On The Horizon

Jim Squire

College Hoops Week in Review: Kansas and Missouri headline, but the MWC, Maalik Wayns and Florida State show up--Ballin' is a Habit

Five teams that deserve a shout out:

Cleveland State: The Vikings went 2-0 this week and moved into a tie for first place in a balanced and competitive Horizon League. They started out their weekend with a 10 point win over Green Bay, following that up with an 83-57 win over Milwaukee, who was leading the conference as of Thursday. The Vikings, who has been my pick to win the league since the beginning of the season, are now in the driver's seat for the conference title. The team they are tied with -- Valpo -- still has to play at Cleveland State.

Power Rankings: Week 11--Horizon League Hoops

Non-Conference Opponents Update: January 23--Hammer and Rails

Butler Bulldogs - 12-9, 6-3 Horizon, RPI: 107 - Of all our small conference opponents Butler may have the best chance of stealing an auto-bid in their conference tournament. They won twice in Chicago at Loyola and UIC this past week to move within a game of first place in the Horizon League. Unfortunately, five teams are either 7-2 or 6-3 in this league. The No. 1 seed gets a double bonus of hosting the conference tournament as well as a bye to the semifinals, while the No. 2 seed also gets a bye and the right to host the conference title game if the No. 1 seed loses in the semis. Butler at least needs to get above the 100 line for us.

Roosevelt Jones is Runner-Up for the StatSheet Horizon Freshman of the Week - January 23rd, 2012--Butler Blue Fever
NBA: Utah Jazz forward Josh Howard nears return to lineup--Salt Lake Tribune

Howard has been invaluable to the Jazz as an off-the-bench scorer — an athletic perimeter player whose size, strength and quickness make him a difficult matchup for opponents.

That’s why Corbin might be scratching his head.

His Howard-less wing rotation, which has included Gordon Hayward, Raja Bell, C.J. Miles and rookie Alec Burks, has been effective:

• Miles scored a season-high 19 points against the Clippers.

• Bell matched his season high with 12 against Minnesota.

• Hayward scored 19 points during a road win at Denver.

• Burks reached double figures in three of the past four games.

Now, however, Corbin must figure out how to reintroduce Howard into the rotation without having his other players take a step back.