On The Horizon

Jim Squire

ATB: Another Big Upset in the Big Ten, the Still-Undefeated Zips and Some Pac-12 Drama…--Rush The Court

…and Misses.
...
Shockers Shocked At Home. During Creighton’s recent four-of-six loss skid, conversation conveniently pointed towards the Shockers as the chief competition in the Missouri Valley. The timing was optimal, or something close to it. As Creighton sank further and further towards bubble uneasiness, Wichita pulled out of its own three-game losing streak to rip off five straight victories. The last of those was a national Bracketbusters dumptrucking of Detroit. What followed was a two game schedule, one half mellow (Evansville at home) the other challenging (at Creighton). The latter, in light of Creighton’s competitive motivations, could be the game of the year in this league. That is what happens when two good teams move into a tie for first place with one final grudge match remaining between them. The three-point home loss poorly on the Shockers, but the fans won’t complain: Saturday’s meeting in Omaha won’t just be a really competitive game between the two best teams in the MVC. It will decide first place, along with seeding supremacy in Arch Madness. I can’t wait.

Scout: Detroit's Ray McCallum Jr. a certain first-rounder in NBA draft--The Detroit Free Press
Titans Visit Temple in Gotham Classic Thursday--detroittitans.com

Game #25: A Pair Of Winning Streaks To Duel It Out As The Titans Prepare For Nationally Ranked Green Bay--detroittitans.com

Women's Basketball Travels to Second Place Youngstown State--uicflames.com

Ramblers Battle Milwaukee In Search Of Seventh Consecutive Win--LoyolaRamblers.com

Freshman Fouse flies with the Phoenix--UWGB Fourth Estate

Tonight's UWGB women's preview--Green Bay Press Gazette
Phoenix cruise past Crusaders--UWGB Fourth Estate
Green Bay Looks to Clinch League Title Outright at Detroit--GreenBayPhoenix.com

PantherU endorses Paul Plinske--PantherU
On this day 10 years ago - Feb 27, 2003--UWM Update
Clay Tucker Back In Europe--Panther Blog Zone
Horizon League Men's Basketball Tiebreakers--Panther Blog Zone
Milwaukee Basketball Golf Outing Set For July 15--uwmpanthers.com

Osipoff: Most important work still ahead for VU--The Post-Tribune

VU women to host Wright State tonight--The Post-Tribune
Crusaders close out February by hosting Wright State--valpoathletics.com

Women’s hoops set for three-game home stand--The Jambar
T-Shirt Giveaway Part of ‘Brandi Brown Appreciation Day’ on Saturday--ysusports.com
Big Three-Game Home Stand for Women's Basketball Starts Thursday vs. UIC--ysusports.com

Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament Scenarios, Tie-breakers--Horizon League Network
Interview: Jordan Aaron--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Miami Heat point guard Mario Chalmers continues to play at high level--Miami Herald

GREAT DEBATE

People have argued for years about which sport, football or basketball, requires the better athletes. The games require different skills. For Heat guard Norris Cole, it’s not a question. Football wins.

“Our sport doesn’t stop,” Cole said. “The average play in football is three to five seconds with rest in between, but as far as pure athleticism, running, jumping, lifting — they’re average vertical jumps are higher than basketball players.”

Cole watched intently a replay of the NFL Combine before Tuesday’s game. He was so interested in the agility drills and 40-yard dashes that he kept asking reporters blocking his view of the TV to “please move.”

Cole was a quarterback in high school but never was timed officially in the 40-yard dash. As one of the NBA’s fastest players, he estimated that he could run the distance in 4.4 or 4.5 seconds. Cole was one of 52 players invited to the 2010 NBA combine. He had the best time in the four-corner drill, which measures speed and quickness.

Along with himself, Cole said the fastest players in the NBA are John Wall and Derrick Rose, among others. Cole said players consider Rose to be the fastest player in the league with the ball in his hands.

But could Rose make an easy transition to football? Cole thinks it would be easier for a cornerback or safety in the NFL to cross over to basketball.

“Football is hard, man,” Cole said. “All that constant crashing into one another. There are some basketball players who are just born to score and never have to lift a weight in their life.”

Of course, LeBron James playing football is the topic for another debate entirely. “He doesn’t count,” Cole said.

Stumble at home, rebound on road--The Cauldron

Looking to close out season with W's--The Cauldron

ATB: Hoosiers Slip at the Barn, Late Season UT Tournament Push Redux, and Memphis Folds at Xavier…--Rush The Court

Tuesday Night’s All-Americans.
...
Ray McCallum, Detroit – The sting of Saturday’s Bracketbusters loss to Wichita State may have lingered into Tuesday night’s game against Loyola (Chicago), when Detroit needed McCallum to score 22 points and inspire his teammates to a one-point victory.

