On The Horizon

Jim Squire

ATB: Pac-12 Contenders Fall, Indiana and Michigan Eye Huge Showdown and La Salle’s Magic Ends…--Rush The Court

Tonight’s Quick Hits…
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Turmoil In The Horizon. The casualty of top-end quality hoop in the Horizon League was not one of this year’s surprise storylines. The loss of Butler was a huge blow. From a reputational standpoint, the league is undoubtedly worse off. The upside is less difficult to grasp, but Wednesday showed why an imperceptible league front-runner is conducive to a generally more entertaining brand of league play. Valparaiso, winner of six straight games, was breaking away from the rest of the pack until it ran into Youngstown State, who pounded the Crusaders at home and shook up the top of the standings. Second-place Detroit secured a big win at Wright State as well, which moves the Titans just a half-game behind Valpo for first place. Even if these teams were not to meet (again) down the stretch – they do, on February 16, at Valpo – the Horizon should feature one of the nation’s most entertaining conference stretch runs.

Mid-Major Report: Power Rankings--Men's College Basketball Nation Blog

Notes
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Wright State won its first four Horizon League games. But the Raiders have gone 1-4 since. The good news for the program is that the other Horizon League contenders have failed to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Valpo lost at Youngstown State on Wednesday. Detroit has won two in a row but just three of its last six. Both UW-Green Bay and Youngstown State have won five league games. This race is far from over.

Night Court: Top teams make statements in conference play--CBS Sports

Players with impact
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Youngstown State has won four in a row, and Kendrick Perry was the major reason on Wednesday. He had 28 points and 11 rebounds against Valparaiso.
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Notebook:
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-- The Horizon is getting crazy. Valparaiso was easily handled by Youngstown State on Wednesday, while Detroit beat Wright on the road. Should be a good race.

Fired Detroit Mercy assistant attaches names to misconduct allegations--The Detroit Free Press
Wednesday's state basketball: Detroit avenges loss to Wright St.--The Detroit News
Fired Detroit assistant basketball coach files whistleblower suit--The Detroit News
Detroit Downs Wright State 83-76--Titans Update
StatSheet Projects Detroit as NIT Eight Seed: 01/31/2013--Titans Update
Former assistant men's basketball coach files lawsuit--Varsity Press
Titans Grab Second-Straight Road Win, 83-76, Over Wright St.--detroittitans.com

Brown Keeping Pace With Nation's Leaders--detroittitans.com
Game #18: Detroit Looks To Avenge Early Season Loss To Cleveland State On Thursday--detroittitans.com

Thursday's matchup: Green Bay at UIC--The Chicago Tribune
UIC (13-8) Squares Off with Green Bay (11-10)--Flame Fanatic
Game #22: Flames Return Home to Host Green Bay Thursday--uicflames.com

Flames Return Home to Face Second Place YSU--uicflames.com

Loyola tops Milwaukee 76-65--The Chicago Tribune
Loyola beats Milwaukee 76-65--Daily Herald
Loyola (Chicago) Gets Win against Milwaukee 76-65--LU Wolf Ball
Seniors Come Up Big In 76-65 Victory Over Milwaukee--LoyolaRamblers.com

Loyola Looks To Get Back On Winning Track At Milwaukee--LoyolaRamblers.com

SPOTLIGHT: Greg Mays--CollegeInsider.com
Men's basketball: Brown standing tall again for Phoenix--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay (11-10) Battles UIC (13-8)--Phoenix Fever
Green Bay Opens Windy City Weekend Thursday at UIC--GreenBayPhoenix.com

20-0 run sinks Panthers--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Stumbles with Loss to Loyola (Chicago) 76-65--UWM Update
Loyola Rides Big Run To 76-65 Win Over Milwaukee--uwmpanthers.com

Youngstown State lead Valparaiso from start to finish--The Post-Tribune
Valparaiso struggles in double-digit loss to Penguins--The NWI Times
Valparaiso Stumbles with Loss to Youngstown State 80-68--Valpo Daily
YSU Recap: blarg--Section EE
Crusader Winning Streak Snapped at Youngstown State--valpoathletics.com

