him--Through the Arch
Wright State women travel to face Buckeyes--Dayton Daily News
Raiders Unable to Finish-Off RedHawks in 56-55 Heartbreaker--RaiderRoundball.com
Butler's Hayward named Men's Basketball Player of the Week--The Horizon League
Men's Basketball Weekly Release #5--The Horizon League
Horizon League announces HLN Game of the Week TV package--The Horizon League
Finally Home--Horizon League Network
Wojta named Women's Basketball Player of the Week--The Horizon League
Women's Basketball Weekly Release #5--The Horizon League
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