On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Saturday: 12 Things to Know--Yard Barker

Saturday’s 12 Things to Know
...
10) Gonzaga and Butler both clinched shares of their regular-season titles. The ‘Zags did it with a rout over San Diego while the Bulldogs beat Loyola – despite the fact that coach Brad Stevens had to leave the game due to eye issues. Gonzaga shares the WCC with Saint Mary’s while Butler is in a three-way tie with Milwaukee and Cleveland State.

Horizon League Tournament Preview--Eye on College Basketball
UIC, Loyola hope to salvage seasons in Horizon tournament--The Chicago Tribune
Mid-Majors: Missouri Valley Conference, Horizon League, and Summit League Tournaments Start This Week--SB Nation Indiana
Postseason Preview: Horizon League 1st Rd.--ChicagoNow.com
Let log5 season begin--Basketball Prospectus

Horizon
March 1, 4, 5, 8 (First round/finals at higher seed, second round/semifinals at UW-Milwaukee)

Milwaukee took the one-seed and home-court advantage after escaping last-place Youngstown State in overtime on Saturday, but they’re actually rated as the sixth-best team in the league. If such odds existed, you could have got pretty good ones around New Year’s on the Panthers getting the auto-NIT bid. It’s unclear whether Butler or Cleveland State is the class of the league, but the penalty for losing the three-way tiebreaker for the Vikings is being forced to play two extra games to punch their dance ticket. That alone propels Butler back to the favorite role in this event, although their chances aren’t nearly as overwhelming as last season, due to the lack of home-court advantage and that they aren’t as dominant as the 2010 team.
                       Rd1   Semis   Final   Champ
 2 Butler              100     100    62.5    44.5
 1 UW Milwaukee        100     100    59.2    23.5
 3 Cleveland St.      94.6    73.1    31.3    20.4
 4 Valparaiso         91.1    63.0    28.3     7.0
 6 Wright St.         74.2    18.8     5.3     2.1
 5 Detroit            64.0    19.5     6.7     1.2
 8 Loyola Chicago     36.0    15.6     5.5     0.9
 7 UW Green Bay       25.8     7.2     0.9     0.3
 9 Youngstown St.      8.9     1.9     0.2     0.01
10 Illinois Chicago    5.4     1.0     0.1     0.009

Morning Five: 02.28.11 Edition--Rush The Court

Butler head coach Brad Stevens left his team’s win against Loyola (Ill.) on Saturday a little early due to a condition that blurred his vision badly enough to where he couldn’t even see the other end of the court. He was diagnosed with corneal edema, an entity for which there are many causes, most of them benign. Assistant coach Matthew Graves guided the Bulldogs for the final 22 minutes in that win on Saturday which clinched at least a share of the Horizon League regular season title. Stevens, vision restored, was back at practice on Sunday.

All about the non-Big Six: No. 1 question--Rivals.com

RANKINGS (Last week’s rank in parenthesis.)
...
7. Butler (21-9, 13-5) – The Bulldogs ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. (7)
...
WHO’S NOT?
...
Brad Stevens – The Butler coach left Hinkle Fieldhouse late in the first half of Saturday’s victory over Loyola after complaining of pain in his eye and blurred vision. Stevens was later diagnosed with a corneal edema. His condition was expected to improve over the next 24 hours. Assistant coach Matt Graves took over for Stevens in the 63-56 win.

Eye problem forces Butler coach to leave game--Rivals.com
Butler's Brad Stevens returns to practice with improved vision--The Indy Star
Butler's Howard makes All-Horizon League's first team--The Indy Star
Season tickets up for grabs with Horizon League Bracket Challenge--Victory Firelight
Howard, Mack, Nored earn All-Horizon League honors--Victory Firelight
Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack Named All-Horizon League--ButlerSports.com

Logjam forming at the bottom of the NCAA bracket: National College Basketball Insider--Cleveland Plain Dealer

Right on time: Perhaps no team in the country should be as prepared -- and more importantly, well-rested -- for the postseason than Butler. They played a conference game Feb. 19, then had a week off before playing again. As Brad Stevens' team rested, the Horizon front-runners staggered down the stretch.

After a Saturday win over Loyola, the Bulldogs earned a share of the regular-season title and a bye to the Horizon semifinals, so there's another week off before playing again. Should they win the final on March 8, that's four games in 17 days. Then would come another nine days off before the NCAA Tournament. Contrast that with Cleveland State, which now has to win four games in eight days to make the final 68.

Basketball Finishes Strong in Regular Season--The Cauldron
Cleveland State's Cole Named Horizon League's Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year--Let's Go Vikes!
Norris Cole Selected Horizon League Player Of The Year--csuvikings.com
Vikings Open Horizon League Championship Tourney At Home Vs. UIC--csuvikings.com

Holman, McCallum Earn Horizon League Accolades--detroittitans.com

Crusaders pound paint, Flames--Whoosh!Net
Men's Hoops Begins Postseason Run at Cleveland State Tuesday--uicflames.com

McCammon wins Sixth Man of the Year in Horizon League--ChicagoNow.com
Ramblers Begin Quest For NCAA Tournament Berth At Detroit Tuesday Night--LoyolaRamblers.com
McCammon Named Horizon League's Sixth Man of the Year--LoyolaRamblers.com

Fletcher, Brown honored by Horizon League--UWGB Basketball
Evans has Strong Week Heading into Postseason Play--uwgbathletics.com
Fletcher, Brown Gain Horizon League Honors--uwgbathletics.com
Green Bay Opens Horizon League Tourney at Wright State Tuesday--uwgbathletics.com

Phoenix Receives Highest AP Poll Ranking in Program History at No. 15--uwgbathletics.com