Valpo women visit Wright State on Thursday--valpoathletics.com

Raiders lose fourth game in last five--Dayton Daily News
Donlon: Officiating isn’t reason why Raiders lost--Dayton Daily News
On this day 7 years ago - Jan 30, 2006--Rowdy Review
Wright State Falls to Detroit 83-76--Rowdy Review
Men Fall to Detroit--wsuraiders.com

YSU men topple Horizon-leading Valpo--Youngstown Vindicator
Youngstown State Defeats Valparaiso 80-68--Guin Report
Belin, Eargle anchor formidable front line--The Jambar
Penguins upset conference leader Valpo--The Jambar
Perry Pours in 28 Points, Grabs 11 Boards in Win Over Valpo--ysusports.com

Women's Basketballs Tries to Extend League Win Streak to Three at UIC--ysusports.com

Men's Basketball Weekly - January 30--Horizon League Network
Separation of Wheat and Chaff in Order as Season Hits Halfway Point--Horizon League Network
Alec Brown Interview--Horizon League Network
Men's Basketball Final Shot: Jan. 30 - Parity Reigns--Horizon League Network

Brandi Brown Interview--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Week 12 Efficiency Rankings--Horizon League Hoops

Spoelstra explains rotation with Lewis, Miller; Bosh sits--South Florida Sun Sentinel

"Obviously, Mike has been giving us great minutes and when we can play small with he and Ray [Allen] and Norris [Cole], with Shane [Battier], then we go with that."

Women's Basketball Travels To Detroit For Thursday Evening Contest--csuvikings.com

Detroit (13-8) Battles Wright State (14-7)--Titans Update
Titans Hit the Road for Wright State on Wednesday--detroittitans.com

Brown Keeping Pace With Nation's Leaders--detroittitans.com

Basketball wins at home, on road--UIC News
On this day 15 years ago - Jan 29, 1998--Flame Fanatic

Milwaukee at Loyola--The Chicago Tribune
On this day 6 years ago - Jan 29, 2007--LU Wolf Ball
Loyola (Chicago) (12-8) and Milwaukee (5-16) Face Off--LU Wolf Ball
Loyola Continues Homestand, Hosts Milwaukee Wednesday Night--LoyolaRamblers.com

On this day 13 years ago - Jan 29, 2000--Phoenix Fever
Green Bay-Detroit Contest on Feb. 9 Set for 1 PM--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Milwaukee (5-16) Takes On Loyola (Chicago) (12-8)--UWM Update
Panthers Off To Chicago For Wednesday Contest With Loyola--uwmpanthers.com

Panthers Continue Homestand By Hosting Loyola Thursday--uwmpanthers.com

Paul Oren tweets Valpo insights--Horizon League Hoops
VU gets back to work after break--The Post-Tribune
Strong chemistry drives Crusaders--The NWI Times
Valparaiso (16-5) Battles Youngstown State (12-8)--Valpo Daily
Game Plan: YSU--Section EE

Raiders struggling from long range at home--Dayton Daily News

Updated: Wright State (14-7) Squares Off with Detroit (13-8)--Rowdy Review

Detroit-Wright State preview--Dayton Daily News

On this day 10 years ago - Jan 29, 2003--Guin Report
Updated: Youngstown State (12-8) and Valparaiso (16-5) Square Off--Guin Report

Women's Basketball Weekly - January 29--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Illinois: A sorry state of basketball--Daily Herald

Norris Cole at the White House--Through the Arch
Bryn Forbes Wins the StatSheet Horizon Freshman of the Week - January 28th, 2013--Vikings Ball

Titan Alumni Gathering in Chicagoland A Fun Time for All--detroittitans.com
Titans Hit the Road for Wright State on Wednesday--detroittitans.com