Jason Calliste's late lay-up lifts Detroit men's basketball to win vs. Loyola--The Detroit Free Press
Detroit defeats Loyola at buzzer--The Detroit News
Updated: Detroit (18-10) Battles Loyola (Chicago) (14-14)--Titans Update
On this day 13 years ago - Feb 26, 2000--Titans Update
Detroit Sneaks Past Loyola (Chicago) 76-75--Titans Update
StatSheet Projects Detroit as NIT Four Seed: 02/27/2013--Titans Update
Titans Down Loyola, Clinch No. 2 Seed in HL Championship--detroittitans.com

UIC holds on to top Wright State 60-55--The Chicago Tribune
Video: UIC's Barnes looking for tourney peak--The Chicago Tribune
UIC sweeps season series with Wright State--Daily Herald
Another step forward--Whoosh!Net
Updated: UIC (15-13) Squares Off with Wright State (18-10)--Flame Fanatic
UIC Drops Wright State 60-55--Flame Fanatic
Flames Outlast Wright State, 60-55--uicflames.com

Flames steal win in close contest--UIC News
--uicflames.com

Loyola falls to Detroit 76-75--The Chicago Tribune
Detroit tops Loyola 76-75 on late layup--Daily Herald
Updated: Loyola (Chicago) (14-14) Takes On Detroit (18-10)--LU Wolf Ball
Loyola (Chicago) Narrowly Beaten by Detroit 76-75--LU Wolf Ball
Men's Basketball Blog #15: Joe Crisman--LoyolaRamblers.com
Game Of Change Named Top 15 Moment In NCAA Tourney History By ESPN.com--LoyolaRamblers.com
Last Second Shot Spoils Amazing Effort In 76-75 Loss To Detroit--LoyolaRamblers.com

Men's basketball: Brown leads UWGB past UWM--Green Bay Press Gazette
Updated: Green Bay (15-13) and Milwaukee (8-22) Face Off--Phoenix Fever
Green Bay Easily Defeats Milwaukee 78-61--Phoenix Fever
Brown Hits Repeat, Shoots Green Bay Past Milwaukee--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Panthers have no answer for UWGB's Alec Brown--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated: Milwaukee Finishes the Season with Green Bay--UWM Update
Milwaukee Loses Big against Green Bay 78-61--UWM Update
Green Bay Rides Inside Edge, Career Night From Brown To Win Over Panthers--uwmpanthers.com

Panthers Look To Continue Late-Season Surge At Loyola--uwmpanthers.com

The Fond Farewell--Big Apple Buckets
Pregame Shootaround 2.26.13: Three ranked teams on the road--CollegeBasketballTalk

Five Things to Watch For
...
2) Valpo currently holds a one game lead on Detroit in the Horizon League standings with just two games left to play. The Crusaders can clinch a share of the league title tonight against Youngstown State.

Valparaiso bounces back against YSU to clinch Horizon League title--The Post-Tribune
Crusaders clinch No. 1 seed in Horizon League men's tourney--The NWI Times
Post game wrap up: Valpo vs. YSU--The Torch
Updated: Valparaiso (22-7) and Youngstown State (16-12) Face Off--Valpo Daily
Valparaiso Drops Youngstown State 73-64--Valpo Daily
A Letter to the Crusader Nation--Beyond the ARC
Crusaders Down YSU; Clinch Second Consecutive HL Regular Season Crown--valpoathletics.com

Second-half drought hurts Raiders--Dayton Daily News
Wright State’s Arceneaux ‘rusty’ in return--Dayton Daily News
Updated: Wright State (18-10) vs. UIC (15-13)--Rowdy Review
Wright State Beaten by UIC 60-55--Rowdy Review
Men Fall 60-55 at UIC--wsuraiders.com

Eargle reaches 1,000-point mark in YSU’s loss to Valpo--Youngstown Vindicator
Updated: Youngstown State (16-12) vs. Valparaiso (22-7)--Guin Report
Youngstown State Downed by Valparaiso 73-64--Guin Report
Damian Eargle Scores 1000th Career Point in 73-64 Loss at Valparaiso--ysusports.com

T-Shirt Giveaway Part of ‘Brandi Brown Appreciation Day’ on Saturday--ysusports.com

Valpo Controls Own Destiny as Men's Basketball Bracket Looks to Take Shape--Horizon League Network
Men's Basketball Final Shot: Feb. 26 - Valpo Clinches No. 1 Seed--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

What a difference 4 games make. Not only are we down from 256 scenarios to 16, but the top 2 seeds and the 9 seed have been fully determined, 2 teams are left to fight for the 3 and 4 seeds, 2 teams are left to fight for the 5 and 6 seeds, and 2 teams are left to fight for the 7 and 8 seeds. Couldn't hardly be simpler.

