Primarily a collection of news links about all 11 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
Butler’s Ronald Nored will miss at least one game as a result of the concussion he suffered last weekend at Siena. The Bulldogs’ next game is Wednesday in their Horizon League opener on the road against 7-0 Loyola (Chicago). He’s questionable for Saturday’s game against top-ranked Duke as well. With Butler not playing very well as it is, these next two games are fairly important, so it’s not a good time for Nored to be on the shelf.
Robert Morris at Cleveland State H. J. Goodman Arena - Cleveland, OH 6:00 EST
The big news out of the Horizon League is that Butler lost to Evansville. At home. No really, this happened. Obviously, anything that the Bulldogs (now 3-2) do will be more important than anything else that happens in the ex-MCC this season, but it's worth pointing out that there are a pair of teams that are undefeated but probably wouldn't be expected to be. Loyola, who we'll be seeing this weekend, is 7-0. So is Cleveland State. Halfway ironically, Cleveland State looks like the kind of ball control/defense team that Butler was last season, and it would be fully completely ironic if this team wins the Horizon autobid. (No really, get accustomed to the idea.) The Vikings have beaten both Kent State and Akron of the MAC, two proud programs with a lot of recent championships, as well as an Iona team that might end up winning the MAAC.
Gary Waters' team goes for its eighth tonight against NEC champions Robert Morris. Mike Rice, who led the Colonials to two straight titles, took his services to Rutgers, where he's already felt the warm glow of the RLU. There are some familiar names on the roster, like Karon Abraham, the 6-0 sophomore who went nuts in the first round game against Villanova last year with his fearless freshman #superhoops. Like Cleveland State, this team has been putting up strong defensive numbers, but under new coach Andrew Toole, the offense has sputtered and suffered. RMU lost to that same Kent State team, and owns a pair of wins against Duquesne and Saint Peter's. So, 2-2. And against a schedule so far that's only included one higher power (Pitt), the team's shot 34 percent. That's in the bottom 10 of the entire country, but facts are useless in emergencies.
Butler @ Loyola-Chicago (Dec. 1) — Conference games are rare for this time of the year, but this conference clash is between two of the Horizon League’s two top teams. Loyola has sprinted out to a torrid 6-0 start, and will look to gain the early upper hand in the conference table on Butler with a win.
Detroit 71, Bowling Green 62 — Unfortunately, BGSU kept chasing the Titans' dust in this one throughout the entire game. UDM gets the coveted wire-to-wire victory in the three-day tournament that they're hosting. But what a sloppy affair on both sides: each team had 20+ turnovers. Everyone made way for Dee Brown, who helped the Falcons with 22 points. Is there any hope for this team? I'm curious to see if dunk specialist Torian Oglesby can be a factor: he had only eight points and seven boards, but he had three dunks. (He also missed a dunk.) If nothing else, it's a modicum of excitement that'll be helpful. And what did Oglesby have to say on Twitter after the game? ... Okay then. Bowling Green's next game: Today vs. Albany in Detroit
5:30pm Niagara @ Detroit – Toronto’s Jason Calliste is playing amazing though the Titans’ first five games which included a 20 point outburst against Mississippi State. But in the game against Bowling Green yesterday, Calliste was a DNP and there was nothing I could find that indicated as to why. Detroit is a fun team to watch (I’ve seen a half of action and they were running and trapping) and whether Calliste plays or not, it will be entertaining. On top of that, you may have a sighting of Hope, BC native Eric Williams for Niagara.
[Comment From Mike M. Mike M. : ] Anybody out there surprising you so far, positively or negatively? Loyola Chicago's 6-0 start raised a few eyebrows with me. Friday November 26, 2010 4:27 Mike M. 4:30
Seriously, good for Loyola. We're headed out there to check them out next week. But look at who the Ramblers have played: SWAC, Great West, low Valley, etc. The SOS is not very high at all, but the fact that this hasn't been a factor team in the Horizon makes it impressive. Same situation with Cleveland State, but that's a more impressive start as far as I'm concerned. Vikings are 6-0 too, but have beaten both ends of the Kent-Akron MAC axis and a very good Iona team that could win the MAAC. All of this adds up to one thing: Butler isn't going undefeated in the league this year. ... 5:11
[Comment From Greg Greg : ] Any impressions on the Michigan Mid Major Coaches' Sons Uber Recruits? Or MMMCSUB for short? Friday November 26, 2010 5:11 Greg 5:13
First of all, Trey Ziegler is the truth. The way that CMU team is, he's going to get a lot of touches, and he's been doing a lot with them so far. As for Ray McCallum Jr., he had a great game against Mississippi State that I caught a tiny bit of. He wasn't instant impact for Detroit, but that game showed that he could really be a factor. After all, the first thing he said when he signed was "I want to beat Butler."
6:00pm St. Bonaventure @ Cleveland State – Andrew Nicholson and Matthew Wright may have their hands full when they take the floor against Cleveland State. The CSU Vikings are 6-0 right now and may be the best of the Horizon League right now. The Bonnies’ Nicholson has been on a tear through the first four games and he will need to come up big on both ends in this one to fend off the Vikings.
7:30pm Albany @ Detroit – Forget the Titans’ record may be dismal but Toronto’s Jason Calliste is having a great start. With the introduction of stud freshman Ray McCallum I would never have expected Calliste to have the year he’s having so far. He’s currently is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 pts as well as averaging 4.3 rebs and 2 stls in a team high 34 minutes per game. This will could a big game in the making.
Richmond vs. Wright State, 6 p.m. ET (no TV): The Raiders' defense has been porous so far this season (allowing their opponents' eFG% to hit 55%). The Spiders eFG%: 62.4. Making matters worse, Wright State is particularly poor on the perimeter, where UR excels.
Mike DeCourcy answers some reader (?) questions, and the lead query asks which coach among the heavy-lifters (K, Izzo, Calipari, Donovan) would he choose to win a one-game scenario. His answer won’t surprise you (K), but it reminded us of a solid question we received last week in a similar vein. If we had to choose one coach and player to currently build a program with — who would it be? We assumed a four-year window, but our choice was Butler’s Brad Stevens and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger. Who would you guys start with?
No. 23 Butler 70, Siena 57: Ryan Rossiter was the best player on the floor, finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds. But no one else on the Saints could get it going, as Matt Howard went for 17 points and 12 boards and the Bulldog bench came through to the tune of 38 points in the win. Of note: Ronald Nored had an ugly collision early in the game and left looking dazed and bloodied. Haven't yet seen an update on his condition.
Butler and Siena put on a great Mid-Major battle on Tuesday night, in which Butler pulled away with a 70-57 victory. Despite the 13-point win, the Bulldogs had nothing but glowing reviews of Siena's star player Ryan Rossiter:
Butler Head Coach Brad Stevens “I told Rossiter, I’m blown away by how much he’s improved. I didn’t think last year he could score like that with a guy between him and the hoop and his back to the basket.”
Butler senior Matt Howard “Rossiter, he’s going right over us, right through us, and I didn’t feel like I was playing terrible defense. I don’t think there’s any hype with that guy.”
Rossiter finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds. He had 14 and 9 before the intermission. In case you forget, Rossiter was named MAAC preseason player of the year.