Will Simonton is Runner-Up for the StatSheet Horizon Sixth Man of the Week - January 28th, 2013--Flame Fanatic

UWGB men's basketball: Death of father staggers but doesn't stop Sykes--Green Bay Press Gazette
Men's basketball: UWGB's Brown is Horizon League player of week--Green Bay Press Gazette
UWGB's Brown named Horizon League player of the week--UWGB Hoops Blog
Alec Brown Wins the StatSheet Horizon Player of the Week - January 28th, 2013--Phoenix Fever
Alec Brown Tabbed Horizon League Player of the Week--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Women's basketball: Phoenix continues domination of Wright State--Green Bay Press Gazette
Rob Demovsky column: Time is right for UWGB men to move to Kress Center--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay Looks to Sweep Season Series With Wright State--GreenBayPhoenix.com
Explosive First Half Leads Green Bay Past Wright State--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Ten Luckiest and Unluckiest Coaches: 2009-2012--Big Apple Buckets

Continuing my series on luck. Let’s investigate if “luck” has anything to do with good “coaching”. Do our opinions about “good in-game” coaches line up with how lucky they’ve been over the past four seasons? The Top and Bottom 10 Coaches in Luck over the past four seasons (minimum 3 seasons).

Top 10:

Jeff Jones
Matthew Driscoll
Horace Broadnax
Greg Kampe
Rob Jeter
Jim Woolridge
Tom Pecora
Clifford Reed Jr.
Gregory Ivory
Tommy Dempsey

Jeff Jones used to be a major conference coach, but he’s now the head man at American. Greg Kampe is the head coach of Oakland and typically thought of as a guy that’s pretty hard to game plan against. I’m surprised that Rob Jeter and Tom Pecora both made this list. Though Tommy Dempsey’s inclusion isn’t that surprising.

A familiar tune--PantherU

J.J. Panoske Receives Honorable Mention for the StatSheet Horizon Freshman of the Week - January 28th, 2013--UWM Update

Pyramid: For only second time this year, a change at the top--Eye On College Basketball

-- At 16-5 overall and with a two-game lead in the Horizon, Valpo is now on my horizon.

Losing Streaks And Injury Splits, Part 1--RealGM Basketball

Injury Splits, Part 1

Over the next two days, I’m going to talk about where injuries or suspensions may be skewing our evaluation of various teams. I won’t be talking about all of this year’s critical injuries. For example, Wisconsin’s Josh Gasser, Missouri’s Michael Dixon, and Tennessee’s Jeronne Maymon have missed the entire season. While those injuries have clearly hurt their teams, because they didn’t play a minute this year, the Pomeroy and Sagarin ratings for those teams accurately reflect their future expectations.

But when players are out for a period of time (like Duke’s Ryan Kelly), it can take awhile for the rankings to catch up. Duke is now playing worse basketball, and we may want to look at how much worse the Blue Devils are playing without Kelly.

Of course not every player who is injured matters. For that reason I focus on players who play at least half their team’s minutes. And often we are looking at very small samples. Random noise may certainly explain some of the deviations from the norm. But I do think it is informative to look at how teams have performed without their missing stars.
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Team                  Adj Off Adj Def W   L Pyth.
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Long Island           110.7 112.6 4   4 0.4571

Long Island (without  105.5 115.4 6   6 0.2857
Julian Boyd)
                

Valparaiso            102.4 93.1 6   3 0.7254

Valparaiso (with      107.5 96.6 9   2 0.7480
LaVonte Dority)
                

Wichita St.           109.1 89.1 9   1 0.8890

Wichita St. (since 3  109.2 86.3 10  1 0.9183
players out)
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Former South Florida guard LaVonte Dority joined Valparaiso mid-season, and the aggressive offensive player has helped boost the team’s overall performance. He is attracting a ton of attention and making his teammates better.