        W       L
Valpo   12      3  at GB
UDM     11      4  at UIC
UWGB    10      5  vs Valpo
WSU     9       6  vs YSU
UIC     7       8  vs UDM
YSU     7       8  at WSU
CSU     5       10 vs Loyola
Loyola  4       11 at CSU
UWM     3       13 (done)

Valpo has clinched the 1 seed because WSU will at worst finish all alone in 4th, and Valpo is the only team to sweep the Raiders. Valpo, Detroit, and Green Bay have each split with each other, so the tiebreaker would fall to WSU if Valpo loses to Green Bay and Detroit beats UIC.

Detroit has clinched the 2 seed because they split with WSU while Green Bay was swept by them.

Green Bay has the inside track for the 3 seed. The only way WSU can get the 3 seed is if Valpo beats Green Bay and WSU beats YSU to tie them at 10-6. If that happens, Green Bay falls to 4th. Otherwise WSU ends up with the 4 seed.

UIC and YSU are tied for 5th and 6th, and the separation is such that they are on their own little island. UIC swept YSU, so the only way YSU can get the 5 seed is by beating WSU and UIC losing to Detroit. In that case UIC would fall to 6th. Otherwise, UIC is the 5 seed and YSU is the 6 seed. In either case, both teams will host a first round game.

If CSU beats Loyola, they get the 7 seed. If Loyola beats CSU, they will sweep CSU and win the tiebreaker.

UWM is the 9 seed because even though they split with Loyola, they were swept by Valpo while Loyola split with Valpo.

Jim Squire

KenPom Weekly Movers: Northwestern Falling, Princeton Rising--Big Apple Buckets

Top 5 Fallers This Season:

North Texas: -144 (251)
Old Dominion: -134 (266)
Cleveland St.: -130 (238)
SC Upstate: -129 (226)
Marshall: -129 (222)

Cleveland State women fall to Loyola-Chicago, 72-67--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Bryn Forbes is Runner-Up for the StatSheet Horizon Freshman of the Week - February 25th, 2013--Vikings Ball

Vikings Fall To Loyola, 72-67--csuvikings.com

Replay: Chat with UDM basketball coach Ray McCallum--The Detroit Free Press
Detroit Titans to honor Nick Minnerath, who's battled injuries, hardships, tonight--The Detroit Free Press
Detroit's McCallum, Oakland's Bader finalists for national award--The Detroit News
Detroit's Nick Minnerath leaves troubled times behind to help lead Titans--The Detroit News

Nick Minnerath is Runner-Up for the StatSheet Horizon Player of the Week - February 25th, 2013--Titans Update
Titans Host Loyola on Senior Night--detroittitans.com
McCallum Named Finalist for Lou Henson Award--detroittitans.com

Tuesday's matchup: Wright State at UIC--The Chicago Tribune
Game #29: Flames Host Wright State in Key Horizon League Battle--uicflames.com

Hannemann Tabbed as Horizon League Co-Player of the Week--uicflames.com

Tuesday's matchup: Loyola at Detroit--The Chicago Tribune
Christian Thomas Wins the StatSheet Horizon Player of the Week - February 25th, 2013--LU Wolf Ball

Loyola Wraps Up Busy Stretch With Road Tilt At Cleveland State--LoyolaRamblers.com
Taylor Johnson Repeats As Horizon League Newcomer of the Week--LoyolaRamblers.com
Resilient Ramblers Hold Off Cleveland State, 72-67--LoyolaRamblers.com

Men's basketball: Phoenix gets back to games that matter--Green Bay Press Gazette
Brennan Cougill is Runner-Up for the StatSheet Horizon Sixth Man of the Week - February 25th, 2013--Phoenix Fever
Final Week of Regular Season Begins Tuesday--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Lukan Named Horizon League Co-Player of the Week Following Career Day--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Kyle Kelm Receives Honorable Mention for the StatSheet Horizon Sixth Man of the Week - February 25th, 2013--UWM Update
Gulley, Aaron Earn Horizon League Basketball Weekly Honors--uwmpanthers.com
Panthers Wrap Up Regular Season With Tuesday Contest At Green Bay--uwmpanthers.com

Valpo looks to lock up Horizon’s top seed--The Post-Tribune
Valparaiso basketball notes pre-Youngstown State--The Wisdom of Oz
Valparaiso can clinch conference title with Senior Night victory--The NWI Times
Bobby Capobianco Wins the StatSheet Horizon Sixth Man of the Week - February 25th, 2013--Valpo Daily
Broekhoff Named Finalist for Lou Henson Award--valpoathletics.com
Valpo Hosts Youngstown State Tuesday on Senior Night--valpoathletics.com

Seeding on line for Raiders in final week--Dayton Daily News
Preview: Wright State at Illinois-Chicago--Dayton Daily News
JT Yoho Wins the StatSheet Horizon Freshman of the Week - February 25th, 2013--Rowdy Review

Men's Basketball Visits League Leader Valpo Tuesday Night--ysusports.com

Big wins still in reach--Youngstown Vindicator

Milwaukee's Gulley, Aaron Sweep Weekly Honors--Horizon League Network
Men's Basketball Notebook (Feb. 25)--Horizon League Network
Broekhoff, McCallum Named Lou Henson Award Finalists--Horizon League Network

Katie Hannemann and Megan Lukan Named Co-Players of the Week, Taylor Johnson Earns Newcomer Nod--Horizon League Network
Ramblers Run Win Streak to Six with Road Win at CSU--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

Tomorrow, 4 games take place in the Horizon League:

1. Loyola at UDM
2. WSU at UIC
3. UWM at GB
4. YSU at Valpo

The only direct implication of the Loyola-UDM game is that if Loyola wins, the infamous RPI scenario is eliminated.

A win by UIC over WSU guarantees at least a single bye for UDM. A win by WSU eliminates the infamous RPI scenario.

A loss to UWM eliminates GB's chances for the double-bye. A win by GB eliminates the infamous RPI scenario.

A win by Valpo locks up the 1 seed for Valpo, eliminates the RPI scenario, and pushes YSU down to no better than the 5 seed.

There are other implications, but these seem to me to be the most obvious and the most blatant.

Jim Squire

As we've seen, one scenario out of 256 is up in the air on the 4 seed until March 3rd, when Valpo's RPI can be compared to UDM's to break that tie.

24 out of 256 scenarios have YSU as the 4 seed. In each case, GB, Valpo, and UDM win 10 or more and WSU is tied with YSU at 9-7 (meaning YSU beats Valpo and WSU and WSU loses to UIC). Since this means YSU sweeps WSU, they get the 4 seed and WSU gets the 5 seed.

UDM falls to the 4 seed if all of the following happen (4 out of 256 scenarios):

1. UDM loses to Loyola and UIC
2. WSU beats UIC and YSU
3. GB beats UWM and Valpo

This results in WSU, GB, and Valpo all at 11-5 or better and UDM all alone at 10-6.

WSU falls to the 4 seed in 63 out of 256 scenarios. 32 of those scenarios involve WSU splitting their remaining games to finish 10-6. GB also wins out in these scenarios, but if they didn't, WSU would seed higher than 4. As seen before, they lose a tiebreaker with UDM because of Valpo.

The other 31 scenarios involve WSU losing out and either GB and YSU also finishing 9-7 OR GB winning at least 10 and YSU finishing 8-8. In the former cases, YSU wins the 3-way tie and WSU beats out GB in the remaining 2-way tie. In the latter cases, no tiebreaker is needed.

The remaining 164 scenarios give GB the 4 seed.

Jim Squire

Believe it or not, YSU can get the 3 seed and the single bye (7 out of 256 scenarios) if all of the following happens:

1.  UWM beats GB
2.  YSU beats Valpo and WSU
3.  Valpo beats GB
4.  UDM loses to either Loyola, UIC, or both OR
    UDM beats both and CSU beats Loyola.

This would give:

         W         L
Valpo   12         4
UDM     10(11)(12) 6(5)(4)
YSU      9         7
WSU      9         7
UWGB     9         7

Obviously in these cases, Valpo is the 1 seed and UDM is the 2 seed (the extra scenario is the flip-side of the RPI scenario where CSU beats Loyola instead of the other way around, breaking the tie for Valpo because UDM split with CSU).

All three 9-7 teams would be 2-2, each sweeping one while being swept by the other. However, YSU would be the only team to sweep 1 seed Valpo, so they would get the 3 seed. That leaves WSU and GB, and WSU would get the 4 seed, leaving GB as the 5 seed.

UDM gets the 3 seed in 44 out of 256 scenarios. 4 of those 44 involve UDM splitting their remaining two games and:

1.  WSU beating UIC and YSU
2.  Valpo beating YSU and losing to GB

As seen here, WSU wins the 2 seed because of their sweep of GB.

The remaining 40 involve UDM losing to both UIC and Loyola and either GB or WSU finishing 11-5 but not both (both finishing 10-6 also works). All three at 10-6 works the same way as just mentioned, with WSU getting the 2 seed and UDM beating out GB for the 3 seed because they split with WSU. If GB is 11-5 and WSU is either 10-6 or 9-7, GB gets the 2 seed and UDM beats out WSU for the 3 seed because they split with Valpo. If GB is 10-6 or 9-7 and WSU is 11-5, UDM beats GB for the 3 seed because UDM split with WSU.

The infamous RPI scenario actually leaves the top 5 seeds hanging until March 3: GB would be 1-1 against both teams; WSU is 0-2 against Valpo, 1-1 against UDM; YSU would be 2-0 against Valpo, 0-2 against UDM. If UDM is the 1 seed, YSU would drop out and be left with the 5 seed, and WSU would beat GB for the 3 seed based on their sweep of GB. If, however, Valpo were the 1 seed (possible but it doesn't seem likely RPI-wise), YSU would actually gain the 3 seed, and again WSU would beat GB for the 4 seed. So, the final seeding could be:

1. UDM
2. Valpo
3. WSU
4. GB
5. YSU

OR

1. Valpo
2. UDM
3. YSU
4. WSU
5. GB

GB gets the 3 seed in 72 out of 256 scenarios. If they win out they get the 3 seed as long as either WSU or UDM wins at least 11, but not both. That's 40 of the 73 scenarios. In other words, if UDM finishes 10-6 and WSU finishes 11-5, GB gets the 3 seed. If UDM finishes 11-5 or 12-6 and WSU finishes 10-6 or 9-7, GB gets the 3 seed at 11-5.