Osipoff: Valparaiso in a prime spot in Horizon League--The Post-Tribune
StatSheet Projects Valparaiso as NCAA Tournament Bubble Team 14 Seed: 01/28/2013--Valpo Daily
Ryan Broekhoff Receives Honorable Mention for the StatSheet Horizon Player of the Week - January 28th, 2013--Valpo Daily
Valpo Heads to YSU Wednesday Night--valpoathletics.com

James Named HL Newcomer of the Week--wsuraiders.com
Women Fall to Green Bay--wsuraiders.com

Kamren Belin Named Horizon League Newcomer of the Week--ysusports.com
Men's Basketball Hosts Horizon League Leader Valpo Wednesday on ESPN3--ysusports.com

YSU's Belin, Brown gets league honors--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle

Brown Earns Third Horizon League Player-of-the-Week Award--ysusports.com

Green Bay's Brown, Youngstown State's Belin Receive Weekly Awards--Horizon League Network
Men's Basketball Notebook (Jan. 28)--Horizon League Network

Brandi Brown Named Player of the Week, Ivory James Earns Newcomer Nod--Horizon League Network
Kate Peterson Abiad Mic'd Up--Horizon League Network
Green Bay's Rides Big First Half to Win--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Lackluster Bracketbuster matchups unlikely to boost many March Madness hopes: NCAA Basketball Insider--Cleveland Plain Dealer
On this day 13 years ago - Jan 27, 2000--Vikings Ball

On this day 10 years ago - Jan 27, 2003--Titans Update

Wright’s place, right time--Whoosh!Net

Men's Basketball Blog #12: Joe Crisman--LoyolaRamblers.com

Women's basketball: Today's UWGB-Wright State preview--Green Bay Press Gazette

On this day 13 years ago - Jan 27, 2000--UWM Update

On this day 8 years ago - Jan 27, 2005--Valpo Daily

Jim Squire

KenPom Weekly Movers: Air Force Flying High--Big Apple Buckets

Biggest Fallers This Season:

Cleveland St.: -158 (266)
Old Dominion: -155 (285)
Penn St.: -135 (210)
North Texas: -121 (236)
East Tennessee St.: -119 (311)

Since a surprising home win over Detroit on Jan. 12, CSU has lost four consecutive Horizon League games, none closer than eight points. Blowout losses to Loyola (IL) and Youngstown St. dropped them into the bottom spot this week.

Youngstown State surges past Cleveland State, 73-59--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland State Falls to Youngstown State 73-59--Vikings Ball
CSU Falls at Youngstown State, 73-59--csuvikings.com

Detroit Gets Win against Loyola (Chicago) 75-63--Titans Update
StatSheet Projects Detroit as CBI Team: 01/27/2013--Titans Update
Titans Top Loyola 75-63, Grab Third Road Win--detroittitans.com

Fambro Pours In Season High 20 As Titans Cool Off Flames, 74-68--detroittitans.com

UIC holds off Wright State 55-49--The Chicago Tribune
UIC Downs Wright State 55-49--Flame Fanatic
StatSheet Projects UIC as CIT Team: 01/27/2013--Flame Fanatic
Flames Grind Out Road Win at Wright State, 55-49--uicflames.com

Women's Basketball Suffers Tough Road Loss at Detroit, 74-68--uicflames.com

Detroit pulls away from Loyola in 2nd half--The Chicago Tribune
Loyola (Chicago) Loses to Detroit 75-63--LU Wolf Ball
Loyola Has Two-Game Winning Streak Snapped With 75-63 Loss To Detroit--LoyolaRamblers.com
Jesuit Jam Returns To Loyola Wednesday Night--LoyolaRamblers.com

Youngstown State Races Past Loyola, 75-38--LoyolaRamblers.com

Green Bay Slams Milwaukee 74-54--Phoenix Fever

UWGB women's basketball: Offense comes alive in win over Valpo--Green Bay Press Gazette
Team-Effort Offense Leads Green Bay to 10th Straight Win--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Milwaukee Punished by Green Bay 74-54--UWM Update
BGN Extra: Panoske Continuing To Grow In Starting Role--uwmpanthers.com