If GB splits their remaining 2 games, they can still get the 3 seed if WSU loses out. The remaining 6 teams would have 9 or less wins, so GB with 10 wins gets the 3 seed.

In the remaining 132 scenarios, WSU gets the 3 seed.

Jim Squire

The first thing to say for the 2 seed is that if Detroit gets the 1 seed, Valpo has the 2 seed locked up.

         W L
Valpo   11 3     vs. YSU, at GB
UDM     10 4     vs. Loyola, at UIC
UWGB     9 5     vs. UWM, vs. Valpo
WSU      9 5     at  UIC, vs. YSU
YSU      7 7     at  Valpo, at YSU
UIC      6 8     vs. WSU, vs. UDM
CSU      5 10    at  Loyola
Loyola   4 10    at  UDM, vs. CSU
UWM      3 12    at  GB

Valpo is 1-1 against Detroit, would be 1-1 against GB, and is 2-0 against WSU. Detroit is 1-1 against GB and 1-1 against WSU. WSU is 2-0 against GB.

If Detroit finishes 12-4 and Valpo finishes 11-5 by losing their last two games, WSU and GB are the only teams that can tie Valpo (none can surpass them to tie Detroit). WSU hands the 2 seed to Valpo on a silver platter (0-2 vs. Valpo, 2-0 vs. GB). If WSU finishes 10-6, they take 4th place and still serve as the tiebreaker in favor of Valpo. If WSU finishes 9-7 in a tie with YSU, then we'd have to drop down to 6th place, and in this case, that would be 7-9 UIC (beating WSU, losing to Detroit), who again favors Valpo because UIC split with GB while Valpo swept them.

The overwhelming majority of scenarios where Valpo is the 1 seed have Detroit as the 2 seed, so let's just tackle the others and say that Detroit gets it in all other cases.

In one particular case (already mentioned here), Detroit has the chance for a 1 seed if they have the higher RPI. Obviously if they don't for some reason, then they fall to the 2 seed.

GB can get the 2 seed if (12 out of 256):

1.  Detroit loses to both Loyola and UIC
2.  GB beats both UWM and Valpo
3.  WSU loses to either UIC or YSU

This would give us:

         W      L
Valpo   11(12)  5(4)
UWGB    11      5
UDM     10      6
WSU     10(9)   6(7)

Again, assuming Valpo loses to YSU, Valpo and GB would split with each other, but Valpo is 3-1 against UDM/WSU while GB is 1-3. If WSU is 9-7, then both Valpo and GB are 1-1 against UDM. Valpo would be 2-2 against WSU/YSU while GB would also be 2-2 against WSU/YSU (Valpo swept WSU while GB swept YSU). Next in line is 8-8 UIC and Valpo is 2-0 against them while GB is 1-1, so either way, that's why Valpo gets the 1 seed.

If either UDM, WSU, or both finishes with 11 wins, GB gets dropped to the 4 seed if Valpo is also 11-5 as shown in the previous post, and if Valpo is 12-4 (beating YSU) they also get dropped to the 4 seed for similar reasons. Basically, WSU kills GB in these tiebreakers. If UDM is also 11-5 but WSU is 10-6 or 9-7, then as we've seen, Valpo, GB, and UDM all split with each other, but if WSU is all alone in 4th (10-6), then GB falls to the 3rd seed because of WSU. If YSU is also 9-7 (tied with WSU), this is one of those cases where UDM gets the 1 seed, but Valpo ekes out the 2 seed from GB ultimately because UIC favors Valpo over GB, so again GB would end up with the 3 seed. So the above 3 things all have to happen for GB to get the 2 seed and the 2nd double-bye.

WSU (36 out of 256):

As hinted above, if Valpo beats YSU and loses to GB (12-4), WSU, UDM, and GB all finish 11-5, WSU wins the tiebreaker for the 2 seed because they are 3-1, UDM 2-2, and GB 1-3. Obviously if UDM finishes 10-6, WSU gets the 2 seed because they swept GB, so as long as UDM loses at least once, Valpo wins once, and GB wins out, WSU gets the 2 seed. However, if GB finishes 10-6 or 9-7, then UDM has to lose out (along with Valpo winning at least once) in order for WSU to get the 2 seed, because if they are just tied with UDM at 11-5, UDM gets the 2 seed because of Valpo.

WSU can also get the 2 seed if they split their remaining games as long as UDM loses out and GB splits their games, thus bringing about a 3-way tie for 2nd at 10-6, which again WSU wins for the same reason as mentioned above.

In all the remaining scenarios (183 out of 256), UDM gets the 2 seed.

Jim Squire

ATB: Canes Meet the Pain, the End of a Rivalry and a Bracketbusters Finale…--Rush The Court

This Weekend’s Quick Hits…
...
More Bracketbusters Action. Even if the field didn’t bring its customary glut of at-large relevant matchups, there were a few interesting contests worth talking about. Horizon leader Valparaiso dominated Eastern Kentucky while Detroit, who currently stands one-game off first place, pushed Wichita State into a high-scoring affair but ultimately fell short on the road. Akron extended the nation’s longest winning streak (18) against North Dakota State, but fellow MAC challenger Ohio couldn’t secure the league’s second win in a convincing loss at Belmont. In sum, Bracketbusters lived out its final days without leaving a positive impression. All we can hope is that network executives or conference leaders come together to produce a similar event. Bracketbusters was not a perfect concept – some teams benefited, while others saw their Tournament positions suffer – but it was something that allowed the nation’s best mid-major squads to face off on a national stage they otherwise wouldn’t experience. That concept, even if it’s not a formalized event, is worth preserving.

Miami Heat guard Ray Allen starting to regain his shooting touch--Miami Herald

When Norris Cole is dunking during games out of half-court sets, it's a good indication the Heat's offense is purring like a well-tuned engine. During the Heat's recent three-game road trip, Cole dunked three times, including twice on Saturday at Philadelphia. "That's more of a byproduct of having an open lane," Spoelstra said. "He's an aggressive player." Cole's driving dunk on Chicago's Marquis Teague on Thursday was his first of the season. Teammates reacted to the play by enthusiastically jumping out of their seats on the bench. Cole added a two-handed dunk to his season's highlight reel late in the game on Saturday against the Sixers.

With an average of 5.6 points a game, Cole is shooting 49.1 percent from the field in the month of February. Always attacking the basket, Cole's overall game has improved steadily along with his minutes. He is now a regular in the Heat's second unit for his defensive energy.

"He showed that he is an attacker, he is aggressive and that he has that type of mentality," Spoelstra said. "It is the other things that we have been trying to develop that I am encouraged about, his decision making, learning how to run an offense and getting us organized. That part has been improving."

Heat guard Norris Cole growing more patient--South Florida Sun Sentinel
BracketBusters wins help Cleveland State--Cleveland Plain Dealer
On this day 10 years ago - Feb 24, 2003--Vikings Ball

Vikings Open Final Home Stretch Against Loyola On Monday--csuvikings.com

Chat with UDM basketball coach Ray McCallum--The Detroit Free Press

Bradley barely escapes--Whoosh!Net

On this day 2 years ago - Feb 24, 2011--LU Wolf Ball
Ramblers Head To Motor City For Clash With The Titans--LoyolaRamblers.com

On this day 13 years ago - Feb 24, 2000--UWM Update

Jim Squire

No. 25 Green Bay women beat Valparaiso 80-38--MICentralSports.com

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade power Miami Heat past Philadelphia 76ers--Miami Herald

The Heat began the third quarter on a 29-16 burst, culminating in a Norris Cole-to-James alley-oop dunk that elicited a roar from the crowd and pushed the Heat cushion to 22.

Contributions came from elsewhere, too. Mario Chalmers closed with six assists and one turnover on a 14-point night. Bosh had 13 points (but just one rebound) and Allen and Cole added 12 apiece.

76ers' Collins on Heat: 'I don't see any weaknesses'--South Florida Sun Sentinel

"They have depth. You've got Ray Allen and Shane Battier, two incredible pros coming off the bench that can stretch the floor, and Norris Cole has been playing very well as a backup point guard for them."

Cleveland State Vikings hand W. Illinois its 2nd home loss of the season, 60-54, in BracketBuster game--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Today's Cleveland State @ Western Illinois preview--Cleveland State Hoops
Cleveland State (13-16) Battles Western Illinois (19-6)--Vikings Ball
Cleveland State Gets Upset Win over Western Illinois 60-54--Vikings Ball
CSU Wins at Western Illinois, 60-54, in Ramada BracketBusters--csuvikings.com

Late Night Snacks: Overtimes R Us in the SEC--CollegeBasketballTalk

Meaningful Results
...
Wichita State 94, Detroit 79: Two of this season’s best mid-majors went toe-to-toe and the Shockers came out on top. The Shockers will be rolling into Arch Madness with a full head of steam at this rate, unlike a certain rival…

Wichita State 92, Detroit 79: Not Even Close--Mid-Major Madness
Wichita State 94, Detroit 79--The Detroit Free Press

WICHITA, Kan. — Malcolm Armstead had 20 points and six assists as Wichita State recorded its highest point total of the season, beating Detroit, 94-79, in a BracketBusters game today.