Women’s basketball: Green Bay takes care of Valpo--The Post-Tribune
Green Bay women break out to early lead in win over VU--The NWI Times
WBB drops home contest to #RV/RV Green Bay--valpoathletics.com

Darling inspired by mom’s cancer battle--Dayton Daily News
Wright State’s offense struggles in loss to UIC--Wright State University Sports
UIC Flames turn out the lights on Blackout Night: Raiders fall 55-49--RaiderRoundball.com
Wright State Beaten by UIC 55-49--Rowdy Review
Men Drop 55-49 Decision to UIC--wsuraiders.com

Belin, Perry power Penguins over CSU--Youngstown Vindicator
Penguins end dubious streak versus Cleveland State--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle
Youngstown State Picks Up Win over Cleveland State 73-59--Guin Report
On this day 12 years ago - Jan 27, 2001--Guin Report
Belin, Big Runs Help Penguins to 73-59 Win Over Cleveland State--ysusports.com

YSU women crush Loyola, 75-38--Youngstown Vindicator
Brown, YSU turn tables on Loyola--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle
Fast Start Leads Women's Basketball to 75-38 Win Over Loyola--ysusports.com

Men's Basketball Final Shot: Jan. 26 -- One Rally Works, Two Comebacks Come Up Short--Horizon League Network

GB Remains Undefeated; Detroit and YSU move above .500 in League Play on Saturday in Women's Hoops--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Pregame Shootaround 1.25.13: Atlantic Sun, MAAC battles headline light slate--CollegeBasketballTalk

Five Facts
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4) There’s also a Horizon League rivalry game on the docket as Green Bay visits Milwaukee. The Panthers have struggled offensively, shooting 37.6% from the field, and that’s a big reason why Rob Jeter’s team is 1-5 in league play.

5) Keifer Sykes and Alec Brown lead the way offensively for Green Bay, who is 0-8 on the road this season. Currently tied for third in the Horizon League standings, the Phoenix can’t afford to lose a game like this if they’re to grab the highest seed possible for the conference tournament.

Preview: Cleveland State-Youngstown State--Cleveland State Hoops
Vikings Play at YSU In Horizon League Game of the Week--csuvikings.com

Episode #4: Titan Court Report to Air TODAY at 6 P.M.--detroittitans.com

Game #17: Titans Look To Run Their Home Streak To 12 Straight On Saturday--detroittitans.com

Saturday's matchup: UIC at Wright State--The Chicago Tribune
Flames stifle Milwaukee at home--UIC News
Gorski dismissed from team--Whoosh!Net
UIC (12-8) Takes On Wright State (14-6)--Flame Fanatic
Game #21: Flames Travel to Wright State Saturday Night--uicflames.com

Women's Hoops Conlcudes Road Swing at Detroit on Saturday--uicflames.com

Saturday's matchup: Detroit at Loyola--The Chicago Tribune
Updated: Loyola (Chicago) (12-7) vs. Detroit (12-8)--LU Wolf Ball

Loyola Closes Out Weekend At Youngstown State--LoyolaRamblers.com

Men's basketball: UWGB beats UWM, ends road skid with second-half spurt--Green Bay Press Gazette
Brown's Big Night Propels Green Bay to 74-54 Road Win--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Women's basketball: Today's UWGB-Valparaiso preview--Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay Looks For 10th Straight Win at Valparaiso--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Panthers done in by Brown, own mistakes--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Green Bay's Second Half Surge Trips Up Panthers--uwmpanthers.com

Award Tour: Ben McLemore and Brad Stevens Reach No. 1 For the First Time--Rush The Court

FIVE MID-MAJOR TEAMS TO KNOW FOR MARCH
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3. Valparaiso (16-5). With Bryce Drew at the helm, the magic is back for the Crusaders. One of the most underrated players in the country is their forward Ryan Broekhoff, who is averaging 17.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG. This could be the #13 or #14seed that scores a big upset in March.