Cleanthony Early and Carl Hall added 18 points apiece, and Demetric Williams scored 14 for the Shockers (24-5), who shot 55% from the field.

Ray McCallum scored 29 points, Nick Minnerath had 25 and Doug Anderson 11 for Detroit (18-10). The Titans shot 45% from the field but made just 7 of 16 free throws.

Wichita State led by 11 at halftime before Detroit cut the deficit to 63-62 with 12:39 remaining. The Shockers then closed the game with a 31-17 run, including eight straight free throws down the stretch.

Saturday's state college basketball: Wichita State pulls away from Detroit--The Detroit News
Detroit (18-9) Battles Wichita State (23-5)--Titans Update
Detroit Punished by Wichita State 94-79--Titans Update
StatSheet Projects Detroit as NIT Five Seed: 02/24/2013--Titans Update
Titans' Second Half Surge Falls Short at Wichita St.--detroittitans.com

Game #24: Detroit Looks For Chicago Split On Saturday At UIC--detroittitans.com
Titans Drop Thriller At UIC, 76-74--detroittitans.com

Bradley tips Illinois-Chicago 63-62--Daily Herald
UIC (15-12) and Bradley (15-13) Square Off--Flame Fanatic
UIC Nipped by Bradley 63-62--Flame Fanatic
On this day 6 years ago - Feb 24, 2007--Flame Fanatic
Flames Drop Heartbreaker versus Bradley in BracketBusters--uicflames.com

Flames Top Titans in Horizon League Nail-Biter, 76-74--uicflames.com

Loyola falls to Kent State--Daily Herald
Loyola (Chicago) (14-13) Takes On Kent State (14-12)--LU Wolf Ball
Loyola (Chicago) Beaten by Kent State 70-63--LU Wolf Ball
Thomas' Career Day Not Enough In 70-63 Loss To Kent State--LoyolaRamblers.com

Loyola Grinds Past Youngstown State, 67-59, For Fifth Consecutive Win--LoyolaRamblers.com

UWGB men: Ugly second half sinks Phoenix--Green Bay Press Gazette
Updated: Green Bay (15-12) Takes On Drake (12-15)--Phoenix Fever
Green Bay Pounded by Drake 71-54--Phoenix Fever
Ice Cold Second Half Leads to 71-54 Loss at Drake--GreenBayPhoenix.com

UWGB women lock up share of 15th straight Horizon League title--Green Bay Press Gazette
Pretty in Pink: Green Bay Clinches Share of Horizon League Title--GreenBayPhoenix.com

UW-Milwaukee tops IUPUI in two overtimes--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated: Milwaukee (7-22) vs. IUPUI (6-22)--UWM Update
Milwaukee Picks Up Win against IUPUI 95-88 in 2OT--UWM Update
Panthers Pull Out Double Overtime Win At IUPUI--uwmpanthers.com

Angela Rodriguez joins 1,000-point club--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Postgame Report: Milwaukee at Wright State--Panther Blog Zone
Rodriguez Nets 1,000th Career Point As Panthers Drop Raiders--uwmpanthers.com

Men’s basketball: Valpo wins another BracketBuster at the ARC--The Post-Tribune
VU men shoot season-best 68.2 percent in 22-point victory--The NWI Times
Post game wrap up: Valpo vs. EKU--The Torch
Valparaiso Pounds Eastern Kentucky 82-60--Valpo Daily
On this day 5 years ago - Feb 23, 2008--Valpo Daily
Hot-Shooting Crusaders Earn BracketBusters Victory--valpoathletics.com

Crusaders drop road game at #25/RV Green Bay--valpoathletics.com

Early stretch dooms Wright State in loss to Evansville--Wright State University Sports
Purple Aces turn the Raiders blue--RaiderRoundball.com
Wright State (18-9) Faces Evansville (15-13)--Rowdy Review
Wright State Drops One to Evansville 70-58--Rowdy Review
On this day 13 years ago - Feb 24, 2000--Rowdy Review
Men Drop BracketBusters Decision to Evansville--wsuraiders.com

BracketBusters loss doesn’t hurt Wright State’s larger goal--Wright State University Sports
Loss to Milwaukee drops women’s hoops to last place in conference--The Guardian
Women Fall to Milwaukee--wsuraiders.com

Updated: Youngstown State (15-12) and Central Michigan (9-16) Square Off--Guin Report
Youngstown State Drops Central Michigan 86-75--Guin Report
Allen, Belin Score 20 Each as Penguins Pick Up 86-75 Win Over CMU--ysusports.com

Ramblers Make Late Run to Beat YSU, 67-59--ysusports.com

Men's Basketball Final Shot: Feb. 23 - A Farewell to BracketBusters--Horizon League Network

Green Bay Clinches at Least a Share of Regular Season Title in Women's Basketball--Horizon League Network

Jim Squire

The Other 26: Saturday’s Top Five Bracketbuster Games and More…--Rush The Court

Detroit at Wichita State (4 pm, ESPN2) — Wichita State has bounced back from a recent three-game swoon with a four-game win streak that includes two close victories over Illinois State and Indiana State this past week. They’ll be the favorites against Detroit, but his game has definite upset potential. Detroit is on the upswing, winning six of their last seven, and developing a potent offensive attack with a multitude of options, from Ray McCallum’s attacking ability to Jason Calliste’s three-point shot to Nick Minnerath’s versatile inside-out game to Doug Anderson’s physical interior play. The Titans will try to push the tempo, while the Shockers will try to slow things down and pound the ball inside to their big men Cleanthony Early and Carl Hall, who may find success against Detroit’s mediocre interior defense.
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Honor Roll

The Honor Roll is our weekly fixture highlighting the teams, players, and performances that impressed us in the past week.
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Detroit Returns The Favor — On January 17th, Detroit was cruising along at home against Valparaiso, leading by double digits with less than three minutes to play. But the Crusaders staged a furious comeback, scoring 12 unanswered points to emerge with the win. Fast forward a month to the rematch at Valpo, and this time it’s the Crusaders who are up by double-digits in the second half, up by 15 with under nine minutes to play. The Titans went on a 19-0 tear to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Detroit is now a game back of Valpo in the Horizon League standings, and the two teams seem headed for a showdown in the conference tournament that will not only break the season series tie but dispense an NCAA Tournament bid.

Creighton-Saint Mary's, Iona-ISU among final BracketBusters matchups--Sports Illustrated

Saturday's Games
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Eastern Kentucky at Valparaiso (1 p.m. ET)

Definitely not the name-recognition matchup of the day, but these are two pretty good teams that have a solid chance of playing for their conference's auto bids in a few weeks.

The Colonels were a story earlier this season as one of the nation's final unbeaten teams. Once they lost in a decent effort at Illinois, they fell out of the nation's spotlight, but they have quietly put together an 11-3 campaign in a much improved Ohio Valley conference, with two of those losses coming to league-leader Belmont.

Both teams are pretty good offensively. Only Valpo is even decent defensively, though, and that might put the Colonels in a bad spot on the road. Not that the Crusaders are great on the offensive glass, but EKU is the second-worst defensive rebounding team in Division I, per Pomeroy's stats. Kevin Van Wijk and Bobby Capobianco are ready to feast on any shots missed by star forward Ryan Broekhoff.
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Detroit at Wichita State (4 p.m. ET)

A classic BracketEliminators matchup where the Shockers can only be hurt by a home loss to a very capable Detroit team out of the Horizon League. The Titans have had a week to prepare after a furious late rally helped them down league leader Valparaiso on the road.

Detroit plays a very uptempo style which is also extremely low in turnovers. The Titans are fourth-best in the nation in offensive turnover rate despite playing at over 70 possessions a game. They might not always get good shots, but Ray McCallum (who's easily having his best season as a collegian) and Co. get a lot of them. That should set an interesting contrast against the stingy Shockers, who are built more to grind away at you in the halfcourt.

The Shockers get a good amount of work done on the offensive glass, but the Titans are one of the nation's stingiest teams in that category. Whoever wins that battle, along with the tempo war, likely will grab the win. Wichita State looks in good shape for an at large, but they want to take care of this one.

Heat making gains on rebounding concerns--South Florida Sun Sentinel

Lately, Allen, Shane Battier and Norris Cole have provided reliable options for Spoelstra to find rest for Wade and James.

"It's not going to be the Big Three every night," Battier said. "It's good to know you've got some pretty good auxiliary players, too."

Creighton/Saint Mary’s headlines Ramada Bracketbusters event--CollegeBasketballTalk

3) Detroit at Wichita State (Saturday, 4:00 p.m. on ESPN2)

Currently leading the Missouri Valley race Wichita State is in good position to grab an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament should they need one. Detroit on the other hand will need to win the Horizon League’s automatic bid, as they did last season, if they’re to reach the Big Dance. Ray McCallum Jr. leads the way for a Detroit attack that’s both experienced and explosive, with multiple players capable of going off for 30+ points on any given night. Gregg Marshall’s Shockers will need to defend at the level that they have for much of the season, and they don’t lack for experience either. It will be interesting to see how Detroit deals with one of the loudest environments in college basketball.

On this day 16 years ago - Feb 22, 1997--Titans Update

Game #24: Detroit Looks For Chicago Split On Saturday At UIC--detroittitans.com

Saturday's matchup: Bradley at UIC--The Chicago Tribune
Game #28: Flames Host Bradley for BracketBusters Saturday--uicflames.com

Women's Basketball Welcomes Detroit on Satruday at 7 p.m. CT--uicflames.com

Saturday's matchup: Kent State at Loyola--The Chicago Tribune
Men's Basketball Steps Out of League Play, Hosts Kent State Saturday--LoyolaRamblers.com

Streaking Loyola Preps For Surprising Penguins--LoyolaRamblers.com